up to Lily’s house a few minutes later, he jumped out to open the car door for Lily. Instead of holding it open for her as she got out, he moved forward blocking the opening entirely. He placed his hands on the door frame and leaned toward her slightly.
“What are you doing,” Lily asked. Her pulse quickened in response to the unexpected entrapment.
“I’m not kidnapping you, so calm down. I just want to talk to you for a minute.”
“Well you don’t have to trap me in to talk to me.”
“I didn’t think you would want to talk about it.”
“Try me,” Lily countered staring him in the eye. Landon took in a deep breath before he spoke.
“So are you going to tell me why that guy was after you last night?”
“Oh that.”
“Yes that. What was he talking about Lily?” Landon’s voice wasn’t angry, but he was clearly irritated at not being told vital information about the situation he had found himself in.
“I don’t think you would believe me if I told you.”
“Try me,” Landon challenged. It was Lily’s turn to take a deep breath.
“You’ll think I’m crazy.”
“Probably not.”
“Okay, I’ll explain everything, but I want to do it tomorrow when I’m more awake.”
“Fair enough,” Landon replied a little disappointed he wasn’t getting any answers right away. He backed away from the door opening and extended his hand to help her out of the car. She was grateful for his help through the darkness of the night and the security she felt when he was with her. He helped her up the porch step and held open the front door for her.
“Whatever is going on, I’ll believe you Lily,” Landon said sincerely before leaving. “And I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”
“Thanks,” she said hoping it was the truth. He said goodnight and was gone as soon as she shut the door and locked it.
***
The following morning Lily found herself sitting at the kitchen table half-awake staring into a glass of orange juice. Today was the day of truth. Today she would finally tell her aunt everything, and Landon would know why he risked his neck on her behalf. She closed her eyes and wished the day were already over so she could go back to her warm bed and hide from the strange, terrifying world she now lived in. After her fall she had hoped that life would go on as it always had, calm and quiet. Now that she contained within her mind something so contrary to the course of nature, she could no longer be a silent nobody. She was now an active participant in her allotted lifetime. She was slowly accepting this truth, but she wasn’t enjoying it. Now that she was becoming a visible member of the world she had always been a spectator of, Lily realized how much she actually liked being invisible. Being invisible might not have been as bad as she had once thought. The doorbell rang, and Ruthie sprang from her seat at the table.
“I’ll get it,” she sang as she ran to the door. When she returned, Malaya was with her already wide awake and ready to face the day.
“So are you ready?”
“Will I ever be ready? Can’t we wait a few hours,” Lily responded sleepily.
“The longer you wait the harder it will be.” Lily knew Malaya was right, but didn’t want to admit it.
“Fine, at least let me finish my breakfast first.”
***
“So how are we going to do this? You know she’s not going to believe me. I’m a trustworthy person, but what we’re telling her is pretty unbelievable regardless of who says it,” Lily whispered standing just inside her room with Malaya at her side. Her aunt was sitting in a brown striped wing backed chair in the living room going to town on a Sudoku puzzle. Jackson and Ruthie were out playing with neighborhood kids until lunch, so they had the house to themselves.
“Don’t worry about a thing. I’ve got it all planned out,” Malaya declared confidently.
“So, are you going to fill me in on your big plans?”
“Nope. You’ll just have to trust me,” she said smiling her “I’ve got an amazing secret” smile.
“I don’t know,” Lily said hesitantly. She didn’t know if she was ready for this.
“Whoa, don’t chicken out on me now. Come on, let’s go,” Malaya commanded dragging Lily down the hallway. They stopped in front of Jenny and stood in silence until Malaya jabbed Lily in the ribs.
“Um, Aunt Jenny?”
“Yes?” She didn’t look up.
“I kind