[Candycane]: 728.Dangerous Secrets.Chapter 2

By this time, Lillian had fallen asleep on Kyle's bed. She'd showed him her bruises and he'd promised on the life of his guitar, one of his most prized posessions, he wouldn't tell a living soul about it. That didn't mean he couldn't tell his mother. Her grave was only two blocks away in the local cemetary.

He'd gotten dressed, checked on Lilly, and then set out. It was still dark, doing this could be considered illegal...oh well. If he's caught, he can just fake-cry his way out. He did loose his mother recently. Tears were still fresh, hence he'd been staying up all night, tonight, anyways, watching horror films. Closing the door after grabbing his umbrella, he opened it on the porch, checking the sky as he stepped out from under its roof.

A slight pattering echoed from above his head. He didn't mind. It was kind of monotone and easy to listen to as his feet splashed slightly in the forming puddles. The rain had lessened since Lilly entered his house. He didn't mind this part, either. After crossing two deserted streets, he cut across the third, at an angle well-traveled, and found the broken portion of the graveyard fence. Walking in, it took him less than two minutes to reach his mother's tombstone. He knelt down, so his umbrella covered the headstone.

"Hey, mom," he said, placing a hand to steady his crouching position on the stone. "It's me, Kyle, again." He slowly ran his hand down until it touched the last letter of her first name. "Lilly got attacked today...she said she was in an alley way. She called herself stupid, and I don't blame her...but...I think...she's lying to me." A few tears came to his eyes naturally. The only sound around him was the pattering of dropletts on the stone, his umbrella, and the ground.

He blinked them away, though. "She's hurt. Badly. I don't see how she made it this far in the rain with those bruises. She's really strong, Mom...I'm nothing like her." As if on cue, one of the roses fell from the vase, landing towards Kyle. He glanced down and picked it up, a small smile slowly forming across his face as a salty path cut down his cheek. He didn't notice.

Standing, he still held the rose, and pressed it lightly against his chest, the thorns still evident on the stem. His head was bowed as he didn't finish talking, but rather stood there for another several minutes before glancing up at a noise. A light shone across the cemetary, turned and continued on, growing darker, fainter, and more of a pin-point. He released the breath he'd been holding and looked down at the name on the gravestone, rereading what he'd already memorized: Karen Nicolson 1967-2007 "A caring mother, a wonderful wife, a great human being."

"I'll talk to you again, soon," he whispered, and turned, walking back the way he came. Once he reached the fence, he realized that he still held the rose. He chuckled and continued, not stopping again until he got to his porch and unlocked the door. He shook off the umbrella on the porch before folding it up and placing it back where he got it from, removing his wet shoes and walking upstairs to his bedroom soundlessly.

Lilly had rolled over, her now dry hair framing her face. He's often thought how beautiful she was, even if he wasn't going to date her, he still thought it. She had gorgeous features and stunning eyes in the right light. He'd often told her this, just to boost her self-confidence, and she did the same for him. He merely accepted it wordlessly and sighed. He picked up the pajama pants he'd previously worn and took off his jeans with the wet hems. He'd wear that tomorrow. It was still clean, if a little wet.

Once comfortable, he pulled the huge circular cusion he used in a large circular chair in the corner of his room onto the floor. Laying out the extra blankets and pillow he had, he laid on this make-shift bed, staring up at his ceiling for what felt like hours, in reality: minutes, before falling asleep under his glow-in-the-dark stars he'd placed.