Chapter 70

School is going on well for Lily and even though her heart aches everyday seeing Jay bring in numerous women as sometimes she could hear their voices all through the night, she kept pushing through as she told herself that she will meet someone who is better than Jay in the nearest future if she works hard to place herself in a position where men will respect her and want to be with her for who she is and not for what she is or out of pity just like Jay did. As much as she tried to hate him, she couldn't because he was the one who took her out of her father's house where she was being treated worse than a dog and he is the only person who has seen potential in her by making her come with him to the studio and rehearse almost every day. He even got her a voice coach to help with her voice and when she sings now, she can hear the difference in her voice.

Jay on the other hand has been trying to avoid Lily by moving from one girl to another. He told himself that if he could get over Chris, then there was nobody that he wouldn't get over but the fact remains that the feelings he has for Lily are different from the ones he had for Chris. With Chris, he felt more of disappointment and heartbreak but every time he looks at Lily, the thought of not being able to touch her alone kills him. He always feels a knifing pain in his heart whenever he thinks about her but he just has to pretend not to feel anything because he doesn't want to be the thing standing between she and her ambitions. She needs to explore and see more of life, make mistakes and learn from them. He wants her to experience all these things but if he gets entangled with her, he's afraid that he might just stop her from being who she is supposed to be which is why he has decided to stay away. Jay told himself that it is better to experience this pain than experience rejection later in life because if he tries getting in involved with her right now, he might succeed because she is young and inexperienced but after coming to know more about life, she might just get tired of him and throw him away because she will want to experience life in a different form and by then it might just be too late for him to turn back. He is avoiding Lily like a plague right now so that he wouldn't experience that pain which he fears.

 There is a young lady who Lola introduced to Jay called McKenzie. Lily hates Mackenzie with everything that she's got on this earth. She hates the way Mackenzie throws herself at Jay at every opportunity she gets thereby making Lily feel worse than she does already. She has noticed that every time that Mackenzie throws herself at Jay, he does nothing to stop her from doing that which meant that he liked it and she has been asking herself all this while if Jay felt anything for her at all because if he did why is he fraternizing with other ladies? Sometimes at night, she sits on her bed and cry while hearing the voices of those ladies in his room because it reminds her of the first time they met. Even though she couldn't remember much of what happened that night, it still hurts her to know that the man she had a one-night stand with and feels her life has changed because she developed some feelings for him only saw their relationship through that one night.

Sometimes when Lily sits alone, she remembers what her mother always tells her about men as she will say "Lily, never throw yourself at a man because most of them are only looking for what is between your legs and once they get it, they throw you away like a used rag because you have no value to them anymore as they have gotten what brought them to you." 

There are many times that she has felt like asking Jay why he had sex with her that night they met but she has never been that courageous to do it and sometimes she feels like going into his room and throwing herself at him but she is afraid that he will see her as a loose woman and might end up disliking her thereby making their relationship more tensed than it already is.

One afternoon while they were all in the studio with Mackenzie as usual, Jay went outside to receive a phone call and Mackenzie began to worry about who he was talking to on the phone, so Lily used that opportunity and decided to be sarcastic since the first time she knew MacKenzie. She walked close to where Mackenzie was standing and looking outside like she wanted to run towards Jay and listen on his conversation. Lily tapped her on the shoulder and said "you know, my mother used to say one thing which has always turned out to be true. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" 

Mackenzie turned and looked at Lily like she wanted to pounce on her and devour her like a lioness but took a deep breath and said "what do you mean by that statement? Since when did you and I become friends and how dare you talk to me? Do you think I do not notice how you drool over Jay every time you see him? Lola told me your story so dear Lily the abandoned and rejected, I would like you to stay in your lane and never cross over to mine because as I am right now, I have no joy and I can still the little that you have with the kind of words that I will say to you. I can't imagine that the little girl finally grew some wings and thinks that she can advise me."

The words that Mackenzie spoke to Lily hurt so much that they cut like a knife and Lily decided not to let it slide because recently, she's beginning to learn how to speak up for herself. She smiled at Mackenzie and said "you are not far from the truth by saying that I was rejected by my family but you made a mistake by saying that I was abandoned because the man who you are dying over is the one who willingly and forcefully brought me into his house. Lest I forget, stop trying to feel special because you are not the only one as there are others who he brings to the house and Lola has just deceived you by making you believe that Jay will love you. In case you have not noticed, it is better to be rejected by your family than chasing after a man who only sees you as a play thing. I will advise that you go get a life and stop chasing after Jay because very soon, you will lose it."

Lily hissed at McKenzie after talking but Mackenzie could do nothing as she was in shock. She never believed that Lily could be so bold to talk to her like this because the Lily that all of them know, is timid. She began to ask herself if Jay has began to have sex with Lily as that is the only reason she could think up as to why Lily will behave that way. One of the things that pained her most, was what Lily said while she was walking away. She couldn't believe that Lily called her a lazy girl and told her to go get a life. She was still in her reverie when Jay returned but seeing him stirred up a kind of anger within her that she couldn't explain because she remembered that Lily said she is not the only one as Jay brings other ladies to the house when she's not around.

 Even when Jay came close to Mackenzie, she wasn't as enthusiastic as she was when he left but because Jay is not really interested in her, he did not notice that her mood has changed because the only person he looked around for, was Lily because he couldn't find her when he returned. He looked at Mackenzie and asked "Lily was here a while ago. Did she tell you where she was going?" That question almost made Mackenzie to lose her marbles as she said between clenched teeth "do I look like Lily's babysitter?" 

It was after Mackenzie spoke to Jay the way she did that he came to know that she was not in a good mood and he kept asking himself why she spoke that way to him rather than asking himself why she was not in a good mood. He likes being with McKenzie because she is good on bed but aside that, there is nothing he likes about her because she is an empty head as the only thing that she knows is how to please a man on bed. Sometimes he wonders if she studied that as a course because she knows where to touch a man to get him on his knees.

Although Lily spoke to MacKenzie like what Mackenzie said did not get to her but she was really hurt because the moment she walked out of there, hot tears began to stream down her face as she couldn't believe that Lola could discuss her with MacKenzie and even tell her that she was rejected and abandoned by her family.

Lily stayed in the toilet and had a good cry until she heard Jay calling her name. She decided not to answer because she feels that Mackenzie would have told him some lies or exactly what happened and he might not be pleased with it. She stayed there in the toilet and made no sound but Jay kept calling out to her because he was told that she went towards the toilets. "I don't know what happened between you and Mackenzie that made her very angry and also made you to lock yourself up in the toilet. You need to come out now because I have an appointment in the next few minutes and I wouldn't want to get there late because of you. Will you quit being childish and come out because only children will hide the way you are doing.

 After Lily heard Jay call her a child, she decided to come out from where she was hiding and was ready to get into an argument with him but what he did next made her go quiet that she couldn't say anything. Immediately she stepped out, Jay began to laugh. He laughed so much that she felt confused and when he was done laughing, he said "when I called you a child you got angry but who does what you have just done if not a child? I used the same word of being a child to bring you out of your hiding place. Real hiders do not hide like you do as they stick to their hiding place come rain come shine but you ran out immediately in your bid to come and prove to me that you are not a child. I don't know what happened between you and MacKenzie in the few minutes that I was away to receive a phone call but whatever it is that happened, I can see that you are beginning to put my lessons to good use because Mackenzie was in a very bad mood. With all the lessons that I have taught you so far, I don't remember teaching you the part where you run into the toilet after trying to defeat your opponent. I expected to see you somewhere celebrating your victory and not in the toilet like someone who is hiding. Anyway, we have to leave now."