The Monroe Legacy - G. 4. Chapter 5 - Missing Pieces

'Tia?' Lillia repeated dumbly, her mind struggling to understand what Casper was saying.

The girl stepped out from behind Casper and extended a hand towards Lillia,

'Well my actual name is Talia but most people call me Tia. Nice to finally meet you'.

Lillia finally let out a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding. It was all just a big conincidence then, for a second she had thought her brother had either gone mad or that something utterly impossible had happened. She looked at a Talia again and noted that she was an unusual looking girl, her purple hair was well dyed, barely any root showing and her eyes were so dark they had to be contacts! Her outfit was.... Interesting and for a second reminded Lillia of something she couldn't quite put a finger on. As she puzzled to think what it might be she realised Casper was speaking again, his voice impassioned.

'....met Tia at space camp and felt like I knew who she was. She felt the same though we'd never met before and we spent more and more time together, each feeling like we already knew the other person.' Tia nodded in agreement, unconsciously moving closer to Casper as he continued.

'After the first couple weeks I decided to risk telling her about my imaginary Tia, about the similarities they shared, about how well she seemed to understand me. I fully expected her to laugh in my face but instead she told me that she had an imaginary friend too, only hers was called Cas and that it was kinda like me, introverted and logical when she needed someone to reason with her. At first it just seemed like a really freaky coincidence butt we've talked a lot about it and it kinda makes sense.'

At this Lillia cocked an eyebrow, this all sounded pretty weird to her.

'How does it make sense?'

Tia stepped in, her tone the quietly passionate, totally logical one that Lillia had heard Casper use a thousand times.

'Casper and I are both highly intelligent humans with slightly dysfunctional personalities. Casper has Aspergers, he doesn't like change or people but needs somebody to talk through his theories with, someone of equal intelligence who can see the connections in areas he finds confusing. I have ADHD so I need somebody who focuses me, who can make me understand the minute details when my hormones are telling me to rush onto the next project. We both grew up with those things missing and so we invented somebody who had what we lacked.'

Lillia nodded, that did sound kinda plausible.

'With any made up character there's a probability of there being someone in the world who shares most of that imagined personality. Casper and I, our creations were as intelligent as we were and because they belonged to a relatively small percentile of the population, it follows that if such a person existed there was a higher probability that we would cross paths. As we did.'

Tia paused and took Casper's hand, both of them looking expectantly at Lillia who was still processing. It wasn't the most ridiculous theory she'd ever heard but it was still pretty weird if it held any truth. But she could see her brother believed it absolutely, there was a light in his eyes she had never seen there before.

'That still doesn't make total sense to me,' Lillia began, hating seeing his shoulders begin to slump, 'but I'm going to give you geniuses the benefit of the doubt. I just have a couple of questions.'

Casper nodded enthusiastically,

'Anything!' he said.

'Firstly the name thing... That's freaky. What happened there? And secondly why is Tia hiding in your room Casper?'

Her brother shuffled his feet awkwardly.

'The name thing is a coincidence and isn't quite as spooky as it sounds. Tia is just a nickname and her imaginary friend Cas was short for Cassy and was a girl. But it is still a bit odd. As for the hiding thing, that's what we were debating when we woke you.

Tia lives with her aunt who has fostered her since she was a kid. Her aunt doesn't get that Tia is smart and could have a future so she wants Tia to drop out of school and go clean hotels with her. At least that's what she wants when she's sober.'

Lillia looked across and saw in Tia a combination of fear and determination. Her bright eyes and clenched jaw showed that she would fight while her folded arms gave her the posture of a kid who wasn't sure they had done the right thing.

'I was going to run away after Space Camp, I got in on a scholarship and told my aunt I was visiting a friend,' Tia explained. 'I'm 16, I'm old enough and I'd rather work in a diner and do night school than work with my aunt and have her take "rent" and "taxes" out of my pay before I see a penny. Casper persuaded me to come with him instead and I'm glad I did but it feels wrong lying to your parents.

I was trying to explain I should leave and take care of myself, Casper was saying I should stay and that nobody needed to know. It's a mess' Tia finished lamely.

Lillia just nodded, her brain whirling with new and confusing information and unable to find the right thing to say to the two hopeful teenagers who stood before her, their new companionship on the line. In the end Lillia knew they all needed a little time.

'It's late. We're all tired. Don't do anything dramatic and in the morning we'll make a plan'.

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The morning came and it was clear to Lillia what needed to be done. Tia was right, She couldn't keep living in the shadows, especially when there was a good chance that Gray and Rachel would understand and want to support Casper's friend.

Lillia let Tia pick out some clothes from her wardrobe, the poor girl had been stuck with the oddments in Casper's old costume chest and then they all went to tell Gray and Rachel the truth. Lillia sat quietly, nodding encouragingly when a Casper looked over for support. Hearing the story for a second time it all made more sense though she did notice a couple of shifty glances between Tia and Casper, like they were leaving something out.

Gray and Rachel reacted in much the same way that Lillia had, disbelief followed by a slow acceptance of the story. They then left to talk it over leaving two anxious teenagers and an observer behind.

If Lillia had had any doubts as to Casper's attachment to Tia. It was now stripped away, he sat close to her, his arm protectively around her shoulders and stroked her hair. Seeing such a natural display of affection from her usually aloof brother made Lillia's heart hurt. Partly she was happy for him but she was also jealous, she had once had that but not only was it lost, she couldn't even remember what it felt to be loved so fiercely.

When the adults eventually returned it was good news for the young couple. Tia could stay as long as she told her aunt where she was, attended school and kept to their rules. She was to sleep in Lillia's old room and contribute to her costs only by doing her share of the chores.

Lillia crept out as they began discussing the details, unwilling to spoil their happiness with her sad moment. Instead she opened up her laptop and started planning her 18th birthday, how best should high school royalty celebrate their big birthday?

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Those last months of high school flew by at an alarming pace, change looming unstoppable on the horizon. The closer college got the tetchier Lillia became, taking out her frustration at her prospects and her present position on anyone who got too close to her. She dated and dumped every eligible and attractive guy in the senior class, popularity being her main qualifier and found every one of them, no matter how sweet and attentive, left her cold. Casper and Tia's blossoming romance haunted her at home and she took to spending her time either at the gym or the mall, remaking herself over and over and hoping to rediscover some of what she had lost.

Her eighteenth birthday went off with a bang, her pink pajama party would go down in the Brittlebush student history as one of the most memorable nights of the decade. The food and drink were laid on by Gray and Rachel to lavish praise, perhaps made more effusive by the copious quantities of booze somebody had laced the iced tea with. 

Lillia had provided matching pjs for her special guests, marking out the elite from the crowd which only made the screaming match between Daisy and Rose after the former made a drunken pass at the latter's boyfriend more entertaining for the masses.

The fall-out left Lillia even more firmly at the top of the food chain and as finals tension mounted the power manifested in various ways. Brooke found herself permanently banished from the popular crowd after a thoughtless comment about an autistic boy in her year, Daisy had to exchange her prom dress twice when Lillia decided it clashed with her own and Troy Ferrel had to move his graduation after party three times so Lillia could make it.

Lillia never planned to throw her weight around so much but the more times she got her own way the easier it became just to go with it. She knew that college might be very different, that she'd have to work for her status and so she resolved to enjoy ruling the little society of Brittlebush High, she was through with feeling guilty. To move on Lillia would put guilt and her concerns for other people's expectations in that locked box in her head where she filed away all the pity and the disappointment. When she was caught up in the planning of the next social event or how to get a cute guy to dump his girlfriend for her it was easy to push away that hollowness inside of her, to pretend she didn't see Jeremy's sad glances over at her and what she had become.

When the housing allocations for college came in Lillia was gratified to discover that she had been pre-selected for the exclusive Phi Gamma Theta sorority while Rose and Daisy were just in general dorms until rush week. Knowing that she had a place in college society already gave Lillia a boost, perhaps it was silly but while she knew that for lots of people college was a chance to start over, she was quite happy just to keep going as she was, she'd already had to start over once thanks to her accident!

Lillia graduated with acceptable grades, voted most likely to marry well and spent the summer perfecting her college wardrobe and lying out with Rose. There were a few parties but the charms of Lucky Palms were wearing thin for Lillia, it was the same people, the same drama and under it all those same gaps in her memory, those same questions she couldn't answer.

When moving day came she barely cried, despite the torrents from her parents. It felt like it was the right time to go, to find out who Lillia Monroe would be when you took her out of the town that had moulded the old her, where she felt her new behaviour disappointed the people around her. As she pulled out of the driveway behind the moving van which held her and her friends belongings she felt a thrill race through her. College was going to be fun.

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Find out how Lillia handles freshman year in Chapter 6 - Irresistible

The Monroe Legacy - Generation 3 Finale - Last Orders

As Lillia's  16th birthday approached, Gray wondered if maybe he had announced his decision too soon and put too much pressure on his young daughter. It had been almost a five years since he had chosen, aware that for Eva, adult life had already begun and wanting to grant her the freedom she deserved but rather than giving Lillia purpose, the legacy seemed to weigh heavily on her mind. He'd seen her sit staring at the increasingly battered legacy journal for hours, a strange look on her face and he wondered if Lillia might be having second thoughts, though she always denied it when asked.

Gray had thought that his decision would give her confidence in her teenage years, should she ever want to stand apart from her friends. Maybe it had, but Lillia had never wavered in her social allegiances, she was as close to Daisy and Rose as she had ever been and the three of them ruled the school. Gray and Rachel had kept their eyes peeled for any sign that the Flowers were more mean girls than dream girls but so far they just seemed like the average popular kids, they had their moments, but so did most kids.

Flynn was certainly king of such moments. The fit he threw his first day at nursery would, Eva said, never be outdone as the most simultaneously hilarious and traumatic experience of her life. It was said that the screaming could be heard a block away.

For all his tantrums, Flynn was a good kid and Eva had done a wonderful job so far, he was definitely a momma's boy but she was firm with him and Gray was so proud of his daughter. He was ecstatic that she would soon be home for good, having just completed her final year at Brown and she had graduated magna cum laude, in front of her thrilled family and a beaming Hayden.

Eva had finally given Hayden the answer he wanted the day she had recieved her acceptance letter for Brown, they married a few months later at home with just family as witnesses and spent a Honeymoon weekend flat hunting around the Brown campus.

The day they moved away Gray had been a mess, he'd planned out a sort of speech and a big farewell, something about how proud he was and that the sadness of her leaving would be made sweeter by the knowledge that she was chasing her dream. But when the moment came that all flew out of the window and they just sobbed and hugged and cried. 

Now they were coming back, Hayden had busted his ass working whilst Eva had been at college and they had enough for the deposit on a tiny house on a new development. With Flynn about to start school, Eva was due to start working at the local science facility and Hayden's hard work had guaranteed him a transfer to his company's office in town. Gray was thrilled, it would be wonderful to have them close and to get to know his grandson properly now he was a big boy, holiday visits just weren't enough.

Lillia was excited to see Eva too, especially now she knew her sister wouldn't want her room back! Casper was warier, not about Eva and certainly not to see Hayden, he'd missed his chess nemesis, but to be around Flynn, who he mainly remembered as a screaming and disruptive baby.

It wasn't the baby's fault, Casper knew that, but if his nephew was still very loud it was bad timing, Casper had been accepted into an elite summer science programme at MIT and he had a lot of studying to do if he was going to blow them away. In the years since they'd moved away Casper had grown from a studious little boy into a studious young man, his academics beyond reproach, he even participated in the odd group study, though most social gatherings still sent him running to his chemistry set and Tia.

Fortunately the reunion went well, Rachel cried a little, Gray grinned constantly and Flynn rather overawed by all the people who turned up - half the extended family were there to welcome Eva home - was very well behaved and quiet. Casper have Eva a quick hug before making a chess plan with Hayden and then retreated to his room. His family were nice he supposed but there were ever such a lot of them! 

A few weeks later Lillia found herself the sole inhabitant of the Monroe residence. Her parents having flown across to Yale to get Casper settled, the house was strangely still. At first That was exciting, Lillia thought to herself that this was how it would be once she was in charge of the house.  Then it was too quiet, the silence expectant and oppressive and she did what she always did when she was unsure, she called in her friends. Fortunately it was too late for Rose and Daisy to organised a  party so they settled for raiding the wine rack and getting rather tipsy whilst watching movies.

After a while the conversation turned to boys, as it always did, Rose giggling over a new senior who had transferred and Daisy swooning over Rose's brother Axel, much to her disgust. As usual , Lillia was the quiet one, it wasn't that she wasn't interested, she just hadn't really seen anyone of her type in a while. Usually her friends just let it go, but the wine spurred them on.

'C'mon Lil! There must be somebody you like.' Rose whinged, 'All the guys in our year are panting after the "mysterious" Lillia Monroe, but you're always single!'

Daisy looked sideways at her, a slightly unpleasant smile crossing her face. Lillia stiffened, she knew that look.

'I know who Lil likes'  she snickered. Rose whipped round, eyes wide.

'No! Who?!' She was shocked.

So was Lillia, 'Oh really?!' She teased, 'who is my prince charming! waiting in the wings then? I'd love to meet him!'

'Jeremy Gilbert, your geeky lab partner. I've seen you get all hot and bothered taking to him.'

Lillia flushed red, 'I do not have a thing for Jeremy. We're just friends.' She insisted.

Rose shrugged, 'But you have enough friends. Better friends. You don't need losers hanging around you.'

Lillia tried to stay calm, 'Which is why Jeremy is my lab partner and not at this sleepover. You guys know I need a good partner to pass that class.'

The ping of the microwave diffused the tension in the room and Lillia went to get the popcorn. She took the trash outside to cool off and once she was alone she took a deep calming breath. What had just happened was exactly why she would never tell anyone, anyone at all, about her crush on Jeremy Gilbert.

When Gray and Rachel returned, tired and having left Casper halfway across the country to take care of himself, a challenge they believed he was ready for but that scared them nonetheless, it felt as if an era was drawing to an end.

Gray felt older somehow, as if he had had just enough energy to keep him going for as long as he was needed desperately. He'd long ago lost count of the grey-white hairs on his head and had been amused by the saga of Rachel's attempts to find an anti-wrinkle cream that worked. Age had crept up on them quietly, kept away only by the tireless energy that they'd expended to try and keep everything together.

Now Eva was off with a family of her own, a home, a son and a husband, not to mention a degree and a career. Gray couldn't even see the angry teenager he'd once known in her any more, the glowing young woman she'd become was a testament only to her own strength of character and the chance to start again.

Lillia was almost grown, she seemed happy and confident, she had her sports and her friends and her academic were good enough not to hold her back. Gray only wished he had taken more time to treasure her childhood years, caught between her siblings she'd grown up too fast and that was something he'd never be able to take back.

And Casper, for all the nights of sleep that Gray and Rachel had lost over him, he was doing so well. It seemed like he too barely needed them. His schooling was so advanced that they could barely follow it, he functioned with hardly a thing to distinguish him from his siblings. The only time when the Aspergers really affected things was when he was surprised by or under-prepared for a social situation. Gone were the days where his temper flared at the slightest misunderstanding, he was learning to cope with the world and with the people in it and that was his parents dearest wish for him.

Gray hoped that maybe one day Casper would find what he had with Rachel with another person, that his son would want that for himself, but for now it was more than enough to see his son becoming independent, even if that meant he didn't need Gray so much.

Yes, it was the end of an era.

Looking across to where Rachel sat engrossed in a recipe book muttering ingredients to herself! Gray smiled. It was twenty years since they'd first sat together like this, their dreams very different from what they were now. Those two decades felt like a whirlwind, a constant fight to do what was best for their family and Gray couldn't imagine a better partner to have seen him through it than Rachel had been.

Perhaps now was their chance to go back after those dreams they'd shared that had fallen by the wayside, the dreams which had been hung up and used to pad their children's way in the world. Their hair might be greyer and their joints a little stiffer but there was time yet, this time was theirs. It was time to let Lillia chronicle their history and make her own successes and mistakes, time for Gray to step back and support his children rather than pushing them along.

Crossing the room Gray joined Rachel on the sofa, tapping the page of her book until he had her attention.

'Rachel, I think it's time to have another try at opening up that restaurant we always dreamed of.'      

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Generation Four has now begun. Read Chapter 1 - Holding Court now!