Some Other Way

She threw the candles, matches and blanket into the backpack, concealed by numerous books to hide any fact that anything other than schoolwork would be done.  Lily looked into the mirror, pushing out the wrinkles in her skirt and adjusting her shirt so it fell nicely along her body.  Would her love like her makeup?  She hoped so, she prayed that everything went perfectly tonight.  It was their four-month anniversary and they still hadn't been caught by their parents.  Sometimes, the idea of being in the secret relationship made her giddy, feeling like Romeo and Juliet.  Other times, she just wanted to break down and come out to her family, explain what had been going on and beg for forgiveness.  But, Lily knew that she would never be forgiven for this...
"Lily!" came a cry downstairs.  Lily jumped slightly, her thoughts rippling away.
"Coming!" she shouted back, throwing on her backpack and flying down the steps.  She stumbled on the last few as she normally did.  Her father let out a vociferous laugh.
"Honey, you have to stop coming down like that, you're too clumsy and you're going to kill yourself doing that one day!" he explained, helping his daughter up.  He picked up her backpack and immediately put it down, huffing and puffing animatedly.  "My God Lily!  What do you have in there, bricks?"
"No Dad, I'm going over to Jill's to study tonight," she explained, picking up the backpack with ease and throwing it over her shoulders.  His eyebrow cocked up as he looked at her suspiciously.
"I didn't know you have a test," he commented, stroking his chin.  Lily looked down to hide the grimace from her face.  She was right, he was drunk the night that she told him.  As much as she loved her father, she hated the woman that he was seeing,  She brought out the worst in him, taking him out partying like they were in college and coming back in a drunken stumpor, waking up Lily so she could clean up the throw-up that was on the carpet.
"I told you last night that we have midterms coming up," she muttered.  He sighed.
"Ah, that's why I don't remember," he muttered right back.  There was a moment of awkward silence.  Lily dug her foot into the floor, wanting to run out the door and into her love's arms but her father's large figure blocked the way.  Finally, he sighed again and moved.
"OK, well, have fun and don't be too late.  We have Mass tomorrow and since you haven't taken the Eucharist in a while, I want you to go," he said.  She nodded, hating Saturday Mass but knowing that she needed to go to church in order to save her soul, especially for her heavy sins.
"Bye Dad, love you," she said, kissing his cheek.  She adjusted her bookbag and walked out the door.  When Lily reached the end of the block, she got out her cell phone.  Quickly, she dialed Jill's phone number and got her voicemail.  Probably off having sex with her boyfriend again or something.
"Hey Jill, listen, I just wanted to thank you again for letting me use you as an excuse.  I'll see you tomorrow to study.  Thanks!  Bye," Lily said into the cell phone.  She hung up, seeing a blue car pulling up to the curb right next to her.  Lily's heart lept out of her chest and a grim spread across her face.  Inconspicuously, she glanced around and, seeing she was not being watched, she jumped into the car jubilantly.  There was her love, sitting next to her.
"Hi there beautiful," Lily said, kissing her love deeply.  She smiled as their lips part.
"Hi there precious," her love, Kristen, said back.  They drove off.

***

Lily cried herself to sleep that night, as usual.  How would she be accepted.  Her religion said she would be damned.  She felt like everything that she was doing was right though.  Her father was a strict Catholic, she could never come out to him but she hated keeping secrets from him.  It was an amazing night with Kristen, as usual.  But there had to be some other way...
Just some other way than this...