Lillie Joe's POV
Sunday, May 26, 2013
"Lillie Joe, wake up," a voice whispered.
"Go away," I mumbled without opening my eyes.
The voice giggled, "No. Wake up, please. I don't want to have Joey jump on your bed."
I finally recognized the voice, "Jacob?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"What's wrong? What do you need?" I sat up and rubbed my eyes.
"Joey and I want to spend the day with you."
"Right now? It's like 5 am!"
"4:37 am, actually, and yes. Right now."
"Why?" I whined.
"Because Joey hasn't seen you since he was eight and I never met you and I want to get to know you."
"Ugh. Fine. Give me 10 minutes to get ready."
"Yes!" Jacob cheered quietly.
He ran from my room to Joey's room, informing him that I agreed to hang out with them. I stood up and stretched, then went to my bathroom to take a shower and brush my teeth. I returned to my room and fished through my new clothes to find a nice outfit. (OUTFIT UP TOP). After I finished I approached Joey's door and knocked on it. He opened it and smiled once he saw me.
"Hey, Lillie," he greeted, "you look nice. Are you ready?"
"Ready for what? I don't even know where we're going!" I told him, "Do Mom and Dad even know we're leaving this early?"
Joey and Jacob, who appeared out of nowhere, gave each other a look and nodded at me. Although I am suspicious of them, I can't pretend like I'm upset they woke me up to sneak out with them.
I rolled my eyes playfully and said, "Let's go then. How will we get to wherever we're going?"
"Dad bought me a car a couple of weeks ago," Joey informed me as he led us outside and to the garage.
"Wouldn't opening that garage door be noisy?" I asked.
"Yes, which is why you and Jacob will be lifting the garage door by hand, and I will quietly drive outside."
"But we're too short to lift it high enough for the roof of the car to make it through!" argued Jacob.
Joey thought for a moment, "Which means you'll drive, Jacob."
"What? No! I don't know how to drive!"
"I'll show you want to do, okay? I'll show you what pedals to step on, then Lillie Joe and I will lift the door. You'll be fine."
"But-"
Before Jacob could argue any further, Joey was already dragging him to his car. He opened the door and shoved Jacob inside and started instructing him on what buttons and pedals to press and when to go and stop. Once Jacob said he understood, Joey ran further into the garage and grabbed a step stool for me.
"Here you go, shorty," he teased.
"Shut up," I growled and stood on it.
Joey counted down from three and we lifted the door at the same time once he said 'Go'. Once the door was open enough, Jacob began driving out of the garage and stopped right outside the garage door. Joey and I slowly and quietly moved the door closer and closer to the ground, then Joey ran to the driver's side of his car while Jacob got into the backseat. I climbed into the passenger's side and Joey pulled off.
"Where are we going, Joe?" Jacob asked from the backseat.
"Are you guys hungry?" Joey asked us.
"Very," Jacob and I said in unison.
Joey chuckled, "There's this diner that's open 24/7 that Mom and Dad love to go to together. They took me twice and the food was amazing! I want to go there."
The three of us rode in silence until we finally made it to our destination.
We exited the car and entered the building. I was instantly hit with the smell of coffee and the sound of soft music. We sat at a booth near the window and waited for someone to take our orders. An older lady with a red and blue apron approached our table with a pen and notepad.
"You three seem a bit young to be out so late," she said, "where are your parents?"
"They're sleeping," Jacob exclaimed.
"I see," the lady nodded, "and do they know you're out here so late?"
"Yeah, they know," I said.
The lady eyed us for a brief moment, then took our orders. I ordered pancakes, sausages, and eggs. Jacob ordered grilled cheese and hashbrowns. Joey ordered French toast and bacon. We ate and joked around.
"What time is it?" Jacob asked.
"It's...," I checked my phone, "5:20. We've been here for half an hour."
"Without your parents, Ms. Armstrong?" A voice called. I turned to see Matt and Foggy.
"Matt! Foggy!" I cheered happily as I climbed out of my seat next to Jacob.
I hugged Foggy, then I hugged Matt.
"Where's your dad?" Foggy asked, "And who are they?"
"Our parents are sleeping," I informed them, "My brothers, Joey and Jacob, wanted to spend time with me, so we snuck out."
"Your parents are gonna freak out once they wake up and notice you're gone, Lillie Joe," Matt said, "They're gonna think someone took you, again."
"Lillie, who are they?" Jacob asked me.
"These are my lawyers, Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson," I answered
"Your name is Foggy?" Joey asked him.
"It's actually Franklin, but Matt nicknamed me 'Foggy' back in college and it kinda stuck," Foggy answered.
"So... how long have you been practicing law?"
Matt and Foggy stood there silently for a couple of seconds, then Matt turned to Foggy and asked, "What time is it?"
"5:22," Foggy answered.
"About 7 hours," Matt answered Joey's previous question.
Jacob and I giggled, but Joey eyed them suspiciously, "Well, I think it's about time we move on." He said while standing up.
"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Murdock, and Mr. Nelson," Jacob said as he followed Joey to the diner doors.
"Nice to meet you, too, kid," Foggy called.
Matt turned to me, "Promise me one thing, Lillie."
"What's up, Matt?" I asked.
"After today, never sneak out of your house again. It's really dangerous out there, especially at nighttime."
"Okay, I promise."
"See you around, kid," Matt said as he and Foggy hugged me.
"Bye, guys!" I called then exited the diner and made my way to Joey's car.
I hopped in and Joey drove off to our next destination.
_______________________
We visited some of Joey and Jacob's favorite places to go, for a couple of hours. I got to know a lot more about them, for they loved talking about their early memories and embarrassing each other. It was now 10:27 and we were finding another place to go.
"We have about an hour and a half before Mom and Dad wake up," Joey informed us, "is there a place you like to go, Lillie Joe?"
"I don't know any fun places, but there is a place I go to once in a while," I told him, "to visit someone."
"Alright, where do you wanna go?"
/////////////////////////////////////////
So, that's how we ended up at the cemetery. On the way there, I explained to my brothers that the people who kidnapped me adopted a girl named Regina when I was seven years old. She lived with us for three years, until she died during a school shooting. She was 13 at the time.
I always visit her grave once a week and tell her everything that's been going on in my life. I was there right now, while Joey and Jacob were sitting in the car waiting for me. I'm pretty sure they were watching a movie on Joey's laptop to keep them from growing impatient with me. My peace was interrupted by my phone ringing. It was Jefferson calling.
I answered his call and greeted him tiredly, "Hey, Jeffy."
"Hey, Lills," he greeted cheerfully, "I'm sorry, did I wake you? I can call back later-"
"No! No!" I interrupted, "I wasn't sleeping. I was just out for a long time and I'm tired."
"Well, then, I'll let you go to bed,"
"I can't, I'm not home."
"Really? Where are you?"
"I'm just visiting Regina's grave."
"Oh. You should've told me you wanted to go. We could've gone together."
"I have people to go with, now."
"Really? Who?"
"My brothers."
"What, brothers? Are they Gemma's kids?"
"My brothers from my real family. They're not related to Gemma. Anyways, it wouldn't matter. She's-"
"-in prison. I know. I got a call from a guy named Foggy Nelson telling me what happened. I'm so sorry I left you. I never thought she'd hurt you. I should've taken you with me."
"I'm not gonna lie and say that it's all okay, and I forgive you because you hate when you lie to me. I'm gonna be honest. I hated you for a long time after you left. I always held my pain against you. I'm just glad my Dad found me and took me to a safe place. So, thanks to you, i found my real family. If you took me with you, i wouldn't be able to do that."
"Who's your Dad?"
"Billie Joe Armstrong, my favorite guy."
"I thought I was your favorite guy!"
"I have no favorite guys."
"But you just said-"
"ANYWAYS, where do you live now?"
"I live in Ukiah, now. Where do you live?"
"Still stuck in Oakland."
"Well, at least I moved somewhere that's close to you."
"If you call 2 hours close, then I think you've mistaken my patience, Hatter."
"You know I hate you sometimes, right?"
"No, it never really turned up in our conversations," I rolled my eyes jokingly even though he couldn't see it. My phone started vibrating, and I saw Dad calling me, "But, hey, I'll talk to you later. My dad is calling on the other line."
"Alright, I'll talk to you later Lillie," Jefferson said, "I love you, kiddo."
"I love you, too, Jeff," I said as we said bye and hung up. I answered Dad's call, "Hello-"
"Where are you? Are you okay?" He asked frantically.
"I'm fine, Dad, I'm just... at a place."
"Well, could you tell me where that place is so I can come get you? Please?"
"Yeah. I'm, uh, I'm at the cemetery."
"What? The cemetery? Why?"
"I'll tell you once you get here."
"Alright. I'll be there in 20 minutes, Lillie."
"Okay, bye."
After I hung up the phone, I went back to Joey's car to tell him that Dad was coming to get me. He made a joke saying Dad loved me way more than he loved him and Jacob, and we all laughed. After checking for a third time if I was sure I'd be fine being on my own, I finally forced them to leave. Jacob hugged me, he was technically hugging my waist since he was much shorter than me, and hopped into the car. Joey waved bye and drove him and Jacob probably back to the house.
I stood at the entrance of the cemetery for about 10 minutes impatiently then went back to Regina's grave. I spent the last 15 minutes I was there, talking to her. Telling her everything that's been going on in my life this week, and how much I missed her. I told her about Ash-Lynn and my other friends not getting along with each other and how I met my real Dad at a school party. While I was still talking to her, I saw Dad walking towards me with a sad smile. I quickly said bye to Regina and walked to him.
"Hey," I said awkwardly.
"Lillie Joe, you worried us," Dad chuckled, "we thought something happened to you."
"You're proving Joey's point right now," I laughed.
"What point?"
"He said you and Mom love me way more than you love him and Jacob."
"Well, he's right. We do. Now, on our way home can you tell me why you were here and why you didn't tell anyone why you left?"
"I don't have a choice, do i?"
"Nope!" He said and started walking to his car with me following behind, tiredly.
He unlocked the door while I hopped in the passenger's seat and he got into the driver's seat. He started our conversation while he was driving.
"So," he started, "Who's grave was that?"
"It was my sister's," I said, quietly, while looking out the window.
"You have a sister?"
"Had. And, yeah. She was older than me by six years I think. Gemma and Jefferson adopted her. Did I ever tell you about Jefferson?"
"No, you haven't. Was he like... your Dad?"
"My stepdad, yeah."
"When's the last time you spoke to him."
"I was on the phone with him while you called me. He calls me, like, twice a week."
"How did Regina die?"
"School shooting. She was trying to save her two friends Amy and Mandy. Mandy's paralyzed from the waist down because she was shot in the spine, and Amy has a huge scar on her side from being grazed by the bullet. Regina got shot in her left lung and her stomach. The shooter was a girl named Jessica. She had some vendetta against Regina and her friends for some reason. She's in a psych ward now."
"Oh, geez. That's horrible. Wait, when did all of this happen?"
"Three years ago. I've been visiting her grave once a week every week, since then."
"You could've told me, y'know. Instead of sneaking out, you could've told me."
"I'm sorry, Dad."
"It's fine, just tell someone next time. Alright?"
"Okay."
We drove the rest of the way home making small conversations and telling jokes. When we finally got home, Mom tackled me in a hug. She was really worried since she couldn't find me. I told her I was fine and I was tired, so I went to my room and fell asleep.
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