Until Lilly (Until, #3)(25)

“I didn’t do it,” she cries softly as I pull her into my arms.

“I know you didn’t,” I tell her, pulling her closer to me.

“They said that I stole checks from an old woman and wrote them to myself and cashed them,” she cries harder, her body convulsing.

“Baby, you need to calm down before you make yourself sick,” I whisper into her ear while rubbing her back.

“I-I can’t ca-calm d-down. They told me that the wo-woman that this happened to d-didn’t even have m-money for f-food be-because of what they th-think I d-did.”

“It’s okay. We’re going to get this figured out; I promise,” I say, trying to calm her down while the rage inside me starts to burn hotter and hotter. The minute I find out who really did this, I'm going to rip off their f*cking head and shove it up their ass.

“I feel so bad,” she whispers into my chest. My dad stands close by with a look of worry and understanding on his face, and Trevor looks like he is ready to help me hide the body.

“Did they say you could leave?” I ask her, pulling her small body tighter against mine.

“Yes, but I can’t leave the country.”

“You weren’t going to anyways; so that’s okay.”

“I know; I told them that.” She nods, sniffling.

“Good, let’s get out of here. We’ll stop by your house and get you and Ashlyn some clothes. Then we can head to my house for the night.”

“I don’t—”

“Hey.” I tilt her face towards mine with a finger under her chin. “If you think for one f*cking second that I'm letting you out of my sight tonight, you have lost your damn mind.”

“Okay.” She sighs, looking down.

“You okay, darlin?” my dad asks. Her body stiffens and she looks over her shoulder; seeing both my dad and Trevor, her face pales, and I feel her body start to shake.

“Oh no,” she whispers, looking back at me.

“Hey, it’s okay. My dad came when I called him. Both he and Trevor wanted to make sure you were okay,” I tell her quietly.

“They already hate me,” she says under her breath as new tears begin to fall from her eyes. “I think I'm going to be sick,” she says before covering her mouth with her hand and running down the hall towards the sign marked restrooms.

“I think I need to apologize.” My dad lets out a heavy sigh. “I didn’t think that she noticed.”

“She’s sensitive. The day after the bar-b-que she was excited to get to know you guys. She thought you were all welcoming her into the fold; then she noticed that y’all acted different with her than you do with November or Liz, and that was okay with her. She understood that it would take some time to build a relationship, except no one ever tried, and now she feels like an outsider. Well, except Ma; she has made it clear from day one that she has Lilly’s back.” I smile; I love my mom.

“I know Liz has called her,” Trevor says, and I nod.

“She did, and they talked and Lilly likes her a lot. She likes her and November both.”

“I like Lilly,” Trevor says, shaking his head and frowning.

“Yeah, but you all still act like she’s going to wig out if you say or do the wrong thing when she’s around. She can feel it, and so can I.” I rub my face. “She is here all alone; her parents are in Alaska, and she has no one except Ashlyn, Jax, and me.”

“We’ll do better,” my dad says, shaking his head. Then he turns as an officer starts coming towards us.

“Are you all here with Lilly Donovan?”

“Yes.” I take a step towards him. His eyes go from me to my dad.

“Shit, James, is that you?” the officer asks, looking at my dad with surprise written on his face.

“Dan?” My dad steps forward to shake the man’s hand.

“How the hell have you been?” Dan asks, pulling my dad in for a one-armed hug.

“Could be better. My son’s girl was brought in for question.”

“So you’re seeing Lilly?” the guy asks, turning towards me.

“Yes.”

“I know that this is hard, and I hate doing this, but it’s not my decision. I'm sorry that she is going through this, and if it makes you feel any better, I don’t believe that she did it. But the evidence is pointing in her direction,” Dan says, looking at my dad.

“I know that it’s a part of the job,” my dad says, and Dan nods his head.

“I know she didn’t do it,” I speak up.

“I’m sorry, but until we get evidence that proves otherwise, we are forced to go with what we have. Now, I informed Ms. Donovan that she is not allowed to leave the state, and that it would be best for her if she got a lawyer.”

“Done,” I say right away.

“Also, it wouldn’t hurt for her to have proof of her whereabouts on the days that the checks were cashed.”

“If you can get me the dates, I'm sure we can come up with that information. She and my daughter are usually with my son and me,” I say as Lilly starts heading back our way from the bathroom. Her face is pale, and her eyes are red and puffy from crying. I hate that she’s going through this. Once she reaches our group, I wrap an arm around her shoulders, tucking her into my side.