Chapter 46 – The Wilson Family – Holly Hayfield

My mom was happy to give me a ride to Lilith’s house on Friday night. She thought it was nice that Angel was going out of her way to give me permission to leave the house for the entire weekend. This would be my first time staying at a friend’s house since last school year. From my mother’s perspective this was another part of getting my life back on track after my expulsion. For me, I couldn’t see things like that as much anymore. Right now I had far greater plans.

Lilith’s place offered proximity to the school that would make our nighttime break-in possible. Naomi, Sam, and the lock-picker, Perri, had already been let in on the details of my plan. According to Lilith, her aunt and uncle were planning to go to a concert out of town for the night. They wouldn’t be back until early the next morning. They wanted Lilith and me to watch over her younger cousin while they were gone.

That was good for us because it meant that we’d be able to sneak out of the house much easier. The only important thing was that Lilith’s cousin was asleep by the time we left, and that we were back before Lilith’s aunt and uncle. That gave us a lot of room for operation. The plan was to link up with Naomi’s group as soon as Lilith’s cousin was in bed for the night.

My mom and I pulled up into Lilith’s driveway just as the sun was starting to set in the distance. Lilith’s aunt Margaret was sitting on a chair on her porch waiting for us. She jumped up out of her seat and began walking towards the car before we had even stopped. My mother took extra caution not to hit her as she hopped out in front of us with a huge smile on her face. She was so excited that she was forgoing her survival instincts.

“It’s nice to see you again Margie.” My mother said as Margaret approached the car window.

“It’s so nice to see you too!” She said excitedly with her hands clasped together. “Holly! I’m so glad you could make it! This is the first time my little Lilith has ever brought one of her friends over! I’m so happy I could cry! I went out and bought ice cream, pizza, and a lot of snacks that I think teenagers like. I… also…”

I waved in a downward motion like I was trying to get a dog to calm down.

“That’s nice and all. I’m just happy to get the chance to hang out with Lilith some more. Is she inside?” I asked.

“Yes! She’s probably still in her room! That boneheaded girl wouldn’t come out here and wait for you like I told her to! She’s so stubborn!”

I laughed as I got out of the car. I could feel that she was familiar with Lilith’s stubborn side as well.

“I’m aware, trust me. It’s okay. I know how she is.” I said before turning back to my mom. “Bye mom! I’ll see you on Sunday!”

“Bye Holly! Have fun! Send me a text if you need anything.”

“She won’t need anything at all!” Margaret said cheerfully. “I bought everything they could ever need! They’ll have fun this weekend!”

I could see my mother giving me a funny look as Margaret’s attention was focused on me. My mother was probably thinking how out-of-whack Lilith’s aunt was. The first time I met her I had dismissed her odd behavior as excitement. Now, as I saw the crazy look on her face, I was beginning to wonder about her mental state. Perhaps it was for the best that I didn’t dwell too much on that psychoanalysis lest I end up in a situation like when I first met Sam.

“Bye!” My mother said as she began to pull out, “I’ll give you a call later, Margie.”

“Bye!” Margaret called back, “Thank you for bringing Holly over! I’ll take good care of her, I promise!”

Once my mother’s car was out of the way, Margaret immediately closed the distance between us. The creepy mannequin-esque smile on her face gave me bad vibes, but I wouldn’t let her know that. I smiled back politely. She wrapped one arm around me at first. Then she put her second arm around me and gave me a hug. This was unexpected, but I could feel her excitement. I hugged her back.

“Come on Holly! I’ll show you inside! You’re going to love our place! I’ll be gone for most of the night with my husband but I made sure to buy a few new movies just to make sure you girls aren’t bored! I know Lilith likes to stay in her room most of the time so you can both watch it in there! I bought popcorn, soda, candy, and all sorts of things, you name it. I…”

“This is a nice house you have here.” I said to try to derail her off her rant.

“Oh yeah, I guess it is! This was part of my inheritance. This house is almost as old as your school. It’s been passed down in my family for many years now. I was lucky to get it since my sister was older and was higher up on the priority list. Luckily when she planned to go off to college in another state she handed me the rights to this estate on her way out. Now my husband and I take care of the place. The only problem is that it is expensive to take care of. Also the roof still leaks sometimes. We’ve been planning to get that fixed. Also…”

“Excuse me,” I interjected, “Do you mind showing me inside?”

“Oh, where are my manners? Come on, let’s go.”

The house was bordering somewhere between extravagant and ostentatious. It was undeniably an expensive house. Lilith came from some degree of wealth. On her father’s side was the Meredith family’s holdings which, according to a conversation I had about it with Lilith, was being managed by a third party until she finished school. On her mother’s side, that also being Margaret’s side, was a family of old money. Their wealth came from oil tycoons that made it big maybe a century or more ago. They were still reaping the rewards even today.

The inside was just as lavish as I expected going by the outside. Lavish was a word I almost hesitated to use going by the absolutely clustered nature of the interior. There was so much stuff clogging the entryway and living room that there was barely a walkway. I had to awkwardly shuffle into the narrow entry way behind Margaret. It seemed she was a bit of a hoarder.

Margaret took me by the hand and led me to her kitchen. I was actually interested in going to find Lilith but it looked like I didn’t have a choice. Margaret led me into the kitchen where an older fellow was preparing a cup of coffee near the fridge. This man was jolly looking, like an office worker Santa, and stout like the big coffee cup he was holding. His face lit up with a smile when he saw me.

“She’s real!” he said.

“Of course she’s real you old goat!” Margaret said. “Holly, this is my husband Dennis Wilson. Dennis, this is Lilith’s friend, Holly Hayfield.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

“My apologies for what I said.” Dennis said, “It’s just that the way Lilith speaks about you at the dinner table, it sounds more like you’re a supporting character in her DnD narrative.”

“Dee and Dee…?” I asked.

“It means dungeons and dragons.” Margaret said. “It’s one of the tabletop games they play together. You can just ignore his nerdy tendencies.”

“Ah,” I said. “I think I’ve heard of that before. I’m just not all that familiar.”

Dennis got down on one knee and performed a dramatic bow.

“We would love to have you join our campaign Milady! My lieutenant, Lilith, would undoubtedly appreciate whatever aid you can give us in battling the forces of darkness!”

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“That’s uhh…”

I didn’t even know how to respond to this. Luckily I didn’t need to. Lilith came into the kitchen just as he was finishing his little character act.

“What’s going on in here?” Lilith asked her uncle, and then she looked at me. “Holly, come to my room. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“I was just telling Holly about our DnD campaign.” Dennis said. “Maybe you could invite her to join us sometime?”

“Holly isn’t interested in that kind of stuff!” Lilith said.

“I might be,” I said. “I’d need to learn the rules and…”

Lilith took my hand and pulled me away from her aunt and uncle.

“Just come on.” She said.

Margaret caught my other hand before Lilith could pull me away. When Lilith noticed she tried to pull me even harder rather than talk it out. They were locked in a tug-of-war and I was the rope.

“Now hold on, Lily.” Margaret said. “Maybe Holly would like to see the rest of the downstairs house? We’ve got a few minutes before we leave. Why don’t you let me give her a tour?”

“No!” Lilith said. “Holly has something she needs to tell me! It’s important! It’s… It’s about school!” She said.

“Well, if you two are going to be busy with school work then fine. Let’s just introduce Holly to Ethan first.”

“Please!” Lilith begged, “No!”

“It won’t take too long honey, I promise.” Margaret said.

As Lilith pulled me towards the staircase in the living room Margaret followed us in close pursuit. She stepped in front of us as we approached the staircase.

“Ethan! Get down here! Lily has brought a friend for you to play with!” Margaret said and looked back at me. “I’d love to introduce you to my older son but he’s off at college. He really only comes home for the holidays, but sometimes not even that! Boys his age…”

“It’s fine.” I said. “I’m an only child, but I understand. The only time I really see my grandparents these days is during the holidays. This recent transfer to a new school has complicated things.”

“Oh! Poor girl! Come here!”

Margaret finally pulled me out of Lilith’s hold so that she could hug me once again. Lilith tried to split her away from me but her aunt was too clingy. I laughed at Lilith’s feeble attempts. Lilith wasn’t laughing. She looked genuinely frustrated that her aunt was having a field day with a guest here. The difference in their personalities was night and day.

“Yes mom?” A little boy asked as he came down the staircase.

Margaret pulled away from her hug just enough to address the boy.

“Ethan, this is Holly! Holly, this is my youngest son, Ethan.”

“Is she my new sister?” Ethan asked innocently. “You said I was going to get another sister in the future! Is this her?”

I laughed. Margaret gasped in delight as the little boy spoke.

“Yes!” Margaret shouted excitedly as she pulled Ethan into our hug. “Holly is your new big sister! We’re going to be a big happy family! Maybe Holly could have your brother’s old room! He doesn’t use it anymore! We can convert it! I’ll buy a brand new bed, some cute frilly curtains. I’ll repaint the whole room a bright color. That’ll be perfect for Holly. After that, we’ll…”

“Enough!” Lilith shouted.

Lilith tore me out of the three person hug and pulled me up the stairs. I was laughing the entire time.

“We’re going to my room!” Lilith shouted.

“Bye Ethan!” I said. “It was nice meeting you!”

“Bye!” Ethan said.

“Welcome to the family!” Margaret sang.

Lilith slammed the door behind us the moment we entered her room. That was dramatic. I was picking up on some tension between Lilith and the rest of her family. It would be natural given the more logical and solitary nature of Lilith’s character. Her aunt was an extreme opposite. It must’ve been difficult for someone like Lilith to live here given her antisocial nature. Her aunt would be doting on her constantly in place of an actual daughter.

The doting was self-evident as I looked around the room. While Lilith’s room wasn’t as ‘girly’ as mine, there were things that pointed to her aunt’s intervention. The aesthetic way her drapes matched her bed covers, which matched her rug, seemed to be foreign to Lilith’s character. Little things such as the room’s arrangement gave me a sense that someone had managed every detail with a keen sense of feng shui. It was hard to imagine someone as utilitarian as Lilith caring about such aesthetic details.

Lilith was watching me look around her room the same way she looked around mine much earlier.

“Not what you were expecting?” She asked.

“I guess you could say that. The only thing I really expected was a large bookcase.”

“Yeah, well, my aunt said a book case wouldn’t fit the ‘vibe’ of my room. We have a few book cases downstairs in the office room, but not upstairs. I store my personal books in a bin in the closet.”

I took off my shoes near the door and sat my bag down near her dresser. She was watching me intensely as I made myself comfortable. She was biting her lip like she had something she wanted to say.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“You promised me you’d give details on how you got Ms. Logan to reveal the location of the basement. You’re here at my place now, so talk.” She demanded.

I smiled at her. She was so direct about these types of things, maybe too direct. I could be direct too sometimes. I went over to her bed and sat down in the middle, against a row of pillows. Once I was in position I patted the area in front of me to give Lilith the signal. She realized what I was getting at and huffed out a sigh. She sat against me just like before and I wrapped my arms around her. This was just as blissful as the first time.

“Talk.” She demanded.

“Well, the whole thing began with me trying to rehabilitate Ms. Logan by helping her to pick up her old hobby of painting.”

While explaining the details of my story to Lilith she began to let herself relax into me. She closed her eyes and drifted away. Some part of her must’ve enjoyed being held like this, not that she’d ever admit it. It was like she was letting her frustration at her aunt fade away as I talked. I could feel as her tense body loosened up. It was nice to know that she could be comfortable in my arms this way.

“Then I really was wrong to try and rush you.” Lilith said. “I’m not good with people, Holly.”

“I know.” I said.

“So understand that it wasn’t personal. I was just so caught up in the moment that I couldn’t see past what I wanted.” She said.

“I’m glad that you can admit that. That’s the first step towards becoming a better person and forming stronger relationships.”

Lilith laughed.

“For all the masquerading as a counselor you really are starting to sound like one.” She said.

“More than that,” I said. “I’ve decided that’s what I want to become in the future.”

“Are you serious?” She asked.

“I am. Before coming to this school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be. Changing schools has caused me to look more into myself, and into to others. I seem to have a natural affinity for understanding people.”

“I agree with that.” Lilith said.

“I wonder if I can use that ability for good. Not only can I improve myself, but I can help others improve as well. Funnily enough, I had a conversation about this with Ms. Logan on the rooftop. When she was commenting on the help that I’ve given her she encouraged me to continue encouraging others. She said I could help keep people on the right path.”

“You’ve helped me.” Lilith said. “After all my pain from last school year I was dedicated to not involve myself with anyone this year. If it wasn’t for you I think I’d still be all alone. It isn’t so bad hanging out with our little student council group. I just hope we win the upcoming vote.”

“Even if we don’t win I promise we’ll all stay together as a group.” I said. “You girls are the only friends I have now and I’m going to do what I can to keep us together.”

Lilith grinned.

“That’s nice but I’d really prefer to win.”

Lilith and I both laughed. As we were laughing her door swung open. Lilith and I were both surprised to see her aunt come in. This must’ve been awkward for her to see. I was still holding Lilith intimately. Margaret didn’t look upset by this though. In fact, her wide eyes grew even wider with excitement.

“Lilith? Holly? You girls are hanging onto each other just like twin sisters! This is so cute! Let me get my camera! I want to get a picture of this!”

“No!” Lilith shouted and pulled herself away from me. “We were just resting for a moment. I’m not taking any pictures.”

“Aw…” Margaret sighed. “I can never get you to take a picture while holding Ethan. At least let me get a picture of Holly holding you. It’d be sweet as a holiday card to your grandmother.”

“I don’t mind.” I said. “It doesn’t have to be like we were just now if that makes you uncomfortable Lilith. If you want to get a picture of us together for your grandmother I wouldn’t mind doing that before I leave on Sunday.”

“See!” Margaret said. “If Holly’s willing to then you should do it also!”

“We’ll take one picture for grandma later, but nothing weird!” She said.

“That’s great.” She said and put a finger on her chin. “I forgot why I came in here…”

“We’re going to be late!” Dennis called from downstairs.

“Oh! That’s right! We’re getting ready to leave! You two watch the house while we’re gone. Make sure Ethan is in bed on time or else he’ll stay up all night watching cartoons.”

“We’ll do our best to take care of the place.” I said.

Margaret came over with her arms wide open to try giving me another hug.

“Margie…!” Dennis called.

“I’m on my way!” She shouted back. “Alright girls, have fun while we’re gone. I’ll call when we’re on our way back! Eat anything you want downstairs. The kitchen is yours! Bye!”

“Bye!” Lilith and I said.

When she closed the door Lilith got up and locked it behind her like she was afraid Margaret would come back. She came back to the bed and voluntarily brought herself back into my arms. This gave me a warm feeling of closeness inside. She put her hands over mine and we intertwined our fingers. Finally she rested her head against my chest.

“Now,” She said. “When does your plan to break into the school begin?”

I didn’t answer her question immediately. Instead, I watched as Lilith’s aunt and uncle pulled out of the driveway in their car. It was night time now and the area just outside of the property was poorly lit. As soon as they were gone and driving down the street a handful of shadows ran out from the nearby woods and onto the property. Not long after, the doorbell rang.

“It just did.” I said.