Eyes full of stars | ✔️

Chapter 29: Broken

"'Cause I'm broken when I'm open

And I don't feel like I am strong enough

'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome

And I don't feel right when you're gone away"

-Seether feat. Amy Lee

*

Felicity was brushing her hair in the bathroom when she heard the front door unlocking and the familiar sound of Lily's steps walking home.

"Hey" she shouted. "How did it go?"

When she heard no response from her friend and the sound of Sherlock whining, she frowned, dropped the brush in the sink and got in the corridor. "Lily...?"

Lily was standing by the door, motionless, pale, her eyes red, her breath heavy. As she looked at Felicity in silence, tears started to run down her cheeks and she fell on the carpet screaming in pain, Sherlock wagging his tail in anxiety and trying to lick her face.

"LILY!"

Felicity ran to her at lighting speed and took her in her arms, where she cried hysterically.

"What happened?" Felicity kept asking.

Lily did nothing but cry her eyes out for a long time, until she raised her head, stared at Felicity and caught enough breath to talk.

"Toby" she moaned, her voice broken. "I thought that... but I was wrong...!"

Felicity caressed her hair, removing wet curls from her face like a mother would have done. "I don't understand, sweetie" she whispered in a warm tone, hoping to calm her down.

Lily's chocolate brown eyes filled with tears again, her face deformed with pain. "He was kissing Amanda."

Amanda?!

"WHAT?!"

"I thought he liked me, Fee!" Lily cried.

She never called Felicity "Fee", unless she was extremely upset. "He does, Lily!"

"HE DOES NOT!" Lily looked like she was about to explode, her porcelain skin was red and wet. "He wouldn't have broken my heart if he did!" She burst into tears again and Felicity hugged her. "I love him" she moaned, crying uncontrollably. "It hurts so much... so much..."

"I know, my dear" Felicity said, kissing the top of her friend's head and rocking her like she was a baby. "I know."

***

It took one hour to calm Lily down and another one to make her fall asleep. Felicity was laying beside her on her bed, looking at her now quiet face, that still showed signs of the worst breakdown ever, even worse than the one she had after her father's death. Felicity was very much worried.

She had always thought she knew how much Lily loved Toby, but this clearly proved that it was a love bigger than any imagination. She doubted that it would have happened the same with Sebastian, because, unlike Toby, he hadn't got under Lily's skin so slowly, so quietly, so fully.

"I can't believe that he was kissing Amanda" she thought, even if it was all that she knew, all that Lily had the strength to tell. "What the fuck is going on? He loves Lily. I KNOW he does!"

But, who knows, maybe she was wrong. Maybe she had misread his signals. On the other hand, once upon a time, she had also believed that Toby's taste in women didn't include flashy girls. However, he was dating Amanda in secret and had broken her best friend's heart. This was enough to make Felicity hate him with passion.

She suddenly heard a vibration in the distance and realized it was her phone. She kissed Lily's forehead, got up from the bed, switched off the light and exited the room closing the door behind her. Sherlock was sleeping beside the bed and wouldn't have left Lily's side for the world. Barefoot, she ran to the living room and found her phone vibrating on the sofa. Toby was calling.

Felicity gave at the phone a look so full of hatred that it could have destroyed it. She picked up, but said nothing.

Toby seemed not to notice, he started talking straightaway. "Felicity?" his voice came, far from being calm. "Is Lily there? She was with me and she disappeared. Some people told me they saw a woman with auburn hair falling in the middle of the street and then running away. I have been trying to call her for the last two hours but she never answered. I've been calling you as well, but--"

"Okay, Toby, stop it!" Felicity exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down. "I got it. She is fine. She is here and she is fine!"

"Oh, thank God!" he gasped. Felicity heard him taking a deep breath. "I was so worried! I thought something bad happened to her." He paused. "May I talk to her?"

"She's sleeping."

"Has she told you why she ran home?"

Felicity sighed. "I have to go now" she said, toneless. "Goodnight, Toby."

She hung up and sat on the sofa, feeling deeply angry and helpless. Her best friend was sleeping in her bed, her heart completely broken because of that man. Felicity was feeling bad because she wanted to help Lily, doing something more than hug her and whisper sweet things to her ears. But how?

Unless...

She dialed a phone number and pressed the call button.

"Hello. I need a cab."

***

The cab pulled over where Felicity indicated.

"Thank you" she said, handing a 50 £ note to the driver. "Wait here, please."

"Yes, miss."

She got out of the cab and walked quickly through the open gate, to the front door of the house. She stopped and rang the bell. After thirty seconds, Toby opened the door and it was clear from his face expression that Felicity was the last person he had expected to see on his threshold at midnight.

"Felicity" he breathed. "Wh--"

But he couldn't go on speaking, because Felicity punched him in the face with all her strength. Toby yelled and held himself on the door frame to stop his fall. He covered his left cheekbone with one hand and looked at Felicity in shock.

"What the fuck...?!"

Felicity took a step towards him, getting so close to his face that she could count his eyelashes. "Stay away from my friend" she hissed. "Don't ever try to contact her or to see her, or I swear that I will kick you in the balls so hard that you will vomit them!"

She didn't wait for an answer, his shocked gaze was enough. He didn't doubt she would have really done such a thing to protect Lily.

Felicity turned around and rushed in the cab.

"Back to my house, please."

"You gave him a good shot, miss" the driver commented as he started the car. "I hope he deserved it."

"Oh, you bet he did" she hissed, massaging her bruised knuckles.