LILLY

I wake up to my phone ringing in a distance.

I sit up with my eyes closed from sleep but the phone wouldn't go off. My throat felt dry. I scratch the back of my ear and down my neck and hiss. Almost forgot about the cut from last night. Wait, last night. Everything started hitting me. I open my eyes and find myself in my bed, the curtains were drawn close. The room was dark.

Nothing felt out of the ordinary but someone was beside me and it was not Josh. That someone shifts and I hold myself instantly, biting my tongue so I won't make a sound. That person groans "Lilly, go back to sleep." Romano. Why was he in my bed?
I couldn't breathe suddenly, I couldn't move, I couldn't make a sound. Panic attack.
I kept shaking hard. I knew there were pills on my nightstand but I could not get to them.

I hear him sigh and he grabs my arm, pulls me down, and wraps his arms around me, pulling me close to himself. His hand rubbed up and down my spine and his other hand caressed the back of my head. His lips pressed to my forehead as he calmly whispers "Shh, you're safe. You're okay." I feel his face move, his forehead pressed to my brow and I felt his breath on mine "Shh, you're safe. You're okay, darling." I put my hand on his chest and find his skin. Oh god, he wasn't wearing a shirt.
He wasn't- he presses a kiss to my brow "Lilly, you're okay."

Darkness engulfs me again.

♡

I woke up, I got myself free from his arms, and I ran. I grabbed the bag I packed last night and shoved some extra clothes inside it. Grabbed my wallet, grabbed the little bit of cash I had tucked behind my closet, and I run like crazy.

I open the door but he grabs me and slams me against it. His eyes appeared sleeping but he still asked "Where do you think you're going?" I grabbed the bag to my chest and lied "To work?" He smiles and slowly wraps his arms around my waist, pinning his forehead to my shoulder "You're going to work, huh?" I nod. I lie. His shoulders shake as if he was laughing. He runs his nose up my neck till his lips were pressed to the shell of my ear "How stupid do you think I am?" He pulls and looks down at my body "Going to work without scrubs, grabbed the cash behind the closet, put more clothes in the bag," he looks up at me again but moves out of the way "Alright, I'll believe you. Have a great day at work, darling." He turns around and walks straight into my kitchen, he opened the fridge and pulled out the milk, drinking straight from the carton. He didn't even breathe as he drank to the last drop. His jeans hanging low on his hips.
He had become more toned over the past six months, his waist defined, his abs toned, and his back had more muscles to them. His biceps grew bigger.

I snap out of it when he says "Lilly if you're gonna stare at me all day, I suggest you stare at me in bed if you're not going to work." He raises a brow when I couldn't respond. I open the door and ran out without looking back. Hauling a cab and getting in.

♡

I was at work. I had nowhere else to go.

I was stressed, I kept messing stuff up and got scolded by Emerson twice.

Sarah asks "What's wrong with you today? You running a fever or something?" I shake my and try to put on a smile even though I wanted to cry in front of her and tell her everything.
I couldn't, protect her, could not whine or complain. Carter Romano never gave me the freedom to share my pain with anyone.

I say "I'm fine. I'm just tired from yesterday." We were behind the counter. Sarah walks in and smiles as she set the files back in the drawers "Got a little Josh action, huh?" I sigh "Nope, I bailed." She slams the draw close and turns around to look at me with her hands on her hips, her black eyes annoyed "What the hell?" Swiping my hand down my face because of exhaustion, I simply answer "I was too nervous."

"You were excited!"

"I was nervous too. I couldn't go through with it."

She sighs with exasperation and writes something on the clipboard "If you keep doing that, you can kiss your little Josh goodbye. That man will not be around. He's not the kind to wait around. If you like him and wanna have your chance with him, you better start getting bold, baby." I sat slumped on the chair having no energy to even stand up anymore as I watch her pull her beautiful curly caramel hair into a high bun.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask. She just hums and clicks her pen to write something else, "Why don't you try it with Josh?" She snorts "Not my type."

"Why not? I mean you drool with me whenever we talk about him."

"I don't drool with you. I drool for you. Notice the difference. I only go crazy for him because you're crazy, I try to match your energy because you get excited and need someone to do with you." She looks at me and winks and then turns her gaze back to her clipboards "Plus, I can't do that to you. You liked him since day one. I can't include myself in it."

"Even if Josh likes you back?"

"Even if Josh likes me back."

"You're crazy. You should try and go out with him. I bet he'd like you a lot. You're fun, you're carefree, you're not afraid to live your life while I... while I have to think twice before I take a step."

She rests her fist on her hip "What is up with you today?" I shrug "I've bailed on him twice, Sarah, I don't think he'll ask me out for the third time or even wait anymore." Her eyebrows rise "You fucking with me? Dude, he called you last night and told you that he liked you. He wants to tell you how he feels about you. You can't give up too soon on him, Lilly. You've liked him for a long time. Which reminds me, I don't think I've ever seen you go on a date before." I chuckle "You have. Remember Sam?" She rolls her eyes "The guy who asked you to pay the bill and then bailed on you?" I laugh at it "200 dollars. He ordered the lobster while I made myself stuck with the salad because I thought I was being nice." I click my tongue "Should've ordered the lobster too. At least I would've been happy." Sarah chuckles "When I get my paycheck, I'll take you out for lobster, baby." I pout "Really?" She nods "If you behave."

"I always behave."

"You forgot the extra caramel on my caramel frappe."

I look sheepishly "Sorry." She smiles and just stays quiet. I close my eyes and rest my head against the cool wall, taking a very much-needed breather. My neck has been itchy all day because of the stupid high-neck top I wore underneath my scrubs to hide the cut. I don't stop sweating either.

I hear something bang on the counter, then I hear a familiar voice "Special delivery." I open my eyes and he's here. Leaning with his elbows on the counter, a sinister smile on his face. Romano. My headshots to Sarah and she looks at me and then at Romano. Brows raised through the roof. I knew she worked hard to keep her jaw close.

I stand up instantly and look at the paperback on the counter that he kept moments ago.
"What are you doing here?"
He smiles, "Got my girl and her friend some lunch." He starts pulling out the sandwiches with curly fries and everything. He winks at Sarah and she can't stop looking at me. Anxiety creeps up my spine again. I put my hand on the counter and say with my voice low so that only he can hear "Listen, you can't do anything here. You-" He shrugs "Do what? Bring my girl some lunch? You skipped breakfast today so I got worried." It was unusual to see him like this. Usually, he's dark and sinister but right now, he pretended to be someone else. He pretended to be Daniel.
Instead of his usual dark suits, he was wearing a white T-shirt that was like a second skin to him. The shirt kissed his chest and biceps perfectly. It showed off the silhouette of his waist perfectly.

Sarah speaks up "I'm sorry, but weren't you two broken up?" Romano answers without even looking at her, just staring straight at me "We had. I missed her. These six months have been hell without her." Then he looks at Sarah and smiles a bright smile that I have never seen him do "I got drunk last night. Came to her door and begged for her to take me back." Then he looks at me "You didn't tell her?" I look at Sarah and say "Sorry." But Romano was the entertainer of the evening. He has a look of hurt that even I thought was real. He presses the back of his fist against his lips and pretended to be emotional "Wait, babe, are we not together? I thought everything was fine after last night, I thought that you want us to be back together. What is going on?" And to take it even further, he sheds a tear or two.

I'm standing still, baffled. I think I forgot to blink. He sighs "Lilly, you can't do this to us. You know I love you. I love you so much. You need to take me back. Please." He rushes around the counter and walks in without caring that people are staring and then he's on his knees "Lilly, you can't do this to us. You can't play with my heart like this." He wraps his arms around my waist and presses his face to my stomach. His shoulders shaking. He was crying.
I look at Sarah and she has her eyes wide in confusion and the fact that the man was begging me to take him back. Only if she knew that this was all fake.

I shake his shoulder "Roma- Daniel! Daniel, you need to stand up." He says "No, not until you take me back!" When on his knees, the man reached to my chest. His arms were like steel around my waist, closing tight till it hurt but I can't make a sound. I don't make a sound. I push at his shoulder again "Daniel!" He whines "No!"
I'm frustrated at this point "Okay! Fine! I'll... I'll take you back." He's on his feet again and pulls me into a hug without showing his face. He buried his face in the crook of my shoulder and his shoulder won't stop shaking. But he wasn't crying. He was chuckling in my ear which made a shiver run down my back.
He whispers "God, Lilly, people are so easy to fool." I say "Why are you here?"

"Are you going to tell me who paid you a visit last night or not?"

"Not."

"Lilly, don't be stupid."

"I can create a scene here if I want to, you know?"

"You can. You can create a scene, call the police, have them arrest me- do whatever you want. But know this that if you do, I will come after Sarah, then Josh, and then you. Would you like that, Lilly?"

"Don't you dare-"

He whines and says loud "Lilly, love me back." I fist the hem of his shirt and his "I told you I don't know!" He brushes his fingers in my hair and presses his lips to my ear "If you don't, you can say goodbye to your best friend." I freeze in his arms but he holds me in a way no one can tell. I pull back from the hug to look at him and I'm amazed at how the tears keep falling down his chin. He wipes it away with the back of his hand and sniffs "You really will take me back, Lilly?" I clench my jaw and say "Yes." He smiles, presses a hard kiss between my brows, and says "I'll see you at home, okay? You'll be home soon, right?" I nod and he kisses me again but this time on my cheek and walks out without another word.

Sarah chokes "What the hell just happened?" I turn around to look at her "I don't know either. It just happened too fast." She smiles "That man is whipped for you."

No, he's just a really good actor.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

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Love, Hope
♥️♥️