Prologue

 

Lilith Pleasant sat at the back of the bus counting the number of minutes until she could get off. She was sick of being cooped up in school all day and usually going home wasn't all that better. Today however, was different. Today, she had something she hoped would get the attention of her parents.

    A few rows in front of her, her identical twin sister Angela sat making googly eyes at her boyfriend Dustin. Ughhhh. Lilith didn't even know why they bothered to call each other boyfriend and girlfriend anyway. They hadn't even kissed yet. Or had they? Angela seemed to be sporting a certain glow to her recently. She had gone over to Dustin's trailer home after school a couple days ago. Had they had their first kiss there? Both Lilith and Angela had officially started dating at around the same time, but Lilith had passed first base with her boyfriend months ago.

    Seeing Angela happy like that made Lilith want to gag. Her whole life it had been Angela, Angela, Angela. “Hey Lilith, did you see that Angela can use the toilet now?” “Hey Lilith, look at Angela's report cart card. If only you could work as hard as her.” “Hey Lilith...” It made her sick. Her parents had always had a soft spot for Angela, while Lilith had always been overlooked. She pretended that she quit caring years ago, but if she was really honest with herself, she had to admit that she had just given up.

    Lilith normally didn't try hard at school. What was the point? It wasn't like her parents cared what grades she got. Or she had thought that until she came with a D- on her progress report. That got her parents' attention all right, and not in a good way. She had been venting to her boyfriend Dirk about it when he had suggested she try something different. Her parents may be used to seeing her with either mediocre or down right terrible grades, but the one thing they hadn't seen from her was an A. So she worked her butt off and studied so hard she thought she was going to pass out. But it had worked, and today she was coming home with a test that had a big, red A+ written at the top. Just wait until her parents saw that.

    As the bus neared her stop, she pulled her backpack off the floor and set it in the empty space where Dirk had been sitting before he had gotten off. Her wandering gaze found Angela and Dustin doing the some. Great. Was Angela really bringing her boyfriend home today? On their father's day off? Lilith only tracked her parents' schedules for one reason. It was no secret that her parents didn't like Angela's boyfriend. And since Little Miss Perfect actually got on her parents' bad side by her choice of partner, there was no way Lilith was going to bring Dirk home and find out what her parents thought of her relationship. So they had decided to keep it secret and only visited each other when their parents weren't home.

    The bus stopped and Lilith got off, weaving through the small group of students. She breezed past the lovebirds, hoping to get home before them and avoid that confrontation. She entered the house and walked into the living room only to notice an odd feeling of tension in the air. Wait a minute, something wasn't right. The door to her parents' bedroom was wide open. She dropped her backpack and got closer to the doorway to find her mother scowling at something. Wasn't she supposed to be at work? As she stood in the doorway, Lilith felt the blood drain from her face as she saw what had made her mother so furious. In the bed was her father and the maid her family had hired to keep the house clean. What was worse was that the pair of lovers hadn't seemed to notice they had been walked in on.

    No, no, no, no, no. This could not be happening. She wasn't stupid, she knew her parents were having a rough patch. When they weren't comparing her to Angela, they were arguing with each other. But what was in front of her, her father in bed with another woman, that made her blood turn cold. Without another word, Lilith rushed upstairs, locked herself in her room and flung herself on her bed trying to come to terms with what she just saw. Had that really happened? Had her father really done that? She pulled her phone out of her skirt pocket and sent off a text to Dirk.

 

Lilith: I need to talk to you ASAP.

Dirk: How did it go with your parents?

Lilith: It didn't. Something else did. Is it safe to come over?

 

     “Lilith?” came Anglea's voice. There was a knock at the door. Great. Just Great. This was exactly what she didn't need right now.

    “Go away!” Lilith said. Of all the people she didn't want to talk to her twin was at the top of the list. Couldn't Angela just leave her alone?

    “Lilith, I'm serious.” Lilith sighed. Angela wouldn't leave until Lilith answered. She didn't know why. It certainly wasn't as if Angela liked her - not when Angela started half the fights. Lilith threw her phone on the bed and opened the door.

    “What?”

    “Do you know what's going on?” Angela asked. “I've never seen Mom and Dad fight like this. I've never seen Mom this mad before.” She sounded scared. As scared as Lilith wasn't going to admit she felt.

    “Where've you been? They fight all the time.”

    “Not like this,” Angela said. “Mom just slapped him.”

    “She just caught him in bed, Angela.”

    “In bed sick?”

    “No you idiot! In bed with Kaylynn!” Angela backhanded her right on the face. “What was that for?”

    “Really, Lilith? I know you resent our parents, but lying about Dad cheating is a new low, even for you.”

    “And I'm not kidding!” Lilith returned the slap. “I saw them. He was kissing her neck and doing I don't even want to know what else. Now why don't you go smooch with Dustin or something and leave me alone?”

    “How... How did you know?” So they had kissed. Their father was going to lose it when he found out. But at the moment, he was apparently at their mother's mercy. That victory would have to wait.

    “Lucky guess,” Lilith told her. “Now get lost!” Lilith tried to shove Angela out of the room, but her sister wouldn't budge.

    “I'm not going back down there,” Angela said.

    “Where's Dustin?” Lilith asked. Angela's face paled. “You left him downstairs with Dad didn't you?”

    Without another word, Angela took off and Lilith slammed her bedroom door shut. After quickly securing the lock, Lilith collapsed on her bed and let lose her tears. Why did Angela have to bother her now? Why did Angela have to ruin everything all the time? Why did Angela have to accuse her of making this whole thing up? Surely, Angela knew that Lilith would never lie about something like this, right? Right? It was just a reminder of how much she couldn't stand her twin. The only person Lilith wanted to talk to right now was Dirk, as he was the only person who could make her feel better just by listening to her. He would understand. He always did. She picked up her phone to find his latest message.

 

Dirk: No. Dad got an art gallery showing, so he's been home painting all day.

Lilith: What about tonight? After they've gone to bed. The usual place?

Dirk: That'll work. I'll pick you up at one.

 

Cassandra

 

“I don't know, Cassandra. I'm just at my whit's end with that girl,” Mary-Sue Pleasant said over the phone. Cassandra sat down on her bed and sighed. Mary-Sue had been her closest friend since Cassandra's parents had hired her to babysit. She had witnessed everything, from her friend's wedding to the birth of her unexpected twin girls. Cassandra had talked to her for what seemed like hours after her mother was abducted, and again after she found out about her ex-husband's various affairs. Now, her friend was the one in need of someone to listen, and there was no way Cassandra wasn't going to offer it.

    “Mary-Sue, why don't you start from the beginning?”

    “It started a couple of months ago. I was at work and my boss gave me a stack of papers with tasks I needed to prioritize for him. I found a speech that he was given to look over and I knew he didn't have time to edit it, but I did, so I went through the whole speech and marked it up. I thought he would be thrilled. Instead he was furious. He started going on and on about how he needs an intern who does what she's told and that apparently I wasn't her. He then said he had to let me go.”

    “Oh, no,” Cassandra said. She knew how hard Mary-Sue had worked to become that politician’s intern. “You got fired?”

    “No, just demoted.”

    “You can get that position again, right? Maybe with a different guy this time?”

    “I don't know Cassandra. I worked my butt off to get that position and I shouldn't have to do it again, but it's been a couple of months of being back on those stupid phones and nothing.” It was obvious that Mary-Sue was still furious about the whole thing, but something told Cassandra that this alone wasn't the whole cause of it.

    “I'm guessing there's more to this story.”

    “Well there was nothing else to do except go home a few hours early. And all I really wanted to do was get in bed and cry my eyes out. But when I got to the bedroom, I found that the bed was already occupied. By Daniel. And our maid.”

    “Wha... what?” Cassandra knew that Mary-Sue and Daniel hadn't been having the best relationship lately, but had it really gotten so bad that Daniel had resorted to seeking attention from someone else? Still, Cassandra knew what must have gone through Mary-Sue's mind at that moment, having been through it herself not that long ago. She knew the heartbreak, pain and anger of seeing her husband with another woman. And to top it off, she had found her ex Don at the strip mall, so the whole thing had been on public display. But at least she hadn't caught him in bed. Oh, there was no doubt in her mind that Don had been in bed with the other women he had been seeing, but she had been spared that sight, thank goodness.

    “Yes. In our bed, too. I just did not... I mean I know we were arguing more and more lately, but I figured we would get through it. I never expected... this. And to make matters worse, this was about the same time the twins got home from school. I know Angela came in while we were fighting, but I'm pretty sure Lilith came in before that and pretty much saw what I saw. After that she locked herself in her room and I didn't see her again until four the next morning when a police car pulled up to the house with her in the backseat. She had been out with Dirk Dreamer. Apparently, they've been dating for a while.”

    “I know,” Cassandra said automatically.

    “Wait. How...”

    “His father told me when he came over here about a month ago.”

    “Darren visited you?”

    “Yeah, he said you had mentioned what happened with Don and he came over here to see if I was okay.”

    “Yeah, now that I think about it, I'm sure I did casually bring it up when we met. I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better, he was the one who asked how you were doing.”

    “Don't worry about it Mary-Sue. We were able to talk some things out about what really happened between us. We had been close... until my wedding. But never mind that. What happened with Lilith?”

    “I grounded her. She spent most of that time in her room. It was actually nice not to have the twins fighting all the time. It gave Daniel and I time to discuss some things. He gave me all the excuses. Kaylynn was lonely and needed someone to fill the hole until Don could manage to come and see her again.”

    “Say that again,” Cassandra said in disbelief. “Did you just say she was involved with Don?”

    “I thought you knew.”

    “Not about her.” It didn't really surprise Cassandra at this point to hear about yet another affair Don had been having. She figured there would be others besides the two that she knew of, but hearing this still shook her. However, that wasn't the most pressing issue at the moment, so she pushed it aside to focus on her friend's problems.

    “Are you okay?” came Mary-Sue's voice.

    “Yeah. Don't worry about it. It really doesn't surprise me anymore.”

    “Anyway, Daniel and I decided to pretend to get along until the twins finished high school.”

    “I'm guessing that didn't work,” Cassandra said.

    “No, it didn't,” Mary-Sue continued. “Once her punishment was over, Lilith threw a party. She didn't let us know until after she had invited everyone, but at least she had asked for permission this time. Anyway, the party was in full swing and I was coming down the stairs when I saw Daniel with Kaylynn again. I just about lost it. I pretty much let him have it then and there. I didn't care that we had an audience, but I should have. It pretty much ruined the party.”

    Although Cassandra couldn't blame Mary-Sue for the outburst, she certainly would have put a smile on her face until the guests had left the house. But when she had caught Don, she was so angry that she hadn't cared who saw her lash out at him. And come to think of it, there would have been a lot more gossip going around if she hadn't done something. Way worse than a bunch of high school students spreading rumors.

    “Lilith was furious at both of us. She quit doing her chores and kicked over our trashcan a couple of times without cleaning up. Punishing her didn't help, and I tried giving her some space. But a couple days later I found a note on her bed saying that she was through with all of us and that we shouldn't try to find her.”

    “You mean she ran away?”

    “Yes, she did. I couldn't believe it at first, but I looked everywhere and couldn't find her. I checked with my parents, Daniel's sister and even Darren. None of them had seen her. She didn't even go to school. I think Dirk might have known where she was, but he wasn't talking, or at least Darren couldn't get it out of him. This went on for a whole day after I found the note. Finally, Darren found her. He thought she was a burglar so he called the police and they ended up bringing her home.”

    “So where is she now?”

    “At school serving dentition for missing class.”

    “And what happened with Daniel?”

    “I kicked him out. He's found an apartment, but the lease doesn't start until next month, so he's stuck here until then, since his sister doesn't want to explain everything to her child. But that's not the only problem. Lilith's behavior is scaring me, Cassandra, and I just don't know what to do. What could have driven her to hate us so much?”

    “I've kept my mouth shut,” Cassandra started, “but don't you think you've been favoring Angela a little too much? I remember babysitting one time when Lilith bragged to me about how she had potty trained herself.”

    “That's ridiculous. I clearly remember putting her on the... no wait that was Angela. There was another time when... no, that was also Angela.”

    “See what I mean? And that's not the only thing that bugged me. I noticed at some of their birthday parties that Angela was surrounded by friends and Lilith would eventually go sit in a corner all by herself. Angela always got to blow out the candles and get the first slice of cake. If a present was for both of them, Angela was the one who opened it.”

    “We always thought that Lilith didn't want the attention.”

    “I don't think so Mary-Sue. From where I stood, you pretty much neglected her. And as long as I'm being honest, you were always much more loving towards Angela. Whenever you talked to Lilith, it was stricter and not as forgiving. She probably resents all of you for that.”

    “Cassandra, that was the only way to get through to her.”

    “Well, obviously, it hasn't worked.”

    Mary-Sue was silent for a while. When she did speak again, her voice was quiet.

    “Why did you never tell me this?”

    “Because it wasn't my place. But since it's gotten to the point where Lilith is running away from home, I had to say something.”

    “I just wish I could send her somewhere to straighten her out.”

    “Wouldn't that just make things worse?”

    “No. She clearly doesn't want to be here, but she doesn't have anywhere to go besides Dirk's house and that's not happening. Maybe I should just send her with you,” Mary-Sue said casually. “If she spent some time in a more structured environment with a family that behaves like one, maybe she'll understand what she has and be grateful for it.”

    That wasn't that bad of an idea, Cassandra thought. “Are you serious about that?”

    “The more I think about it, the more I am. It might be worth a shot.”

    Cassandra closed her eyes. Could she really add a troubled teenager to an already full household, one that consisted of not only her parents, but her own children as well? But what if she could help this girl? What if this was something Lilith really needed? Cassandra certainly wasn't going to let her friend down but this seemed too much to ask. Her mother was much better at this kind of thing than she was. If Lilith needed an adult to trust and confide in, it would be her.

    “I'd have to ask my parents,” Cassandra finally answered, “but if they think it's a good idea, I'd be more than willing to help out.”

    “Then it's settled. Lilith has spring break next week.”

    “But isn't Darren's gallery opening that Saturday?”

    “Where you planing on going?”

    “Yes. My parents will be coming as well. We've got the flights booked and everything.”

    “Well, that's perfect! You can just bring her with you when you come back. It can't be that hard to get an extra plane ticket this time of the year, right?”

    “I guess not. But as you know I don't have the final say in this.”

    “Well, if your parents are okay with this, then next week she's all yours.”

 

Bella

 

“I just don't think it's a good idea,” Mortimer said.

    “But what if we can help her, Mortimer?” Bella replied. She sat down on the sofa across from him in their master suite.

    “Look, I know you want to help her, Bella, I do too. But what's to keep her from causing trouble? She'll probably end up sneaking out of our house too.”

    “And go where, Mortimer? She doesn't have anywhere to go or have anyone to go there with. I think it's safe to say that won't happen.”

    “She's still a bad influence, and I don't want that around the girls.”

    “She's not a bad person, Mortimer. She's just trapped in a horrible situation. From what Cassandra told me, there's been nothing but fighting in that house. Don't you think we should take the opportunity to get her out of that toxic environment? It did wonders for Anne.”