*Lilah's POV*
"There's nothing else I can do for him right now," my dad repeated. "And you can't do anything for him either, now let's go home," he said with finality in his voice.
I sighed. "Please let me stay," I pleaded for probably the hundredth time.
Jeff placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'll be here, Lilah. You can go home," he reassured me.
I sent my father one last hopeful look but he simply shook his head. I sighed in defeat and headed out to the car.
We drove home in silence for most of the way.
"Would you like to explain to me why I just bailed out some boy I don't know?" my father finally spoke.
"I'll pay you back," I told him. I would just have to sacrifice some of my studio time.
He sighed, clearly noticing that I wasn't really in the mood for a discussion. "Alright," he said as we pulled into the driveway. "We don't have to talk about this now. Let's go inside. I'm sure your mother is very worried about you."
We walked inside and Logan looked at me warily. A look that we usually gave each other when we were concerned about the other one getting in trouble.
"What happened?!" my mother ran over. "What did you do?!" she asked, her eyes narrowing on me.
"I was there for a friend," I said simply before heading to the stairs, suddenly feeling very exhausted. But I stopped and turned around. "You know, I really don't appreciate how you just automatically assume that I did something wrong," I said angrily as my voice started to rise.
"Don't you use that tone of voice with me, young lady," she scolded.
"You know what Mom? Just save the whole act. You've never treated me like a daughter before so why start now?" I said before storming up the stairs.
"Well, no daughter of mine is a delinquent!" she shouted.
I was really close to flipping her the bird when Logan spoke. "Just stop, Mom."
I shut the door behind me. Tears threatened to spill over when there was a soft knock on my bedroom door.
"Hey, can I come in?" Logan asked, slowly cracking the door open and sticking his head in.
I nodded and he entered. I tried to keep my composure as he came closer.
"Just ignore what Mom said. She doesn't know what she's talking about."
I stiffly nodded but a sob wracked through me and managed to escape. I'm usually not a hugger but in that moment I really needed it. I had a full night.
"You wanna talk about it?" he asked and I nodded. And I told him everything.
I mean, what else is a twin brother for?
*****
After I had calmed down, Logan and I played cards until we both grew tired enough to sleep. It was something that we had always done as kids to get our minds off of things.
The next morning I rushed to school, ignoring my sleep deprived body telling me to go back to bed. I was anxious to see Reece and finally get some answers. When I pulled into the school parking lot I saw him near the entrance talking to Carter and Devon. He looked tired as well.
I hesitantly got out of the car and started walking towards him. Carter saw me first and nudged Devon and they both started backing away. Reece looked up at me and a pained expression came across his face. I wanted to hug him. But I didn't. I wanted to give him some space.
"Lilah, I am so sorry for the other night," he started. "You shouldn't have been there, and I just-" he faltered over his words. "I don't know why you bailed me out, but I am really grateful and will find a way to pay you back. I promise," he said in a rush.
"What happened, Reece?" I asked him.
He groaned. "I wish you had never seen me like that," he said.
I shook my head as I heard the bell ring. I looked over at Carter and Devon who were standing a distance a way. "Cover for us," I told them before grabbing Reece's hand and pulling him toward my car.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"We are skipping school," I replied. I had never skipped school before, but I was honestly too tired and had too many things on my mind to concentrate at the moment.
"Lilah, no," he said as he firmly placed his feet on the ground, forcing me to a stop as well. "You don't have to do this."
"Well, I want coffee and I'm sure you do too. So quit complaining and get in the car," I demanded.
I expected him to tease me, or give me his usual smirk. But he didn't. He simply did as I told him without another word. We drove in silence to Starbucks and we didn't say another word until we were back in the car with our orders.
I sighed after taking a sip. "You don't have to feel guilty for me finding you. It wasn't your fault I was taken with you," I said breaking the silence.
"Why did you bail me out?" he asked. "Why didn't you just leave me there?"
I gave him an incredulous look. "I couldn't just leave you there, Reece."
"Why not?" he challenged, finally looking at me.
I was silent. If Reece could avoid questions, then so could I. "Tell me what happened. Why were you out there?"
He looked away. "Did Jeff tell you anything about my dad while you were there?" he asked.
I shook my head, then realized he wasn't looking at me. "No," I said quietly.
"He died two years ago," Reece began. "I had just gotten my learners permit. I was so excited to drive so he took me out driving. We were coming up to a light. It had turned yellow and I was still pretty far away. But I didn't care. I wanted to impress him. I wanted to show him how daring I could be," he explained as he laughed darkly. "I wasn't even close to making it, but I was going too fast to stop. So-" he took a labored breath. "-so we crashed into another car. My father died and the other driver was put into a coma. The other driver just happened to be my mother's best friend who was driving home from work. I took two people away from their friends and families," he said as his shoulders shook. "My mother will never forgive me," he said in a watery voice. "It was all my fault," he said as he put his head in his hands.
I put my hand on his back. "Don't think like that Reece. It was just an accident."
"It was all my fault!" he shouted and I retracted my hand with a jolt. "I was being arrogant and stupid and now my father is dead!" he shouted through a sob. "How can you say that it's not my fault?" he asked.
I was at a loss for words as I watched him break down. Just as I was about to say something he hastily wiped his eyes and spoke.
"My mother, who used to only drink at weddings, now has a severe drinking problem. So she struggles to keep her employment," he went on. "That's why I fight so much. People bet on me, and when I win, I usually get enough money to help pay the bills. Anyway, my mom lost her job again a few days ago. Started drinking. I got upset. So I figured since it worked so well for my mom, why not have a drink or two myself?" he said dryly. "I was heading for the batting cage when I saw our car. Well, not our car, but to my drunken self, it was my dad's car. Same type, color, everything. And that is the last thing I remember," he explained before taking a big gulp from is coffee cup. He shook his head. "You should've just left me there," he said quietly.
"Don't do that," I said quietly.
"Don't do what?" he asked in a monotone voice.
"Don't blame yourself for this. For any of it. Everyone makes mistakes Reece. We can either let them destroy us, or we can learn from them. And you are letting it destroy you."
He snorted. "What do I have to learn from it, Lilah? Huh?! Don't speed? I think I've got that covered."
"Stop being so damn stubborn and listen to me!" I shouted. "Don't beat yourself up for it, Reece. Everything happens for a reason. I don't know what that reason is, but if you just sit here dwelling in it, then you'll never be able to find out what that reason is! I don't think your father would've wanted you to be so broken. I think he would've wanted you to move on."
"How would you know?! You have NO idea what I feel right now!" he shouted and I winced.
"You're right. I have absolutely no idea what you're feeling right now and I honestly don't know how I would've handled it if I were in your situation. But what I do know is that you are a good person, Reece. And you don't deserve all the blame you are putting on yourself," I didn't even realize I was crying until I felt a tear fall on my hand.
A look of shock crossed over his face before he looked back down at his coffee. "I'm sorry I yelled at you," he said quietly.
I wiped my face and started the engine. "Quit apologizing."
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"Somewhere special," I replied as I pulled out of the parking lot.
I turned onto a rocky road and parked in the grass once it ended. I got out of the car and started walking and Reece followed quietly. We came up to the creek that was surrounded by weeping willows and maple trees.
"There used to be an old park here," I explained as we walked up to the swing set. "But the monkey bars rusted terribly and the slide fell apart so it was taken down," I said as I sat down in one of the swings. "You told me your father used to take you to the batting cage. Well, mine used to take me here. Whenever I was upset, he would sit on the swings with me and would point at the weeping willows and say, 'the weeping willows cry when you do, until their soft whispers calm you; and in that way, you are never alone'. It always made me stop crying for some reason," I said with a small smile. "Kind of corny, I know; but it was effective," I said as I looked over at him.
"I'm glad you brought me here," Reece said as gently swung back and forth.
We sat there in silence, enjoying the still quiet and the warmth from our coffees until my curiosity got the best of me.
"So, what's going to happen to you now?"
He sighed. "I don't know. I'll have to wait and see what the judge thinks. Jeff thinks I might wind up in juvie."
I frowned. "How do you know Jeff, anyway?"
He shrugged. "He was a friend of my father's. He is like an uncle to me. I'm lucky to have him around. He watches my back, you know?"
I nodded. "Will your mom be ok?"
He shrugged. "She won't remember anything when she wakes up," he said as he kicked the dirt beneath him.
I looked at my own feet awkwardly. "Um, I know this may not help, or anything, but your Mom does love you. I can tell you are very important to her," I spoke quietly. "It's nice to see," I told him truthfully. If only my mother could be the same.
"Alright," Reece said, suddenly standing up. "Enough with all of this sad talk. Let's go do something fun," he said with a small smile. It wasn't his usual smirk, but it was a start.
********
Hey, I know this is a short chapter BUT AT LEAST I UPDATED ON TIME! right?
Anyway, how are you guys liking the story so far? I am going to try to bring back the humor here because I seriously lost it in all of this depressing stuff. SO hopefully the next chapter will be pretty funny.
COMMENT! VOTE! PLEASE don't be a silent reader! I love reading your comments! :) Thank you!
Oh, and one more thing, I find it really difficult to write really serious and emotional scenes, so if you have any suggestions on how to improve on that, that would be spectacular. I just don't want it to be cheesy or anything, I want it to seem as realistic as possible. So yeah. Please let me know what you think.