A friend in need

It was not so peaceful evening at Grey's residence.

Edwin heard the doorbell ring a few times. He was in the living room doing what he usually does, reading the newspaper articles while watching his favorite show 'Chef on the run,' a cooking show that takes a celebrity chef in various places around the world where they will face cooking tasks.

Edwin watches the show religiously without missing a day.

It was the sixth season of the show that highlights the journey of a young Italian chef named Antonio Batali all around the world.

The show airs at 6:30 PM every day, excluding the weekends.

Edwin let himself free that time so he could not miss a thing. Being called forth while watching his favorite show, Edwin Grey got annoyed.

Stamping his foot onto the hardwood floor, Edwin stood up and marched his way to answer the door.

"Who is it?" – His voice was a little harsher than usual.

Edwin's eyes softened after meeting the person responsible for interrupting his pastime.

"Anna, what are you doing here?" Edwin exclaimed.

"Should I have a reason to visit you, Edwin?" Anna pouted playfully.

Edwin chuckled as he let her in without any further inquires.

"Come on in, Anna," he greeted warmly and welcomed Anna.

Anna encountered the living room situation and realized her mistake already. Turning around and facing Edwin, she surrendered sincerely, apologizing for her intrusion.

"Oh, stop it, Anna. If it is you guys, then it never a disturbance. Sit down while I get you something to drink," Edwin said and went inside.

Anna sat down and continued watching the show.

Within a few minutes, Edwin came out with a tray of cookies and lemonade.

"Edwin, Antonio is making Korean kimchi, I'm shocked. Plus, he is nailing it from what I see!" Anna updated with the program.

Edwin gave her the drinks and snacks and joined Anna to watch the series.

***

Time 7 PM –

The show ended finally.

"Wow, Antonio nailed it today. I mean, I've heard that kimchi needs years of practice, but he succeeded it on the first go," Anna commented.

"He is said to be the most potential ones in the industry," Edwin shared.

"Edwin, did you see that glassy noodles he made? That was a bomb; you have to cook that for us, Edwin, please!!!" Anna pressed.

"That's called Japchae," Edwin noted.

"Yeah, that one, you have to cook that for us," Anna begged.

"I'll try to learn it," Edwin agreed.

Anna nodded gratefully.

"So, I guess you are here to meet my desolated daughter, correct?" Edwin suspected.

Edwin did guess it precisely. Anna paid an impromptu visit to Grey's residence.

"Of course, how is she doing?" Anna asked.

"She locked herself inside, and haven't spoken to me yet," Edwin groaned.

"Oh, Edwin, don't worry. She will be fine," Anna encouraged. However, it didn't satisfy the father.

"Edwin, I'm here to meet Lilly. I will talk to her. She can never escape from me," Anna gloated.

"I'm relieved because of you, do you know that?" Edwin sighed.

Apart from having great trust in his daughter, Edwin also can be free from worrying randomly because of Lillian's friends. Anna and Diego are both honest people, and they have been together for a long time; Lillian was with Anna even more years. These close friends have each other's back through thick and thin. Also, as said, the one person Lillian Grey can never escape is Anna. Both have a strong bond that let each other to open up and talk it out.

Edwin had been worrying about Lillian's state, but seeing Anna in person, he felt reassured.

"I'm grateful to you, Anna," Edwin praised.

Anna froze from such a huge compliment. She requested him never to do it again, for they are family.

Edwin sniggered softly.

"I forgot, how is prom coming up for you?" Edwin inquired.

Anna shared about how the hot guy from school asked her out and revealed a sneak peek of her prom dress to Edwin. He listened to her speak joyously.

Seeing Edwin frown a little while listening to her story, Anna paused. She quickly ended her narrative and comforted Edwin once again, meaning to take care of Lillian and never leave her alone.

"Thanks, sweetie," Edwin cried.

"Oh, Edwin, nope, if you cry, then I'll start crying. Stop it," Anna went in to hug the father.

"It's alright. You know I'm there for Lilly regardless."

Under those little hands that sympathized, Edwin thrives in finding strength. Even if it looks like he doesn't bother a bit, Edwin alone knows how much deep inside he cares for his daughter. He never intended to pry on her personal life as she started growing up. Nevertheless, as a parent, Edwin could only worry and depend on friends like Anna with whom his daughter can freely talk about anything.

"Is it because of Diego asking her out?" Edwin popped the question out of nowhere that it startled Anna.

"What?" Anna yelped.

"No way, Edwin; not a chance," Anna confirmed.

"Then, why is she- she should be outside, shopping with you, finding a pretty dress, and getting excited about Prom."

"You know she is not someone who is into enjoying prom, right?" Anna asked.

It is correct, and Edwin agreed to it.

"But-"

"No, but- Edwin, I'll go see her first, and bring her down, okay?" Anna said and removed her hug. She tapped him on his shoulders and encouraged not to stress it.

Running upstairs, Anna stood outside Lillian's room. She felt somehow cold vibrant expelling the surroundings.

She knocks on the door- no response.

She keeps on knocking- still no response.

Worried that Edwin might notice, Anna tries to open the door. It got unlocked.

'Woah, she forgot to lock it, lucky me!' - Anna mused.

**

Anna opens the door and finds the room in the complete darkness with no light. The window curtain covered street lights.

The time would be around 7:15 PM.

Thought it was the beginning of the twilight zone, there were still street lights that could seep through the windows if they were open, but not.

The room had no light and no flow of fresh air. The window was actually locked.

Anna stepped in and walked around slowly to switch on the lights. As she moved, she got hit by a small metal object on the floor. It was quite sharp and gave Anna a searing pain. She gasped and cried in the dark.

Cursing Lillian, she reached for the board and switched on the damn lights.

**

When the lights turned on and illuminated the darkroom, the first thing Anna saw was the giant blob on the bed.

'There she is!' - Anna knew that it was Lillian Grey under layers of blanket.

The room wasn't dirty, or so, the object that hit Anna was a pair house keys that Lillian owned; that thing was on the floor.

Anna picked it up and placed it on the table where it should be.

Because Lillian Grey was under a lump of blankets, she couldn't sense the presence of Anna or the light.

Anna watched Lillian as if she were a dead zombie, still on her bed without any movements. Staring at her only for a few seconds, scared Anna right away.

She ran and grabbed the blanket at once and threw them on the floor.

Underneath the messy covers was Lillian, on her stomach down, face down on the pillow, resting and sweating. However, it didn't smell so bad. She only looked wearied and lifeless.

'Who am I kidding?'

'She looked so deceased.' – Anna hissed.

Lillian Grey stirred from the alien presence; it was cold. Without the blankets, she felt the chill breeze brush against her skin.

She lifted her face and looked through the messy bed hair, wanting to find the blanket. Her vision is blurry and had only parts of the visuals. She saw her blanket on the floor, and next to it stood a human figure.

Turning around, Lillian sat up.

"Hey, 'I'm trying to kill myself,' Lillian Grey," Anna teasingly greeted.

Lillian fixed her messy hair that covered all over her face.

"Who is it?" she called out, her tone dry and tired.

"Your grim reaper," Anna replied.

Lillian hissed.

"Anna?" Lillian shot a glare.

"I'm glad that you still remember me, my beloved friend," Anna says dramatically.

"Why are you here?" Lillian snaps.

"Why am I here- to tell you that you promised to someone that you will go with him to the prom, and he is trying to reach you since last night, and you haven't replied to him."

"What would he think?" Anna explains.

"Diego?" Lillian asks.

"Yes, Not only him, I've been trying to reach you too and you are not responding to me either,"

"What is going on, Lilly?" Anna asks.

Lillian looks around to find her phone. She picks it up and sees the dozens of missed calls and unread text messages, none from Giselle. Again pissed off, Lillian sighed, throwing her phone randomly on her bed. She falls back onto the bed, lying down she rested covering her face with hands to hide the feelings.

Anna sees that Lillian is obviously going through some hard emotional changes as if she got stuck to react or handle the issue.

"Did you pick your dress already?" Anna asks, trying to distract.

Lillian shook her head.

"What do you think about wearing for the prom, Jeans and tops?"

Lillian creases her brows; she exhales a 'no.'

"Moping alone is not going to work. Whatever, you told Diego that you would go with him, so don't try to back out now, get up, we will go out for shopping."

"I can cross my heart and swear it that you don't have a prom dress with you, so wake your sulking ass for now. We will go shopping, fix you with a decent dress, and then get some burgers and return."

Lillian continues to remain mute.

...

"Get up!" – Anna yelled, ordering without any sympathy.

Lillian obeyed by immediately waking up. She wobbled her way to the bathroom.

***

Several minutes later, she came back in her sweatpants and tank top; hair still wet from the quick shower. Even after washing, her face looked like it lost all its color.

Going into her closet, she picked out a casual outfit to change. On her way back to the bathroom to change, Lillian got stopped by Anna.

"Lillian," she called.

Lillian obeyed regardless, turning back, she waited for Anna; she didn't look her in the eye but kept her gaze down; not because she feared Anna but Lillian had no spirit in entertaining any conversation.

Anna hesitated. She kept glimpsing at the study table for a reason and debated if she should speak out or not. It all stacked up in her throat to say out loud, but one look at Lillian, Anna felt that now is not the time.

"Nothing, wear a coat, it might get chilly at night," Anna dodged.

Lillian gave the nod and left.

…

While waiting when Lillian was taking her shower, Anna went for a little hunt inside Lillian's room, just taking a look around. She saw the study table and the mess on top of it. The revision notes for Math were still their present, piled up on the desk.

Anna smiled as she organized it for Lillian. When accidentally opening the drawer to place the papers inside, Anna saw a decorative item hidden underneath. Quickly taking a peek and with the little note on top of it, Anna learned that it was from Giselle, and her face changed instantly, tensing up.

However, she did not go deep and quietly kept the papers inside carefully without letting it clash the gift. She closed the drawer and continued organizing the books on the table and arranged them neatly.

…

After changing her clothes, Lillian returned to her room, and by the time, Anna found a jacket for Lillian to wear. With that, the two girls headed downstairs and got welcomed by Edwin.

Edwin's first reaction was an absolute shock. He never saw Lillian's face for a while because the girl didn't bother to show too. However, seeing her now, Edwin got even more concerned.

He glowered at Anna in worry. Anna shook her head to change his face.

"We're going to shop for Lillian's prom dress, Edwin. It might get late, so you should eat," Anna signaled.

Edwin immediately granted, peculiarly nodding as he sends the girls off to their purchasing.

"I'll take care of her, don't you worry," Anna signaled to Edwin.

Edwin waved his hands, feeling grateful to Anna.

Anna spent most of her childhood days at Grey's residence because she could play with Lillian, and so, for Edwin, Anna is like his other child. He was glad to see the girls growing up together, having each other's back.

"Thanks, Anna, I'll have Lillian in your care," Edwin whispered alone, watching the girls disappear from his sight.