"What now?" Lily sounded annoyed.
Raising one eyebrow, Ray replied, "Huh?"
Great. Just great! You ruined my moment with Dan, and all you could say is a freaking huh? Lily wanted to let him know what she was really feeling.
"Sorry. Please let me rephrase my question for you then. What do you want from me now? Why are you here? Getting crazy in there, huh?"
On one hand, she was annoyed. On the other hand, Ray was amused. He had that smirk of his again. He was chuckling to himself.
Lily was observing him and trying to understand what was going on in the mind of the troublemaker grandson of the town mayor.
Oh boy, why am I even trying to talk to him?
Ray finally replied, "Headstrong as always and clearly annoyed I see."
Lily really wanted to ram his face with her bottle of beer just to see if it would break the almighty Ray Carter. Despite the thought, she tried not to be violent. Maybe next time she thought. She only silently groaned and resigned to the idea of being his unfortunate drinking buddy.
Everything was awkward. The silence was too much. Both of them were quiet. Lily preferred the loud music inside more than the silence out there in the open. Ironic. Having Ray beside her was not exactly taking a breather.
Ray Carter was grinning like a fool, obviously drunk, while she was still confused about what happened with Dan a while ago. About what could have happened.
What was that all about? She asked herself. She couldn't forgive herself for being so careless about her feelings for Dan. She almost kissed him! But she was confused as to how and why.
Ah, the world and its many mysteries.
Both Lily and Ray sat on the patio steps and drank their beer. Nobody dared to utter words. Neither of them wanted to force it. The band was still playing inside, the Halloween pumpkins were grinning, and the candles on the floor were fast melting.
Lily's eyes focused on the stars in the night sky instead. She wondered how far they were from her reach. Out of her mortal reach. She made a wish that she always had since she was a little girl.
She wanted her dad back.
Only thinking about it, she felt tears already forming in her eyes. She willed them to disappear, of course. She truly wished her dad was still alive.
But reality hurt.
She already knew her wish would never come true. Her dad was forever gone. The dead never come back to life. As well as the life one shared with them never would.
Ten years ago, Lily lost her dad in a car accident. Ever since that tragedy, her life had not been the same anymore. Hers and her mom's.
Their life after her dad's death began again for the both of them to be a life of just her and her mom in it.
They still had each other. They absolutely loved and cared for each other dearly, and their bond as mother and daughter was stronger than ever.
But over the years, the distance between them was a necessary way of coping. Lily in Fram Hill to be with her paternal grandmother; Her mom Aiko in the big city to work.
The setup was a lonely cure to slowly recover from their shared loss.
Lily's mom was just a phone call away, but there were days that a phone call was not enough. She needed her mom's hugs and protection. She even cried at nights when either she missed her mom's calls or thought her mom missed hers. She hated crying but her mom was her best friend she could not help it.
She was missing her had. She was missing her mom too.
A bottle of beer in her hand on a night of partying wasn't enough to fill that void.
"I'm sorry."
Lily almost broke her neck when she abruptly turned to look at Ray. "What?"
"I said I'm sorry. I didn't mean to walk on you and Dan like that. I didn't mean to annoy you. I may be indifferent but I know how to be sensitive too... ", he looked at her and smiled, "Sometimes."
Gee... okay. "Oh."
Ray toyed with the hem of her dress. Lily noticed a particular look on his face. Happy? Funny? Satisfied? Conspiring? Playful? She could not put a name on it. He seemed to enjoy playing with her dress's hemline.
She did not know whether to call him out about it and hit his hand off her dress.
Or just play along and pray to feel good about it.
Whatever it was he was doing she thought that Ray Carter was one of the oddest persons she knew in Fram Hill.
What a mysterious character he is if I am honest, Lily decided.
"You looked good tonight. Fun." He looked at her and smiled.
Gee... "Oh--- thanks?"
"You're cute."
Cute? She was actually hoping for "gorgeous" as an adjective to describe her.
Or an oh-damn-girl-you-look-mouth-watering-that-I-can't-take-my-eyes-off-you-and-I-am-thirsty-for-you-right-now-I-could-swallow-you-whole.
Yeah, right. A witch for a Halloween party look. Not exactly mind-blowing is it? A girl could dream, right?
Ray was still playing with the hem of her dress when a loud crash was heard from inside the house.
Glass breaking. People shouting. Dread was the feeling that came to both Ray and Lily who immediately stood up and went running to the house, wanting to know what it was all about.
Right in the middle of the crowd, an angry Jake Wright stood, and a whimpering Guy Lowell was on the floor. The former was kicking the latter in the gut. A classic picture of a bully overpowering the bullied.
Lily felt Ray stiffen beside her. His hands were shaking.
She could not explain it. She just knew that Ray Carter got himself into trouble.
Again.
Reckless was the next word that popped into her mind.
***