“I think she likes the sledding,” I say to Garret.
“Yeah, it’s good for her to get out and do stuff. She spends way too much time in her room.” He leans down and kisses me.
I pull back. “Garret. Lilly could be watching.”
“She’s at the bottom of the hill. It’ll take her 10 minutes to get back up here.” He kisses me again, slower this time. The cold air circles around us, making me shiver. I reach up and grab his jacket, pulling him closer.
We kiss for several minutes, then Garret breaks from the kiss and looks around. “I thought she’d be back by now.”
We both look down the hill. There’s no sign of Lilly, but the sled is sitting there.
“Lilly?” Garret sounds panicked.
“She probably went in the woods. Maybe she saw a squirrel or something.”
I’m trying to reassure him but Garret’s not listening. He starts running down the hill.
“Lilly! Answer me! Where are you?” His voice is frantic now.
I don’t know why he’s so worried. We’re on the Kensington property. There’s a tall fence around the entire perimeter. She couldn’t get out. But I guess it’s possible someone could get in, especially back here where they don’t have security guards.
“Lilly!” I yell her name as I follow Garret into the woods. “Any sign of her?”
“No. And why the fuck isn’t she answering me?” He takes off again farther into the woods. “Lilly! This isn’t funny! Where are you?”
I run the other direction, calling her name, but there’s no response. It’s like she just disappeared. I was trying to stay calm, but now I’m panicking like Garret. What if someone got past the fence? What if they took her?
I run to the right and spot a flash of pink out the side of my eye. I stop and turn to see Lilly sitting down next to a tree.
“Lilly!” I run over to her, kneeling beside her. “What are you doing?”
“Look. She’s hurt.” She points to a bird on the ground that has a broken wing.
“Why didn’t you answer me? Or your brother? Didn’t you hear us?” Between the running and the panicking, I’m now completely out of breath.
She looks down at the bird again and reaches her hand out to pet it.
I grab her arm. “Don’t touch it. Just leave it alone.”
I stand up and call for Garret. He’s there moments later.
He picks Lilly off the ground and stands her up in front of him. “Why didn’t you answer me?”
Garret’s voice is loud and stern and he towers over her. I can tell he’s scaring her, even though I know that’s not his intention.
“I did, but nobody came,” she says.
Lilly’s voice is so faint that she probably did answer and we didn’t hear her.
“You know the rules, Lilly. No running off. Ever.”
“But I saw this bird and she couldn’t fly and then—”
“I don’t care about the bird! You know—”
I grab Garret’s arm, giving him a look to calm down.
Lilly looks like she’s about to cry. “I was just trying to help.”
