Lilium

Twelve

Twelve

Lilith threw herself down on the living room couch, kicking off her shoes and letting them fall to the floor one at a time. Marlene sat on the end of the couch and watched her.

"Russle said you could watch a movie if you wanted to," she said. "Or that, if you didn't, it'd be a good idea still for you to stay in the house."

"Because I was at the police station," Lilith replied, glowering at the ground. "All they wanted was to ask me some questions. He's acting like it's the end of the world."

Marlene twiddled her thumbs. "Well, to him... it's..." She looked away and clenched her jaw. "Lilith... he lost his son four months ago and now his daughter is a suspect in a murder case."

"Not a suspect," Lilith replied. "They wanted to ask me questions about her. About Anika."

"A-Anika?"

"My therapist."

"Right. The point remains, though, that both of his children have fallen to some length of peril. It makes sense that he just wants to keep the both of you safe."

Lilith narrowed her eyes. "So you agree with this?" she asked.

"No, absolutely not." Marlene clenched her hands in her lap and shook them, her bottom lip between her teeth. "But I'm trying to explain it to you, so that you can understand him."

Lilith turned her head and buried her face into the couch cushion. "I don't want to try and understand him."

"Then... you won't get very far."

"And I won't care either way." Lilith wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth. "He's acting irrational!"

"And so are you."

The words stun, but Lilith fought back every impulse she had to respond. A great pressure built at the back of her skull and she closed her eyes, snorting into the cushions.

You can stop the nonsense, Lilith. You can stop it all...

She jolted and lifted her head. Marlene stared to the floor, her head swaying to and fro.

I didn't think that...

But I did. We can stop this together, Lilith. You can show them all wrong.

Her pulse quickened and her nails dug into her skin. The pressure built in her skull until she thought her brain would explode. Lilith forced herself upright.

"I'm going to bed," she announced before bending over, grabbing her shoes, and marching into the hallway. Marlene didn't respond.

Lilith walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Then she took uneven steps towards the mirror.

Black-rimmed eyes stared back at her when she looked at herself. Her brown skin looked like it'd taken a few runs through a desaturation machine. She reached up and ran a hand through her hair, shaking the limp and oily strands.

God, I look like shit.

Her heart skipped a beat when she looked above her head. Staring at her were two red orbs, orbs that glowed and sent chills down her spine.

Hello, Lilith.

Lilith yelped, throwing herself back. She landed on the toilet in a less-than-graceful heap. With a pulse that beat like thunder inside her ears and shaking hands, she planted her palms on either wall beside her and got back up. The spheres were gone when she looked once again at her reflection.