Page 7 of Liberating Lily

“Are you coming back to me, Lily?” a voice said from beside her.

Lily turned her head to look at him.

His name danced around her mind, but she couldn’t seem to catch it. Like an elusive fish, refusing to take the baited hook.

Weird analogy.

It felt like something Clem might have said. Although she’d have made it sound funnier.

Clem was hilarious. And she loved animals. She always had. Lily had never quite understood her love of the outdoors and animals. She was more of an indoors sort of person.

A good book. A fluffy blanket. A cup of hot cocoa.

When was the last time she’d read a book? She couldn’t even remember . . .

When was the last time she’d seen Clem? Spoken to Clem? She had a feeling it was recently, but she couldn’t remember any of the interaction.

A strange noise hit her ears. It sounded scared.

Who was it making that noise? Were they all right? Should Lily do something?

But she wasn’t exactly good at helping, was she? Lily was terrible at making decisions. Useless. The only thing she was good for was getting married and having children.

However, she wasn’t even sure she’d be any good at that. How could she raise a child when she couldn’t even feel anything?

When she lived in the numb?

After we get married, Lily, things are going to change. I’m going to fuck you the way I want, and you can’t do a thing about it. Because I’ll own you.

Those words made her heart race faster. They were so mean. But Lily knew how to deal with mean people. After all, she’d lived her entire life with her mother, the meanest person on the planet.

All she had to do was ignore them.

You are such a wimp.

Shame tried to filter its way through the numb, and she couldn’t quite squash it down.

She needed her pills. They’d stop her from feeling anything.

Clearly, she wasn’t well if feelings were getting through.

“Lily? Hey, Lily. You’re all right. You’re safe now.”

She turned her head to look at the man again. Where was he taking her and why did he seem so familiar?

“Mo bhreáthracht, you’ve got to stop making those noises, or I’m going to turn this vehicle around, drive back to your mother’s house, and punch her in the face. I generally don’t like to hit women. However, I would make an exception for her.”

Mo bhreáthracht?

What did that mean? What language was that? She liked the sound of that word. She liked the way it wrapped around her heart and made her feel warm. She really was in need of her pills.

Wait, what had he just said? That he was going to punch her mother in the face?

She was certain she knew this man, that maybe she even liked him, because she didn’t feel scared of him. Which meant that she needed to stop him from making a big mistake.

“You can’t,” she told him.

“I definitely can,” he replied. “Like I said, I don’t like hitting women generally, and I don’t do it as a rule, but there’s very little that I wouldn’t do when it comes to you, Lily.”