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Lilly let out a quiet sigh as her dad and Kenny continued to scream at each other on the other side of the motel parking lot.
It’d been almost two months since they’d settled into this crusty old motor inn. Two months of this.
Dad wasn’t happy about Kenny putting so much time into getting that RV running when he should’ve been working on the wall with the rest of them.
Kenny had said that Dad should “keep your big nose out of my business.”
Dad hadn’t taken that too well, hence the current shouting match.
A few people, like Katjaa and Mark, were trying to get in the middle of it and break things up. Doug was staying out of things like he usually did, while the kids were drawing in a corner and pretending not to hear.
Normally Lilly would be right in the thick of it too, backing up her dad against Kenny’s stupidity.
Not this time. For once, Lilly wasn’t getting involved.
I know Kenny can be a real idiot sometimes, but Dad needs to just let it go. He’s obviously not gonna change anytime soon.
Rather than stick around to hear out the full drama, Lilly decided to spend these brief moments of everyone else being distracted with someone much more pleasant to be around.
As the yelling continued, Lilly made her way across the parking lot towards Lee Everett’s door.
She rapped her knuckles three times against the faded wood, getting a quick “it’s unlocked!” in response.
With a rare smile, Lilly let herself in.
Of all the people here, Lilly wouldn’t have thought that Lee of all people would end up being her refuge from all the chaos. Not after what her dad had told her.
A convicted murderer, here with them in the middle of all this mess? Lilly hadn’t known what to think at first.
Dad obviously had his opinion: that Lee was a danger to the group, someone to keep a close eye on. But the more Lilly considered everything she’d seen, the more she’d started to disagree, even if only to herself.
Lee had risked his life multiple times back at the drugstore. To save that Glenn kid. To get her dad’s heart medication. And he’d saved Doug’s life when walkers were tearing the place apart. He’d even beaten himself up for failing to save Carley, as if it was somehow his fault. A heartless murderer wouldn’t care about that, would he?
These past two months, Lilly had only seen more proof that Lee wasn’t a bad guy.
How he’d thrown himself into helping the group however he could. Building the wall, keeping watch, going on supply runs… all without a single word of complaint. She couldn’t say that for someone like Kenny.
How Lee was always checking in with everyone, making sure they didn’t need anything. Even Dad, though that never went over well.
And most importantly, how he doted on Clementine. Sneaking her treats and his food portions, finding her coloring supplies and other things to play with. Treating her like a daughter even as he insisted he was only looking out for her until he found someone better to take care of her.
It was hard to look at Lee at times like that and remember that he’d killed someone.
And so, though Lilly knew her dad wouldn’t approve, she’d decided to get to know Lee. Who he was, his history. The ‘man behind the mugshot’ so to speak.
Lee’s passion for history, for helping future generations learn from the mistakes of the past so that they’d never be repeated.
His family, who Lilly was surprised to learn had run the drugstore they’d been holed up in.
The situation with his ex-wife. A slowly declining marriage that had come to an abrupt conclusion when Lee had gotten home early from work one day to find her in bed with his best friend.
If Lilly was being honest… she wasn’t sure she’d have reacted much better than he did.
Lilly had never intended for things to go further than that. His friendship had been a welcome surprise, but that’s all she’d really needed.
But, well, one thing had led to another. A moment of confiding the stress she was under trying to keep everyone together. A whispered confession of how frustrating it was dealing with her dad every day when he couldn’t seem to ever get along with anyone except for her.
Before long, friendship had changed into something more.
Which led her to this moment.
“It’s me,” Lilly said quietly as she walked into the room, leaving the door slightly open so she could keep an ear out in case anything happened outside.
Lee greeted her with a bleary smile, sitting on the side of his bed.
He’d been up late last night on watch duty, so he’d slept in this morning. It was always around this time that he got up though, hence while Lilly had chosen this moment for a visit.
“Sounds like Kenny and Larry are getting along about as well as usual,” Lee noted sardonically as Lilly sat down heavily next to him.
Lilly let out a huff, unable to find amusement in it. “Dad needs to watch his heart. I just wish…”
That he’d listen to me, Lilly didn’t finish. Lee had heard it more than enough times.
Lee simply nodded, laying a gentle arm around her shoulders. “You’re doing your best, you know that. At the end of the day, only Larry can decide what’s best for him. You can only do so much.”
“I know,” Lilly sighed, already feeling herself relaxing a little at his touch. “It’s not just him. Kenny needs to stop focusing so much on that stupid RV. Even if he got it working, where would we go? We’ve got a good set-up here.”
“It’s always good to have options,” Lee told her. “Sure we’ve got it good right now, but what if walkers show up, and it’s too much for us to handle? It’d be handy to be able to get away quickly, just in case.”
Lilly’s first instinct was to argue, but she fought that down. Lee was making a good point. He usually did.
“I get that,” Lilly agreed. “I just can’t help but feel like Kenny wants this place to fall, just so he can be right.”
“Heh,” Lee snickered. “He’s a stubborn one, I’ll give you that. We have a few people like that in this group…”
It wasn’t hard to tell what Lee was getting at.
“At least I’m actually focused on things that help the group now, not just in some hypothetical scenario,” Lilly insisted without any heat.
“And we all know that,” Lee assuaged, still smiling. “We all have our roles to play here. Even the kids.”
At Lilly’s questioning look, Lee’s smile broadened.
“Well… every desperate group of survivors needs some cute mascots to keep up morale, right?”
Lilly felt her frustration draining away as she couldn’t help but chuckle. “I think I’d prefer a few more guns, but… I get your point.”
Surviving today wasn’t much good if there wasn’t any hope for the future, and that’s what kids represented.
Lee had taught her that.
He pulled her close, and Lilly allowed her head to rest on Lee’s shoulder for a moment. She really needed this. A chance to vent. A few moments alone with someone who didn’t make her want to tear her hair out on a daily basis.
“You’re doing a good job,” Lee whispered, turning his head to speak into her hair.
“Thanks,” Lilly said quietly. “I’m glad you think so, at least.”
It was… nice. How warm he was. Solid. Her rock in all this madness.
Lilly just wished she could have this out in the open, without having to hide it from her dad.
She was so caught up in the moment, she almost missed that the shouting outside had ceased.
“Lilly? What’s taking you so long!”
That was her dad’s voice. Her dad’s voice, right outside of this room.
“You need to tell this moron to start pulling his weight around here before-!”
Before Lilly could even fully separate from Lee, the door was thrown open, revealing her dad illuminated in the stark sunlight.
Dad stared at them, his sentence cutting off with a strangled noise like his throat had been slit.
Lilly and Lee stared back, neither of them saying a word. Her mind was racing with excuses, ways to cover up what had been going on, but she already knew that none of them would work.
They’d been found out.
“Lilly… what is this?” Dad managed to get out, his voice a low growl.
Lilly didn’t know what was more terrifying: that her dad knew the truth, or that he hadn’t exploded yet.
“What’s goin’ on over there?” Kenny called out from somewhere behind Dad, but none of them paid him any attention.
“Dad, it’s-” Lilly tried to head things off, but it was too late.
“You son of a-get away from my daughter!” Dad roared like a lion, surging forward to grab Lee by his collar and haul him to his feet.
“Dad, no!” Lilly yelled, shooting up from the bed as Lee yelped in shock, already starting to struggle.
“I’ll kill you, you psycho! How dare you!” Dad snarled, shaking Lee like a dog with a rabbit.
“Okay, what’s going on in-?” Kenny appeared in the doorway, eyes going wide as he took in the sight before him.
At once, Lilly understood what he saw: Lee, his friend, being attacked by the guy Kenny had been arguing with all morning.
It didn’t take a genius to figure what was about to happen.
With a yell, Kenny charged into the room before Lilly could so much as even move to stop him, bringing up a fist and slamming it into the back of Dad’s head.
Dad grunted and dropped Lee, who stumbled back, but he’d always been a tough man. He turned, glaring at Kenny and raising his own fist.
A single swing sent Kenny’s head rocketing back as he sprawled to the ground.
“Kenny!” Katjaa shrieked from outside, and Lilly realized that the rest of the group had turned up to play the audience to this little drama, standing outside the door and staring in at them with wide eyes.
“Dad, that’s enough!” Lilly shouted as Dad turned once more, facing a Lee who had his hands raised in front of him.
“We don’t need to do this,” Lee said warningly. “I don’t want to fight you!”
“Well you shoulda thought of that before you put your hands on my daughter!” Dad growled. He turned to Lilly. “Why, Lilly? What is wrong with you? I raised you better than this!”
“I’m a grown woman,” Lilly shot back, for once standing her ground with him. “I can make my own decisions!”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, don’t you take that tone with me. You know who he is! What he is! He’s a murderer for Pete’s sake!”
“I… what?” Kenny groaned as he lifted his head, still dazed. Already Lilly could see a nasty bruise blooming across most of his face. “...Lee? What’s he..?”
He was ignored. The rest of the group outside had gone dead silent as Lilly faced her father.
“I know what he did, Dad, and I don’t care,” Lilly crossed her arms. “He’s more than made up for it by now. What does it matter what happened in the past? We’re all in this together now.”
“Lilly, I…” Lee said quietly, sounding touched.
“So, what?” Dad huffed in disgust. “You’ve known this monster for a few months, and suddenly you think you can change him? That you love him or whatever it is you’ve gotten into your head?”
Okay. Moment of truth. No more hiding.
“You know what, Dad?” Lilly moved to stand next to Lee once more, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I do love him. He’s my boyfriend, and I’m more than capable of making that decision on my own!”
A moment of stunned silence. Lee went still next to her. Kenny’s mouth was agape as he sat up, and everyone outside had begun whispering amongst themselves.
And Dad…
He was staring at her like he didn’t recognize her. Like he’d never seen her before in his life.
Dad’s eyes went wide. His face went pale. His hands came up to his chest, and with a groan his eyes began to roll back into his head.
He collapsed to the floor.
“Dad!”
All things considered, Lee could confidently say that things could’ve gone a whole lot worse.
No one died at least, which wasn’t a guarantee these days.
When Larry had taken his heart attack, Lee and Lilly had alternated doing chest compressions while Katjaa ran off to retrieve nitroglycerin tablets from their medical stash.
With some effort, Lilly had managed to get some pills down his throat, and shortly after Larry was awake once more.
Mark and Doug had taken Larry, still shaky on his feet, back to his room to get some rest. Lilly was with him at the moment.
Now Lee was alone in his room once more.
Kenny was… keeping his distance for the moment. He hadn’t been too pleased about Lee’s little secret, and especially that he’d ended up finding out the way that he did. Not to mention his relationship with Lilly being exposed.
Honestly, Lee wasn’t sure whether it was the murder or the relationship that bothered Kenny more.
He wasn’t too sure how everyone else felt about either of those, so far. Lee supposed he’d find out soon enough.
Just as he was ready to head outside and face the music, the door cracked open, revealing Clementine’s small face.
“Lee..?”
Lee smiled. “Come on in, Clem.”
Clementine returned the smile as she slipped into the room, carrying a sheet of paper in one hand.
“Is, uh, is Larry going to be okay?”
“I think so, Clem,” Lee told her soothingly. “He just had a little scare, that’s all.”
That’s… definitely one way to put it, I guess.
“That’s good,” Clementine nodded, though she wasn’t done with the questions yet. “And you and, uh, Lilly..?”
Lee’s smile grew awkward. “Uh, yeah. I don’t know how much of that you heard, but… we’re together.”
“Oh,” Clementine didn’t actually look that surprised. Instead, she smiled brightly. “Lilly’s really nice.”
Heh. Lee doubted many people around here would agree, but… he certainly did. He’d seen that side of her more than anyone else around here, maybe even more than her own dad.
“I made you something,” Clementine said suddenly, holding out the piece of paper.
Accepting it, Lee looked down, turning the paper around until it was the right way up.
It was clearly hastily made, but Lee recognized the subject: himself and Lilly in crayon, holding hands.
“Thank you, Clem,” Lee chuckled. “That’s very kind-”
But by the time he’d looked up, Clementine was already slipping back out through the door. “See ya!”
Lee simply shook his head fondly. That girl sure was an interesting one.
As he set the drawing down, the door opened once more; it was Lilly this time around.
“How’s he doing?” Lee asked kindly as Lilly sat down next to him again.
“He’s… resting now,” Lilly said quietly, not quite meeting his eyes. “And he won’t talk to me.”
“Ah.” Lee had expected as much. “I’m sure he’ll come around eventually. You’ve said it before: you’re the only thing he has left to care about. I doubt he’ll be able to stay mad at you forever.”
“I hope you’re right…” Lilly muttered, though she accepted Lee’s arm around her once more, leaning into his touch.
“Well… at least now we don’t have to sneak around like teenagers anymore,” Lee chuckled.
That managed to bring a slight smile to Lilly’s face as she turned her head to face him. “That’s true. Kenny’s going to be a little baby about it, though. His persecution complex is gonna be through the roof any time you side with me in an argument.”
“Heh. Probably.”
For the moment though, Lee didn’t want to think about that. He just wanted to take a moment for both of them to relax, to let the stress of survival and group drama fade away, even if it was only for a little while.
Lee squeezed Lilly a little tighter, and she smiled as she wrapped her own arm around him.
They’d earned that much at least.