Page 67 of Lilly

"Yes. But the rule states that Reed can only be a member if Dean requests it, which he did. Reed's name was added to the contract that Dean signed so if Dean is approved for membership, Reed will be as well. Phillip made that clear in the meeting, and when he said it, he looked directly at me, a smirk on his face, as if he'd won. As if he'd outwitted me." My dad gets up and walks to the window, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How could I let this happen? How could I not know?"

"So you haven't talked to Dean since the meeting?" I ask.

"No. He left after the interview was done and I didn't see him again. I assume they flew him home."

"But after he left, you told the others who he was."

"I did, but not in an appropriate manner. My anger got the best of me and I raised my voice and accused Phillip of setting this up in an effort to get Lilly to marry a member, thus making her part of the organization. I shouldn't have said it. I gave too much away."

"They would've figured it out," my mom says, "even if you hadn't spelled it out for them. And they needed to know. They needed to know that Phillip was deceiving them."

"It won't make a difference. Everyone there is deceitful. It's a trait that's considered appealing. A strength. They won't fault Phillip for that. And I'm sure at least half of them agree with him. They want Lilly to be part of it. The Kensingtons are founding members. We were there in the beginning, back when the group was created, and now I'm the only remaining member from my family. If they can't have Garret, they'll take Lilly."

"They can't have her if she never marries Reed," I point out.

"She loves him," my mom says. "She won't break up with him."

"She doesn't have a choice," my dad says. "I'm not letting them take Lilly. Her relationship with Reed is going to end whether she likes it or not."

This is just like when Jade and I were dating. My dad trying to break us apart? Now it's happening all over again with Lilly and Reed. And just like when it happened to me, Lilly won't understand why.

"Dad, you have to tell her the truth. Otherwise she'll just try harder to be with him. It'll be like me and Jade all over again."

"I don't want her to know. It'll change her. Make her see the world a different way. It'll make her see ME a different way. I don't want my little girl knowing what I've done. It was bad enough that you found out. I wish you'd never known."

"Pearce." My mom goes over to him. "Lilly will understand. She loves you. She won't judge you."

"Of course she will. How could she not? I'm not the person she thought I was."

"You said the same thing about me finding out. But I was able to look past it. Because I know you, Pearce, and I know you would never do those things unless you were forced to." She squeezes his hand. "Lilly will understand. Just like I did."

"I don't want her to know. She doesn't need to."

"If you don't tell her," I say, "she'll keep dating Reed, just like I kept dating Jade. Lilly will be at college in a month and she'll date Reed behind your back. You won't be able to stop her."

"Then she'll go to a different college. One far away from Reed."

"Pearce, that's not the answer," my mom says. "We have to find a different solution."

"There IS no other solution!" He hears himself yelling again and lowers his voice. "This isn't up for discussion. Lilly is no longer allowed to see Reed. It's as simple as that. I don't care if she hates me. I am NOT letting her be part of it. And the only way to stop it is to get her away from that boy." He's breathing hard, his anger ready to explode. "I need a moment." He storms past us and goes outside to the patio. Mom and I watch as he slams his fist on the table, then collapses into the chair, holding his head in his hands.

My mom goes to follow him but I stop her, holding her arm.

"Mom, don't. Let him have some time to himself. He needs to calm down. He'll come back when he's ready." I bring her over to the couch to sit down.

"Do you think your father is right?" she asks. "Is the only solution for Lilly to stop seeing Reed?"

"It's the obvious solution, but that doesn't mean it's the only one. But right now, I can't come up with anything else."

"Maybe they won't approve Dean's membership. Maybe they'll vote against it when he's presented to the other members."

"I don't think that'll happen. They've done a lot of work to get to this point and the committee won't want to start from scratch with someone new. If for some reason he wasn't approved, then yeah, Reed would be free but that would also mean..." I decide to not finish that thought. I assumed my dad told her what would happen, but from the confusion on her face, he must've left that part out.

"It would also mean what?" she asks.

I look at her, not wanting to say it.

She sighs. "They'll kill him. They'll kill Dean."

---