Lily was resting her head on her arms for a little too long, long enough for her too doze off into a dreamless sleep. All the studying she had done had tired her out enough. Even her phone going off with an incoming call from her mother didn’t wake her, not until her mother dialed her and it rang again for a second time. Lily groaned and rubbed her eyes as she sat up, grabbing her phone in the process. 

“Hello?”

[i]“Hi dear. Are you still coming to dinner?"[/I]

With squinty eyes, Lily brought the phone in front of her face. The time on the top right read 5:06 pm. If she took a quick shower and raced down to her mother’s, then she could make it on time. “Yes, I’ll be there. See you.”

[I]“Bye honey, see you soon."[/I]

Lily ended the call, rubbing her eyes once more before dragging herself out of the chair. She was leaving behind a small mountain of notes, all in preparation for an upcoming exam she had the following week. The material wasn’t too hard, it was just [I]a lot[/I] to go over. 

A few moments later, Lily stepped into the steaming shower. She allowed the water to wet her hair for a good minute before scrubbing clean. These get-togethers were almost always a chance for her and her siblings to all have dinner together with their parents. Lily had two older siblings: Samantha and Matthew; the latter being the oldest of the three. Him and his wife also had a daughter: Natalie. Lily always enjoyed seeing her niece and playing with her. Natalie was only three years old, but she was wise beyond her years.

After Lily finished with the shower and readied up, she headed out of her apartment and locked the front door. The distance to the underground garage was a short walk away. The dimly-lit, low ceiling space was missing some cars, but it was mostly full. Her vehicle was currently in the northeast corner underneath one of the light bulbs that didn’t work. Speed walking the rest of the way, Lily finally reached her car and quickly got in, locking the door and turning on the ignition. Unfortunately for Lily, she would never make it to her mother’s house, and no one was any wiser as to her sudden disappearance from the Silver Lakes Apartments.