Fractured from the Fall

Busted

The hours ticked by at a painfully slow rate as Lily watched the clock waiting for the bell to ring. It felt like the longest day of her life. As soon as school was over she raced home and went straight to her room. Her knees fell to the floor. She ducked down searching frantically under the bed. It was dark and dusty and she let out a sneeze. Wiping her nose with the back of her arm, she laid down flat on the floor, trying to increase her reach. She stretched her arm as far as it would go. She was almost touching the wall now. Her hand quickly patted the area. It has to be here somewhere, she thought.

"Looking for something?"

Lily closed her eyes and scrunched up her face at the sound of her sister's voice. She let out an exasperated sigh which she hoped went unheard. She turned to see Violet standing in the doorway, mocking her, but she couldn't yet tell if it was because she knew something, or because she just thought it was hilarious to see Lily face down on the floor covered in dust, so Lily tried to play it cool.

"Oh, I uh...can't find my math book." 

The second the words left her mouth she internally cringed. It was one of the worst lies she'd ever told. Violet knew Lily could care less about math. She'd barely opened the book all semester.

"That's a bummer," Violet said walking across the room towards the closet. "Maybe Ford can help you find it," she said pulling his hat from the shelf.

Shit, Lily thought to herself. This is what she was worried about the second she realized that Ford was missing his hat. Violet had found it before she could and now she and Ford's secret relationship was anything but.

Lily's mind raced trying to come up with some sort of excuse as to why his hat was there, but there was no logical explanation except for of course, the logical explanation, which she could tell her sister already knew.

"Vi, I uh...I can explain..."

"You need to tell Grant," she said matter of fact. Violet had no interest in hearing what Lily had to say and Lily was grateful that she didn't have to say the words aloud.

"Violet I can't. It's not that simple."

"Yes. It. Is."

"No. It's. Not." 

Violet's holier-than-thou attitude was starting to wear on Lily. What did she really know about their relationship anyway, or any relationship for that matter? Violet's idea of love came from the novels she read. Real life was a lot more complicated.

"You tell him or I will," Violet said sternly.

Now Lily was pissed. Her sister was interfering in something she knew nothing about.

"Why, so you can be with Grant?" she snapped.

Violet looked shocked and offended.

 
"Yeah, Violet, that's right. I know you've always had a little thing for him," she waved her hands in the air.

"No I haven't!" Violet shouted back in anger. "And even if I did, which I don't, that's beside the point. Grant's a good guy. He deserves better."

"You're right Violet. He does deserve better, which is why I'm not telling him. Not yet anyway. He's got scouts watching him. He needs to stay focused."

Violet couldn't disagree with that.

"I'm waiting until the end of the season."

"The end of the season! No way, unh-uh," Violet shook her head. "I'm not keeping this secret that long. I can't lie to him. You know what a terrible liar I am. I don't have as much practice with that as you."

Now Violet was just flat out being mean. Lily hadn't meant to wind up in this situation. It just... happened. But she also knew her sister was right. She was a terrible liar, and Lily didn't want Grant to find out from anyone other than her. She needed to be the one to tell him.

"Okay, okay," she raised her hands up in defeat. "Just give me until after the game on Friday. It's a big one."

"Fine" she agreed reluctantly, shoving Ford's hat to her sister's chest. "But as soon as the game is over, you're telling him."

"Okay," she nodded. "As soon as the game is over."

Violet turned to leave the room.

"Hey Vi," Lily called after her. Violet stopped and turned to hear what her sister had to say.

"I never meant to hurt him."

Violet stared at her unbelievingly.

"I get it. You think I'm a terrible person."

"It's not that. I just..."

"It's fine," Lily interrupted. "I know what you think of me. But you can't choose who you fall for Violet."

Her sister raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"You should know that better than anyone," Lily added.

The underlining message of Lily's comment hung thick in the air. You could cut the tension between the two sisters with a knife.

"Just do me a favor and keep both of them out of the house until you tell Grant," Violet said, not wanting to address her sister's comment and its implications. "I don't want to deal with your drama and dad would murder you if he knew Ford was in our bedroom."

Lily nodded. Keeping Grant and Ford away from her house would be fairly easy, but staying away from Ford until she got to talk to Grant after the game, would prove to be much more challenging.