Baby Doll(83)

“Who cares? Some people go back to school when they’re fifty. This is your chance at having something normal. At being normal. Don’t you want that?”

Lily wanted that, almost as much as she wanted Abby out of this place. She’d been discussing it with Dr. Amari, who kept telling her that it would be a big step forward in her recovery. Money wasn’t an issue. Lily had more than enough money for tuition. She’d thought about NYU or UCLA—all the places she’d imagined going when she was sixteen and anything was possible. But she had to be close to Abby and Eve, and Sky needed stability and familiar surroundings. Lily had checked out other local schools, but Bucknell University was the closest, and they offered a great sustainable design program. Lily started gardening as a way to remember her father, a hobby to get her out of the house, but it had evolved into a passion. The thought of creating beauty out of chaos as a landscape designer appealed to her.

“Lilypad, listen to me. We can’t go back and change things. Not that day Rick stole you from us. Not the eight years we lost. Not that day…” Abby never spoke about what happened in the courtroom, at least not to Lily. “But the future, that’s all you.”

Lily promised Abby she’d think about it. There was always so much more they wanted to discuss, but visiting hours were over. Lily hugged Abby good-bye, her sister whispering in her ear. Lily always hated this moment, saying good-bye. Even though she saw Abby once a week and they talked on the phone daily, it was never enough. Not when they had to make up for lost time.

Abby kissed Lily’s forehead, staring into her eyes.

“Don’t let him steal one more thing from you, Lilypad. Not one more thing.” As the orderly led Abby away, Lily still felt uncertain. If she didn’t go to school, if she turned down this opportunity, all of Abby’s sacrifices would be for nothing. But moving forward meant accepting that this was Abby’s life. Could she do that? Could she really leave Abby behind? Leave her here? Lily sank down into the chair, paralyzed by indecision. After all they’d been through, all they’d managed to overcome, they were more identical than ever and yet still worlds apart.





EPILOGUE


LILY


The locker room was empty, and Lily slipped inside. Nerves were bubbling up and she craved the solitude, hoping time alone would calm her. The other girls would arrive soon, and she wanted this time to psych herself up. She sank down on one of the benches and slipped out of her jeans and sweater. She pulled on her blue track shorts and tank top, jumping up and down to loosen her limbs. Her first race of the season was finally here. It was still hard to believe that she’d made it this far.

Abby had been so relentless in her campaign to get Lily to go back to school, Lily almost hadn’t had a choice. Lily’s arrival on campus initially caused a stir. Reporters camped out to get interviews. Students were bribed in hopes that they might strike up a friendship and get the inside scoop on the famous Lily Riser. Lily was assigned a security escort that first week. But a month into the semester, she was old news, just another college student in the crowd. And now here she was, in the locker room, preparing to run her first track meet of the semester.

When she first considered trying out for the team, she’d been a wreck. She was older than most of the girls by at least four years. She was a mother. There were half a dozen excuses not to do it. Abby called her out yet again.

“Come on, Lilypad, you’re not really going to puss out on this. Try out and see what happens.”

Lily had shown up for tryouts at the last minute and given it her all, finishing with the second-fastest sprint time. Seeing her name on the roster, realizing that she’d made the team, was one of the greatest accomplishments of her life.

“Hey, Riser, someone asked me to give this to you.”

Lily saw Heather, her teammate, approaching with a bouquet of sunflowers. Lily smiled as she took the bouquet and read the attached card.

The faster you run, the faster you see me. It’s a win-win. Love, Scott.

Lily burst out laughing. Heather grinned and gave Lily a playful hip check as she made her way over to her locker.

“Someone’s a smitten kitten.”

Lily smiled, her cheeks flushing. She tucked the bouquet of flowers into her locker before her other teammates, who were now arriving, could join in the teasing. Lily hurried to finish dressing.

If someone had told Lily that she would find love, she would have said that it was impossible. She was focused on being a mom to Sky, helping Wes with David, spending time with Abby. Not to mention juggling a full class load and track practice.

But then one day Lily’s Literature and the American Revolution professor assigned partner projects. Their assignment: write a twelve-page research paper and create a presentation, such as a slide show or a video or even a speech. Lily hated partner assignments. She tried to rack her brain, tried to think of any excuse to avoid the assignment. The public was still obsessed with her case. They wanted intimate details about her life, what she was doing, wearing, eating, thinking. Their obsession drove her crazy. She could already predict the questions her partner might ask: How often did Rick rape her? Did he abuse Sky? Did she miss him? Was she angry with her sister for killing him? It was a curiosity she couldn’t understand. But she knew that the professor wasn’t one of those warm and fuzzy types who’d care about his student’s personal life, and she needed an A in this course to keep her scholarship. That’s how she found herself paired up with Scott Sandoval.