//Hey Everyone. Some of ya'll are wondering when I will finish the series or how many chapters are left. I honestly don't know how many chapters are left. As I said, it's in novel format. So at least 20 or so more chapters full of secrets, thrills...and maybe kills ;P One thing I know for sure is that I want to finish this story by April 2016, so I can send it off to publishing. So...that's at least 2 chapters a month >_<. A challenge I am willing to take. So here's the next chapter. Comment/Rate/Email. I read every last one of them. Enjoy :D Happy Fourth of July! :D//
'What am I going to do?'
As usual the never ending questions clouded Lily's mind. A stream of frustration flew from her mouth. Lily had decided to take a walk outside during her break. Usually, she'd eat in the break room, but the room was stifling and cramped. Adding in the heat of her furiousness just added more to her blazing rage.
At the moment, she didn't know what pissed her off more. Brandon's fake ass apology, being set up to look like a cold hearted bitch, or Vanessa believing that asshole over her.
Or maybe it was the fucking kiss.
Lily bit down on her tongue till she could taste blood to calm her queasy stomach at the thought. They were just supposed to be friends. What had Brandon done in a week or two to get closer to Vanessa? Whatever he did, it caused his plans to accelerate exponentially.
It had been two weeks since Vanessa and her had gotten into it about Brandon. After that, Vanessa had just stopped talking to her. Lily would try her best to at least greet her, talk to her... hell, even work with her. But every time she tried to do anything that involved any interaction with Vanessa, Vanessa would give her a glance. A glance that would go straight through her. As if she didn't exist. As though she were invisible.
And then she would walk away.
But as the days went on, Vanessa could no longer ignore her existence. The see though glances turned into annoyed eye rolls. Into a disgusted wrinkled nose. And then into a black hatred that surrounded her lie a dense, ominous fog. To say she was different would be an understatement.
How was it possible that everyone Brandon came in contact with, he turned them into something hateful, and no one had a clue that they had been changed for the worst?
'You can not place all the blame on him,'
she thought as she looked down at her wrists. Her wrists had return to its natural dark brown color. The marks were finally gone. Faded away by time. With it went Brandon's proof of guilt. Lily breathed out another labored sigh.
'What's wrong with me? Of course I'm losing her. She has Brandon in her ear, probably telling her how much of a bitch I am.'
A loud buzzing noise drew her out of her thoughts. Lily looked towards the source of the sound to find the tattooed Rosie the Riveter winking back at her. How the crap did she get here? Somehow her body took over and brought her to the steps of the alternatively styled tattoo parlor. Her body hadn't just brought her there, but it had actually stopped her right outside the door Lily shrugged before opening the door. Why not? It's not like she had any other friends at the moment.
The loud buzzing of tattoo machines whirled about her while people talked amongst themselves. People had gotten so used to seeing her at that point that they no longer stopped and stared at her. Of course there was one set of eyes that never failed to give her the evil eye when she came in. But Lily was either too tired or too used to her hostility.
"Hey, kid!" the tattooed receptionist greeted with a big smile on his face. Lily's own face lit up a little when seeing him. The jovial man's warm personality was infectious.
She went over to the reception table and lazily leaned her hear into her hand as she looked at the receptionist. Inside of her, she found enough energy to muster up a smile. "Is it some kind of thing for tattoo artists to give people nicknames?"
"Only to people we like, hon," he said giving her a wink. "Since we are on the subject of names, name's Sal." He stood up and reached out his hand to shake hers. Lily had to crane her neck backwards just to look at him. He had to be just shy of seven feet! She knew he had to be tall by how tall he already looked while sitting down, but she wouldn't have guessed he was this tall!
Lily stuck out her hand and shook it while still gawking at him. His skin was naturally dark tan color and some qualities of his face gave him away as being Arabic. Like everyone else in the parlor, he had a mosaic of colorful tattoos flowing from the neck down. He had a sleeveless Jack Daniels shirt that helped show case the tattoos on his arm and on his torso. What shocked her the most was how ripped this guy was! Every muscle and fiber of him screamed strength! She noticed that his chest was beginning to rumble. Lily looked up at him and noticed his mouth was twisted up, trying his hardest not to laugh.
"Nicholas told me about your staring habit," he chuckled as he sat back in his seat.
Lily's face was on fire in embarrassment from being caught staring...again.
"And he told me how cute you look when you get caught." He gave her a playful grin as he looked to be doing some busy work at his desk.
"I'm sorry, you're just..."
"Huge?" Sal said with a small smirk.
"Well...Yeah," Lily admitted, giving up with trying to be obtuse about it.
"My body's not the only thing huge about me." He stuck his tongue out at her while Lily exaggerated a sigh from the cliché joke.
"That joke is so old and lame."
"Really? Usually girls will gladly play along with me."
"Well not me," Lily positioned herself back on the desk before continuing to say anymore. "Living with Nicholas twenty-four hours a day has made me immune to all sex jokes. Both cheesy and creative. I guess you could say he's like my birth control."
'With the Spirit on his side, in more ways than one.'
"Oh well, a guy could try. So what's up with you? Nick forget his lunch again?"
"Nah, just came in to talk."
"Should I get you a drink to down your sorrows in while you talk?"
Lily gave him a small smirk. "What sorrows?"
Sal took his eyes away from his work long enough to give her a knowing look. "You came into a tattoo parlor to talk. Need I say more?"
Pouting her lips slightly, Lily thought of a million different reasons why else would she be here. Only one possibility came up. "Maybe I wanted to hang out with Nicholas."
Sal let out a snort before going back to work. "Hon, I'm his friend and even I can only deal with him at small periods of time." Taking a quick look over his shoulder at the artists at work before turning back to her, Sal leaned towards her to whisper only loud enough for her to hear. "And between you and me, you'd have to be depressed if you came here just to talk with that she devil over there glaring you down."
He checked behind him again. Lily's own eyes drifted back and saw Anna Belle sitting in her chair glaring back at her. "She really has it in for me," Lily said softly.
"Well yeah. You're the only chick she hasn't managed to scare off. Plus, according to her, you live in the same room with him." Sal's hazel eyes looked back at Lily as if asking if it was true or not.
'Nosy.'
"Yeah we do. But nothing happens." Lily could taste how rotten that lie was. Even Sal looked at her like he wouldn't believe that lie if Mother Theresa came back from the dead and said it herself. "Well, anymore. It wasn't even that bad. You know how Nicholas is."
"Just make sure crazy over there doesn't catch wind of it."
"Why doesn't she go get someone else?" Lily exasperated. "I mean they're not even together."
Sal chuckled as he was looking at the computer screen. "It sounds as if you want him."
"I do not!" Lily said a little too loudly, causing some people to stop their conversation to look at her. "We're just friends," she whispered in a lower voice. "My very annoying immature friend, but still he's just a friend. I'm just saying why doesn't she go and get someone else. It's not like she's not pretty enough."
Sal only shrugged as he typed something into the computer. "Beats me. I'm just glad I'm not the target of her affections." He turned in his chair and popped his aching bones. "I swear for some women, I think they are only pretty to cover up all the crazy."
"Then why does he mess around with her? Even Mrs. Yates doesn't understand why he fucks with her."
Sal only just gave her a small shrug. "Your guess is as good as mine."
"For someone who gossips so much, one would think you would have more answers," Lily said with a playful pout.
"Says the gossiping to the gossiper," Sal said with a smirk.
