Chapter 8: Chapter 8

One month later

Lily gave Ana a hug, before walking out of her new favorite class. She had discovered how much she actually enjoyed science now that everyone left her alone. She walked down the hall to the gym, where Gregory winked at her as he began to call roll. When she walked out of the locker rooms, he tilted his head to the mats that were only set up for her usage. She sat down and began her stretches as Gregory started the other students on laps around the gym. She started at her ankle, rotating it, pointing it towards her face, before tilting it down towards the floor. Next, she bent her knee and began to pull back on her leg, lifting her foot off of the floor to hold it for twenty seconds. After a set of ten, she stood up and began to reach down towards her feet.

Gregory came over and gently pushed on her back. She felt her back stretch more and her thighs grew tight. She took a deep breath and when he let her up she rolled her shoulders.

“That one still hurts,” she muttered.

“I know, but do you remember where you started? You couldn’t even bend to reach your knees. You’re almost able to put your hands on the floor now. You’re doing really good, Lily.” He pressed his finger into her nose. “Pretty soon, little one, you will be out there, running circles around the others.”

She eyed them. “I’d be happy just being able to run a single lap without falling down.”

He leaned against the wall. “Is that your goal?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, then. Come on.”

He took her to the line that was considered the lap course. “Wait here.”

She watched curiously as he jogged back to his office. He came back carrying a huge roll of tape. He moved to the middle of the gym and put a small tape square on the floor, before he called her over. He squeezed her shoulders.

“This is your square, Lily. Start off walking. In a few days, we’ll speed up. Next week, we’ll try jogging and running this square. Every two weeks, we’ll make it bigger, until you can run the full thing, okay?”

She looked around at the other students who were watching them. “They’re going to laugh at me.” She paused. “You know what, I don’t care. Thank you.”

She began walking, taking care to keep the same pace. Round and round, she walked that square. Her leg got tired, but she forced herself to keep walking until the bell rang. Gregory fell into step beside on her last lap, smiling.

“You did really well today, Lily. I am so proud of you.”

She hugged him. “Thank you so much.”

“Go eat. I know you are hungry.”

Lily happily changed back into her clothes and went to the cafeteria. She got in line and everyone shot her anxious looks. She hummed softly to herself as she thought about how much her life had changed. Her parents seemed to care more, she was excited to come to school and kids were falling all over themselves to be her friend. She had stayed to herself, not wanting to be friends with people who had never cared for her before the royals came to her school. She got to the counter and the woman behind it, carefully spooned salisbury steak and gravy onto it, before adding mashed potatoes and corn. Lily gave Ethan a smile, which he returned.

“Have a good day, Lily.”

“Thank you. You, too.”

She moved to the cashier. “Any extras today, Lilianna?”

She eyed the ice cream choices for the day and she bit her lip. Snickers ice cream bars. Her thoughts turned to the first and last time she had had one. She sighed as she reached for one.

“Yeah. Can I have this? Do I have enough money in my account?”

“Yes. Enjoy your lunch, Lilianna.”

She walked out and was heading to her table when she heard the cackles of bullies preying on their newest victim. She turned her head to look and she frowned. Immi and Kacey would never learn. They were picking on the new girl that had just transferred in a few days ago. Lily changed her path and went over to the table the girl sat at. She put her tray down on the table, harder than was necessary, but it got her point across. The girls immediately left the table. Lily handed the crying girl a napkin and sat down.

“You’re Sommer, right?”

“Yes,” she sniffled.

Lily smiled at her. “I’m Lily.”

Sommer’s eyes widened. “You’re Lily? Like the Lily?”

She nodded. “Not everyone at this school is mean.”

Sommer snorted. “Yeah, right. I haven’t met one person here that isn’t.”

Lily held her hand out and vigorously shook Sommer’s when she took it. “Hi, I’m Lily and I’m nice.”

Sommer giggled. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you, nice Lily.” Sommer leaned close. “Is it true that you know King Lukas?”

Lily’s eyes landed on the ice cream bar. “Yeah, I do. Are you hungry, Sommer? I see that you don’t have lunch.”

“Yeah. My mom forgot to give me money.”

Lily pushed her tray in front of her, grabbing the ice cream off of it. She fell silent as she slowly ate it. Sommer devoured the food down, chatting about the pack she had come from. When the bell rang, they went their separate ways. Lily slowly made her way to her next period, suddenly feeling like she wanted to go home. She sat at her desk and did her best to focus, but her mind kept going back to the day Lukas had taken her to the movies. She sighed again. This was going to be a long 3 hours.

After school, while she was waiting for Jo to pick her up, Sommer came up to her.

“Hey, I wanted to thank you.”

“For what?,” Lily grumbled.

“For lunch.”

“It’s nothing.”

“I made you something.”

Lily blinked in surprise. “Did you?”

“Yep.”

She held out a paper rose. Lily took it from her and ran her fingers over.

“It’s very pretty. Thank you.”

Sommer showed her how to open the petals. “You’re supposed to put the names of the boys you would marry in them and then everyday you pick a petal. The last petal left is who you’re going to marry.”

Lily chewed on the inside of her cheek. “What happens if you only like one person?”

Sommer smiled widely at her. “Then, you don’t need to pick the petals off.”

A horn honked and Sommer hugged her, before she darted off.

“Let’s eat lunch together tomorrow, okay? I’ll bring you one of my mom’s chocolate chip cookies,” she called over her shoulder.

Jo got out of the charger to open the door for her. “Princess, are you ready?”

She got in the car and ran her fingers over the flower again.

“Oh, I know what those are! I haven’t seen one in forever. Have you written your names in the petals yet?”

Lily smiled to herself. “No. I don’t need to.”

Jo started asking more questions, but Lily ignored her. She looked out the window and as Jo pulled out of the parking lot, she grinned when she saw Ana kissing her mate. Man, they looked so happy. She settled back into the seat and thought about having that type of love. She didn’t necessarily need a mate in the traditional sense, but she did want to be loved. As soon as Jo parked, Lily hopped out. She went upstairs and headed towards the office she knew her parents were in. She hesitated outside of the door, debating if she wanted to share her news with them or not. She knew they loved her. Or so they seemed to lately, anyways.

She just didn’t think they understood that humans were different from shifters and that she needed different things. She bit her lip. She wanted to share it with someone. She hadn’t been this excited in a long time. She turned around and went upstairs to her father’s private office. She sat in his large black leather rolling chair and reached for his rolodex. She flipped through the names until she found the one she was looking for. She picked up his phone and her fingers hovered over the numbers. She hung up. She picked it up and put it right back down. She swallowed and snatched the phone off the receiver. She quickly dialed the number before she lost her nerve. The phone rang once. Twice.

“Hello?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“Luis? Are you there?”

Her mouth kept opening and closing, resembling a fish out of water. The door opened and her mother came in. She stopped and glared at her.

“What are you doing in your father’s office?”

“Nothing,” she squeaked as she hung up.

“Lilianna May Washington, who did you call?”

“Nobody, Mama. I swear,” she said, terrified of the way her mother was looking at her.

She narrowed her eyes on a shaking Lily. “LILIANNA MAY-”

The phone rang. Both of their eyes went to it. Her mother picked it up.

“Hello?” She listened for a moment, before holding it out to Lily angrily. “It’s for you.”