Page 69 of Lilly

I get up and look out the window. My dad is now pacing the lawn, his head down. "Then we have to tell her why she has to break up with Reed. If we don't, we risk the two of them running off and getting married. I'm going to get Dad." I go outside, standing just outside the patio door. "Dad, we need to finish talking about this."

He stops pacing and turns to me. "I'm not going to debate this with you and your mother. Lilly has to end things with Reed. It's the only answer."

"I know. We agree."

"You do?" he asks, surprised.

"Yes. So come inside."

When we're back in the living room, my mom says, "What if we waited to tell her?"

"Why would we wait?" my dad asks.

"Because this isn't final yet. Maybe we could give ourselves more time to think about this before we tell Lilly. Didn't you say Dean has to complete another assignment before they can move forward?"

"Yes, but I'm confident he'll complete the assignment. He's already completed one. He's not going to quit now."

"What's the assignment?" I ask my dad.

"I don't know. They wouldn't tell us at the meeting because they don't want us offering assistance to the candidates to get them approved."

"Then who gives them the assignment?"

He huffs. "Phillip. The head of the committee gives out the assignments."

"How is that fair? He could help Dean with the assignment just as much as anyone else on the committee."

"It's not fair. But I didn't make the rules. This was something that was decided after I left. I'm finding the organization is beginning to go back to how it used to be. People who make bad decisions are taking over and the people who should be stopping them aren't speaking up. Anyway, I do know the first assignment given to both candidates was to falsify paperwork, which Dean did with no problem. The next assignment will probably be to put a scare into someone. Make a threatening phone call. Give a warning. Dean will likely say no at first but then they'll flash some money at him and he'll agree to it. It's clear that Dean responds favorably to monetary offers."

My phone rings. It's Jade so I answer it. "Hey. What's going on?"

"We can't stay here any longer. It's late and the kids are tired. They need to get to bed."

"Yeah. You can leave. I think we're done here."

"Did you decide anything?"

"I think we might wait to tell Lilly." I look at my parents but they don't confirm or deny it. "I'm not really sure. But don't say anything to her, okay?"

"I won't. We'll be there in a few minutes."

I hang up and set my phone down. "So what did we decide?"

My dad looks at my mom. "I suppose we could wait, but only so that it gives us more time to think. I'm not promising that we'll wait until Dean is officially approved. I don't want Lilly getting even closer to Reed. We need to find ways to keep those two apart."

"What if Dean isn't approved?" my mom asks. When my dad doesn't answer her, she says, "I know what they'll do to him, but is there any way to stop it?"

My dad glances at me with disapproval, knowing I told her. But why hide it from her? She knows they kill people.

"If that happens, we'll think about it then. Right now, my concern is for Lilly."

"But they could be together if he's not approved," my mom says.

"Yes, but I doubt that'll happen. So far, in all the years we've been doing this, every candidate has been approved. And with Phillip in charge of this, he'll make sure Dean is approved."

"Then get Phillip off the committee," I say.

"I can't. Even if I could, that wouldn't make them reject Dean for membership. As I said, there are still a fair number of members who want at least one of my children to be part of it, and since you're not, Lilly's the only option."

---