“Your seat, Madame.” Atti smiled, pulling the chair out for Lily.
“Thank you.” She smiled, taking the seat.
Atti leaned over to whisper in her ear “I’m forcing Orlando to be a gentleman to your sister.” Lily laughed. “And some manners never hurt anybody.”
Orli coughed to gain everyone’s attention.
“Ladies and gentleman, shall we start off with some wine?”
Elle laughed. “So proper aren’t we Mr. Englishman?”
“Yes, yes we are.” He smiled, then leaned over to Elle and kissed her cheek, making her cheeks turn a shade pinker than her blush.
“Orli not at the table.” She giggled.
“Oh what did I do wrong?” He joked, tickling her in her sides.
She laughed, playfully hitting him across the cheek.
“Stop getting fresh with me Orlando Bloom.”
Elijah, Atti and Lily laughed; Heath and Dominic were engrossed in a conversation.
“Oh, what?” Orli joked, hitting her in the arm. Everyone cringed at the sound; he obviously hit her harder than she had hit him.
“Ow, Orlando.” She looked up from her menu to him. “That hurt.”
“Oh that did not hurt.” He laughed; he reached over and pinched her arm. “You’re such a baby.”
“Stop Orlando.” She smacked away his hand.
Elijah and Atti continued to laugh, Lily stayed silent. Orlando was digging his own grave, not realizing the severity of his actions, or how mad Elle was getting. Orli continued to jokingly taunt, pinching her arm, you could gradually see the area he was pinching get pinker.
“Orlando…” Elle said quietly. “Please stop.”
“Alright, alright.” He laughed, looking down to his menu.
Then he quickly reached over and grabbed a chunk of skin from her arm. Her head snapped and she smacked his hand away. Hard. A few people looked to their table, Elijah and Atti quietly laughed and Dom and Heath looked up from their conversation. Orlando and Elle locked eyes.
“I said stop.” She muttered quietly, and then looked down to her menu. Everyone else followed her lead and silently looked down at their menu.
Orlando chuckled. “Don’t make me beat you like a red-headed stepchild. You have naturally red hair don’t you Ellena?”
Lily’s head snapped up. Both girls had dark red hair naturally, both girls dyed it brown.
He didn’t just say that, Lily hoped, take it back Orli, take it back.
Elle, who was still looking down at her menu, sniffed, then looking up to Orlando with tear filled eyes everyone was taken back. All of the laughter had stopped.
“I just asked you to stop.” Elle whispered to Orlando.
“Excuse me.” She said to the table, getting up and walking quickly to the bathroom.
Lily watched her disappear around the corner. She closed her eyes and looked down to her lap. Shit, she mentally kicked herself for not stopping them. She looked up to Orli.
“I was just playing around.” He swore. “What was that all about?”
Lily sighed.
“I’m not the right person to tell you.”
She pushed back in her chair.
“Excuse me.”
She followed the direction of Elle, and at the end of a long, dimly lit hallway was a large oak door reading “Ladies”.
Lily pushed the door open and could hear the sniffling of her sister at the other end of the bathroom. When she walked her high heels clipped against the floor, echoing against the walls.
“Elle?” She said quietly, stopping in front of the door where the sobs came from. “Come on out here, I’ll fix your makeup for you.”
The door squeaked open and Elle stood was standing, eyes filled with tears and small mascara lines.
“I keep trying to tell him, I’ve tried a hundred times.” She said. “Sometimes I think I’m such a coward for not telling him, it’s not that big of a deal.”
“Elle, stop honey. You don’t have to do this.” Lily said, she was already fighting tears.
“If I tell him…will you be there with me? Please?” Elle said, taking a stop towards Lily and holding her hands. “Lily I don’t think I can do this alone.”
Lily stammered. “I don’t know Elle, I don’t think it’s my place to be there with you, this should just be between you and Orlando I don’t think that I can do that.”
“Lily…please. This is all I need from you.”
Suddenly Lily realized how much Elle had done for her; everything she had went through to save Lily. She looked up to her sister, whose tears had vanished, but the small trails from the tears flowed down her face.
“When do you want to talk to him? I mean I have to get home sometime, I have work tomorrow starting at noon, I can’t just wait until all hours of the night before I get back to my place.”
“Then stay at our place. I’ve got clothes you can wear, we got toothbrushes, Hell I’ve got more makeup you can borrow.”
“I don’t know, Elle I mean…”
“Lily. Please. This is all I’m asking, just stay the night and help me get through this.” Elle pleaded.
After a moment Lily nodded her head. Whispering, “Ok.”
Elle smiled widely, wiping her cheeks. “You’ll do it?”
Lily nodded. “Yea. C’mon lets get you cleaned up.”
________________________________________
The girls returned to the table a few minutes later, the guys not knowing what to expect. Orlando stood up as Elle lead the way to the table. Elle was holding Lily’s hand, no doubt for support.
“Are you ok? I’m so sorry, Elle I was only joking. I didn’t mean anything by it, love. I feel so bloody stupid, I was such an arse.” He said.
“Honey it’s ok.” Elle insisted. “I overreacted and I’m sorry. We can just talk about stuff later, ok?”
Orlando looked amazed. He looked over Elle shoulder to Lily who just nodded. “Alright love.” He said, planting a small kiss on Elle’s cheek. Lily was so jealous. A great boyfriend who apologized the second after he did something wrong. She was filled with jealousy towards he sister.
“You ok Lily?” Elle said. Lily lightly shook her head and focused on her sister.
“Yea I’m fine.” She smiled. “I’m fine.”
She walked to her seat and sat down, sending Atti a reassuring smile.
The rest of the dinner was relatively quiet; a few jokes from when the guys were together before, but Elle and Lily were quietest of all. Speaking only to answer questions, usually with a yes or no answer.
When they left the restaurant they all met back at Orlando and Elle’s house, but soon after Heath, Dominic and Elijah all left. Leaving the rest in the living room, watching TV. Atti stood up from his chair and struggled to gain his balance.
“I should probably go to bed.” He giggled. “G’night ladies and sir.” He stumbled into his bedroom and that was the last they had seen of him for the night.
“I’m going to go change.” Lily said, standing up from the chair Elle looked up at her.
“I’ll be back in a few.” She finished.
She walked up the stairs and into the bathroom. She was…well, different from what she was used to. She was wearing a long green dress with black lace, and black high heels. Her hair was pulled up very elegant like and her makeup was done perfectly. Thanks to Elle. She wiped off some of the makeup and put her long hair into the usual messy bun. She went into the guest room upstairs and changed back into her clothes, before going back downstairs.
As she got to the hallway she could hear Orli and Elle talking, so she stopped to listen at their hushed voices.
“Why did you want to wait for Lily before you talked to me?” Orlando asked Elle.
“Because I need her help. She was there to comfort me before, when it was all going on, and I just need her here with me, to comfort me again…I guess.”
“You know you can tell me anything. Elle I want you to tell me everything. We’ve been dating for a little over a year…what could be this big that you would hide it from me?”
“It’s not that I’ve hid it from you, I’ve wanted to tell you, honestly I have…I just…couldn’t. I didn’t know how you would react to it, that’s all.”
“So tell me now.” He pleaded. “What is it?”
“Um…well,” Elle began nervously. “When Lil and I were younger our Dad died. It was a few weeks after Lil was born, actually, and Mom never really recovered. She was always depressed and always drinking and doing drugs and was always out of it. And when I was eight, Lil was five, she met this guy…Lil and I just called him Him. I think his real name was Joe, I don’t really remember. He’s was such an ass, oh my God I remember hating him the minute he met Mom. But I didn’t say anything because I knew that she loved him. She seemed happy at least.”
Lily, who was now crying, sat down against the wall in the hallway. Listening to Elle sob through her story.
“Then He started to…he started hitting Lil and me. And the longer he was with us the more violent and hateful he got towards us. And I would do everything I could to keep Lily from getting hurt; she was only six…so young. I would’ve done anything for her. And when I was nine…he…he got mad because I talked back to him or something, I don’t really remember…and he told Lil to go upstairs and he…he…” she stuttered.
“It’s ok, take your time baby. Please, love…you don’t have to do this.” Orlando insisted.
“He raped me.” She finished quietly. Elle started sobbing, Lily peeked around the corner to see Elle crying into Orlando’s chest, he was stroking her hair and kissing her hair.
“It’s ok, honey it’s ok I’m here.” He said. “You’re ok now, you’re fine.”
Lily stood up from the hallway and went back upstairs. She sat in the bedroom, overlooking the backyard and the wonderful view that came with it. She cried herself to sleep.
Chapter Four
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Dreaming of You
