I paced around my room. The curtains were closed not allowing the sun to dare shine though. My bed wasn’t made and clothes were pushed to the side, leaving an empty patch of carpet in front of my wall and desk as workspace. I have to try to figure this out. I printed out everything I could get my hands on. With highlighted important details from articles and recording every episode, it was mentioned on a news channel. My room looked like something from a movie. Every pin on the board marked what was linked. My desk became cluttered and my wall was filled to the point where the green paint on my wall was not able to be seen. The only people I could link are us three. Me, Riley, and Lilian. It couldn’t be one of us. There had to be another person somewhere. Someone else who we just don’t know exists because we aren’t the cops, right? But I pulled all of this information from police databases and government websites, which we usually use for bank robbing but that's not the point. Maybe I should just blow it off to the side, or I could see if one of the girls has a secret they aren’t telling me. No, no. It can’t be that. We tell each other almost everything…..well almost. What should I do? 

Before I knew it, I was pulling up information about my accomplices, or friends. I pulled up my laptop and entered a database we often used to look up workers at certain banks. 

 “Lilian Bether: Brown Hair, 5’6”, 120 lbs, Age-25, Residence-New York, Mother-Lilian Bether-Dead-Reason-Unknown, Father-John Bether-Location-Unknown, Other Family-Unknown, Siblings-Unknown”

 That is weird. She never mentioned her mother died and the cause is unknown. Why does it say family unknown?  She always talked about calling her when she had a phone call to take. I look up Riley's name.

 “Riley Dormer, Red Hair, 5’4”, 115 lbs, Age-24, Residence-New York, Manhattan St.-Apartment 154, Mother-Abby Miller-[Click to see residence], Father-Homer Dormer-[Click to see residence], Other Family-[Click to see family tree], Siblings-Mary Dormer-Johnathan Dormer”

Riley's profile checks out. It's everything she has said in the past years. Riley and I are also pretty close so I don’t think she would do something like this. Lilian's however is practically blank. Like she didn’t exist before. I should brush it off.  Maybe it's a glitch or she just hasn’t been put in the system. That's weird. I called Riley and told her what happened. I told her I was just curious about how accurate this thing is, instead of telling her what I was actually up to. 

“Is it there?” she asked. I pulled up her page.

“Yeah, everything checks out for hers,” Riley replied.

“Pull up mine”. I did what she said. It was different this time, what do I do? 

“Everything checks out,” I say without thinking. 

We ended the call. Her profile changed. The information became inaccurate. Lilian's however stayed the same. Riley is the only person I’ve told. It was over the phone too. She also couldn’t have changed it in a matter of seconds. Or what if she had it already planned out. No. There is no way. She wouldn’t do something like that. I wasn’t as tight with Lilian as she was. Or at least I thought. I didn’t tell her everything like she didn’t me. I headed to bed with all these thoughts in my head but drifted to sleep fast. I planned on figuring this out before our next bank robbery.

I got a quick breakfast in the morning and headed to the gym, you can't be unfit to rob the bank. Duh. I headed home, ate a proper meal, took a shower, and grabbed the blueprints of the bank. I went over it, took notes, and did my basic job stuff. The security system is the tricky part. We got the same cameras they use and got the same monitor so we can find the best way to hack it. I worked on that for endless hours. I forgot to eat lunch and before I knew it, it was dark out. I wasn’t going to stop until I had that system locked down. I tried almost everything and I finally saw what the camera was seeing on my laptop. Finally, I wrote down how I got there and tried it again. It was a piece of cake. I texted the other girls and instead of heading to bed, I worked on the missing cases. 

I ordered take-out to be delivered and pulled up today's newspaper on my tablet since my laptop was taken up with too much stuff. I know it's old-fashioned to use newspapers but they are the news talking, it isn’t a random wiki article. Most of the information is there, biased or not. Another person went missing. But this time it wasn’t from the previous banks we went to. It was the one we were about to rob. I type in Mr. Harrison Missings Report on my tablet.

“Mr. John Harrison and his wife went missing yesterday during a light stroll in the park around 6 pm. Mr. Harrison was last seen in a black suit with a blue tie and his wife Mrs. Darlene Harrison was in a blue dress with white heels on. Authorities are still investigating their disappearance. Please call if you have any information on their last or current whereabouts.”

This, my friend, was my breaking point. This is when I decided I was going to find out who is at the bottom of this.  Mr. Harrison was a scoundrel, or in other words a horrible person. His wife on the other hand was an angel. Constantly keeping up with charities and helping the public. They had a kid, who was only 9. We research the bank we were about to rob and the people who run it, oftentimes it's the same horrible family after another. I had to find who was at the bottom of this. I have the technology, I have the skills and I have the brain to do it. This isn’t just a random disappearance. If it was, I would’ve brushed it off. But this person or people are getting out of hand. No ransom has been made, no video or picture, not even a letter has been sent on their whereabouts. I will be the one who gets to the bottom of this.

It was raining. I forgot my umbrella so the rain hit my hood from my jacket. It was cool. My feet splashed in the puddles along the way until I got to the library. The door squealed open. Hardly anyone ordinary was there. Ordinary people don’t just visit a library in New York on a rainy day in the middle of the night, they stay in because you walk everywhere in New York. Ordinary people read their ordinary books and go on with their ordinary lives. Oh, how I wish to be ordinary sometimes, while other times I enjoy being a person only the few who understand. That's why I am good at my job. As a child, I was not like the others. Not in a “pick me” way, more in the way I kept to myself and didn’t spend time with other kids. In high school, I knew everyone. Every rumor, every lie, every secret but no one knew I existed. People say ordinary people blend in, and the unordinary stand out. That is not true. Oftentimes people ignore the unordinary and they hide in the shadows and wait for our moment to be something extraordinary, while ordinary people show people their extraordinary parts every day thinking it is something to prove.

I grabbed each newspaper article about banks, the stock market, and missing persons. You may be wondering why I am here. This is where my brain told me to go. On a laptop, the articles can be quickly found with a few simple words, but I am afraid that I can’t trust my laptop since whoever is doing this is smart enough to track internet searches. The newspapers smelled musty and dust flew off of them with every movement. Looking over the few I got I quickly ruled out a few and wrote each name that was stated in the articles. As I shifted through the missing persons part of it, I realized that names started to pop up. Lemony Smith. Who names their kid Lemoney. Anyways she popped up in a few. Each one I saw her name was thrown into another pile separate from the rest of the articles. No picture of her. So I did what any person would do and tried to find her. That made me get on a computer, sadly. I got one from the library. This woman was only written about and does not have a single picture of her. It's like her name exists but nothing else. Then this made me dive deep into the internet.

“Excuse me” a man tapped on my shoulder and made me jump.

“Can I help you?”, I ask. 

“I’m sorry, I just did a quick glance over your shoulder and saw that you were looking up Lemony Smith”. The moment he said that I knew I just found my missing piece. 

“Yeah. Do you know about her?”

“I quite frankly do. I am a history professor at a nearby university here and was thinking I could help you. Perhaps over a cup of coffee or tea at a nearby cafe because I can tell you’ve been here a while.”

I know it sounds dumb to go with a stranger, in the middle of the night to a cafe but as I said before I am no ordinary person either. Also, a break from this would sound nice. 

We sat in an almost empty fast food restaurant because most of the cafes were closed. Only another group of people were in there. They looked like teenagers having a fun night out. The back of the restaurant was almost silent with very little sound coming from it. We grabbed our food and sat across from each other. We both got chicken nuggets and fries, with a classic crappy coffee. I insisted on paying, but this stranger one the argument. 

“Name?” He asked.

“Avery. I don’t use my last name. Your turn?”

“No, I want to know your last name. Then you will learn mine”

“Fine. It's Avery,” I lean close to him so he can only hear. “Raven.”

“Mine is Andy William. What’s so bad about your last name?”

“That's something I need to know. Don’t tell anyone. Let's talk about the real reason you are here”

“Oh yes, Lemony Smith”

We sat at that restaurant for a while. I won’t bore you with the whole chat. Turns out Andy is my worst nightmare. All he does is make jokes and doesn’t get down to the point. I mean seriously. I thought he was all serious and stern when I met him a few hours ago. He can chat for hours about anything. I had to ask him multiple times to stay on track. Wait, I’m off track. Lemony Smith is heard to have been seen with red, blonde, black, and even white hair. No one knows what her eye color is due to the change each time. Her style changes constantly and with that she blends in. The only thing that's stayed the same is her never being documented. 

“You're telling me she just disappears for a while?” I ask Andy.

“Unfortunately yes but that's not the weird part.” He leans in close enough I could smell his cologne. “She has been documented in multiple different periods.”

“You're kidding, right? There is no way. I am sorry but I am a bank robber and did not sign up for this.” His eyes grew big when I said that. It took me a moment to realize what I had just said. He looked at me with curiosity for a moment, not knowing what to say. 

“The Great Robbers of New York. You are one of them.” No question was asked. Instead of trying to talk my way out of this, I knew I wouldn’t be able to due to the fact that he is smart. I simply nodded my head.

“If you tell anyone, I mean anyone you already know what is coming for you. What do you want? Cash?” His eyes got all big but then turned into a devilish smile. 

“I won’t tell a single soul if you let me in on this investigation. I want all of the details. I have no interest in cash, it's a stupid concept.” My eyebrows furrowed. What an interesting man. What is he getting out of this? It cost less than cash at least. I stuck my hand out.

“Deal.”

I spent the next few hours explaining everything to Andy. I know he said he was annoying earlier but he is. I don’t understand him. We walked out on the sidewalk as we left the restaurant. A little band played on the sidewalk and no one stopped by. It started to rain. It went from a cold night to pouring buckets of water. We were finishing up our conversation when Andy just stopped and looked up at the sky allowing the rain to fall onto his face.

“Relax for a moment with me, V. You seem like a tense person.” He held out his hand.

“V? Is that what you're calling me,” I said laughing at him. 

“What? We are going to be hanging out a lot. So why not? Common.” I joined him in his silly little thing. We both randomly started laughing hysterically. People looked at us with glaring looks as they passed us. He just carelessly lives it seems. Soon we both exchanged numbers and headed our separate ways. I was to see him in 2 days. I had some bank robbing stuff to do and he had work the next day. 

I woke up to Riley calling me and telling me we are going to meet up. I got ready and headed that way. When I got there Lilian had put out papers, blueprints and sticky notes coated her laptop. I knew today was the day we figured out the main plan. Let me tell you what I do seems easy. It is in fact hard. Riley is typically the one with the get-away ideas, how to get in and how much possible revenue there is. Lilian works on the security system stuff, who's working there, and what kinda vault we are dealing with. Me on the other hand, pick up the slack. I order what's needed, add ideas, help with the security but I usually am the muscle. 

As soon as I passed the kitchen of Riley's apartment the smell of coffee and freshly baked cookies filled the air. It was silent when I walked in but it only took a few seconds for us to get talking. We compared ideas we’ve had and got assigned to the positions we would be taking. This time was weird. Usually, Riley and I go in and Lilian stays out but she wanted to be in the field too. The plan was so far that Lilian and Riley were to head to the main lobby, then I would sneak through the back door as a security guard. We already have the badge and key. Riley would create a distraction outside sending the security officers off to her. I would then go to the security room and give Lilian access. Before the officer's return, I would leave. Riley would leave the building and join Lilian in going through the side door. They would control the security room and work on erasing the footage while I head to the vault. Now the bank is very short staffed so it won’t be an issue if I run into someone. They would think I’m a new security officer. Getting to the vault I would work on decoding it. When the coast is clear Riley and Lilian would meet me there. Once we got it open me and Riley would gather cash, while Lilian went to get the car. Then we would be out of there as soon as we could. There are different aspects of it that we can’t account for. March 9th is the date that is set for the operation. It is currently February 21rst. We have between those days to prepare.

“Do you think we can pull this off?” asked Riley.

“I do. I mean look at everything we have put together. This has to be one of our most thought-out plans.” Explained Lilian.

“It should be enough time for us to get everything prepared. We’ll meet back on the 7th for last-minute stuff and keep each other in the loop.” I said.

“Sounds like a plan,” Riley said. You could tell that had helped a little bit with her nervousness. 

“This is actually going to work guys. I just have a feeling. Considering the CEO is out, the place would already be in shambles!” Lilian exclaimed. 

What she said did not sit right with me. Or was it how she said it. It just bugged me. We all soon went our separate ways. I ended up stopping at a cafe to get a quick bite and use their wifi. The line wasn’t long there. It smelled like coffee grounds and baked goods. Kind of like Riley's house funny enough. I ended up getting a decaf black coffee and a blueberry muffin. I found an empty table then pulled out my laptop. In the search bar, I looked up Lilian Bether. I scrolled past her Facebook and other social media stuff that pulled up. I kept on looking. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything on her. I looked up Riley’s name and with little scrolling, an obituary site pulled up. Her face pulled up and it said she has been dead for 3 years. That didn’t sit right with me. I knew Riley’s family, I knew of her past. Someone is trying to frame her. I grabbed my phone and called Andy. 

“Meet me at the restaurant we did before at 5 pm. I have information,” I said.

“I’ll be there.”

“Bring any information over Lemony Smith too. I think I have a suspect.”

The restaurant was busy this time so we would have to keep our voices down just slightly. The smell of greasy food filled the air, the sounds of people talking and the kitchen filled my ears. We got a corner booth so no one would bother us. Papers filled the table.

“There is a possibility that it is her but we don’t have enough evidence,” he said.

“If we did, which we don’t, we couldn’t go to the police because that would rat me out and I am not planning on going to jail anytime soon,” I reply, “What if I confront her?”

“This is great, lets's get all of our stupid ideas out now. If you did that you would be putting yourself in danger,” Andy explains. I roll my eyes. “Don’t roll your eyes at me. I’m trying to protect you.”

“I would be fine. Lilian wouldn’t hurt me….” Andy interrupted me.

“No, just no. It's not worth the risk. I don’t care if she is your friend!” He says angrily. He looked at me and dared me to argue with one look. I wasn’t going to argue because I knew he would win this one. I kept my mouth shut. We continued pulling up information on Lemony Smith and Lilian. It only takes a few minutes before Andy says,
“Come look at this.” I went over and sat beside him. 

“This has to be fake,” I said. A possible lead. It was Lemony Smith's address. It was down in an internet chat room. “What if it's a trap? This ‘Lemony Smith’ person could be faking us out”

“It could be worth checking it out. We found it today and this chat is recent. We could wait a couple of days before we check it out if you're that worried.”

“That would be a good idea because whoever sent this might be expecting us today,” I replied. I felt like we were starting to get to the end of this.

“You mean you. I don’t think they know I am helping you.” This made me realize that he is the only person I could trust. I have only known him for less than a month but I already checked him out on the data systems I have. His work schedule would not work around the missing reports. What? It’s better to be safe than sorry.

We soon finished up dinner. It was snowing while we were eating so snow already covered the ground. The air was cold and the sidewalks were slick. Snowplows soon went down the roads passing us.

“Are you not going to get a cab?” Asked Andy, ”It's freezing out?”

“No, I prefer to walk. It’s one of my favorite things to do,” I reply.

“I don’t think arguing with you is going to change your mind is it?”

“Nope. I am not far from here. Don’t worry about me. Bye Andy,” I wave at him. He started walking with me. 

“I am walking you home. I am not risking you getting kidnapped. I will order a cab when we get there,” he said. Andy walked with me all 5 blocks and would not admit he was cold. When we got to my apartment he ordered a cab and went our separate ways. I went to bed because I was exhausted from everything I had to do today.

The days quickly passed. It was March 1rst. I was headed to a hardware store to pick up last-minute supplies. New windshield wipers, extra rope, wheel spikes for the car, and a crowbar because Riley keeps on losing hers. It’s not really used but when we do need it, it can’t be replaced. Besides that, there wasn’t much to do to get ready. When I was leaving the store I stopped at a newspaper stand. I picked up the New York Times newspaper and quickly sent a picture of the headline to Andy.

“Another CEO missing. Mrs. Palmer went missing last night when walking her pitbull Tulip. She was last seen in black pants and a blouse around 3 p.m. If you have any whereabouts of her and her dog please contact authorities.”

I started to head back home when I heard steps in the snow that matched my pace. When I walked by a building I saw a person in the reflection of the windows behind me. I took a left on the next sidewalk, and they followed. I took a right then crossed the street, I still could hear them behind me. I soon changed routes and headed toward a busy tourist stop. Once I got there I walked as fast as I could. I pushed through crowds of people and found a store to sneak through. I hid behind a shelf and watched through the window. They were looking for me but I couldn’t see their face. I called a cab and headed home. My heart was racing.

I didn’t tell anyone where I was headed that day. I concluded that they were following me long before I realized it. Sadly, Andy was right. I shouldn’t be traveling through New York by myself on foot. As soon as I got home I locked the door and searched my house for anyone hiding. I double-checked all of my window locks and vent covers. I’m a little paranoid if you can’t tell. I didn’t leave the house unless I had to for the next few days and I kept the blinds closed. I didn’t really need to pick up anything anyways.

Today was the day. I went to Riley’s apartment and all three of us went over last-minute details. Riley pulled out our earpieces, they are for communication. Walkie-talkies are too bulky and phones can be tracked so they were our next best option. She placed each of ours in our hands and then put hers in.

“I’ll put mine in a second. I got to make a call.” I say. I pulled out my phone and went to the guest room. I clicked on Andy’s contact. The phone rang and rang. He did not pick up. It was a Saturday so he didn’t have work. It soon went to voicemail.

“Hey, it's V. Is everything alright? You didn’t pick up your phone yesterday and you didn’t meet up with me like planned. Please call back and tell me you're okay. Bye.”

I went back out to the living room and got ready. Soon enough we were in the car heading that way. Riley was with me driving and Lilian took the van. Once we got there I got out of the car and headed in. My card went through smoothly. Riley drove away once she saw I could get in. 

“Lilian and I will meet up inside in a few minutes to create the distraction, then tell us once you're in,” Riley whispers through the earpiece. 

“I made it past the security check.” They allowed me to go right through because of my credentials. Once I said that in a few seconds I could hear Riley screaming and causing a scene. “What do you mean my card has declined? Excuse me, I would like to speak to a manager. Do you know who my dad is? No? Well, you will know when he sues this place….” Her screams filled the halls. I tried my best not to laugh. All of the security guards ran by to go help the poor bank teller. That left the room with one other person in it. Who was asleep. I grabbed the information needed and told Riley to get out of there. 

I walked to the side door as the officers were heading back only to let Riley in. She handed me my black bag. We headed to the break room to look like we were doing something. Lilian needed to mess with the security system before she could get in so we had a few minutes of free time.

“That was so embarrassing,” Riley complains, “Never again.”

“I like the hair. Blonde hair suits you.” I say making fun of her wig that she had on before. “How are things looking on your end, Lilian?” I ask.

“I am, one second…. in! I’ll be headed in there soon. Avery go ahead and head back. Riley meet me at the door.” We followed her orders. Me and Riley went our separate ways. When walking down to the vault I kept wondering if Andy was okay. I know we are strangers but it’s unlikely for a professor not to show up for a meeting on a weekend and deny my calls. Every time we have met up to discuss Lemony Smith, he was there. Not even late. I can’t let these thoughts fill my head right now. The officer at the door asked me for my clearance badge, and it easily went through. 

“What is your reasoning for being here?” The officer asked. 

“I am inspecting the system and doing an inventory check. Don’t allow anyone to pass. I will be taking over your position when I am done. Bosses orders.” I replied.

“I have never seen you before.”

“I am new, but not new to this job. I just transferred,” I say smiling. Just like that, I was through. The door closed and I was all alone. I locked the door behind me so the officer wouldn’t walk in on me breaking in. This is a system I have worked with before. I easily knew what tools to grab and quickly started. Lilian and Riley told me they were in but I haven’t heard anything else from their line. 

“Is everything going alright with you guys?” I ask. 

“Yeah, we're just busy right now,” Lilian responds. I waited for Riley to add something like she usually does but it never comes. I continue with my work and brush it off. She's probably doing something. I spent about 30-45 minutes working on opening it. I stared at my hard work and slowly turned the hatch on the vault. 

“Meet me down here. I am in,” I tell Lilian. I step out of the room and tell the officer I will be talking over the position for the rest of the shift. The two girls made their way down to the vault. Riley stepped in first. She looked pale as if she had seen a ghost. 

“Are you okay? You don’t look okay,” I ask her. 

“It was her….” The sound of a gunshot filled the vault. 

I ran towards Riley to push her out of the way and watched the bullet slowly fly through the air, every millisecond was one closer to grief. I couldn’t save her from the hit. The bullet broke her skin. With a smile, as she always had, went down. Hitting the floor in a thud. Everything felt like slow motion. I wasn’t focused on who shot her or getting shot myself, it was only her. I ran over to her side. 

“Please be okay” I screamed. Words weren’t forming right. 

“I’m fine. It's just a scratch.” Riley said laughing. But it wasn’t a scratch. We all knew that. But it sometimes feels better to pretend. “I’m going to be going in seconds from now….”

“No, no. You're going to stay with me” I cried.

“Shut up and listen for once”. I did.  “It was great doing this with you. You by far are the only friend I had. Thanks for being a great partner. The risk was worth it…” Her eyes closed and her breath stopped. Blood covered the floor and me. 

“No, no, no, no. Please come back! Please! I can’t do this without you.” Tears rolled down my face like raindrops on a car window. She was gone. That sadness soon stopped and anger soon filled me.

“She trusted you.” I turned around to face who did it. “All she ever did was trust you.”

“Riley is gone. Get over it. You knew there was a risk.” Lilian stood there with the weapon. She had a satisfied smile on her face.

“You psychopath. What did she do to you?” I yell. Lilian stood there. I knew I couldn’t attack her. 

“She defended you. I knew you were snooping into the disappearances. I knew the moment you suspected me. Please ask me how I know.” 

“How?” My stomach was in a knot, I wanted to run and hide. I couldn’t. I shook with fear and anger. 

“Your little friend, Andy. He was your missing puzzle piece in all of this. Wasn’t he? He was the only person you could trust. But you only knew him for what? Less than a month?” Lilian said laughing. 

“What did you do with him?” I stood up from where I was sitting. “Tell me, you coward.”

“Brave little thing aren’t we? He went to that house all alone and disappeared just like all of the others did.” She stepped more into the vault. Her voice echoed off of the walls. “You trust everyone so easily. I believe that's what made you weak. You have never learned that trust is fragile like a china tea set. You put it out for display and everyone walks by it in aw. Everyone wants to hold them and sip from them because of their beauty. But when you let one clumsy person hold it, it shatters. The teacups shatter into tiny pieces that even a mouse couldn’t pick up.” She has slowly backed me into a corner of the room. 

I see a filing cabinet I could dodge behind. I run for it. The gun goes off toward me and almost strikes me. I need to come up with a plan quickly. I see that I could run toward the door and lock her in. She could be waiting for me to do that. I need to pull her away from the door.

“Why did you do this? We were practically family, the only family I had,” I ask her. I slowly make my way past the columns of filing cabinets in the vault. 

“I need to move on with my life and I can’t have witnesses for it.” It finally clicked completely with me.

“Your Lemony Smith. Aren’t you?” I say to her, “You are practically invisible to the public eye. You’ve hidden all of these years and changed your identity one after the other.” I have a few feet until I am at the door. I just need to make her mad to distract her.

“Aww, you figured it out. Do you want a cookie? Or a gold star?”

“You know I never thought of you as smart or clever. You can’t keep your identity secret so you have to make a new one. The more identities you change, the dumber you are.”

“Excuse me?  Who do you think you are?” Lilian howled. “Where are you? Come and face me! Say it to my face!” I saw the opening I ran. I saw Lilian spot me. I dodged the first shot fired, when I got to the other side of the vault door I started to close it. She fired another one, it hit my arm but I kept pushing the door until I heard it lock. I cried out in pain. I ran out of there and found the nearest person I could. Soon the police showed up and she was under custody. I went to the hospital. 

I wasn’t suspected. They thought I was just new to the job because they created a fake profile for me before the bank robbery. Everyone who was kidnapped was released, no one was harmed. They were being held at an empty warehouse. I had to get surgery on my arm and I was released from the hospital after 2 weeks. Riley’s funeral was held a week after everything so I was forced to miss it. I haven’t processed everything that happened yet so it was hard.

After two days of being released from the hospital, I stood in the mirror in all black. My arm was still in a sling and eye bags covered my face from the sleepless nights I have had. I heard a knock on my bedroom door. 

“Are you ready Avery? We don’t have to do this today. We can visit her another day.”

“Yeah, just give me a minute. I’m just grabbing a jacket,” I reply. I walked out of my room. I told myself I was not going to cry in front of Andy. I needed to be strong. We got in the car and headed to the cemetery. The cemetery was about 40 minutes away but it felt like 2 hours. The sun was out but it was still cold. When we got there we slowly made our way to where she rested. I placed roses on top of her gravestone because they were her favorite. I tried to hold back the tears but they soon broke like a damn. 

“She was like family to me. The only family I had and I couldn’t save her,” I whispered.

“Riley did it to protect you. You couldn’t stop Lilian, no one could,” Andy replies. He put his arm around my shoulder. I sat there crying for I don’t know how long and left. We had another stop of the day to go to.

The prison was loud. The cement brick walls were covered in tan and the ground was dirty from all of the traffic. We were led into an empty room with 3 chairs and a table. I looked over to Andy. I could tell he hated being here as much as I did. Earlier we fought over him not coming to do this with me but he insisted. Our silence was soon broken by a door opening. A prisoner walked in.

“Well, well. It's nice to see you again.” 

“Hello, Lilian,” I say.

“What do I owe for pleasure?” I heard satisfaction in her voice, I was going to change that. She was sat down by the prison guard and locked to the table. 

“You heard Riley died. Surely?” 

“Ah yes. I can see you missed the funeral by that sling,” she snickered.

“You know you could sit here and pretend you don’t care but think about everything she did for you. You killed your best friend and lost anyone who supported you because of it.”

“You're trying to belittle me, Avery. It’s not working. You will pay for this. You will pay for all of this.” Andy stood up and I quickly grabbed his arm and made him sit back down. Lilian laughed.  “He is going to protect you? Aw, you poor girl. I will always win.”

“I got what I needed from you.” I stood up and shifted through my bag. I placed something on the table. 

“A china teacup. You remembered” I watched as she sat there looking at it. 

“Goodbye Lemony.”