Page 134 of Lilly

"Lilly, say something." His voice is quiet, worried, sad.

"I don't want to end this," I whisper, tears soaking his shirt.

"Then don't," he whispers back, raising my head up to look at him. "Please don't." His eyes are pleading with me, begging me not to do this.

If only I could tell him why. If only I could explain why I have to do this. How I don't have a choice.

A door slams and there's loud yelling in the other room, followed by something hitting the wall.

Reed and I both startle at the noise.

"What the hell?" Reed says, lifting me off him. He gets up and opens his door just slightly so we can hear. It's Dean. He's the one yelling but who's with him? What if it's someone from the organization? Or one of those freelance guys who kills people?

"Don't go out there!" I say, running up to Reed and grabbing his arm.

"I have to see what's going on."

"No! Don't! It could be dangerous."

He gives me a strange look. "Why would it be dangerous?"

"You don't know who's with him."

"Which is why I'm going to go find out." He peels my hand off his arm. "Just wait here. I'll be right back."

Before I can stop him, he's out the door. I stay behind, deciding to wait in his room. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe his dad is just yelling at someone on his phone.

But then I hear a woman's voice. Some woman is out there and she's yelling right back at Dean. I can't hear what they're saying. Reed's room is at the far end of the hall, too far away for me to make out the words. I stand by the door, opening it a little. Reed is talking, his voice low and steady, like he's trying to calm his dad down.

Something loud hits the wall.

"No!" I hear Reed yell.

And then a gun goes off.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Lilly

Another shot is fired, then another after that.

I drop to the ground, my body tensing from fear and sheer panic. The gun went off, but did it hit someone? Was someone shot? Was it Dean? Or that woman? Or...

No. Not Reed. Please don't let it be Reed.

"Don't touch me!" I hear the woman yell.

"Just calm down." It's Reed voice. My body sags with relief. Thank God he's okay.

I tense up again as my mind springs into action, realizing I have to do something. But what should I do? Call the police? What do I tell them? I don't even know what happened.

With my phone in my hand, I quietly sneak down the hall toward the living room, stopping before I get there. Peeking my head out, I spot Reed just in front of me. And in front of him is his mom.

His mom? What is she doing here? Last I heard she was stuck in Texas, unable to get a ride back to L.A..

My eyes search for Dean but I don't see him. I peek my head out a little more and see him just beyond Reed's mom. He's lying on the ground, bright red blood covering his white dress shirt. I quickly pull back into the hall, hiding myself.

"Mom, it's okay," Reed says in that calm, even tone I heard him using earlier. "We'll call Uncle Rob. He'll take care of it."

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