Chapter 53 Tigerlily
Chapter Fifty-Three: Tigerlily
One month later, I’m refilling coffee at table seven when my phone buzzes. I ignore it. I can’t be on my phone during a shift.
The Broken Yolk Café gets busy during lunch rush. I’ve been working here full-time for three weeks now. Waitressing pays better than I expected. Tips are good. Enough to cover my half of expenses and start saving.
I dropped out of UCLA officially two weeks ago. Withdrew from all my classes. No fanfare. No regrets.
Just signed the forms and walked away.
Some people asked if I was sure. If I’d thought it through. If I wasn’t making a mistake.
I told them I was figuring it out. And I meant it.
College will still be there if I want it later. Right now, I need steady income. I need to be available for Zinnia. I need flexibility.
This job gives me that.
The lunch rush continues. I take orders, deliver food, refill drinks, and clear tables.
It’s mindless work. Exhausting but honest.
And I don’t hate it.
After my shift, I check my phone. Text from Marcus.
Call me when you have a minute.
I call him from the parking lot.
“Tigerlily. Good news. The appellate court ruled in your mother’s favor. They’re overturning the conviction.”
I can’t breathe. “What?”
“Your mother’s conviction has been overturned. She’ll be released within forty-eight hours.”
I shiver, suddenly feeling cold. “Are you serious?”
“Very serious. The court found that her testimony was coerced and that the original trial failed to consider key evidence. She’s being exonerated.”
Tears fall down my face immediately. “Oh my God.”
“I’ll send you the paperwork. But start making arrangements. She’ll need somewhere to go when she’s released.”
“Okay. Yeah. Okay.”
“There’s more. Damien’s trial date has been set. Two months from now. With your mother’s new testimony and the evidence we’ve compiled, the DA is confident he’ll be convicted on all counts.”
“How long?”
“Twenty-five to life. Maybe more with the attempted murder charge.”
Twenty-five to life. He’s going away for good.
“Thank you, Marcus. For everything.”
“Just doing my job. Congratulations, Tigerlily. You fought hard for this.”
I sit in my car crying for ten minutes before I can drive home.
When I walk in the house, Zinnia’s at the kitchen table doing homework. Zephyr’s helping her with fractions.
“Lily!” She runs over and hugs me.
“I heard you did amazing on your test.”
“I got a ninety-eight! Zephyr helped me study.”
I look at Zephyr.
He shrugs. “I’m just dad material, you know.”
I roll my eyes and laugh.
Jax walks in from the garage. He’s still in practice clothes. “Hey. How was work?”
“Good. I have news.”
They all look at me.
“My mom’s getting out. Her conviction was overturned. She’ll be released in two days.”
Zinnia’s face lights up. “Mom’s coming home?”
“Yeah, Zinni. Mom’s coming home.”
She screams, jumping up and down. Zephyr picks her up and spins her.
Jax walks over and pulls me into a hug. “That’s really good news.”
“I know. I can’t believe it’s real.”
Callum walks in behind him. “What’d I miss?”
“Tiger’s mom is getting out,” Zephyr says.
“Holy shit. That’s awesome.”
“Language,” I say automatically.
“Sorry. That’s freaking amazing.”
We stand in the kitchen. All five of us. And I feel it again. That fullness. That rightness.
“She’ll need somewhere to stay,” I say. “Just temporarily. Until she gets on her feet.”
“She can stay here,” Jax says immediately.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Yeah, if that’s alright with you.”
“It might be weird for all of us.”
“We’ll manage.”
That night, I call the prison and arrange the pickup. Two days from now. Eleven AM.
I barely sleep.
The morning we’re supposed to pick her up, I change clothes three times. I don’t feel good in any of my clothes, and I’m fucking freaking out.
“You look fine,” Jax says, leaning against the doorframe.
“I look terrible in everything.”
“You look beautiful.”
“I’m not trying to look beautiful… I just…”
He walks over and takes my face in his hands. “She’s going to be so proud of you. You know that, right?”
“I don’t know anything right now. I put her there.”
“But you raised Zinnia. Damien’s in jail now. You fought for your mom’s freedom, for justice the best way that you could have. You’re a badass.”
I shake my head, tears filling my eyes. “It doesn’t feel that way.”
“I know. But you’re doing it. You’re braver than you know.”
I nod, wiping my tears. Jax kisses them away.
We drive to the prison. Me, Jax, and Zinnia. Zephyr and Callum stayed back to give us space.
The facility is gray and depressing. The guilt in my conscience surfaces, and I almost panic. Instead, I hold my breath and blink through the heavy emotions in my chest.
We check in, sign forms, and wait.
Zinnia’s bouncing in her seat. “When will she be here?”
I swallow the lump in my throat, unable to answer. I don’t have a voice right now. My nerves have completely taken over.
“I can’t wait to see her,” Zinnia says.
And a pang of guilt hits me again. Zinnia barely knows her.
She’s barely talked to her because of Damien.
Zinnia was so little when our mom was sent to prison.
I can’t even fathom why she’d be excited.
Damien spoke poorly of my mom, even convincing me she was horrible.
I have a stabbing feeling in my gut that maybe Damien told true stories.
Zinnia doesn’t seem fazed, but naivety will do that.
Twenty minutes later, a guard leads my mom through a door.
She’s thinner than I remember. Older. Her hair has more gray. But her eyes are the same.
She sees us and stops. A hand over her mouth.
Zinnia runs to her. “Mom!”
My mom drops to her knees and catches Zinnia. She holds her so tight I’m worried she’ll break her.
“My baby. My baby girl.”
They’re both crying.
I stand there frozen. I can’t move. I can’t breathe.
I never imagined the day my mom would be released from prison.
I didn’t know that this was possible. A piece of me thought that the bad guys always won, that Damien had won.
I squeeze Jax’s hand to make sure this is real.
When he squeezes back, I know in my heart that my stalker hockey boy is the only reason this is happening.
My dad would have never pulled his gun out if it wasn’t for Jax beating him.
I look up at Jax with tears in my eyes, wondering how I got so lucky to survive any of it, and then I look back at my mom. She’s older, sure, but I’m so fucking relieved that not another day went by where she had to pay for someone’s lies. My lies.
It’s like a weight has been lifted off my chest.
My mom looks up and her eyes meet mine. Her tears flow down her face. “Lily, baby.”
I shiver, releasing Jax’s sweaty hand. Or is that my sweat? I walk over slowly like I’m in a dream. Surely, this is a dream.
“Mom?” I blink, and suddenly I can’t see a thing. Water fills my vision, and I fall apart in her arms.
She holds me and Zinnia both. All three of us crying in the middle of this institutional hallway.
“I’m so sorry,” I sob into her shoulder.
I never thought I’d ever feel a hug from her again.
All this time I thought I was depressed, but this was all that I was missing.
I was missing my mother’s hug. I sob, ugly crying.
Snot rolling down my face, drool falling from my mouth as I cry, “I’m so sorry. ”
She hugs me back tightly. “Lily––”
“I put you here. I lied. I’m so sorry, Mom—” I start shaking, unable to compose myself.
She grabs my face. “You survived when he shot you, Lily. Your father didn’t.
That’s all that matters. All that matters is that you’re alive and he’s in fucking prison, you understand me?
You survived and you saved Zinnia and you’re here.
You are the reason I’m not in prison anymore. Justice will be served.”
I cry into her shoulder for a long time. Zinnia eventually pulls away, but I can’t stop. I can’t help the overwhelm in my body.
Finally, the guard clears his throat. “Ma’am, you need to finish processing.”
My mom nods and wipes her face. “Give me five minutes.”
She completes the paperwork, gets her belongings, which is a plastic bag with the clothes she was wearing six years ago.
Seeing those clothes makes the guilt swim further in my stomach.
I’m shaking, trembling. I had no clue I would have such a physical reaction to seeing her, but it’s like my mind is reliving everything again.
Then we walk out to the parking lot and into the sunlight. And I’m reminded that this isn’t a dream. I may have put my mom into prison, but I also got her out.
We drive home. Zinnia chatters the whole way. About school. About her friend Sophie. About Gary the turtle. She really loves this turtle story. My mom listens and smiles.
When we pull into the driveway, she looks at the house. “This is where you’re living?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s nice.”
“We’re going to move somewhere else soon, so it’s temporary until we can find something better.”
“Lily, it’s nice.”
Zephyr and Callum are waiting for us.
My mom sees them, and her smile falters slightly.
“Sorry, Mom. I didn’t introduce you to Jax.”
She smiles. “I thought he was just a taxi driver.”
Jax forces a smile. “Nope. I’m the boyfriend.”
My mom looks up at the house and says, “And who is that?”
Zinnia says, “That’s Zephyr and Callum. They play hockey together.”
She looks at me. Then at them. Then back at me. “Hockey?”
I nod, gulping.
“Like your dad?”
I stare forward, feeling my face heat. I recount all the times that Damien would scream at me: Hockey players, really, Lily! Fucking hockey players!
“Do you remember that, Lily?” my mom asks.
I shake my head, still staring forward. Jax doesn’t respond.
“Is that why––”
Callum opens the back door for Zinnia and says, “Hey, Zinni. Hi, Mom.”
“Oh,” she says confused.
“I’m Cal. This is Zeff.”
“Cow and Seff?”
Jax is staring at me. I can’t even take a joke. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be.
Zephyr laughs. “I’m Zephyr, and this is Callum.”
She asks absentmindedly, “Why are you calling me Mom when Jax is Lily’s boyfriend.”
Callum claps his hands and laughs.
I still can’t find my voice or any humor in this situation.
Jax steps out and says, “Zinnia, come on. Give them a second.”
Zinnia walks off with the three of them and my mom sighs.
“You have three boyfriends?” she asks.
I’m still staring forward.
“What’s wrong, Lily?”
I shake my head.
“Lily? Talk to me.”
I close my eyes. “This is harder than I thought it’d be.”
“I don’t have to stay with you. I have friends.”
I don’t say anything.
She sighs. “I can tell they all care about you. Look at them.”
I wipe the tears from my eyes and catch all three of them looking at us. The image makes me laugh.
My mom laughs too. “There she is.” She sits forward and wraps her arms around the seat to hug me. “I understand if this is too hard, honey. It’s been six years, and I have a plan. I’m going to get a job, get a house, get Zinnia back––”
“What?” I turn to her. “No.”
“Lily,” she smiles softly. “You are young, honey. So young. You cannot raise Zinnia for the next ten years.”
“Yes, I can.”
“You don’t have to,” she says, touching my face. “I am going to get on my feet, and she will live with me. You can live here with your three boyfriends.”
“Mom,” I chuckle through the tears. “You can’t take her from me. Please.”
She chews on her bottom lip. “I know what it’s like to live with Damien.” She inhales. “I know what it’s like, but he’s going to be put away now. You’re free. I’m here. I will make sure you have a bedroom at my new house, okay? Just in case… this doesn’t work out.”
My eyes are full of tears. “You don’t know how hard it is, Mom. This economy… It’s not like it was six years ago.”
“I know. I’ve heard how expensive everything is, but I think you forget that your mom’s a hustler.”
I watch her face light up.
“You and Zinnia are my world. I need to make up for lost time.”
I nod, understanding.
“I can see how distraught you are, so I’ll tell you what. I’m going to call my friend––”
“Mom.” I shake my head.
“I’m going to make this transition easy for you.”
“Mom, no.”
“I don’t want to barge into whatever you have going on.
Look at you, honey. You did it. You put Damien behind bars, and I’m so fucking proud of you.
You’re strong and beautiful and clearly very desired.
” She points to the window, and I laugh through my tears when Callum and Zephyr quickly look away. Jax just stands there and stares.
“He saw Dad hit me,” I whisper.
My mom puts her hand up. “Don’t call him that, please.”
I inhale, feeling the skin all over my body prick. “He is my dad.”
She shakes her head. “No, he’s not.”
“Mom.”
“Lily!”
I start shaking. “If it wasn’t for Jax stalking me, none of this would’ve happened. When Dad shot me, he was aiming for him.”
My mom looks at the window. I sneak a glance at Jax. He’s just watching.
“Then I owe him my life.”
I wipe the snot rolling out of my nose and sniffle. “Me too.”
She sits back and says, “What you have with Zinnia is good. I’m going to stay with a friend. I’ll stop by the house every day to say hi and hang out, but I need to get back on my feet. I’ll need a job and house hunt. Does that sound like a plan?”
I shrug.
“I’m going to ease into this for you guys, okay?”
“Okay, mom.”
She leans forward. “Don’t house hunt for a bigger house just yet, honey. Maybe you can stay here, and I can find a house nearby for me and Zinnia.”
I look at her.
“So that way, you can have privacy with your boyfriends.” A slow smile spreads across her face.
I blush, feeling myself giggle at the thought.
We step out of the car and hug.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you so much, Lily. I’ve missed you more than you know.”