Chapter 15: The Girls
—Lilith's POV—
Three years ago when I left I didn't just cast aside my family and the man I once loved, I pushed away the friends who had always stood by me.
As I looked down at my phone, I couldn't help but close my eyes as tears fell from them.
Jade and Riley.
It was because of Riley I first met Alexander, and it was because of Jade that I realized I had loved him.
Had, it was in the past, and it had to remain there.
After ending the call with Alexander I drove home as fast as I could. At first, I was determined to find out if the card he had sent over had spending limits, but now faced with the task of calling my friends, I hesitated.
"Fuck, you can do this, it's just Jade and Riley, they were your best friends," I tell myself as I try to gather the courage to pick up my old phone.
Lex had upgraded it, of course, giving me the top-of-the-line device, actually by the look of this one it wasn't even out in the market yet.
"Were," I mumble to myself as I feel the fear building up inside me again.
My life was full of past tenses that seemed to haunt me day and night.
Had loved.
Were my friends.
Was the best thing to have ever happened to me.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and picked up the phone. It's already switched on, so all I have to do is to log in to all of my accounts.
It didn't slip my attention that there were already hundreds of unread messages. I could ignore them for now as I logged into one of the chat apps we used to use, I know that it's still active since as Lilibeth I used it as well.
My phone quickly comes to life as the messages all flood in.
I notice that some are from three years ago, among the names that flash is his, Alexander Harris.
Why would he try to contact me after I left?
My attention was drawn elsewhere as the last chat appeared, it was from the girls.
"Well, this is it," I say to the empty room as I tap on the group message and it opens.
'Is it true? Are you back Lilith?' it's from Jade, she sent it the day my engagement to Alexander was announced, probably as soon as she heard the news.
'We're waiting, Lilith, tell us when you're back, please.' This one is from Riley.
I couldn't help but smile as I realized that they did try to reach out the moment they learned that I was back. It was I who failed to reach out to them.
Calming my trembling hands I quickly typed back a message.
'I am, and this time for good.' I hit send and practically dropped my phone on the desk as I waited.
I sat back down, resting my head in my hands as my mind took me through horrific scenarios of how things could play out.
They could hate me for abandoning them.
They could think I betrayed them by not reaching out to them when I returned.
They could—
I am pulled from my thoughts as my phone suddenly begins to ring. Lifting my still trembling hand I pick up the phone to see that one of the girls has initiated a group video call.
Taking a deep breath and steadying myself I press the green button to answer it.
"—she might not want to talk to us?" I hear Jade's voice.
"We give her time—" It seemed Riley had noticed me first as she stopped mid-sentence, blinking at me from the other end of the screen.
"Lilith," Jade gasps as she looks at me. "You look…" her voice trails as she looks at me, unsure of what to say.
"Like a shell of your true self," Riley scoffs, leave it to Riley to be blunt and get straight to the point.
"That bad, huh?" I asked as I forced myself to smile. "I know being, errr… away did a number on me."
"Are you at home?" Jade asked as I watched her quickly move around in what seemed to be her room.
"Yes," I answered.
"Okay, we're coming over," Riley declares as she too stands and seems to pack up her stuff.
"Don't end the call, Lilith," Jade said, her tone a little bit stronger than normal. "If you end the call we'll be worried that you're running away again."
They were the last people I spoke to before I left.
They were supposed to be coming over to comfort me, to help me decide, but I just packed up my things and left.
"I won't go, not this time, I promise," and I meant every fucking word of that promise.
I learned my lesson and I knew who I was. There was no way I would let a man like Jason Young walk all over me again.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone