Other than her constant need for attention, Lily was everything and then some. She made decent grades, went to school functions and knew how to party. The golden hair and bright blue eyes that lead to her perfectly fit body didn't hurt either.
The guys had given me a hard time when she first started hanging around. I could tell when she started getting ignored, or the guys just stared at her when she spoke, that they weren't accepting her. Even Blaine hadn't spent more than a few minutes with her. They could be in the room for hours and not say a word.
Blaine was even willingly going out with Heather to the mall and the salon. If she wasn't with Heather, she was with Finn. It was as if she was taking my place in my group of friends. I knew deep down I wasn't being pushed out, or excluded. It was because none of them knew how to handle Lily.
"So, I think we should skip the field party this weekend," Lily chirped from beside me. My hand hovered over the Algebra wedged in my locker.
"What," I glanced at her. She was running her fingers through her curls.
"You said your dad is out of town, and Blaine will follow Finn wherever he ends up. That means," she rested her hand on my arm. She leaned closer, her voice was filled with more than just hope as her breath tickled my skin. "Your place will be completely empty."
"It will," I mumbled as I slammed my locker shut.
"Lil," Jade's annoying voice cut off what her friend was about to say. I looked over my shoulder and caught sight of the human equivalent of a gnat. It was the only thing I agreed with the others on. Lily looped her arm with Jade's as she walked past.
"We'll talk about it after practice." She waved at Jade when she asked what we were talking about. I watched as they sauntered down the hall. A heavy arm fell across my shoulders and I pushed it away.
"Buh-Bye, Lily," Shane waved his hand.
"Why do you have to be an ass?"
"Because your raidar sucks, man. She's got something up her teeny-tiny skirt, but you're too distracted by the denim."
"What's up her skirt is not something you need to worry yourself with." I started on my trek to class with Shane hot on my heels.
"She's got you wrapped around that finger of hers."
"No she doesn't," I snapped too quickly.
"Then why did Finn tell me that Blaine's been crashing over there when she's not at Heather's. Hell, she's stayed at my place twice since the party."
"She has?" We were standing outside of our class. The books in my hand suddenly feeling heavy.
"The fact that her big-bad-protective brother hasn't noticed her absence," Shane shrugged walking backwards toward class. "Speaks louder than anything else in this world."
The bell rang overhead and it didn't seem to be obnoxious as it had in the past. His words hit me harder than a two hundred pound linebacker coming across the line. The pain started in my gut, then radiated through every muscle in my body.
Blaine had been putting space between us for weeks. I didn't even see it happening. Looking down to the far end of the hall, where Lily and Jade has disappeared, the pain in my stomach nearly caused me to double over. I had been so lost that I was numb to everything happening around me.
My sister jumped as I sat beside her. Heather cocked an eyebrow at me. Cam slowed his chewing while his eyes darted between Blaine and I. Not even Joe, or Finn traded tables in the cafeteria. I ignored her friends and bumped her shoulder with mine.
"What are you doing tonight?"
"Well, Coach wants me at practice so probably going to Finn's." I had to fight the frown. Now that I was fully aware of her sleepovers, it was a lot harder to not scold her.
"How about we do movies and Chinese tonight?"
"You hate Chinese," she looked at me skeptically.
"I don't see you much anymore," I shrugged. The doubt was still plastered on her face. "What?"
"You," she pointed at me. "You're acting weird."
"Shut up," I bumped her again and wrapped my arm around her.
"Just you and me?"
"Just you and me." All the hesitation left her face as she beamed. Just like that, my little sister looked like herself again. What was even better was that I had done it. Not Finn. Not Joe. Not Shane. Me. "Meet me at my truck after practice."
"Run it again," Coach Gilly shouted. Blaine rolled her shoulders as she took Shane's place. Joe pointed at me then his eyes and back again. The shit eating grin on his face must mirror my own. The clatter of pads and helmets slamming into each other was followed by the sharp cry of a whistle. Blaine's hands rested on her hips as she stared at Coach. "Be ready to do better tomorrow."
Holding on to the facemask of her helmet in one hand, she held Finn's hand in the other. She was laughing as he talked. Part of me was surprised they made it this far. Almost two months and still going strong. My own anger had faded about them being together. He treated her right and made her laugh.
I left the locker room and headed toward the parking lot in search of my sister. A hand grabbed mine as another wrapped around my wrist. I didn't have to look to know it was Lily. I did anyways. Her lips were turned up as she batted her lashes.
"So about this weekend?"
"I can't." My untrapped hand rubbed my neck as we walked.
"What do you mean you can't," she tilted her head. Most would have been puzzled, but she looked more annoyed. "Got something better going on?"
"Yeah," I shrugged. Then shook my head. "I mean, no. I just want to spend time with the guys and Blaine."
"You see them everyday," she pouted. "We don't get this chance very often."
Lies, I thought to myself. I slowed as we neared my truck. Blaine was sitting on the tailgate, her feet swinging back and forth. Finn stood in front of her. I watched as the joy on her face faltered and Finn looked to see what caused it. His shoulders rose, then fell as his head shook.
"Listen, Blaine and I are doing movie night and I promised her dinner. Can we argue about this tomorrow?"
"Movie night? You're ignoring this for movies." She dropped her hold on my hand to cross her arms over my chest. The pout had hardened into a glare.
"Lily," I ran a hand through my hair. My gaze drifted to over her shoulder to Blaine. She had her bag slung over her shoulder. Finn watched as she passed him before looking at me. He gestured to my sister as she stalked off toward his car. "Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm all yours."
"Fine," the angry blonde spat. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she stormed off to her own car. I looked back to find Finn and Blaine arguing at the front of his car. She pointed at me then back at Finn. He held a hand out in a stop motion while he tried to reason with her.
"Hey," I interrupted. My hands had burrowed into my pockets when Blaine's eyes narrowed on me. "Chinese?"
"You promised just the two of us," her voice cracked as she bit out the words.
"The only other person here is Finn."
"And Lily?"
"We're going to talk tomorrow." It hurt when she looked to Finn for reassurance instead of taking me at my word. He nodded. I waited nervously as her hand tapped against her leg. With a huff, she stormed back in the direction of my truck.
"You know, she was really excited about tonight. Don't get me wrong, I like when she stays over but she misses being at home."
"I didn't know it was this bad."
"Just like you didn't know about her cutting class last year," Finn muttered opening his door. "I'm glad you got that rage under control."
"Look," I growled, taking a step closer. Blaine's firm tone kept me glued in place.
"You owe her dinner, and I imagine a lot of musicals."
I was climbing into my truck when I saw his car slowly pulled out its spot. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Glancing at Blaine I was met with the back of her head. She was staring out the open window, her legs crossed at the knee to match her crossed arms.
"I had no intentions of inviting Lily I've tonight. I keep my word, remember?" My truck rattled to life and I guided it out of the lot.
"You looked like you were about ready too." Bitterness mixed with her soft voice.
"How do you figure that?" Her head snapped in my direction. The familiar hazel was dark as her eyes bored into me.
"She was clinging to you and batting her lashes."
"You do that to Finn," I shrugged trying to avoid the warfare that was building as I pulled into the driveway.
"There's one difference between you and Finn." I sighed waiting for her to continue. "It doesn't take him three days to realize how royally he fucked up. And he sure as shit doesn't use movies and dinner to make up for it."
The passenger door screeched as she forced it open, then again when she slammed it shit. I could see her throw the bag to the floor as she left the door to our home wide open for me. I'm pretty sure we left the musical torture behind and skipped directly to b-list children's movies of the nineties.
I forced out of my truck and stormed into the house. Slamming the door shut, I scanned the living room. When I didn't see my sister, I stalked off to her room. I let out a frustrated sigh when I came face to face with her door. Music blasted from inside. Knowing better, I couldn't stop myself.
"What do you have against her?" The music didn't soften making my temper boil a little more. My fist pounded on the door. "Lainey. Open the damn door."
I gave her another minute before I tried the knob. Pushing open the door, I cursed. The music was playing from the speakers on her dresser, but she was nowhere in sight. Her window was wide open. The curtains flapped from the wind filling her room. I rubbed the back of my neck before leaving her room.
Pulling my cell from my pocket, I punched in my sister's numbers. A vibrating rippled across the dresser as my ringtone played out. My hand curled around my phone as my head dropped back. Ending the call, I clicked on Finn's name and brought the phone back to my ear.
"Pick up your phone," I muttered repeatedly. His voicemail requested I leave a message. "Call me. Laine's on her way to you. I... I need to know she's safe."
Before I knew what I was doing, I was in my truck and calling Shane. He laughed at me after I told him what had happened. Telling me a dozen times to go straight to his place, I shrugged him off. I had to find Blaine. Finn's was first, then I'd go to Heather's. Shane's would be the last place I would look for her.
My fist hammered on the front door. Both of their cars weren't at the house, but that didn't mean someone wouldn't know where they went. The door flew open and a flustered Mrs. James stood on the other side.
"Lucas," she eyed me from head to toe. "Finn's not here."
"I was hoping you knew where he went. Blaine forgot her phone, and I think she's with him." She pursed her lips as she shifted on her feet.
"He didn't mention seeing your sister today. They seem to be spending a lot of time together."
"He's been really good for her."
"I wish I could say the same." She forced a smile. "If you run into him, please remind him he has family dinner tomorrow."
"Sure." She nodded her head then shut the door. Dismissing me from her presence.
My truck grumbled as I slowed out front of Heather's house. She was perched on the porch swing, painting her nails. Her eyes met mine and she closed up the bottle. Waving her hands to dry the polish, she approached my truck. I shifted my truck into park.
"She isn't here." I gave her a pleading look, unable to utter the true plea. "I'm not telling you where she is. You deserve to run around town."
"I didn't do anything."
"You don't see it."
"Heather, please."
"You're her role model, Luke. She looks up to. She expects you to be the crazy guy who hovers." She carefully crossed her arms to leave her nails exposed. "Her world goes out of whack every time you put her up on a shelf."
"She wanted her freedom. Fought me tooth and nail to get it."
"She didn't want you to leave her in the dust."
"I didn't think I had."
"You really need to step back and think about that again." She shook her head at me as she retreated. With too much force, I shifted my truck back into drive. I rolled three stop signs and sped the entire way to Shane's.
I glared at my friend as he waited in the driveway for me. He wore a bored expression and his hands were lazily shoved into his pockets. I threw my arms out as I neared him. He rolled his shoulders, ignoring the anger growing on my face.
"Come inside." He nodded to the house.
"Only if Blaine is in there."
"Don't make me kick your ass all the to the living room." My jaw tightened as he grinned. He strolled back into the house, and I followed knowing better. Joe was sprawled out on the couch, the remote in his hand as he flipped through the channels. His eyes flicked to me then back to the television. Finn came around the corner with a bag of chips in his hand.
His eyes met mine and my body ran cold. She wasn't with him. I started back to the door. A hand slammed into my chest and forced me to stop. Shane nodded his chin toward the couch. He was determined to keep me here. Probably willing to throw a punch to keep me in place.
"She's safe." I turned to face Finn. His feet were propped up on the coffee table. "I set her up with some Chinese food."
"Where do you get off," I growled. Joe was on his feet making himself a wall.
"When was the last time you saw her break down?" I froze, my eyes narrowing on him. "It took her all of two minutes before she fell apart."
Shane's hand rested on my shoulder and I shoved it off. I hadn't seen my sister cry since our mom left. I remember coming home after a pick up game to her sniffling from the couch. I sat beside her and tried to coax her into a better mood. She kicked at my hand when I tried to tickle her. I was getting ready for another attack when I saw a crumpled piece of paper on the floor.
Blaine had thrown herself at me trying to get the paper from my hand as I held it over my head. After the first sentence, my hand slowly dropped. I could feel my eyes widen as I continued reading. My sister moved to sit beside me. Her little hands kept rubbing her eyes. My stomach knotted as her body shook. She was trying to stay quiet. My arm wrapped around her as I crumpled the paper in my hand.
"What do I need to do?" They all shared a look.
"An apology for starters." My stare returned to Finn. "A real one and maybe you can try to ask her what's going on."
"You know why she's acting out."
"She has abandonment issues, man," Joe added. "What's going to happen at the end of this year?"
"She thinks I'm going to leave her after graduation."
"Good to know you can get an academic scholarship." Joe snorted as he fell back onto the couch.
"That's still to be seen," Finn spat as he crossed his arms.
"When did you grow a pair?" Joe sighed as Shane stepped between us this time.
"Cool it." He threw a glare at Finn. "Both of you."
My hand rubbed the back of my neck as I dropped into one of the chairs. The weight of their stares doubled the tension in my neck. Meeting each of them, I leaned back in the chair.
"She's safe?"
"Yeah."
"Just tell me where." Finn looked to Shane and Joe. Joe shrugged and Shane nodded.
"She's upstairs. Probably asleep if she hasn't come down to yell."