But the escape was short-lived.
When she got home that evening, the tension in the air was thick, the kind of tension that made her stomach turn.
Alice was in the kitchen, her face hard, her eyes cold.
Dan sat in the living room, his jaw clenched as he stared at the blank TV screen.
"Lily," Alice's voice cut through the silence as soon as she walked in. "Where were you?"
"At school," she replied, her voice small. She glanced nervously at her mother's tight expression.
"School ended hours ago," Alice snapped, folding her arms. "Who were you with?"
Lily's heart raced, feeling like she was caught in a trap.
She knew that no answer would be good enough. "Just… a friend."
"A friend?" Alice's tone dripped with suspicion. "A boyfriend, maybe?"
"No!" Lily protested, her cheeks flushing. "Just a friend."
Dan let out a huff from the couch. "You're spending too much time out. You think we don't see how you come in here like this is some kind of motel?"
Lily felt a sting in her chest, that same sinking feeling she'd been carrying for so long. She didn't know what to say, how to defend herself.
"I'm sorry," she muttered, looking down at her feet.
"Sorry doesn't cut it," Alice shot back. "You're always sneaking around, coming in whenever you feel like it, making us look like fools."
Lily's fists clenched at her sides, the anger building up in her. "I'm not sneaking around. I'm just trying to live my life."
Alice scoffed, her lips curling into a sneer. "Live your life? Under our roof, with our rules? You're lucky we even let you stay here."
The words hit her like a punch to the stomach, and Lily's vision blurred with tears.
She turned and ran to her room, slamming the door behind her.
She felt trapped, caged in a place where she was constantly reminded that she was unwanted.
That night, the fighting started up again. Lily lay in bed, listening as Dan and Alice hurled insults at each other, each word cutting through the silence like a knife.
"This is your fault, Dan!" Alice screamed, her voice full of venom. "You're the one who insisted we bring her here. Look where that got us!"
"Oh, don't pretend you were against it," Dan retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You wanted a kid as much as I did. You thought it would fix things."
Alice laughed, a harsh, empty sound. "Fix things? Are you kidding me? She's done nothing but ruin our lives!"
The words sank into Lily's heart, each one like a stone, weighing her down.
She felt herself sinking deeper and deeper, trapped in a world where love was a word people threw around but never actually meant.
At school the next day, she was quiet, distant, lost in her thoughts. Ben noticed immediately, his face clouding with concern.
"Lily, what's going on?" he asked softly, pulling her aside during lunch.
She looked at him, her heart aching, the words catching in her throat. "I don't know how much longer I can do this," she whispered, her voice shaking.
"They hate me, Ben. They really do. They think I'm ruining their lives."
Ben's face hardened, and he took her hand, pulling her into a tight hug. "They're wrong, Lily. They don't know anything. You're amazing, okay? Don't let them make you feel any less than that."
She buried her face in his shoulder, feeling a strange mixture of relief and sadness.
He was her anchor, her only safe place in a world that felt like it was constantly crumbling around her.
That evening, things came to a head. Lily came home late after staying with Ben, needing a few more minutes of peace before stepping back into the chaos.
But the second she walked through the door, Alice was waiting, her face a mask of fury.
"Do you think you can just come and go as you please?" she yelled, her voice echoing through the empty house.
Lily's heart pounded, and she clenched her fists, her voice trembling as she spoke. "I'm just trying to get away from all of this, from you."
Alice's eyes flashed, and she raised her hand, a sudden movement that made Lily flinch. She didn't hit her, but the gesture was enough, a warning, a reminder of her place.
"You ungrateful little brat," Alice hissed. "After everything we've done for you, this is how you repay us?"
Lily felt something snap inside her, the years of silence and hurt boiling over. "Done for me?" she shouted back, her voice shaking. "All you've done is make me feel like I don't belong, like I'm nothing!"