Get Lily away from here as quietly as possible.

That’s the plan. The problem is, I have no idea how to implement it.

Lily is one of the most emotional, stubborn and determined people I’ve met, which means she’s unpredictable. If I walk up to her and demand she leave, chances are she’ll cause a scene big enough to fuck the both of us over.

So how do I approach this, then?

I’ve been trying to figure this out for hours, but I feel like I’m going in circles. Everything brings me back to the fact that I can’t be sure how she’ll react.

My phone rings, snapping me out of my thoughts. At first, I’m glad for the distraction, until I see that it’s Mom. I let it go to voicemail, because I can’t deal with her now. Not while I’m trying to sort out Lily. She’ll only suck dry the little energy I have left in me for the night. That sounds horrible, but everything with Mom is an effort.

“Fuck.”

I tense as the guilt over not answering her sets in. I try to ignore it, but in the end, I call her back, because the irony is I’m not going to be able to focus until I speak to her now, anyway.

“Adam? They’re trying to get me again,” she whispers.

“Calm down, Mom. Everything is fine. You’re in the Bayside Psychiatric Facility, remember? They’re just getting your meds stable,” I say softly. “Then you’ll be able to go back home.”

“No, they said that, but I know they’re after …” Her voice trails off, as she breaks into a sob. “Adam, please. Help me. I need you. You, me and Tom.”

I close my eyes, the pain in her voice nearly breaking my heart. I hate it when she talks about Tom, because it means she’s really bad. I run my hand through my hair and sigh. I wish I didn’t feel so useless.

Even if I were right there with her, it wouldn’t make a difference.

“You’ll be home soon, okay?” I repeat softly. “I love you. I’ll speak to you soon.”

As the line cuts out, I stare at the phone. I’m angry and frustrated, then I feel guilty for feeling angry and frustrated. It’s the same story, every time. Schizophrenia is a hell of an illness.

“Shit,” I hiss.

Why does everything have to be so hard?

Grunting, I sit upright, taking a moment to remember where I am. Someone knocks on the door, reminding me that’s what woke me in the first place.

I sigh and get off the bed and wander over to the door. I force my eyes to adjust to the semi darkness along the way, narrowly avoiding walking into the desk. I turn the handle and pull open the door, expecting Alberto or Julian to be on the other side, I frown when I see that it’s Andrew.

Andrew?

He gives me an awkward smile.

“Hey A … um.” He swallows, looking green. “Frederick.”

I smirk at how uncomfortable he is, then I cock my head.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Uh, this.”

He hands me his phone, nearly dropping the thing when it fumbles out of his grasp. He catches it just before it hits the floor and then straightens up, flustered. He hands it to me again, while I try not to laugh. I stare at the screen, not sure what I’m supposed to be looking at. Whatever it is, it better be worth waking me up over. I glance at him thoughtfully, because I’m pretty sure that’s Julian’s phone he’s holding in his other hand.

“Can you tell me what I’m supposed to be looking at?” I ask, impatience creeping into my voice.

“Sorry. Click into my messages,” he mumbles, flushing. “It’s the first one.”

I click on the message and raise my eyebrows, a smirk creeping onto my lips.

This is what you’ve been missing?

I make a face. Do I really want to find out? Apparently, I do.

I click on the attachment, then I wander over to the bed and sit down. I wait for the video to load, motioning for Andrew to come inside. He does, closing the door so he can stand against it. He shifts awkwardly on his feet, for the most part, avoiding eye contact, but he glances my way every so often. It’s like he’s waiting for a reaction.

The video starts, and I see why. I chuckle. No way.

Katie Harris?

She smiles playfully, her short, black dress rising dangerously high up her thighs as she dances on the spot. I shake my head and smile. Wow. She was cute ten years ago, but now she’s fucking incredible. Her long, dark hair hangs loosely, in waves around her shoulders. But it’s that smile that gets me. That’s the reason I can’t look away… I swallow the lump forming in my throat and sit forward. There’s something so pure about her beauty. She’s not trying to be someone she’s not, she just …Katie.

“Beautiful,” I murmur.

“Stop pointing that thing at me.” Her eyes narrow as she smiles at the camera.

“Oh, shut up. You know you love it.”

I roar with laughter. Darcy Westin is someone I haven’t thought about since she kicked me in the balls back in junior year—no doubt after I said something offensive to her. She was good stock back then. Always ready with a witty retort and fiercely loyal to her friends, particularly Katie.

Katie eyes widen. She grabs Darcy’s arm, who frowns at her, but then her eyes spark with realization and she starts laughing.

“What’s wrong?” That’s Lily

Katie flushes. “This song …” She shakes her head. “It’s nothing.”

“What?” Lily asks, giggling. “Since when do you freak out over Maroon 5?”

“Oh God, this?” Darcy groans. “Kat played this song all the damn time when she was in love with Adam Jenkins. Hey, remember how you were saving your virginity for him?” She hunches forward, laughing her ass off. “I guess it’s not too late, huh?”

“Shut up,” Katie cries, laughing. “God, that was so tragic, huh? I really loved him.”

“You were head over heels.” Darcy giggles. “You worked him into every fucking conversation possible. I could be telling you about my dying grandma or my explosive diarrhea and you’d work Adam in there somehow.”

“We are talking about the same Adam Jenkins, right?” Lily asks in disbelief. “The one who tortured you?”

“Well, this was obviously way before that.” Katie replies as she rolls her eyes. “There’s no faster cure for a crush than the guy turning out to be an absolute asshole.”

“How come I never knew any of this?” Lily asks.

Katie and Darcy exchange a look.

“It wasn’t just you,” Katie assures her. “I didn’t want anyone knowing. Darcy only knew because she read my diary,” Katie adds, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

“Oh yeah. Your diary was a riot.” She snorts. “Love letters, poems, it was like a shrine to everything Adam.” Darcy starts laughing. “Oh God. Remember that song you wrote for him? I’ve never cringed more than when you sang that for me. I wanted to die for you.”

Katie buries her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she laughs.

“Yes,” she moans. “How embarrassing. Thank Christ it was you that I subjected it to and not him. Can you imagine how horrifying it would’ve been if I had the nerve to sing it to him?” She shudders.

She wrote me a song?

My lips twitch. That’s kind of adorable, in a stalkerish, is she going to murder me in my sleep, kind of way. I had no idea she even liked me like that.

Lily giggles. “Do you remember how it goes?”

“The song? It’s forever imprinted on my mind, but there’s no way in hell I’m singing it for you,” Katie declares. “Ever.”

“Because you’re too much of a pussy?” Darcy taunts, her eyes flashing.

“Katie’s scared of a lot of things,” Lily confirms. “She used to get her mom to check her bed every night for caterpillars.”

“Lily,” Katie hisses.

“Why the fuck would there be caterpillars in your bed?” Darcy snorts. “Though it does kind of explain your irrational fear of butterflies. I mean, what kind of seven-year-old goes around squashing butterflies?”

“One who’s been traumatized after her mother arranges a surprise birthday party in the butterfly enclosure, after her best friend insisted they were her favorite,” Katie growls.

“Oh God, that was perfect, wasn’t it?” Darcy giggles, shaking her head. “The way you screamed and jumped around, it was like you’d been put in a tank full of spiders.”

“I’d have preferred that.”

“Three of my friends needed counseling after watching you go all serial killer on those poor little butterflies.” Lily giggles.

Darcy roars with laughter. “Kat, you’re a childhood horror urban legend. Forget about the bogeyman. I present you with…Catterkiller!”

Catterkiller, Catterkiller,” Lily chants.

“Just don’t say it in front of the mirror,” Darcy warns her.

“I think I preferred you two hating each other.” Katie frowns. She rolls her eyes. “If it will shut you both up, I’ll sing the damn song.”

Darcy and Lily cheer as Katie stalks up onto the stage, then faces the crowd.

“This one’s for you, Adam Jenkins.”

“You could’ve had it all, I would’ve given it to you raw,

You’re all I thought about, I wanted you without a doubt,

You were where I wanted to be, you were where I most felt me,

I wanted you to love me, I wanted you above me,

I was so glad I found you, I wanted to surround you,

And feel you slide deep inside, there was no need for me to hide

Then my world turned upside down, and my smile became a frown

Because you broke my heart, you hurt me so muuuuuch …”

I sit forward, laughing so hard that I nearly drop the phone.

Holy shit.

The noble thing would’ve been to stop watching when the singing started, but I’m not known for my nobility. I shake my head, because I think I’m in shock. I feel awful about laughing, but what other reaction is there? And God, those lyrics … I close my eyes, cringing just thinking about them. God, she would die if she knew I’d seen this.

I clear my throat and look up at Andrew.

“That was …”

“Painful?” Andrew suggests, smirking.

“I was going to go with horrifying, but painful works too.” I shake my head and laugh.

What can I possibly say after seeing that?

“Julian doesn’t know?” I ask.

“Nope. He drank too much and passed out. I heard his phone beep at the same time mine did. When I saw this, I checked his phone and there it was.”

“Julian, I can understand.” I muse. “She probably clicked the wrong attachment, but why did she send it to you?”

“I’m not sure.” He frowns at me. “I thought you might have the answer to that one.”

I nod. “Hey, thanks for bringing this to me. I’m going to forward it to myself and then delete it off your phone, if that’s okay?” I ask. He nods, looking relieved.

After I’m done, I hand it back. He passes me Julian’s and sure enough, it’s the same message and same video. I stare at it thoughtfully, trying to work out what her motive is.

“I can put this back if you like?” I offer.

He looks relieved. “Would you mind?”

“Not at all,” I say. “Andrew? This stays between me and you, okay?”

He smiles. “It’s already forgotten.”

I watch the video again after he leaves, not only for my own amusement, but also to try and figure if I can work out where they’re staying. Okay, so it’s mostly for my own amusement, because I recognized the swipe key on the table in front of Lily the first time I watched it.

I chuckle as Katie somehow manages to miss every single note as she belts out her song. I feel bad for her, but right now, the amusement is outweighing the sympathy, because this is fucking hilarious. She bounces forward on the stage as she sings the last line, my gaze falling on how good her breasts look bursting out of that dress.

God, I hope she’s still wearing that later....

I grab the hotel phone and call reception. It’s a long shot they’ll give me what I want, but it’s worth a try.

“Hello, I’m staying in the hotel with a friend, but I’ve forgotten what room she’s in. Is there any chance you could tell me?”

“I’m sorry, sir. We can’t really give out that kind of information …”

“I completely understand. It’s just she left her phone in my room and her mom just called with an emergency.”

She hesitates. “Can I have her last name? And her cell number?”

“Saunders,” I say. I flick open the message again and relay her number.

“Lily Saunders. She’s in room two hundred and ten.”

“Great, thanks so much for that,” I murmur. “It will mean a lot to her.”

I grab my jacket and shrug it on as I walk out. I glance at my watch and shrug.

Maybe seven is a little too isn’t too early to bang on their door…

Nah.

I need to deal with this now, because aside from the obvious Julian-related issues, having those three on the loose could make things very complicated for me.

If they call me Adam and someone hears? I’m as good as fucked.