The Good Guys - Kim Wilson (13)

           

     
    The small, delicate child stood in the doorway and listened to the bickering of her parents. The fighting had become a constant thing; she did not know why. Every night they would wait until they thought she was asleep. Little did they know, Lily would hide in her closet and sing to Mr. Teddy until it ended.
    They would argue mostly over her mother working late. Her dad accused her mother of cheating and she would always deny it. Each night the fights would escalate. Eventually, Lily’s singing wouldn't cover up their voices. The accusations were getting worse and worse. Lily began to wonder what her mother was doing after work. Lily couldn’t handle how mean her daddy was being to her mommy: it made her cry.
    That night, Lily finally gathered the courage to confront them about their fighting. She left her safe haven and ventured into the storm. She walked slowly down the hall and watched her parents argue.
    “You’re never even home. You’re always out with some other man!” her dad yelled.
    “You know that's not true,” her mother yelled back. Lily plugged her ears and once again began to sing “Jesus Loves Me.” Her Sunday school teacher always told her to sing it when she was scared. Then suddenly she saw her dad hit her mom.
     “Daddy, no!” she yelled. He looked back at Lily with wide, shocked eyes. Lily ran into the living room and grabbed the home phone. After grabbing the phone, she ran to the bathroom and locked the door.
     What was the number you call when someone is in danger? Her mommy always told her to call it. 911? She saw the outline of feet outside the door. Lily ran and hid in the tub; she new someone was out there.
     “Lily, daddy needs to talk to you,” her father said from outside the bathroom door. She pressed the numbers and the green button like her mom showed her.
    “911, what is your emergency?” the operator asked.
    “My daddy just hit my mommy and I’m scared,” Lily whispered.
    “Lily, who are you on the phone with? Lily, hang up the phone,” her dad yelled.
    “I really need help,” Lily whispered into the phone, “He’s yelling that I need to hang up.”
    “Don’t listen to him. Where do you live? I need to send someone there to help you. How old are you?” the operator questioned.
    “Is he a good guy? I’m six and I live on 123 Hickory Street.” Lily was glad she lived on a street that was easy to remember. She learned her 123’s at school and Hickory sounded funny.
    Lily talked to the operator until she said the good guys were at her house. Lily loved to watch superhero movies. The good guys were always her favorite. Someone began to knock at the door.
    “Who are you?” Lily asked. Lily hoped it was her superhero; she was already scared enough.
    “My name is Brian. I’m supposed to help you, Lily. You can open the door now.” he replied.
    Lily slowly cracked open the door and peaked through. She saw a police officer with a big smile. In his hand, he held a small badge and a bag of cookies. The badge had “Hero of the Day” engraved in it. He motioned for her to come out of the bathroom. He handed her the badge and cookies.
“I’m the Hero of the Day?” Lily asked astounded. She thought he was the hero; he saved her from her dad being mean to her and her mommy. Lily would never have thought she was a hero.
“Yeah, you saved the day. Your mommy and daddy weren’t being very nice. They were doing mean things and now we can help them.” he smiled.
They walked outside together and she was both of her parents in police cars. Lily smiled and waved at them but they looked at her with disgrace. Lily began to realize her parents didn’t love her anymore; that made Lily sad.
“You’ll be staying with me for a while, just until we can find your relatives,” he said. Lily looked up at him and smiled. She liked him. He was nice, a lot like a superhero. Lily was a hero too. She didn’t need a badge to tell her that; the look on Brian’s face told her. everyone was so proud of her for calling them.
“Do you have cake?” Lily asked.
“Yes, I do.” he laughed.
“Since we’re both heroes, I think we deserve some.” Lily smiled.