Lilith Pleasant -> Part Three

Pleasant(ly) Ever After 

(Lilith Pleasant)
[Part Three] 

 (WARNINGS: Mentions of child neglect and loneliness. Contains Swearing.
I'm not an expert on putting warnings so apologies if I miss any!)
Side Note: This chapter picks up from the end of Lilith's previous part (Chapter 2).
You can read that chapter first here if you need a refresh on what's happened beforehand.
See below for Author's Notes.

Lilith? What was she doing here this late? She's only just left to go home. I wonder if she forgot something.

Dirk walked over and outside onto the front porch where his girlfriend was stood hunched, tears cascading down her face.

“What’s wrong Lil?”

"Take a wild guess!" was all she managed to choke out.

Lilith burst into tears again and started sobbing. 

It took some time before Dirk was able to calm her down so she could explain what had happened.

"Come on babe, come inside and let's get you something to eat. We've not eaten yet."  

"Why don't my family love me Dirk?" Lilith wailed despairingly. "What the fuck did I do that has caused them to hate me from the moment I was born?!"
"You know I can't answer that" Dirk said. "But I love you more than anything else in this world, so you're not too bad."

"Git."

"You love me anyway."

"Yes, I do. You're the best thing in my life."

"Well get inside and we can have a cuddle on the sofa as we wait for Dad to drag himself away from his latest painting."

"Ok" Lilith agreed as she wiped her eyes.

They went inside and sat on the sofa. There, Lilith told Dirk of everything that she'd seen and heard when she stepped foot inside her home only an hour ago.
Dirk was livid; how could her parents be so cold to Lilith?
Ok, they hadn't realised she was listening at the time, but that was hardly an excuse.

Dirk was just as clueless as his girlfriend as to why Daniel and Mary Sue disliked their younger daughter so much.
And as to why they also actively encouraged a severe and unhealthy rivalry between Angela and Lilith.

"I just don’t get it” Lilith sighed. “All my life I’ve been treated like a piece of shit on the sole of my mum’s shoes, the mud on the back of my dad’s trainers and the soil that Angie gardens with. What did I do? Or is it something that is completely out of my control?”

“Can your grandparents share any wisdom on that?” Dirk asked wisely. “Didn’t you say they moved back to town a year ago to spend more time with you and Angela? Or maybe it was because they knew something was amiss?” 

“If that was the case, they’d have never moved away to Bluewater Village” Lilith said, mulling it over in her head. “I think I might go see Nana and Pops, it’ll help to get out of the house for a few hours and not be scolded for it. Nana will give Mum an earful if she hears Mum's telling us off for seeing her and Pops.”
 

“Sounds like a good idea to me” Dirk said. “I hope you don’t mind but Dad might ask you about your situation. He overheard you earlier by accident, and he had a suggestion for you.” 

“I don’t mind” Lilith agreed. “But I want a cuddle that I was promised.” 

Dirk held up his arm and she snuggled into his shoulder, inhaling his familiar and reassuring scent of aftershave.

Lilith knew she was bright and reasonable and, in many ways, far more mature and open than Angela was clever. 

Quite a few of the local teens that were supposed to be their friends had questioned Lilith’s choice in Dirk Dreamer.

Many had hedged their bets on Lilith dating Dustin Broke, who in fact was her twin sister’s boyfriend, as they felt they were more of a match for each other. 

But Dirk was wiser, kinder and able to access his emotions and not be ashamed of them.  

Both he and Dustin had lost a parent in tragic circumstances but they’d both dealt with it differently. 

Brandi had lost a well-loved husband, and Darren had lost the love of his life, Darleen.
Dirk had lost his mother, Dustin had lost his father.

Their families were both short on money and their remaining parents were kind and compassionate.

Darren struggled to come to terms with his own feelings but when it came to Dirk, he encouraged his son to be braver than he himself was. Dustin didn't have that fatherly figure in his life anymore so he had to fend for himself much more than Dirk had to.

Brandi Broke admittedly had more children and less time to tend to each personally.

In the months before Dina’s engagement to Mortimer, Brandi discovered that her late husband had left her pregnant and she’d birthed his youngest son Skip Jr.

This left her unable to work to pay for providing for the four of them and left a lot of pressure on Dustin’s shoulders.

Dustin shunned his own embarrassment of his mother unable to work, his own grief when missing his father and his anger when he felt life was just too unfair.

This, is why Lilith needed Dirk.
He was stable, calm and gave her all the attention he could. 

“I could’ve sworn I saw you earlier Lilith” Darren teased as he walked over towards them when he alighted from his studio. 

“Evening again Mr Dreamer.” 

“Now Lilith, how many times must I insist on you calling me Darren. The only person who called me that was Darleen when I was in trouble.”

“Was that often?” Dirk asked, grinning at the mention of his late mother.

“It was more common than rare” Darren admitted, smiling back. “Want some food?” 

Both teenagers nodded and he walked over to the kitchen. “Spaghetti with meatballs tonight.” 

“Sounds good...Darren” Lilith said hesitantly.

“You’re learning kid.” 

Once they were all seated around the table Darren turned to Lilith.

“I didn’t mean to overhear you earlier but the more I think about it, the more I think I know what might help you.” 

“What do you recommend?” Lilith asked. “I don’t mind Darren; I was hardly quiet when I was ranting about my family.”

“Well, it occurs to me that they think you lash out at them for no reason” Darren explained. “Hence, they think you have bottled up rage and angst bottled up and it’s let loose when you yell at them. Regardless or not if this is correct, I agree that your parents shouldn’t pit you and Angela against each other. I personally, am suspicious of parents who openly admit to having a favourite child.”

Lilith nodded, listening intently.

“Either way you need an outlet, something that’ll stop you getting carried away with how unfair your circumstances are. I’m not saying it’ll cure everything but I think you need a hobby, a distraction. That you can focus on and you’ll ignore a majority of the little jabs you get from your family.”

“You liked writing stories when we were little” Dirk added. 

“And didn’t you say you wanted to get in the habit of jogging each morning? Or you can get up early, watch the sunrise, do your stretches and then go running. I’ve heard it helps clear your mind.” 

“I think I first decided to give it a go in a way to get Dad interested in training me” Lilith said sadly. “Auntie Jen tells us how Dad wanted to be a football superstar, so much that for all her childhood, she wanted to be a football player as well!”

 

“Did you mention this to your dad?” 

“No.” 

“Why not?”

“Because I knew what the response would be - ‘I’m not training you because you’re not worthy of it’ or something to that effect.”

  

“All I’ve ever wanted is for my parents to love me but that is clearly too much for them.”

“I remember a time when me and Angie were friends and loved each other happily..." 

"...but they stamped that out of us too.”

After they’d eaten and the dishes were cleared, Lilith went outside onto the back patio to look across the dark garden. 

She looked at Darleen’s grave and sighed sadly.

I hope you know how much Dirk and Darren miss you Darleen, she thought. I wish I had a mother who loved me as much as you loved Dirk.

 You should be proud of him. He’s amazing and compassionate which is all down to you and Darren.

I don’t know what I’d do without Dirk now. 

"Lilith?”  

Darren came outside slowly, not wanting to disturb her thoughts. 

“Yes, Darren?” 

“I hope you know that you are welcome here in this house anytime you need a space to escape to. I want you to take this spare key, just in case you need to get in when myself or Dirk aren’t here. 

"And I need you to know that if you were my daughter, I’d be very proud of you. Instead of descending into chaos as people misinterpret you, I know you’re just trying to keep afloat.”

“So anytime you need an ear, call me and I can sit and listen and give you a hug afterwards.” 

Lilith felt like crying all over again, these Dreamers were too kind for their own good. 

“Thank you, Darren,” she said, trying to keep her voice from breaking. “It’s good to know I’m not on my own.”

Darren pulled her into a hug “Never Lil. You’ve got me and Dirk as long as you need us, I promise.” 

Lilith closed her eyes as she tried to control the urge to cry. 

Why can’t my dad hug me like this? 

Why can’t he accept me? 

What the fuck did I do to break the love they hold for me? 

Lilith took up the advice she was given.

The following day (at which nobody in her household took any notice of her being absent all night) she’d gone straight to her room after school, put on her music and opened a new notepad. 

What the hell do I write about? was the first thought to enter her mind.  

She shrugged and started writing and she soon found that once she started, she couldn’t stop the words flowing out of her. 

Before she realised, she’d been there for over two hours and had at least five pages of notes. 

Some part of her got the urge to go into her mother’s study next door. 

So, she did.

The room was a relatively recent addition to the building they lived in.  

The space was previously part of her bedroom, but due to poor insulation and her mother wanting an official office space at home, they’d put up another wall and a door to make more of a study nook.

Due to the odd floorplan, it also became the ‘attic space’ where old family furniture was crammed into as well. 

Lilith walked over to the corner and noticed the brand new (at the time they’d been born) crib, changing station and other various baby toys and accessories. 

Then in the corner, there was a very small and crummy-looking crib.

My crib, Lilith thought sadly, recognising the faded paint on it. 

She looked at the slick and much bigger crib beside hers, with the bright pink colouring that was also on the baby changing cabinet beside it. 

Angela’s crib.  

Much nicer, cleaner and well-looked after than Lilith’s one.

Anger flared up instantly, taking her off-guard.

 

Why did Angela have to have the best of everything?

 

Was it because there were two babies and as Lilith was the younger, she was mentally disposed of before they ever accepted her?

They don’t deserve me, Lilith suddenly thought.
 

Angela’s behaviour could be forgiven, in time, if she wanted to change.
But her parents, Lilith wasn’t sure they’d ever have any inclination to warrant Lilith’s love and kindness.

Karma is a bitch, Lilith thought acidly, and she’s called Lilith Pleasant.

If they want a monster, they’ll get one. But not the one they think.

End of Chapter Seven.

 Author's Notes:

Thank you to everyone who is reading!
By all means leave a comment and I will always reply to them.

• I really love and appreciate the support you are all giving me by reading this story. It gives me more drive to continue knowing I have people who are enjoying what I'm writing.
• If I've made any grammar or spelling errors, apologises. 
• I also apologise for the text size inconsistency. I've tried redoing it many times to make them conform to the rest of the text but to not avail - we pretend we do not see it. 
• Angela's chapter is coming next! I plan to have it published within the week! 

Thanks again and I hope you are all safe and happy.

Lots of love, Jess x :)