It was winter ten years ago when James, her uncle came to pick her from school. she hadn't seen him in six months, and she was surprised he came for her. Even more surprising was the fact that his wife stood close to him and hugged her tightly. Seven-year-old Lilybeth was lost in the sudden show of unwarranted affection.
"Where's daddy?" she asked, not knowing the tragedy that had befallen her
"Why don't we get you home first? It is quite cold out here."
Lily watched as they carefully bundled her into the back seat of their rickety van. Instead of heading to the house she shared with her parents, they took her to theirs instead. where a lot of her parent's friends welcomed her with hugs and kisses. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that she won the lottery or something but the color black on everyone's skin made her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots a stray tear ride down Aunty Coco's face. then, the realization hits her as she remembers her father's words. "If something ever happens to me and your mother, Uncle James will come for you, go with him, he'll take good care of you."
Fast forward to ten years later, Uncle James did all but take care of her.
Lilybeth groaned as the five am alarm rang across her cramped room. Or rather, the basement allocated as her living space in her uncle's house. After contemplating her miserable life for a few seconds, she finally got out of bed and brushed her teeth. Soon, her uncle's kids would appear for their breakfast. Lily needed to prepare the food and disappear before the parents came down. The last thing she wanted was to see her uncle's eyes roving around her body. Each year that she used on Earth came with a different challenge. for a while, it was her toxic aunt. Later, her uncle's abusive temper joined the mix. But nothing could top it off like her uncle's harassing behavior. Even her cousins stealing from her was better suffering than her uncle making sexual advances towards her. Lily couldn't wait to clock eighteen in a month so she could move out of their house and get her own space. After getting dressed and making breakfast, she hurried out of the house and headed to her first job. Unfortunately, the few minutes spent contemplating her life landed her behind schedule.
Lilybeth ran along the road as she rushed to clock in for her morning shift. Failure to resume on time would attract a deduction from her weekly pay; a risk she wasn't willing to take. Working two jobs had taken its toll on her and she hardly had enough time to sleep. Lily doubled as a waitress in a diner during the day and as a bartender in the club at night. Yet, her combined paycheck wasn't still enough to cover all her needs and pay for her community college in Sunrise City- the land of big dreams. Though it was her dream to attend one of the Ivy League schools, insufficient funds have always deterred her, but she was determined to earn a degree no matter what.
Lily had always learned to fend for herself. she knew that she had no one else besides herself. Living with her abusive uncle testified to that fact. After the mysterious death of her parents, her father's younger brother and his wife took her in. The first few days under their roof were filled with love and compassion but the following weeks led to maltreatment. Working two jobs gave her the ability to minimize how often she saw them. Sometimes, The manager of the bar allowed her to spend a few hours after her night shift in the store instead of going home. Other times, she would sneak in at the early hours of the morning, sleep for two hours, make a quick breakfast for her thieving cousins, get dressed, and bolt out of the house to the diner as quickly as she could. Working her ass off like this also enabled her to take her mind off her problems. Being busy allowed her the luxury of acting like her life was completely problem-free.
Despite her hardships, she was always kind to people. Lily was an embodiment of sweetness and innocence. She always tried to see the good in people and help out whenever she could. She also dreamed of having her own family someday where there would be nothing but love and peace. The bell above the door of the diner jingled as she pushed it open and walked in.
"Five minutes late, Lily" Monica, the middle-aged manager muttered from behind the counter.
"I apologize. My cousin decided to throw a fit. "
"It is none of my business." Monica sounded both tired and indifferent. "Don't expect a complete pay on Sunday." She added in a sing-song voice
Lily groaned as she retreated to the store to change into her waitress uniform. The short Aline dress hugged her body perfectly and the deep plunge of the V-neck showed a seductive amount of her breasts. It was a customer-retaining strategy put in place by the lewd owner. After securing the apron with a double knot, she grabbed her notepad and a pen and hurried out. Big Pops was a busy diner owned by a chubby old man who entered cooking competitions and failed just as often as he participated. Within a few minutes of Lily's arrival, the diner was almost full of commuters ready to have breakfast before heading to their different places of work, and Lily quickly set about taking orders.
After standing on her feet for twelve hours, dealing with rude customers, and making multiple trips to the counter and kitchen, she was more than ready to clock out by six pm. Once a customer had called in with a complaint against her and requested Monica to fire her. Her crime was seducing the customer's husband when all she had done was to be polite. it wasn't her fault that the customer in question had a cheating partner who loved to flirt in her presence. But, in all honesty, Lily was a beautiful girl. She had blue eyes and long blond hair. She was petite with the right amount of curves, standing at five foot three inches, she had what it took to make men want to protect her. Lily gave off sweet, immaculate vibes- sometimes, men called her an angel.
An angel that some of them liked to harass especially at the bar where she worked from 9 pm-3 am. Good thing the bar's owner, Anthony, was her friend, and he was always ready to protect her from any abusive male. Once, he had threatened to beat up her uncle after offering her a room in his house. However, in her modest manner, Lily declined both offers. She would rather suffer than be dependent on any male. Lily was prepared to live a life of hardship as long as she achieved all her goals. Little did she know that life had a different fate for her. one tied to territories, war, and loyalties