Page 77 of For My Finale
For a moment, Lilah thought that she was imagining things. The polished floor, the soft lighting, the hushed voices and… Ives. It was all a world away from Bankton, a world away from Blossom. But she had a spike of pain in her heart anyway.
And there was no avoiding this.
She took a deep breath, then walked over to where Ives was sitting. Whatever was going to happen, she thought that she deserved it. “Come all this way to punch me, have you?” she opened with.
Ives lifted an eyebrow. “Tempting,” she said. “But no. As a matter of fact, I’ve come all this way to see the truth for myself.”
Tension coiled in Lilah’s spine. She sat down across from Ives, removing her dark glasses. “And? What do you think you see?”
Ives took a deep breath. “I see an idiot. But that’s by the by.” She leaned forward a little. “Blossom is absolutely convinced that you left in order to protect her.”
Lilah looked away. She didn’t want to do this. She hated showing her vulnerable side at the best of times, but in front of Ives, of all people? The idea that Ives would see her as soft and sentimental… On the other hand, what else was she supposed to say? She couldn’t lie. The lie would get back to Blossom and hurt her even more, and Lilah couldn’t stand the thought of that.
“I did,” she said finally.
For a second, Ives studied her. “And you think that breaking her heart was the best way to go about doing that?”
Lilah laughed, though it lacked any real amusement. “What was I supposed to do, Ives? You told me it was my actions that mattered, not my intentions. I never intended Blossom to get caught up in any of my bullshit. But someone leaked where I was to the press, and that night… They were all over us. I won’t put Blossom through that. She didn’t sign up for it and she doesn’t deserve it. So I acted. I left. Before any more damage could be done.”
Ives nodded. “I get that,” she said. She sat back again. “There’s a small flaw in that reasoning, though.”
“What?” Lilah asked, irritated.
“I’ve been asking around. Nobody in the village has said anything to any journalists.”
Lilah raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“Think what you want,” Ives said. “But these people are my friends, I’ve spent my entire life around them. I know them. I believe them. And more than that, I know how much they care about Blossom. No one would do this to her.”
Lilah said nothing. Because if this was true, if the village really hadn’t betrayed her, then what did that mean? She could barely make sense of it, barely think things through to their logical conclusion.
Silence stretched on for a beat before Ives leaned forward again. “Blossom is stronger than you think. She’s my best friend. And I know that she can lack confidence, that she doesn’t see her own worth sometimes. But I also know that when something is important to her, she’ll give anything for it.”
“I can’t change things,” Lilah said.
“I think you should,” said Ives. “I think that you should let Blossom make her own decisions about what she wants and what she’s willing to put up with for you.” She took a breath. “I think you should reconsider.”
“And why would I do that?” Lilah said, heart hammering so hard in her chest she thought it might break out.
Ives watched her for a long moment, then took a deep breath. “Because Blossom loves you, whether she’s admitted it or not. And, as much as we might not always see eye to eye, I think that you might actually love her too. Given that you left just to protect her.”
Lilah’s heart finally stilled. But she said nothing, didn’t know what to say.
With a sigh, Ives stood up. “Alright, I’ve done what I came to do. You can be an idiot if you want.”
Then she turned and walked away, leaving Lilah sitting alone, words echoing around her head.
LILAH SAT IN the waiting room of Leyland’s agent’s office, her foot tapping against the plush carpet. She’d had a lot of thinking to do, a whole afternoon’s worth of thinking. And she’d come to the only possible conclusion given the circumstances.
So when Margot arrived, gliding through the doorway with her usual confidence, Lilah wasted no time at all. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”
Margot settled herself onto one of the large couches. “Nope. Why?”
Lilah narrowed her eyes. “Nothing? Nothing at all? How about something about how my location mysteriously made it into the papers? How about how a cadre of photographers and journalists managed to show up in Bankton? Hmm?”
There was a minute of nothing, then Margot sighed and turned to her. “What did you want me to do, Lilah?”
“I wanted you to respect my wishes, I wanted you to leave me the hell alone.”
