LILYANNA'S P.O.V.
I stepped out of the college building taking a deep breath. The air was cool and crisp as the wind blew past me. I glanced down at my flower bouquet, the sweet fragrance floating in the wind. It made me smile seeing the bouquet of sunflowers and roses. I studied every detail of the flowers. From the dark crimson hue of the roses to the smooth blend of orange to yellow on the sunflower petals. These flowers were the first I've received in years, I almost forgot what it was like to receive a bouquet as a gift. I strode through the campus grounds until I reached the nursing building's parking lot. I looked through the isles of cars until I spotted Una's in the distance. I then walked to the car and waited for my best friend.
"Sorry I took so long, Lily" I looked up from the bouquet and found Una walking towards me. Her back was slouched over as she tiredly walked towards the car. Her eyes her drawn downwards towards her purse as she rummaged for her keys.
"No, it's okay, Una. I wasn't waiting here long anyway."
"What is that?" She pointed towards my flowers with an eyebrow raised.
"A flower bouquet." I covered my face with the flowers trying to hide my blushing cheeks.
"Okay, I'm confused. You go to Indigo's place but then you run away, and you have been jittery and on edge all weekend. Now you're admiring a bouquet which I can only assume is from Mr. tall, dark, and handsome himself. What the hell is going on with you? You've been practically ignoring me all weekend."
"I know I have been isolating myself. I just… I just have been going through a lot."
"Then talk to me, Lily. We're best friends, we tell each other everything. Plus you promised me you'd tell me why you were at Indigo's apartment in the first place."
"I just hadn't been in the right mindset to talk."
"Lily, you're scaring me. What is going on?"
"Can we talk about this at home? I don't want to talk about it in the parking lot."
"Do you promise to actually talk to me? Not hide in your room and only come out for food and the bathroom?"
"I promise."
"Thank goodness. You were starting to drive me up a damn wall." We both chuckled. "Come on, let's get home."
Una managed to dig out her keys and I heard the soft click of the car unlocking. She reached the driver's side of the car as I sat down in the passenger seat. After we both buckled I felt the car hum as she turned the key in the ignition. Radio music filled the car as she pulled us out of the driveway and merged us onto the road.
"Look, I know you said you wanna talk when we get home but I need to know something. What are you planning on doing about Indigo?"
"I still don't know. Truth be told, I'm scared."
"Does he make you happy?"
"Yes. It is so hard to explain but whenever I'm around him it's like the rest of the world disappears. Like time is frozen in place and we're the only ones who can move. I… feel so comfortable around him, like I've known him for years. Yet I've only known him for a week. I can't wrap my head around why I feel this way, and that frightens me."
"Honey… that's what love is. You're falling for him… I think you're just too afraid of what that means for you."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're so worried about the future that it's causing you to forget about the present. You keep thinking about if he's going to hurt you, or if he is going to be like Jason. That you forget what it means to live in the moment and be happy. I think you tried living in the moment when you were with Indigo, but you ended up second-guessing yourself and backed out at the last minute."
"You… might be right."
"Lily, It's okay to be happy. But you'll never find happiness if you don't take a risk. I know that it is a lot sooner than you would have wanted it. However, sometimes blessings come at the wrong time."
"I just don't want to rush things."
"Then don't. Take as much time as you need, but stop pushing away the people who care about you."
"Including Indigo?"
"Including Indigo."
"Maybe you're right."
"Umm, excuse me? I'm always right."
"Umm, you most certainly are not."
"You're just jealous."
"Never," I said sarcastically before we laughed in unison.
"I missed this. I missed you, Lily. You just haven't been yourself since that stupid college party."
"Yeah… It seems that party flipped my whole world upside down."
"I'm just happy to see you smiling again."
"Damn, would you look at that, we're already home," I said as Una pulled into the parking lot, parking the car in her assigned spot. We both got out of the car and walked toward our apartment door. As we approached closer I noticed that something was off. The door was slightly ajar and there were big splinters of wood laying on the ground. Una continued to walk forward, not noticing the compromised door.
"Una, wait." I placed my hand on her chest causing the bag with the glass vase to swing and hit her.
"Ow! What the fuck is in that bag?"
"Sorry, it's the vase that came with the flowers."
"Fuck that hurt. What did you do that for?"
"Look." I pointed to the door. Una's face sunk as she realized that our door was broken into.
"Shit! The one fucking day I left my phone at home to charge! Lily, do you have your phone with you? We need to call 911."
"No I don't, my phone has been on the spritz so I was planning on getting a new one. But I've been hiding out in my room so I haven't been able to go to my phone provider."
"Shit, Shit, Shit!"
"What are we gonna do, Una?"
"I'm gonna knock on a few of our neighbor's doors, hopefully, they can help us call the police. Just stay here okay."
"Yeah, no problem."
Una walked off and knocked on the apartment door next to ours. She ended up knocking on a few more doors but no one answered her.
~Maybe whoever broke in is long gone. I can just go in and grab Una's phone, that way we can call the police. I don't know how much longer it will take for Una to find someone who is willing to help.~
I gradually got closer to the door and opened it with my shaky left hand. I gasped in shock as I walked into our apartment. Cupboards and drawers were ransacked as if the person was looking for something. But it didn't make sense because nothing valuable was missing. Plates were smashed on the floor, drawers were on the ground, and papers were scattered everywhere.
~This isn't a robbery… this is a message.~
I thought back to the text I received on Thursday. I tried so hard to forget about it, trying to convince myself that it was sent to the wrong number. That there is nothing I need to worry about because I have a restraining order and there is no way Jason can find me. But my confidence was now shaken. I started panting as tears swelled up in my eyes, panic set in causing my head to throb and my hearing to be clouded in static.
"Lily!" I turned to find Una running through the door. "What the fuck is wrong with you!? I asked you to stay outside!"
"I'm sorry, Una. I just thought it would be faster to grab your phone from the house."
"Damn it, Lily." Una walked in front of me still facing my direction. "We need to get out of here now! What if whoever broke in is still here!?"
I stuttered, not knowing what to say.
~What was I thinking?~
My eyes grew wide as I saw someone approach from the left side of the apartment. Their walk was slow and menacing and my chest tightened as a sense of dread filled the space around me. The more they came into focus, the more fear I felt. I recognized the tall build, dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes. My heartbeat flooded my sense of hearing as I realized that in his hand was a porcelain lamp.
"Una, look out!" I screamed, yet before she could react he raised the lamp up and smashed it against the side of her head. Una fell to the floor, parts of her hair were now wet with blood. Shattered pieces of the lamp laid on the wooden tile. I gasped for air as he clenched his hand around my neck, lifting me off of the floor. My throat stung as his grip got tighter and tighter. I stared at the bouquet that I loved so much, falling to the ground against Una's stiff body. I glanced up into his eyes, they were cold and angry. My hands shook as I frantically pulled at his fingers, trying to get his grip loose enough so I could breathe. Though the more I tried the tighter his grasp got.
"Hello, Lilyanna. It's so nice to see you again after all this time. I missed you so much baby, why'd you run away? You know I don't like it when you run away." He spoke with a threatening grin.
~Shit, Jason's going to kill me!~