𝑨 𝑻𝑶𝑼𝑪𝑯 𝑶𝑭 𝑫𝑨𝑹𝑲𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑺

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔𝟑: 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦

IN THE KITCHEN Lilith stared at her soapy reflection on the plate she was washing, the suds slid down the plate as hot tears faltered to fall down her own face.

Why did she need to be so difficult? She couldn't take her frustrations out on Severus, not when the reason she was so worked up was because...

She couldn't even give a suitable answer.

She just felt neither here nor there. Listening to Severus and Alyssa laugh from within the kitchen only made her heart yearn more. Why couldn't she get that out of him? In a matter of knowing Alexander and Alyssa for such a short amount of time, Severus had displayed more emotions towards them than he had ever done with Lilith.

Was she doing something wrong?

Well you did pull your hand away as he tried to pass you a plate Lilith. Maybe start with that one. Or maybe go back even further and just accept that you being so worked up over the fact he thought he was dreaming was, in fact, not that big of a deal. Stop taking things out of proportion and obsessing over something that is still growing.

Alexander watched Lilith's shoulders shake slightly as she placed the dishes on the side, her sniffles being almost coated by the swishing of the water in the sink. He rubbed at his moustache and then his chin.

"Lilith..." He softly began. "What's really going on here?"

She placed the final dish onto the side and reluctantly turned to face Alexander. She hated seeing him so concerned about her because it meant that she had to be careful with how she worded things. He was paternally protective over Lilith and though she held much appreciation to that, it just made things all more the difficult to persuade him that she was fine.

"I can't, Alexander." She hoped that by using his name, he would understand the depths of her words. "It's not safe for you to know and I refuse to tie you to me."

She couldn't possibly unveil everything she was doing regarding Voldemort and the Ministry. The weight of her issues weren't solely from the rejection she felt by Severus but also everything in between that. She felt as though she was constantly switching between two very different lives and in this moment she preferred being in neither of them.

"We can't put a label on safety Lilith. We can only hope that protection comes to us when we need it."

She attempted to give him a grateful smile but her face barely lifted with enthusiasm. "I'm sorry, I just can't. Not this time."

His moustache covered his lips as a deep exhale escaped his mouth, he nodded in understanding and lifted his hands from his pockets, opening them in front of Lilith.

"Come here."

She begrudgingly carried herself over to him, wrapping her arms around him as he began stroking her hair. She was eternally grateful for Alexander, how the man could gain the attention in any room but also because he was so genuinely loving. He held Lilith in a tight hug, he couldn't care less if she didn't view him as a fatherly figure because regardless he would always view her as his own daughter. It didn't bother him that there had been so much time between now and the last time she visited, it didn't matter. With him, Sofia and Alyssa, she would always be safe and he liked to think that when she hadn't been with them, she was then safe with Severus.

"Is it..." He paused. "Is it because of them?"

Them. She hadn't thought about them in a while and the moment Alexander had mentioned it, he realised that from her initial reaction, they hadn't been on her mind. As her body tensed he felt sincerely regretful for even mentioning it.