‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍nothing’s more important than 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦.ᐟ ‍ ‍ ‍

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

FAMILY IS THE MOST LETHAL WEAPON.ᐟ

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

sit down, honey, i’ll make you a plate.

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

god…me.

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

she’s making breakfast, who’s hungry?

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

i know, i know.

now hurry up, you’ll be late and i don’t want aunt gladys waiting for too long. she needs her rest.

( a second kiss is pressed to his lips, then another. )

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

true. then i would step in, try to convince her that our house is what kids call cool now…she loves you, she just has her own way of showing it.

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

love you.

( a little laugh leaves her, and she nudges him. )

absolutely not. your mother would insist i redecorate the house.

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

love ya. (small kiss rested against her lips.)

maybe we should make this a habit? inviting our family here every other year? my mom would love that. ( he joked of course.)

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

we will. promise. now hurry, honey, her flight will be in soon.

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

i won’t be long. you two are going to be okay?

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

check the bowl, that’s where the spare is too.

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

did you see my car keys? god…i would’ve lost my head if it wasn’t screwed on.

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

if you could. i’ll stay home with alex. she didn’t sound like she had much to pack with her, so it shouldn’t be a heavy load.

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

i…damn it. it means i have to pick her up from the airport, huh?

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

she said the hospital won’t help her anymore - that they’ve done what they can, and it’s not enough. it sounds like she needs comfort more than anything. she’s dying and just wants to be around family. i’m not trying to argue.

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

that’s another reason why she needs a hospital and not our guest room. are we seriously going to argue about this?

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

i-i don’t think she’ll be with us long. she sounded very sick. i think she deserves to have comfort in the end of her life.

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

you haven’t even been in contact with that woman. what are we going to tell alex? he wanted that trip…now what?

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

come to her, then. please. she needs comfort.

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

makes two of them, then.

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

missing her family.

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

we can’t just throw her out. she has no one else, nowhere else. i can’t just abandon her, she’s family.

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

we’re not a hospice, hon. tell her look for a professional. somewhere that is not out guest room. please…

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

stephen, she’s sick. she needs help.

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

what the hell? @madeherweapon

(*😀)

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

“alright— alright.”

she pushes away the thoughts, the brief glimpses into the terror of their time spent mindless. rising from her spot, she begins to gather up soup cans from the counter. it’s hard to see them, knowing all alex had to do.

“come here with that trash bag.”

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

“i do know. but…the last thing that kid needs is us faltering even more. so please let me help clean the house.”

he was tired too. the last month…the last couple of days…was their family going to be the same ever again?

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

@madeherweapon

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

she obeys.

it’s a subtle, slow turn of the head, but it lets the scars on her cheeks show when she tries to smile.

“i’m trying my best, stephen. i really am. it’s just— hard, you know?”

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

“alex will be back from school soon. i just want to fix some of the mess. can you stop for a moment and look at me, damn it?”

he put the empty trash bag down. frustration bubbling over.

[‍ ‍ ‍ 𝐦rs. 𝐥illy.ᐟ @madeherweapon]

his wife is quiet a long while after he speaks, her voice finally coming to her only when she’s gathered the strength.

“it won’t fix ( everything ),” she breathes out. her voice is soft, still a bit ragged from all that time of disuse over the time when her will had been taken.

[—𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 .ᐟ @weaponedfather]

he knows he should say something. offer a few comforting words, but all he does is sit in the kitchen…hand mindlessly stirring the tea in his cup. tea he didn’t even want to begin with. he speaks eventually. “i can call someone. to give us an estimated price to fix everything.”