BEGONIA

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: SING ME TO SLEEP ~ ALAN WALKER]

Lily stepped inside her house exhausted from all the day's events; everything that happened didn't even give her a chance to think through. She picked up the bottle of water on the table, taking a large gulp. She closed her eyes to relax.

"Fred..." Lily called her brother's name in a soft tone. She didn't even know how to go about it. Of all the troubles he could get into, it's being caught with illegal drugs. She removed the jewelry she had used to adorn herself; it was of no use now. As she continued to undress, she saw a small note stuck on the fridge.

Lily rushed to pick up the note; it was left by Fred. She read through the contents,

'Lily, I called and waited for you to come back but it seems you're closing from work late. The truth is I got a job from someone, just to go give his friend something, and he would pay so well. I don't want to leave all the stress on you; I'll show you that I can be of help too. Don't worry when I come back I'll get us pizza.

Love, Fred.'

If Lily felt bad before, now she was feeling worse. If only she had come back straight home first or even called Fred, then maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't be in the police station now as a drug offender. And who would offer such a job to an underage person, who? Lily had a lot of thoughts that flowed in her mind, but she was not coming up with an answer. All she had to do was take a warm shower. After, she decided to remove the eye contacts she used for the party, but she realized she was not with her glasses.

"It should be in Victoria's house; I'll ask her tomorrow," Lily muttered under her breath.

"I'll just use these contact lenses for tonight."

The moment she lay down on the bed, her phone rang. It was Officer Jeffrey. Lily picked it up quickly.

"Hello Lily," the young man spoke from the other end.

Lily greeted him, "Good evening Officer Jeffrey," she said.

Jeffrey chuckled softly; he was going to ask why Lily had gone back to being formal with him, but he decided to let go. The girl already had a tough day, and he didn't want to put more pressure on her.

"I wanted to know if you got home okay; your brother gave us your number as you are his guardian," the young officer said on the line.

Lily inhaled deeply, "I am home now. Please when would they allow me to see my brother? He didn't do it, you know Fred. He is still a child, no matter how strong he acts; he's just a...." Lily's voice trailed; she had tried to control herself from crying since everything started, but now she was at home, she just couldn't stop herself.

Why in the world was her life so hard? Why can't she have a moment of peace? What did she do so wrong? Lily sobbed softly, her hands now trembling with the phone clutched to her ear.

"It's okay Lily, don't worry; when you come tomorrow, I'll make sure they let you see him. The Narcs are already working on the case; by tomorrow, we should have a lead. Don't worry, as long as your brother is innocent, I'll do my best to get him out. Okay?" Jeffrey assured the girl calmly.

Lily nodded her head, sniffling back her tears, she dried up her tears. "Thank you so much for today, I'll leave my brother in your care then if it's not too much of a burden."

"No, it's nothing at all," Jeffrey remarked. He paused for a moment and then asked, "Speaking of burden, I hope the man who took you both home today was not troubled. Did he perhaps drop you off in front of your house? The man asked; he wanted to get information about the man everyone was calling perfect.

Lily recalled the devil she met at the police station; she didn't want anything to do with someone like the man, and it was better to avoid him. But how could she do that when the man already knows where she lives?

"He did, yes. Victoria and I were dropped right in front of our house." She answered. Deep down, she wanted to tell someone she could trust; that way, she had a guarantee. If anything should happen to her, then Jeffrey would go and arrest the devil.

Good thinking, Lily. The girl patted herself proudly for being so wise.

Jeffery twitched his lips, "You should be careful Lily, make sure your door is locked, and let me know if anything strange happens."

"Thank you so much; I really appreciate, and I'm sorry for always bugging you with my ill luck." Lily said in a low voice. She was feeling guilty; every time her family was in a mess, it was this same police officer who always comes through for her. She had thought after her father's case, they won't have anything to disturb the man again, but here she was.

Jeffrey smiled on the other end, "If you really want to show how you appreciate, then maybe when you are free and Fred is home. We can go grab something to eat. Hmm?" He asked.

In the span of the moment and troubling waters, Lily had solely forgotten about her crush and the feelings she had for the young man. She blushed, was he asking her out on a date? She pressed her lips shyly.

"Sure, I'd love that." She replied, now playing with her fingers, her leg kicking mindlessly in the air.

Jeffery raised his hand up in victory, "Great, I'll be waiting for the day." Before he hung up, he remembered something and decided to ask, "Sorry I'm eating into your sleep time Lily, but when you saw Mr. Ryker Zayne, you were looking terrified. Do you know him before now?"

Lily's forehead furrowed, the name was not a familiar one. "Who is Mr. Ryker?"

"The man that took you home this night, you didn't know his name? Did you notice anything suspicious about him?" Jeffrey pressed on; he wanted something to bite on. Anything at all that would be a lead; he noticed the look on Lily's face when she saw the man. Maybe she saw something or knows something.

Lily gulped, the devil's name was Ryker? She had already forgotten about the prince of hell with Jeffrey asking her out on a date. Now she remembered his cold coppery brown eyes and his chilly voice. Lily shuddered; she didn't want to keep anything from Jeffrey but at the same time she had been warned not to say anything.

"Um...about that I...."

Beep. . . beep. . .beep. . .

The call ended, Lily's phone went off while the battery was still fully charged.

Raven, who had been listening to the girl's conversation all along, ended the call when he heard the nosy officer ask about him, and the girl was about to say something.

"And she doesn't listen." He muttered, picking up the eyeglass he had found at his car's back seat.

"We should meet again, little girl." His voice reverberated in the dark.