Tattered and Torn
Chapter 7 : Info
RECAP:: You got to spend a little while alone chatting with Joey and Jim. You explained what you were feeling and eventually fell asleep in Jim's arms.
** DANI'S POV **
When the guys and I returned with dinner Joey and Jim were laying on Lily's bed watching TV. She was curled up to Jim, wrapped protectively in his massive arms. Joey told me about their conversation and asked what my suggestion was. Taking a deep breath I told him about my cousin Alexia in Des Moine and that I'd move if Lily did. Corey passed out the food as I situated myself on the foot of the bed.
Joey wanted to know everything about Lilly and why she was so reluctant to move. Smiling at my friend, I started with how crappy Val and Gary have treated her. I knew the whole group wanted to know about her, especially Jim. Feeling like I was betraying my oldest friend, I told the guys I couldn't reveal too much about her. Jim and Joey didn't like it but understood my position. The guys all decided to head back to their hotel shortly after dinner.
Naturally Jim, Joey, and Corey wanted to stay again. Corey left with the group so he could bring back clean clothes for the three of them. He gave me a tight hug before leaving, however. A few minutes after the guys left I figured it was a good time to tell Joey and Jim what they needed to know about Lilly.
"Alright. I still feel bad about telling you this because this is something she needs to tell you. She can give you more insight about it, too. The first 10 years of her life sucked ass." I stated
"Oh?" Jim said, raising an eyebrow
"Val was heavy into drugs, and not much has changed in 28 fucking years, so when she started breast-feeding the drugs passed to Lilly. I don't know how she breast-fed if she didn't give birth to Lilly, but we didn't know that until recently." I quietly said
"OH MY GOD!! What was she on?" Joey exclaimed
"Val was, and still is, heavy into all sorts of drugs. You name it, she was on it. She's not into alot of what she was back then but she's still into quite a lot. Meth, Cocaine, Heroine, Speed, just to name a few." I informed the pair
"Poor girl." Jim said, looking down affectionately at my friend
"The first 10 years of her life was spent trying to break free from the addictions Val passed on to her. She's ashamed of what she went through and doesn't talk about it hardly ever. As a matter of fact, she started getting tattoos to get over her fear of needles." I told them
"Holy fuck! So those people really fucked her up?!" Joey sadly stated
"Yeah. They have no respect for her, they've never shown her any sort of affection, love, or anything like that." I sighed
"How long have you 2 known one another?" Jim questioned
"Since we were about 10. I met her right after she got out of rehab for the last time. I had just moved into another foster home and didn't know anything about the area. Since almost everyone around here knew about her family, noone wanted their kids to play with her. We became instant friends." I smiled, looking at her
"So that's how she knew how to draw blood?!" Joey suddenly exclaimed
"Yeah. Um, Jim.... can I ask you a question?" I asked
"Well you just did, but go ahead!" He laughed softly
"Do you have a thing for my friend?" I quietly asked
"I'm very attracted to her, yes. As much as I want to spend time with her to get to know her, I won't get in the way of her getting to know Joey and her family." He said, giving Joey a warm smile
"She's all the family I have. And most of her relationships haven't ended well." I stated
"What do ya mean?" Jim asked, rubbing her back softly
"Most guys either want her for sex or for what they think she can do for them. Lily is a very giving, loving, and generous individual especially when it comes to relationships. Most guys take advantage of that." I informed him
"That's not Jim. He likes to spoil his girl whenever he can." Joey piped up for his friend
We chatted for a while longer until Corey returned. He had showered at the hotel and grabbed clothes for them all. Joey asked if he could take a quick shower, which I told him he could. Corey quickly took his place on the bed. I was flipping through channels when I realized I needed to get the cot out for Joey. Climbing over Corey was much more entertaining than going to the foot of the bed. By the time Joey was finished with his shower, I had finished setting up his cot.
"So what are we gonna do tomorrow?" Corey suddenly asked
"I don't know.... continue trying to convince Lily to move to Iowa?" Joey joked, making all 3 of us laugh too
"That'll be a feat if you can!" I replied
"Well, I told her she could move into my house if she wanted." Joey told us
"She's still a bit hesitant about moving. Fuck, either way we're gonna have to start packing up her stuff and moving her out of here." I said gloomily
"Very true. So what are we gonna do?" Joey asked
"Fuck if I know. Thinking makes my head hurt!" I pouted making the guys laugh
Lily has led such a hard life and being stuck here with people whom she has been led to believe was her family must be incredibly hard. I didn't think it was possible to hate someone as much as I hate Val and Gary! They've tainted such a beautiful angel. Tomorrow was going to hard as we had to decide what was going on. I'm sure the Jordison's wanted to know too, so they could begin making arrangements for their daughter.
After talking about plans for tomorrow, everyone got quiet and watched TV. Well, I was half-way watching TV and half-way watching Lily. Her tiny little body seemed to be a perfect fit in my arms. Her breath tickled slightly on my bare chest but it was a good sort of tickle. The woman's skin was so soft you couldn't help but want to touch it.
Sometime during the night I woke up to a wimpering sound. My first instinct was to look down at Lily. Sure enough it was her having a nightmare. Rubbing her back and whispering to her, she eventually settled back down. I couldn't help but smile as my actions calmed her enough to slip into a contented sleep. Since everyone was asleep and it was totally dark in the room, I leaned over and kissed Lily's forehead and then rested my head on top of hers.
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"Awww, they look so cute!" I barely heard Dani exclaim
"Today is gonna be really long, huh?" Joey said
"Morning guys!" I quietly said
"Morning!" Dani cheerfully replied
"Yeah, today is gonna be long. Lucky for us we have almost 2 weeks off for this!" Corey replied, chuckling softly
"Mmmmm" Lily mumbled
"Lily!! Liliannaaaaaaaaaaaaa, get your ass up! We got a lot of shit to do today!!" Dani yelled at her friend
"Piss off!" Lily replied, burying her face in my chest
"Nope, not the proper response!" Dani exclaimed, jerking the covers off me and Lily
"Ugh! Fine, I'm up! I'm up!!" Lily said defeatedly
I watched as she looked through clothes in her closet until she found what she was looking for. Did she know how her perfect, round hips swayed when she walked? The bathroom door shut tightly so I climbed out of bed to get changed. Joey and Corey were changing as well. Dani had went down to the second story to change in the bathroom. A few minutes later, Lily came out of the bathroom looking fabulous. My breath caught in my throat when I saw her:
and 
Her long black hair was down, covering half her beautiful face. As she brushed out her hair, I made note that the bandage I'd put on her cheek the other night was still there. Meticulously she applied a thick black line of eyeliner around her dark, mysterious eyes. That's all she really needed to draw attention to them! Without any thought, she slipped into a pair of white socks and then her black combats. With a quick spray of Axe, she was ready to go.
Dani was chatting with Corey and Joey while we waited the rest of the band to arrive. Lily sat down at the foot of the bed and sighed heavily. Sitting down next to her I draped an arm around her shoulder in comfort. She sighed again and then leaned into me. There was obviously alot on her mind and she was probably torn about leaving this magnificent room she's built for herself.
"You ok?" I quietly asked
"Not really. I know I need to move but I've put so much into this room. For the last 12 years this has been my haven!" She sighed
"Wish I had that! I'm paying a mortgage on a house I'm hardly ever in." I confessed, chuckling softly
"Wow. I can't imagine how you guys live." She replied
"It's hard but we wouldn't have it any other way! Well, you know your entire family is in Iowa. I understand this is like your comfort zone." I whispered to her
"Thank you, Jim." She suddenly said
"For what?" I questioned
"Just for listening and being here." She whispered
We sat there in silence with me having my arm draped around her and her head resting on my shoulder. Dani looked over at us and smiled warmly. I think I convinced her to move to Iowa but I'm not 100%. I'd be thrilled if she did though! Joey offered to let her move into his house. How much work would she put into it to make it her own? Would she decorate the entire house that way? It made me curious to see what she'd do.
The rest of the band finally arrived in good spirits. They greeted the girls cordially. As they all got settled, Shawn asked what the plan was for today. Joey had went downstairs because their parents had come too. Dani turned to look at Lily. Very quietly, almost in a whisper, Lily replied that her and Dani had to start packing up. Lily was understandably sad about leaving but I think at the same time she knew it had to be done.
Dani just looked at her friend with a bit of suprise before walking over and engulfing Lily in a tight hug. Taking a deep breath, Lily said she would be right back and then headed downstairs. Dani smiled at me before sitting down in the spot that Lily had just occupied. Lily's life was rapidly changing and she was having a hard time catching her breath.
We all figured Joey and Lily were having a "family discussion" with their parents so the rest of us just chilled in her room. Dani had turned on some music for our enjoyment. Corey and Dani found themselves in the far corner of the room talking quietly. Chris plopped down next to me suddenly. He was about to say something when Lily came back upstairs. She gave us a weak smile before asking Dani if she would be kind enough to go get some moving boxes and the other moving supplies.
Corey, Shawn, Craig, and Paul went with Dani while the rest of us stayed here. Lily seemed very quiet as she dug out 2 large suitcases and started filling them with clothes. Us guys didn't really know what to do and I'm sure they were feeling as out of place as I was at the moment. Chris, Joey, Sid, and Mick and went downstairs to keep Joey's parents company. I opted to stay with Lilianna.
As soon as she had filled both suitcases, she retrieved a smaller suitcase. I sat and watched as she put in her toiletries, makeu-up, and other things like that in it. As I watched her I began to noticed tears slowly slipping down her beautiful face. Getting up I walked over to her and engulfed her in a backwards hug. She quickly turned around in my arms and slipped her arms around me as well.
"Wanna talk about it?" I whispered
"We've already talked about it. This room is my whole life! All the best memories I have are contained by these walls." She cried
"Think of it like this. You'll be making new memories somewhere else. And as long as you remember those times in your heart, they'll never be lost." I told her
"It still hurts." She whispered, clinging to me like a life-raft
"I know, Sweetness. You have Joey, you have Dani, and you have me." I stated quietly, "Now... is there anything I can help you do? I feel useless!"
"Um.... do you know anything about computers?" She asked
"Yeah. Whatcha need?" I asked
"Can you turn mine off and break it down? I have all the original boxes for everything." She asked, finally and reluctantly pulling away from me
"Sure. I'll do whatever I can to help you." I whispered before kissing her forehead
Taking a deep breath we parted to continue our tasks. Once she had the bags she'd need for several weeks, she began folding up the clothes from her closet and placing them in specified piles. As I watched her work, I noticed how methodical and meticulous she was about her work. Everything had a specific pile and in a certain order. Was that how she made love? Slow, steady, and methodic? Shaking my head of these thoughts, I continued to "break down" her computer. She did get me the boxes everything went in, though.
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