Chapter 2
912 Words
Chapter Two
“Oi! I’m here to help!” Lilith banged her fists on the green door, her face flushed from anger. “You ungrateful lot!”
Sam grimaced. “Lilith…”
“If you don’t open this door, I’m going to—”
“Well, well, well,” a voice said from behind them.
A slender figure emerged from the stone path, hands folded behind his back and an infuriating smirk plastered on his lips.
Lilith narrowed her eyes. “Rex. What are you doing here?”
The man chuckled. “Just responding to a noise complaint.”
“So are we. Go home, I got this.”
“No, this noise complaint is about you. I think Jonathan and his family are fed up. You’re ruining a perfectly nice evening.”
Samantha studied the newcomer and despite some obvious differences, she quickly drew similarities between him and Lilith. The confidence, the natural authority, and most notably, those piercing blue eyes. He had to be related to her in one way or another.
“I’ll handle this,” Rex said.
“Oh, please.” The blue in Lilith’s eyes flickered dangerously. “You’re only doing this to show me up. I’ve got this under control, Cousin.”
Just like Samantha thought. Related.
Not that that explained everything. Lilith’s family was complicated and messy. She’d learned that while extracting Ian from the Gravitas clan.
Rex chuckled darkly. “Really? Then why are you standing in front of a locked door? Cousin. Nobody wants your help so just let me do my thing. Unlike you, I actually care about the clan.”
Before Lilith could protest, Rex straightened his tie and knocked on the green door. “Jon? It’s Rex here.”
Within seconds, the door swung open by the same large man. His wrinkled forehead smoothed out and he laughed. “Rex! It’s good to see you man. Thanks for coming so quickly.”
The two men exchanged pleasantries, both pretending Sam and Lilith weren’t there. Jonathan welcomed Rex into his house and as Lilith stood to follow them, the door was slammed in her face.
“Well… I think that is pretty clear,” Samantha noted dryly. “I guess you were right when you said you weren’t very popular.”
The woman next to her scoffed. “You think?”
“So… now what?” Samantha asked, shuffling back onto the stone path to regain some space. Between her, Lilith, and the garden gnome, the porch was crowded. Being this close to her companion was dangerous. She wasn’t exactly sure why, a woman like Lilith would never go for her, but better safe than sorry. This was not a friendship she wanted to mess up.
“I… don’t know.” Lilith stared at the closed door, her confident composure shaken. “We’re not going to be let in, are we?”
Sam pulled a face. “Unlikely.”
They exchanged a look of defeat and followed the stone path back to the street. Samantha glanced back at the house with mixed feelings churning through her. They came with good intentions, but none of that mattered if the people didn’t want to accept their help. It wasn’t the first time she experienced this but it never stopped hurting.
The two women walked in silence, both processing their emotions. They stopped at the crossroads, waiting for the light to turn green.
“What do I do now?” Lilith asked. “I… Nobody likes me or trusts me to fix their problems. They don’t want anything to do with me. How can I run the clan if there’s no respect?”
Samantha waited for her partner to finish before she spoke. “I like you.”
A gust of wind tugged on Lilith’s hair and tangled it in front of her face. She brushed it away and scoffed. “You’re different. Everyone else is scared of me.”
“You are pretty scary,” Samantha teased. “I know that helping other people isn’t really your strong suit, but you’ll get there. That’s what these tasks are for, right? Practice. There’s plenty of time. You’ll get the hang of it—”
“He’s sick.”
“Oh.” Sam took in a sharp breath. “He…?”
“The Boss… My father.” Lilith averted her gaze, her shoulders tensed. “The doctor doesn’t know what’s wrong with him. He only has months left.”
That changed things. And explained a few.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine… It’s not like he was the greatest father anyway. Maybe Rex is right… I don’t care about all those tiny problems, not really. I don’t want a life of chasing balloons for crying girls or listening to petty arguments.”
“You can care without doing all that.”
“Can I really? How am I going to follow in the footsteps of my father? Everyone only tolerates me. How can I uphold his legacy, his… his… Without him… I…”
Without thinking, Sam reached out to Lilith. The wind tugged on her sleeves, almost like it was encouraging her to get closer. A single flutter passed through her but she ignored it. Her friend needed a hug and that was all that mattered.
She wrapped her arms around Lilith, hoping that it was the right thing to do. The other woman stiffened for a second before she relaxed. Her hands grabbed hold of Sam’s coat like she was clinging on for dear life.
“‘I don’t know how to do this,” Lilith croaked.
Not sure what to say, Sam stroked her back. “I know…”
The other woman tensed, her voice disintegrating with every word. “I’m not ready.”
Lilith’s shoulders shook and Sam could only tighten her embrace. There was a certain helplessness that came with consoling someone strong, someone that never cried. She’d never seen Lilith vulnerable like this and she wished she could find the right words or do something to make it better. But when it came to the passing of a parent… there was nothing that could make it better.
- Writer
