The house seemed empty as Lilli walked in. The clock on the stove read 9:15 AM. She didn’t take off her shoes, considering that she was rushing. Besides, it wasn’t like she had other shoes to pack. She only had one pair, not counting her basketball shoes (which she immediately shoved into the tote bag), which were the beat-up black running shoes on her feet. So, she quickly ran up the stairs, since none of her stuff was downstairs.

She looked both ways down the hall, just to make sure she was alone. The Spencers should already be at work, so she was safe. Just in case, she shut the door when she was in her room. 

Lilli patted a space on the wall next to the window. She was going to miss this room. It had provided her with a space to breathe when the Spencers became suffocating. 

All her clothes had been washed yesterday, so she shoved all of them (she swore it wasn’t a lot) into the tote bag. Better to create a landing pad for her other stuff first. Her iPod charger went into her backpack directly, because she wasn’t going to risk it getting lost. 

Extra notebooks (a grand total of two), her sketchbook, and her case for her glasses went into her bag as well. She looked at her alarm clock and debated on taking it too. She gave in and yanked the cord out of the wall before dropping it into the tote bag. Hopefully, it would land on the pile of clothes forming beneath the upside-down tote bag, rather than the floor. Jewelry went into the tote bag, along with her limited amount of knickknacks and her scrunchies. Her very few (yes, she knew she was being childish) prized stuffed animals went in last, just so they wouldn’t get crushed.

“Four years of my shitty life, packed up in fifteen minutes,” she whispered to herself. There were a lot of memories contained in this town, most of them not the greatest. She scanned the room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

She opened the door and was about to leave the room when there was a loud bang.

Lilli swore before tiptoeing up to the front of the stairs. Her breathing sped up when she realized the two people that could stop her from leaving were standing in the doorway. 

“LILLI SILVA,” screamed Janet, kicking her shiny black shoes off. “SCHOOL BEGAN EXACTLY ONE HOUR AGO, AND YOU WEREN’T THERE. I KNOW—” Janet's voice faded away as Lilli sped back inside her room, shoving the tote bag into her backpack, which she shouldered. The door shut, and she locked it with a key (which she tossed into the pocket of her backpack) since this house was old and didn’t have normal locks. The door could be unlocked from the outside, but Lilli had a little time before Janet found a key.

Then her eyes caught on her window. The window was above a slanted part of the roof, so she could slide down before jumping off. She would be fine, probably. It was her best option because if she tried to make a break for the back door, the Spencers would see her. 

Lilli cracked open the window as far as she could. She took a deep breath and put one leg through. 

The doorknob rattled. Janet yelled on the other side for her to open the damn door. She pounded on the door, spurring Lilli to put her other foot through and limbo her upper body out onto the roof, holding onto the overhang for balance.

Although her house wasn’t that big, Lilli could see the first few streets of her neighborhood from her vantage point. Her head whipped around to face the open window as the banging continued. 

Then, it stopped. Silence.

Lilli could hear muffled voices from behind the door. Then there was a click. The door swung open.

Lilli pressed her back against the wall next to the window, praying that they couldn’t see her. Her breathing sped up while she stayed as still as possible. If she made a break for it right now, they could probably catch her. God knows what the Spencers could do, would do. 

Footsteps. Near the window. Lilli slid slowly down the wall she was pressed against, trying to maneuver the best way to stay hidden. 

Then a hand grabbed her upper arm. Lilli turned her head, only to be met with the face of Janet Spencer. She looked so mad Lilli was surprised steam wasn’t coming out of her ears and nose.

“Now where,” she said, “do you think you’re going?” She yanked Lilli’s arm with scarily strong force. 

Lilli’s head hit the window with a thud. She shut her eyes and groaned as the grip on her arm became painful. 

She shoved her right hand into her pocket and pressed the transmission stone.

Janet tugged on her arm again. Her left leg banged against the windowsill painfully. That was probably going to leave a bruise. She probably broke something in her other arm, but all she could feel was a dull throb. Lilli managed, despite the full might of Janet pulling her arm, to fold herself back through the open window. It was a good thing she was still wearing the backpack, otherwise her back would have been littered with bruises. Janet was dragging her toward the hallway with enough force to make Lilli trip over her shoes.

Lilli’s mind laughed despite the situation, because it was so similar to what happened when she overslept when her alarm didn’t go off. 

Lilli was borderline terrified. Terrified of losing this new life she had come so close to having. Terrified of what Janet could—no, would do. If she was a multi ante, what was stopping her from using whatever power she had to hurt Lilli? Lilli tried to keep a blank face, but she knew the fear was showing in her eyes. 

Lilli twisted her arm over Janet’s, freeing her throbbing arm from Janet’s iron grip. Lilli was too scared to look at her arm, scared of what she might find. Her breathing was coming fast as if she had just run a mile at top speed. Janet’s eyes bore a fury that Lilli had previously never seen, as if she knew where Lilli had gone. What she had seen. The truth she knew.

Then Janet began to speak. She began in a whisper, which quickly turned into a yell. Lilli’s brain tried to tune out the noise, but it could only bring it to a muted hum, as if the words had worn down their sharp edges, instead becoming a dull blade. It didn’t cut her, rather hit her with hard thuds that left burns in their wake. Her jaw clenched, forcing her to keep her mouth shut. There were times when Lilli would fight back, yell that she was right. Have an excuse.

This was not one of those times.

Then a voice awoke Lilli from her fog. Kealin’s face became clear as Janet’s yells momentarily ceased. “Hello there,” they said. Janet was standing frozen, but so was everything else, including the watch on her wrist. “Hold your breath.” Lilli obliged, even though she wasn’t very good at it. 

Everything went back to normal. Janet kept yelling, the words molding together and losing definition. But Lilli held her breath. A green pod rolled across the floor. Lilli looked at it in confusion, her eyes darting to it for a second. 

Janet shook her by her shoulders. “Look at me while I’m talking,” she said in a dangerously quiet voice. Out of Lilli’s peripheral vision, the pod began to spew pink vapor. She held her breath, even though her lungs began to burn. Janet’s voice stopped abruptly. She took a deep breath before collapsing at Lilli’s feet. 

Then Kealin and Charlie, who was in bird form, swung into the room. Charlie changed back and they both immediately gathered around her. 

“Are you hurt?” asked Kealin, looking her up and down. Lilli leaned against the wall for support before shaking her head. “Breath, the vapor’s gone now.” Lilli's breathing came back in short, quick inhales. There was a residual sickly sweet smell to the room. Kealin shoved the pod into their pocket.

“Liar, give me your left arm,” demanded Charlie, looking directly at her. Lilli didn’t move her arm, so Charlie gently turned it to face him. He sucked in a breath. “Yeah, that’s definitely gonna leave a mark.” He dropped Lilli’s arm. 

“Let’s go,” said Kealin, placing a hand on Lilli’s shoulder. They began to walk toward the door before footsteps sounded in the hall. Kealin inched slowly in front of Lilli, their hands up in a fighting position. 

Then Todd Spencer stepped into the room.

He looked vaguely worried at the sight of his wife passed out on the floor, but then put his hands up when he saw the patch on Kealin’s jacket. Kealin’s hand went for the pocket where they had stashed the pod, before Lilli rested a hand on their shoulder, a silent I got this. She limped over to Todd, who stood motionless.

Lilli extended a hand to him. Todd’s eyes darted to it before tentatively taking it. “Goodbye, Todd,” said Lilli, trying to keep her voice from giving in to the fear she had felt moments before. She shook Todd’s hand in a firm handshake. “Tell Janet not to look for me, okay?”—Lilli released his hand—“And, thank you. For everything.” 

Lilli hobbled back over to the pair who were standing behind her. The two put their arms around Lilli’s shoulders, helping her take the weight off her bruised leg. They walked past Todd in the doorway, who gave Lilli a little smile, and awkwardly walked down the stairs before exiting the house. Lilli nodded a farewell to the house, just because. They reached the tree, where Aito was waiting. 

Kealin and Aito activated the portal while Charlie took over keeping the weight off Lilli’s injured leg. The group stepped a few feet away from the tree as the light took over the grass. Lilli shrugged off Charlie’s arm, giving him a look. 

“You ready?” asked Kealin. 

Lilli took one last look at the house, her home for the last few years. “Yeah,” she said, walking toward the glowing light. The four stepped into the circle and disappeared.