Lily's POV

As she crushed me into a hug, the nostalgia from when I was a kid hit me like a truck, instantly making me hang onto her so that I wouldn't be able to back out of the world of familiarity. She smelled like roses and cinnamon rolls. Her warm, smooth hands cupped my cheeks as she kissed them, beaming at me. She looked behind me to see Asher standing there with a weirded out look on his face. I had a hard time not bursting out laughing. She said,

"Oh! You must be her boyfriend! Come in my dear."

Her words made me blush and I instantly explained to her that we were nothing more than friends. She nodded at me, apologizing, but I saw her wink at Asher. We sat inside her old fashioned tea room. With a floral wallpaper, a collection of china decorations, plates, tea sets and other cutlery placed neatly inside of a glass cupboard, I felt like I was in a fairytale in the nineteen hundred's. Her plush, pink armchairs completed the look. Again, Asher looked like he was having a hard time understanding what was happening.

Once we sat down, she happily went into what I assumed was her kitchen to make some tea. Personally, I wasn't a big fan of tea, but I drank it occasionally. Once she left the room, Asher leaned closer to me and said,

"Why does her house look like she's a retired housewife who's trying to spend the rest of her life with her grandchildren?"

I frowned at him and said,

"Don't be mean! That's her style. She could ask you about your style too, you know. Let people live their life the way they want!"

He stayed quiet after that and smiled at her less weirdly when she brought a tray with some plates, a few slices of cake, a teapot with fresh tea inside and some teacups with saucers. I found her traditional style very refreshing and was not happy about Asher's behavior towards Laura. She asked me about school, how I was coping without my parents and other stuff of the like. Soon enough, I knew that it was time to tell her the real reason for why we had come over to her place. I set my small plate of a half-finished slice of cake on the table, and said,

"Laura, my parents might have told you long ago that I would need your help in the future. I don't know if they forced you to help me or something, even though it doesn't seem like it, but after hearing what I have to say, if you don't wanna help me, then please don't feel pressurized to do so."

She smiled at me softly, nodded and motioned for me to continue. I took a deep breath before telling her everything. Asher looked surprised to hear all the details about my life. I told her exactly what kind of beatings I used to get, things that triggered my abuser and my recent discoveries about him. I told her everything from the start to the finish. As, I finished my story, I heard a sudden crack. Looking towards my right, I saw Asher's hands curled into fists and his teeth gritted. Gently putting my hand over his, I smiled at him, reassuring him that everything was fine now. Well, as fine as it could be with Carter still on the loose.

I looked towards Laura who was staring at me with tears in her eyes,. Wiping them away quickly, she said,

"Other people might have told you this, but you are so strong Lily. I can't tell you how happy I am to see you grown up as such a wonderful young woman. And if you want a court case, I'd be more than happy to help."

I smiled at her gratefully, thinking of how she was my very own super heroine for doing this for me. What she said next was something that I had thought about quite a lot the night before. She said,

"Listen, to present a case in front of the court and fight for justice, a lot is needed to be done. First of all, I need all the evidence that I can get. Tell me everything again so that I can write it down. It's hard to ask this of you, but if you could somehow take a video of him beating you up, it would be the best thing you could do for a complete chance that Carter will go down. Last but not least........ you're gonna have to tell your story to the judge. In front of the rest of the court. I know it will be hard, but trust me, it will open gateways to a new future for you. A future in which you can live without fear."

I smiled at her and said,

"I know all of that. And also, I've already decided that I can do it. I'll present the case and get....... evidence of the beating that I will lure Carter to give me."

Once I said that, Asher grabbed my hand and looked at me, shock evident in his eyes.

"Why would you do that? You can't allow yourself to get hurt like that! We need to find another way."

Squeezing his hand, I said,

"Listen Asher, I've thought about this yesterday night and I decided that it is the best thing I can do. Mom, Dad and Laura recommend it, and they're all people who love me. Besides, this will be the final hit before a brilliantly bright future will stand before me."

He seemed reluctant but slowly nodded his head. After talking to Laura for a little while longer, we had come up with an excellent plan. We bid her goodbye and walked to the car, getting inside and driving to Asher's house. Upon reaching the huge gates, Asher parked the car in it's usual spot, got out of he car, walked around to my side and grabbed me from my seat. As I yelled at him to put me down, he walked silently upstairs, opened the door to my room and threw me down on the bed.

What did he want now?

Thank you for reading this chapter! It really means a lot to me! If you liked it, please comment, vote and share. I love you guys. Peace out! <3

Favorite kind of cake?