She's No Beauty Queen

The two of them ended up getting smoothies after all their classes were done for the day and spent way too long goofing off together when there was homework to be done. Lily headed home and locked herself up in her room immediately trying to ignore a joint meltdown Adam and Emma were having so she could work.

Putting on noise cancelling headphones and blasting the study tunes normally did the trick. She had learned how to survive in this house a long time ago.

She was so into the groove that she didn't notice someone banging on her door until they started yelling too. Whipping her headphones off, Lily frowned and opened the door so she could hear better.

"Sorry, what was that?"

Genevieve was scowling up at her. "I said there's a guy here for you. Are you deaf or what?"

She held up the headphones in her hand and her sister suddenly understood. "I don't know why Mom made the girl in the wheelchair go fetch you. Anyone else could have done it."

"Exercise is good for you," Lily deadpanned.

Genevieve stuck her tongue out at her retreating back even though she couldn't see it. She was wondering who on earth was at the door because it wasn't like she had any guy friends that she talked to outside of class.

To her great surprise, the man standing in the doorway was Mark. He was wearing a suit and tie like he had been every time she could remember seeing him and looking way too formal for her house.

"Hey…what are you doing here?" Lily asked a bit awkwardly.

His expression grew pleading. "I need your help. Can we talk for a minute? Outside?"

Adam, who had finally calmed down leaving their mother to deal with Emma, made a hand gesture indicating he was watching them before sitting directly at the window and following through on his promise. Her brother was hypervigilant about protecting this house and all of its inhabitants. He owned a large collection of toy weapons such as lightsabers, fake swords, and Nerf guns for that exact reason.

"Were those all of your siblings?" Mark asked curiously once they were outside under Adam's watchful eye through the curtains.

"No. My oldest brother is married and lives in Oakland. He and his wife are expecting their first child," Lily explained.

"Right. Sorry, that was off topic. I'm here to ask for your help on Mr. Todd's behalf. Angel is still missing. The private investigators found her last known location and are looking into who may have been the last person to see her but in the meantime she has Miss California duties to attend to or she'll lose her title.

"I know this would be a great inconvenience for you but could you cover for her until we find her? You really wouldn't have to do much. It's community service work a few times a week and we would reward you for it," he wheedled.

She blinked at him uncomprehendingly. They wanted her to pretend to be Angel on purpose so she wouldn't lose her spot in the Miss Americana competition? Were they crazy?

She was already cheating by pretending not to be romantically entangled with a daughter and now they wanted Lily to add to that by committing identity fraud?! It was just a beauty pageant! These sorts of tactics were too extreme.

Hearing Angel was still missing made her chest feel tight but a tiny part of her was relieved that her twin wasn't avoiding her on purpose. Then she felt terrible for feeling that way when she could be in real danger.

"I'm way too busy for that," Lily said quickly. "I have school, family responsibilities—"

"Mr. Todd is willing to pay off all of your student loans and your tuition for the rest of college if you do this," Mark added before she could finish turning him down.

She gaped at him. All of her student loans? She knew he was rich because of that opulent house but he must be desperate to offer so much to a virtual stranger, even if she had accidentally lived in his house for a few days.

"Why would he do that?"

"He cares deeply about supporting your sister's dreams. He doesn't want her to miss her best chance at competing," he explained.

Lily didn't quite buy that. Eddie admitted to her before that they were planning on getting married after the competition. If the competition didn't happen, that probably wouldn't either. He was doing this at least partially for selfish reasons.

She didn't want to aid and abet a cheater but would doing this make Angel more likely to want to meet her afterward? Would doing this soften her up if she was still alive out there?

Thinking practically, this would allow her to afford to move out sooner so she would stop burdening her parents and they could take in another child that needed them. She would be able to afford to buy a car sooner too. She had been taking the bus the whole time she was in college.

Most importantly of all, she would be able to gain her independence sooner if she did this. She could prove that she didn't need to be babied all the time and was capable of handling things by herself.

Lily sighed. She didn't like this but… "What do I need to do?"

Mark was almost imperceptibly relieved. "Come over to Mr. Todd's house for dinner tonight and he can explain everything. He knows her schedule better than I do and will have an idea of what will need to be done to turn you into Miss California temporarily."

His last statement was oddly ominous. But she had already agreed to it so she couldn't back out now.

"Alright. Just let me tell my family where I'm going." Lily headed back inside and yelled. "Gen! Tell Mom I'm going to my friend's for dinner and not to wait up for me!"

A shout of "okay!" sounded from elsewhere in the house and she turned to leave but a small tug on the hem of her shirt stopped her. Adam was blinking up at her with his big dark eyes.

"It's okay buddy. I'm only going out for a little while," she said softly.

He shook his head vehemently. He wanted her to stay. There was only one way to get out of this without him crying. Initiating a fake quick draw with finger guns and beating him so he conceded that she had won the right to leave.

Lily had done this dozens of times over the years. Adam was her little buddy; he preferred her over all their other siblings because she understood his differences and accepted him as he was without getting annoyed.

She quickly drew her finger gun and mimed shooting at him. He enacted a dramatic death scene on the ground before grinning at her and allowing her to leave.