Lily Flower

I remember when I was six years old I was at the hospital with my family while my mom was having her baby. I hadn't really understood what was going on around me until dad started yelling at the top of his voice that he had son.

I was a big sister.

I started to cry immediately afterwards. I didn't want to share my mommy and daddy with someone else. I thought my parents had had another child to replace me.

My two uncles, Lucas and Lars, had tried to calm me down at first. I was clinging to Lars' pant leg with Lucas tried to pick me up from the white tiled floor. I started to scream then.

Family crowded around me, petting my hair, patting my back, and trying to wipe my tears away. Dad swopped down as soon as he got out of mom's hospital room and picked me up. I cried into his shirt for a whole hour before I let him put me down.

I stood outside in the hallway with Sam and Emily and their son, Max, while people took turns visiting my mother. I remember I clung to Max's arm, sniffing pitifully.

Max was thirteen at the time and was the coolest person to my little six year old self. I could have followed him around all day and I would have loved it. He didn't seem to mind me too much but he did tell me to get lost a lot when he was playing his video games.

It was hours after mom had my little brother when I finally got carried in to see her. It scared me when I first saw her. Mom was pale looking and looked kind of sick but had this grin on her face that scared me even more. I didn't know at the time that the drugs were making her so cheerful.

I meet my little brother the next day. He was so tiny that I thought he was one of my dolls at first. I wasn't allowed to hold him but I looked at him a lot. He had the same blue eyes that I did but he wasn't as dark as I was.

When we took him home I started to cry again. He got to sleep in mom and dad's bedroom while I wasn't allowed to sleep in there anymore. It took dad hours to calm me down. I was almost hyperventilating when I finally stopped.

Over the next few weeks, I stayed away from my brother. I didn't like him and he was boring. He had my parent's attention and I didn't like that one bit.

What finally got me to like my baby brother was when Emily came over and dressed him up in a bunch of different clothes. I've loved him ever since.

Now that I'm older, I want to laugh at how immature I had acted towards him. If it wasn't for my brother then I would have had the most boring, unhappy life ever.

*Start*

"Lily, you're going to have to come down here and talk to him," my mother pleaded with me over the phone.

"He still won't leave his room? I thought he was cool with me going to an academy?" I exclaimed worriedly.

I was sitting cross legged on my twin sized bed in my dorm room. My roommate was currently passed out on top her bed, snoring like thunder.

"Your brother misses you. Why don't you come down for the summer at least? Everyone would love to see you before you have to leave for college," mom said hopefully. I sighed and leaned back against my pillows.

"I can't afford a plane ticket right now and I've got to get an apartment down here," I explained yet again.

Every year around May, one of my parents will call me up and plead with me to come and visit them. I seriously missed them and it killed me to say no to them each year. I'd normally cry myself to sleep after every time. My family lived on the west coast of America while I was going to an academy on a scholarship on the east coast. I hadn't seen my family since my sophomore year in high school.

"That won't be a problem. We've been saving up and we can get you a ticket!" mom squealed. I screamed in my excitement, waking up my roommate in the process. She glared at me and threw her pillow at me before going back to sleep.

"Oh my God, I'll be on the plane right after I get my diploma in my hand," I gushed. We talked about what the plan would be and what day my plane would be taking off. I only had two weeks to get my things packed up and to tell all my friends goodbye before heading home to La Push for the summer!

*Two Weeks Later*

I waited impatiently for my luggage to come off the belt before hauling my two bags and one backpack out of the luggage area and towards the main entrance. I spotted my dad's head over the mass of people immediately. He was way taller than anyone here.

I pushed my way through the crowd of people and dumped my crap down at my father's feet before jumping on him and wrapping him in the biggest hug I could.

"I missed you so much!" I cried, jumping down from him finally. Dad smiled even more and grabbed my bags for me.

"How was your flight? We had thought you'd be here two hours ago," dad said.

"My flight got delayed. Sorry to keep you waiting," I said. Dad wrapped an arm around my shoulders and steered my out of the airport and into the parking lot to where his old car was that he's had since him and mom has been together.

"It's no problem. Lila has been trying to clean the whole house for your arrival; this just gave her more time," dad chuckled.

My dad, Embry Call, was probably one of the best husbands you could find in the United States. The other runners up were also his friends and our family. The way my dad talked and looked at my mom, you would like he was staring at a goddess. Nothing screamed love more than the look in my dad's eyes when mom was any where near him. It was sometimes very sickening to watch.

"Dodge can't wait to whip you in video games again," he joked as we headed out onto the highway.

Dodge was my little brother. I have no idea what mom was think when she let dad name him but she must have been on some serious drugs. Dad said he wanted his only son to have a manly name, so he names him after a truck. What a guy thing to do.

I have to say though, even though Dodge has a "manly" name, he is such a geek sometimes. He spent way too much time with our Uncle Lucas when he was little and now he plays video games like crazy. His room his like a video store. I kid you not.

Dad and I talked and joked around for about four hours until we finally made it to little La Push. It was raining of course but I didn't mind in the least. I had missed the rain while I was away.

When dad parked and I practically threw myself out of the car and ran into the house. I stopped in the doorway and took a deep breath. The house still smelled like mom's perfume that she wore when she does out with dad and fresh baked bread. I had missed these smells while I was away for two years.

"Lily!" I looked up and saw my mom running towards me. She was still as beautiful as could be with caramel hair and baby blue eyes. Mom could easily be a model if she wanted to.

"Mom, how are you?" I asked, hugging her as tight as I could. Mom kissed my forehead and pulled back to get a good look at me.

"Oh, you've grown up since the last time I've saw you. You're a young lady now!" mom cried wrapping me back in a hug.

"Lila, sweetheart, our daughter needs to breathe at some point," dad joked, coming into the house and closing the door behind us. Mom laughed breathlessly and let go of me finally.

"Dodge is up in his room playing one of his new games. He's been waiting for you," mom sniffed, wiping her eyes. I nodded and hurried upstairs. I went into the second bedroom in the hallway.

Dodge was sitting in his gaming chair in front of the TV, shooting something on the screen. His black hair was sticking up in odd directions and his dark brown eyes were focused on his game.

"Baby brother!" I yelled, pouncing on his. We tumbled into the floor and I pinned him down.

"Lily, get off! You're heavy!" Dodge groaned, struggling under me. I laughed but rolled off of him and helped him back up. "Did you miss me?" I asked, grinning down at him. Dodge hadn't hit his growth spurt yet so he was one of the shortest twelve year old boys in his grade.

"Yeah, I missed beating the crap out of you in Halo," he said, running his hands through his hair. I rolled my eyes but picked up the other controller so we could play for the next few hours.

Dodge did end up beating me repeatedly until mom can up saying that dinner was ready. We raced down the stairs but I let him win since I had the whole summer to beat him.

Mom and dad had made lasagna with salad and garlic bread. It was probably the first home cooked meal that I had had since one of my friends let me come over to her house for dinner. I ate until I was stuffed and leaned back in my chair.

"Tell us about your graduation ceremony, sweetheart," mom said curiously, folding her arms on the table. I smiled and told my family everything that I could remember about ceremony. They all laughed when I told them about me tripping right after I got my diploma.

"Make sure you're up before nine o'clock because we're going over to Sam and Emily's for breakfast. Everyone is so excited that you're here," mom gushed as she followed me into my old room. I nodded.

My queen sized bed was still pushed up against the wall. My closet and dresser was placed on the other side of the room. Facing the door was a window that still had my purple curtains hanging around it.

Mom left me alone to get ready for bed. I changed into my long legged pajama pants and a t-shirt before hopping into my bed. My pillow was still as soft as I remembered. I was asleep after two minutes.

*Next Morning*

I stumbled out of my warm bed and fought Dodge for the bathroom. Even though I had been gone for two years doesn't mean we had to forget to have our sibling fights once a day.

"Kids, don't make me come up there!" dad yelled from the kitchen.

"Yes dad!" we chorused back to him before continuing our fight but silently this time.

"Ladies first!" I shrieked, pushing him out of the way and slammed the bathroom closed after me. I made sure that the door was locked before I hopped into the shower.

After my shower, I stood in front of the mirror and started to brush my wet hair. My black hair fell just below my shoulders and my dark skin was flushed from the hot water. I think my best feature was my baby blue eyes that I got from my mom.

"Lily, please, I've got to pee!" Dodge yelled from the other side of the door. I smirked and opened the door for him. I got pulled out of the way as he rushed into the bathroom.

Once I got back in my room I got dressed a light pink long sleeved shirt that buttoned up. I slipped on my light blue jeans that I had gotten for Christmas and pulled on my white sneakers.

I went down stairs and sat down in front of our big screen TV that dad demanded that we had to have for football season four years ago. My parents were seated on the couch, drinking coffee and whispering who knows what to each other.

"Good morning my loving parents," I chirped, plopping down beside dad on the couch. They eyed me warily. I smiled sweetly at them.

"When are we leaving for Emily's?" I asked, stretching out, putting an arm around dad.

"As soon as Dodge gets down here we'll head over there," dad answered. I nodded thoughtfully.

"Dodge you take as long as a girl in the bathroom!" I screamed up the stairs to my brother. Almost immediately Dodge came running down the stairs with his hair dripping wet and his clothes damp since he didn't dry off.

"I am not slow," he snapped. I smirked and gave my parents a thumbs up.

"God Lord," mom muttered, getting up from the couch and got her purse off the coffee table. "Let's go, we don't need to be late," mom said, waving his out of the house.

Dodge and I crammed ourselves into the back of mom's car and sat silently while listening to dad's rock music. Dodge and I made faced at each other, laughing as quietly as we could until we arrived at the Uley's home.

I got out of the car and followed mom to the front door. Dad didn't even bother with knocking and slammed the door open. "Sam, your best friend is here!" he yelled.

"Oh, God, it's here," I heard Sam chuckle. I glanced around my dad and couldn't help but grin at Sam. Emily was standing beside him with her arm wrapped around his waist. They were so cute; they were like my parents.

Dodge suddenly pushed past us all and sprinted into the kitchen. "Cookies!" he screamed. I giggled and almost took dad out trying to get a few cookies before my brother ate them all.

It felt wonderful to act like a teenager again instead of a young adult that the teachers back at my academy had made us act like. I felt like I was ten years old again.

"Hey, Lily, are you not even going to say hi to us?" Sam teased after I had crammed two cookies into my mouth. I grinned the best I could without my food coming out of my mouth and gave Emily and Sam a hug.

"Where is Max?" I asked after I finally swallowed my cookies. I hadn't seen Max in years. I still think that he is the coolest person ever. I think the last time I saw him was when I was ten years old.

Emily, Sam, dad, and mom all exchanged looks for a moment before Emily answered me. "He's still working up in Canada. His job keeps him really busy," she explained, giving me a small smile.

"Huh. You'd think he'd get days off or something," I muttered. I didn't wait for anyone to say anything but decided to bug Dodge by taking the remote and turning on a chick flick.

I really enjoyed spending time which our family friends. I got to talk about my two years at the academy then listened to Emily tell me all about the gossip that I had missed. I was utterly relaxed by the time the phone rang. Sam answered the phone and I heard him mutter a few things before hanging up.

"Good news; Max is coming home tomorrow afternoon. In fact, everyone is," Sam exclaimed. Dad and Sam gave each other a tight smile before sitting next to their wives. They are such weirdos sometimes.