Open Letter to Lily Montgomery..

Lily, Lily, Lily... Where are thou, Lily?  And WHO is this senseless, spoiled, little twit flitting around Pine Valley masquerading as you?!  (No, not the one who "sat in" for you while your portrayer was out with some wicked illness!)  YOU, the pretty little blond charmer. The one who used to be honest to a fault.  The one who never broke the rules.

Okay.  I get that not all of this is your fault.  You are autistic, though, not stupid, so please stop behaving stupidly when you are SOOO clearly not.  You are a math whiz, so I know you can do the math for yourself and (correctly) deduce that Jonathug Laveryuck is much, much, MUCH too old for you.  (And THAT is not even using dog-years!)  I don't care that he supposedly has the mind of a fifteen year-old, (jury's still out on that one, if you ask me,) he has the body, the memories and the experiences of a MAN.  Get it?  Biological imperatives WILL win out eventually.  YOU are a child, okay?  Now don't get your panties in a bunch and start rocking back and forth, counting down from a million - hear me out.........

Almost eighteen does not make you a functional adult.  Not because you have Autism Spectrum Disorder, but because you do not have the life experience you need, to be able to make the kind of choices you want to make.  That applies to any almost eighteen year old who suddenly feels they have the right (read: entitlement) to start boldly making life-altering decisions, such as - Oh - Say - Dating a murdering, abusive Laveryuck, for example.

Then, when your father, who admittedly needs serious help with his parenting skills, (finally) legally and rightfully puts his foot down and tells you that, "No Lily, you may not put your life in danger by dating said murdering, abusive Laveyruck," you go and throw a tantrum about it.  If you want to be treated as an adult, start acting like one.  You don't GET to throw tantrums in the real world cause someone tells you "no" (especially if it's for your own good.)  And here's a newsflash for you:  Jackson is ALLOWED to tell you "no".  He's your father.  It's kind of his job to protect you from dangerous situations.  Granted, he hasn't done a bang up job of that so far, or you never would have been running loose for Jonathug to get his talons into you in the first place.  Still, he IS the "boss of you."  (At least until your eighteenth birthday.)

Trust me, sweet, little girl, eighteen is not the magic number you seem to believe it to be.  You should know this.  Look at your step-sisters.  Look at your Step-Monster, Erica.  All shining examples of people who blew past eighteen and STILL haven't grown up!  How do you plan to pay for M.I.T., by the way?  Jackson?  But if you divorce him or run away, how is Jackson going to pay your tuition and all of your bills?  What kind of job do you think you are going to be able to get?  And what will you do if your boss tells you "no" when you really, really want to do something?  What if your co-workers all wear red?

You say you have done all the research and you know that the law is on your side.  All that is very well and good, but having the law on your side doesn't necessarily give you the skills you need to have to be able to function in the "outside world."  Given the hints I've seen lately, you are about to learn that in a BIG way - very, very soon.  Dare we hope that it will finally knock some sense into you?  That you will realize that Jonathug could not possibly be good for you?  Disregarding the fact that he is (at minimum) eight to ten years older than you (and yes, it does matter,) Jonathug has taught you how to lie.  Something you were not capable of before you got involved with him.  Something you did not even believe in, prior to getting involved with him.  He has taught you to disobey the rules, and to be disrespectful of your parents.  (Yes, I know Jackson needs help, but one problem at a time!)

None of this bodes well for you.  How to solve this problem?  Tough one. Jackson must enroll in the best parenting class he can find.  He has money, it can be done.  Erica must stop being so narcissistic (I know, I know.. She's Erica.  Erica Kane.)  She took on the responsibility of parenting you the day she married your father.  It's time she started taking that responsibility seriously.  You are the child, not Kendall.  She is an adult and Kendall has plenty of adults around her who can protect her, and all without allowing the other Laveryuck to assume control of her physical body.

The people around you need to learn that it's okay to say "no" to you.  You need to learn how to hear it and not throw a tantrum over it.  Sometimes people say "no" because that is what is best for you.  Not just because you have Autism Spectrum Disorder, but because you really don't know any better.  Not a put-down, sweetie, just a fact.  You don't know any better because you were never taught any better.  Your life-skills coach (in PV) was useless - and should never have allowed you to traipse around town with Jonathug.  Never.  She should have taught you that it is not okay to lie to your family so that you could traipse around with Jonathug.  Most of all, she should have taught you that life in the "outside world" is often cruel, cold, brutal and unfair.  Just as you have learned (from Jonathug) how to break the rules you don't agree with, those people out there have, too.  Only bigger and badder than you.

Just like you have come to believe that the word "no" doesn't apply to you, there are those out there who feel the same way.  For example, the first degenerate you come across who wants to touch your perky little bewbies, even though you say "no," he is going to do it anyway - and WORSE - because, why should he/they listen to you when you say "no," any more than YOU listen when Jackson tells you "no?"  See where I'm going here?  There is real trouble out there, Lily-girl.  Trouble you are not equipped to handle. Trouble you should not have to handle.  Mainstreaming is one thing.  Taking control of your own young life before you are equipped to handle that responsibility is a whole 'nother ball game entirely.  So please, please. Let your true self come back to us?  Stop behaving like your sisters.  Stop behaving like you cannot survive without a boyfriend/man in your life.  Get back to the smart, sensitive, blatantly honest Lily we all know, love and miss.  Dump the Laveryuck.  Your life will dramatically improve.

By Cindy

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