Chapter 6
As Lily walked into the house, Ryan followed right behind her.
And they bumped right into Marianna, Lily's mother.
"Ryan, are you here to hang out with Lily today?" Marianna asked.
"Mrs. Johnson, the application deadline is coming up, so I came by to remind Lily to double-check everything and make sure there are no mistakes," Ryan replied.
Marianna smiled, looking at Ryan with obvious approval.
"When you both head off to Aromport, look after Lily, okay? Don't let her get bullied," Marianna said.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Johnson. I will," Ryan promised.
Lily gave a smile when she heard his promise.
It was such a subtle smile. One couldn't really tell if she was pleased or just being sarcastic.
Then Marianna left.
"Anything else?" Lily asked coolly.
Ryan frowned a little, and almost without thinking, he blurted out a reminder.
"The application deadline's almost here. Make sure you check everything online," he said.
"Got it," Lily replied.
Her voice was completely unbothered, not the least bit anxious.
It was a far cry from how she used to check her application two or three times a day, always worried she'd mess something up.
For no reason, Ryan felt a wave of irritation and a dull ache in his chest, but he couldn't figure out why.
"Oh, and a few of us are planning to head up to the mountains in a couple of days. Do you want to join us?" Ryan asked.
Seeing Lily frown, clearly about to say no, Ryan quickly added, "Sophie's coming too. She said she wanted to bunk with you in the tent."
After a brief pause, Lily nodded in agreement.
But Ryan was still kind of bothered by it.
Since when did Sophie have more sway than he did?
But seeing Lily looked like she didn't want to say much, he figured she was just not in the mood. He reminded her one more time to check her application and then headed out.
After Marianna had laid out a whole spread on the table, she looked around and realized Ryan was nowhere to be seen. She paused, a little taken aback.
"Where's Ryan?" she asked.
"He left," Lily replied.
Marianna frowned slightly.
"Ryan's not the kind of kid to just leave without saying anything. Did you chase him off?" Marianna asked.
Lily sat at the table in silence.
Marianna sighed and gently patted her head.
"What's going on? Are you two having a spat? I thought you used to like Ryan the most," she said.
Marianna knew her daughter better than anyone. She could tell Lily had feelings for Ryan.
"Mom, he changed his application a few days ago to go to Roynfort. I've thought it over, and I still want to go to Aromport. Please don't mention this to him, and when you see him, don't bring it up, okay?" Lily said.
Lily felt a pang of bitterness in her chest.
Marianna could pretty much guess what was going on. She gave Lily a gentle, comforting pat on the back.
For the rest of the night, no one brought it up again.
Two days later, Lily showed up at the station to meet up, and just as expected, Sophie was there too.
But Sophie gave Ryan the cold shoulder, pulling Lily along and hopping into a different car with her.
After winding through twisty roads for hours, they finally made it into the mountains.
Ryan kept sending her messages the whole ride, asking if she was carsick, if she'd packed enough to eat.
Lily didn't even bother checking. She just blocked him.
When they finally got there, Lily stepped out and saw Ryan nearby, holding Emily close like he was worried she might trip or something.
Emily said, "Lily? Didn't expect to see you here today. Sorry about last time. I guess it was my fault you and Ryan had that fight.
"He talked to me and said you two are close friends. Honestly, I wish I had a friendship like yours. You guys are always together. He even said that when he gets married, he wants you as his bridesmaid."
As Lily walked over, Emily was the first to speak, playing the bigger person, which made Sophie's blood boil. She was about to say something, but Lily held her back.
"If Ryan ever gets married, I'll be there as his bridesmaid and wish him a lifetime of happiness," Lily said.
She met Ryan's gaze head-on, her eyes clear and sincere, like she was genuinely wishing him well.
Ryan's face clouded over. He was dying to ask what Lily meant by that, but with people around, he just swallowed it down and kept quiet.
The group kept hiking deeper into the mountains for a while before finally stopping to set up camp.
Turned out they didn't bring enough food, so Ryan and a few other guys headed off into the woods to forage for some fruit, while the girls stayed behind to set up the tents and get a fire going.
Just as the fire finally caught, huge raindrops started pouring down and put it out in seconds.
Lily glanced up. Dark clouds were gathering, and thunder was rumbling. It looked like a storm was about to hit any second.
Out of nowhere, the wind kicked up, making the trees sway like crazy. The rain started dumping down. Everyone rushed for the tents, but then they spotted Ryan and the other guys running back, yelling at the top of their lungs.
When Lily finally made out what they were shouting, her pupils contracted in shock. Without a second thought, she grabbed Sophie and dashed for higher ground.
It was a flash flood.
No one saw this coming. Emily was so terrified that she froze for a moment, only snapping out of it when she saw everyone else running. She stumbled a few times, barely keeping up.
As the floodwaters rushed even closer, Emily, in a blind panic, grabbed Lily just as she was scrambling up to higher ground, desperately dragging her back down.
"No, you can't just leave me behind," Emily screamed.
Lily couldn't shake her off, so she shoved Sophie up to safety first. But with Emily still clinging to her, the flood surged up in an instant, swallowing Lily to her waist.
Ryan, still running, caught a faint cry for help. He spun around and saw Emily and Lily both trapped in the surging floodwaters, clinging desperately to a branch jutting from the rocky cliff.
"Ryan, help. Please, save me first," Emily screamed.
"Ryan," Lily shouted.
Their cries for help echoed one after another, but with time running out and the flood raging, Ryan could only save one of them.
In that split second, his mind was made up.
"Ryan..." Lily shouted.
She watched as he turned back, about to shout his name, but the instant she saw him reaching for Emily, it felt like she'd been hit with a freezing wave.
The rest of her words got stuck in her throat.
She could only watch in shock as Ryan picked Emily up and ran forward, not even glancing back.
The floodwaters surged up suddenly, engulfing her completely.
In the split second before she blacked out, Lily found herself in a daze, remembering her eighteenth birthday. She and Ryan sat together in the park.
"Lily, one day, I'll give you the most unforgettable love confession. I want the whole world to know you're..." Ryan had said.
The water rushed over her head.
It washed away all the promises.