Chapter Text
Lily stalked into Rose’s Diner. This whole town was a nightmare. She should have known it was a bad idea, but pressure from her network and her own older sister instincts curiosity drew her to this abhorrent place. Now, Michael was missing, her producer had bailed, and she had successfully broken the only family she had left.
“Coffee,” She threw herself into a stool at the counter and glowered, daring anyone in this too friendly town to try to talk to her. She wanted to leave this fucking place, but she couldn’t. Not after Sammy Stevens called her out. She turned in the stool and surveyed the diner.
It looked like an average, idyllic small town diner. It didn’t seem like a place that swallowed people whole, some in an instant, like Michael, and others slowly, like her... and Sammy. God, she hated this place. Her eyes roved over the other patrons until they settled on a booth where New Jack- Ben Arnold sat. His head was bent together with a pretty woman conspiratorially. Lily’s eyes narrowed.
She’d been listening to the show. Obviously she had. Hell, she’d even bought an ad on the station when it seemed like they were struggling for sponsors. She might still be mad, furious, at Sammy for ditching out on real journalism when he got offered that prime time spot reserved for hacks and shock jocks, and angrier still that Jack had chosen his show… him over her, but that didn’t mean she didn’t care. She had every right to be angry. She knew it wasn’t a coincidence that the network changed her format from radio to podcast within months of them leaving. There had been a series of emails leading up to the change; rebuking her inability to know when she was being offensive or pushing too far… things Sammy always called her on, and failure to present the other side of the story, Jack’s specialty. Some days she wasn’t sure which of them she was angrier at. Sammy might have been the one who left, but if Jack had stayed Sammy would have come back. She knew he would have come back.
Her jaw tightened as she continued to glare at Ben Arnold. Today it was him she was angriest at, she realized. Somehow he’d gotten Sammy Stevens to buy into this madness. Sammy Stevens, who she would tag team with to tease Jack about this supernatural BS. Standing against her brother’s open mindedness with sarcasm and reason. Disputing his supernatural theories and sharing a laugh at his (slightly embarrassed) expense. And now, when Sammy was at his most vulnerable, this Ben guy had convinced him that a flipping demon had taken her brother. Lily was relieved that Sammy was leaving, it meant she didn’t have to drag him out of town herself (probably by his ear). (Not that she had intended to push him over the edge like that. She’d just been so angry. She and Sammy could be too alike sometimes and without Jack to talk them down, things had just escalated…)
“Here’s your coffee, sugar.” A to-go cup was placed next to her. It wasn’t a terribly subtle way of telling her to leave, but Lily appreciated the excuse. She seized the cup, tossed down some cash and stomped towards the door.
The path took her closer to the radio producer’s table. “See, Emily, if we pull something from the Void it will prove it can be done.” Ben was explaining excitedly. “Sammy will have to stay if we prove we can save Jack!” Lily froze, and the next second she was slamming her to-go cup down so hard on his table that the cardboard cup partially crumbled under the force, the seal around the lid warped and coffee overflowed out.
Ben hastily bulled his notebook back and looked up at her. “Lily! What are you-?”
“Don’t you fucking dare.” She snarled. “Sammy’s finally coming to terms with losing- him. Don’t you fucking dare give him false hope.” Ben stared at her wide-eyed. He visibly swallowed.
“Look, Lily, Miss. Wright.” He began, his voice was nervous but determination gleamed in his eyes. Suddenly he reminded her a lot more of Sammy than of Jack. “I know you don’t believe in any of this, but I can get Jack, your brother back.” Lily scoffed, part of her wanted to argue about this nonsense, but that wasn’t important, at least not as important as Sammy finally getting on with his life.
“Have you thought about what this is doing to us?” She hissed, her hands clenched into fists. “I won’t have you using my brother’s memory in your sick mind games to keep Sammy here!” Ben’s knuckles were white against the notebook.
“I’m not using him!” He snapped. “I just want to help my friend!” Lily snorted. “It’s true!” Ben yelled angrily. The diner had fallen silent around them. Emily was glaring at Lily, one hand gripping Ben’s shoulder tightly.
“Oh really?” She sneered, her eyes narrowed in contempt. “Well then, let me ask you this. Assuming you can somehow find my brother and reunite him with Sammy.”
“He can.” Emily piped up with certainty. Lily scoffed.
“Keep drinking that Kool-Aid.” She returned her eyes to Ben, meeting his glare with a fiery one of her own. “Assuming you can,” Her mouth turned up into a malicious, joyless smirk. “Who says Jack will be willing to stay in King Falls?” Lily could see the moment her words registered. The eyes widening, the mouth dropping open, the hands going loose, putting the notebook at risk of falling into the black liquid that had been creeping across the table from her cup.
Lily savored her bitter victory as he gaped up at her in horror. “The best thing Sammy can do right now is move on.” She drew back. “Stop trying to keep him from doing that.” She walked out of the diner, head held high, still burning with fury.
A small part of her wondered if that had been too harsh. She knew how hard it was to lose a brother… or two. Lily quashed that part of her. Whether Ben Arnold knew it or not, he was hurting Sammy.
And she was never one to stand by when someone fucked with her family.