Lilacs Forever

Chapter 19: Hot Water

Delilah had the whole weekend to figure out what to say to them, what to say to Clarice. It was time she stood up for herself and spoke her mind. Nobody was going to bring her down, not anymore.

She woke up at five and took a shower. She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. "I am enough," she said. Yes, she was enough but she was still terrified. Delilah wasn't the type of person that would like confrontation but then again, who does?

She left two slices of bread in the toaster as she got dressed. Spreading butter on her toast she checked her phone. 6:35, the bus would leave at seven. She took a bite as she scrolled through her feed, mostly cute outfits, dogs, and dessert recipes. Delilah had to muster up the courage to end the drama once and for all, and distractions helped ease the nervousness. But she can't keep looking at adorable kittens to escape her problems. She remembered Jacob, he told her to face the problem head on rather than let the tension build up.

Delilah headed to the bus stop. It was chilly but her jacket kept her warm. Good thing she brought a scarf too. Be prepared, even for the simplest things, she told herself.

She thought about it, riding the bus. She thought about it, entering the tall glass building and greeting Janet and Paul. She thought about it when she was at her desk, waiting for Clarice to come. But she saw Alyce instead, she looked a little down.

"Hey, Delilah."

"Oh hi, Alyce, how are you?"

"I'm good, I just want to apologize for the inaction this past week."

Delilah remembered, Alyce had been acting differently, ever since she tried to get the other girls to show the group chat.

"I believed you, and I still do. I did the same thing I did with another new worker who was supposedly harassed by other people at work a while ago. Got HR and Alexander and all, I wasn't going to let anybody harass their coworker. Eventually, it got so big the whole company was involved."

"And then what happened?"

"Turns out, the girl I was defending was lying. And I became the girl who cried wolf. The thing I'm trying to say is, nobody is going to believe me. So I have to find a way to get the evidence I need. I know you're telling the truth and I want to help you. I'm getting the help we need."

"Alyce, it's okay. I'm going to confront this once and for all. I have an idea of who it might be, and I'm going to face her."

"Who is it?"

Delilah bit her lip. Alyce was going to say that Clarice wasn't the type of person that would make a group chat so she kept quiet. She was sure of it, even if Clarice wasn't the one who started she must have connections to who might've done it.

"It's okay, I got this, this is my responsibility."

"If you say so," Alyce smiled, "you know, you're getting braver everyday."

—

Delilah waited for lunch break and watched Clarice get up from her seat. As she made her way to the door Delilah stopped her.

"Hi Clarice," Delilah said.

"What do you want?" Clarice grumbled.

"I know you don't like me, and you don't have to keep it behind my back. Just say it to my face." She had been rehearsing this ever since she woke up, and thought about it all night. She trembled but she was determined to keep her ground.

Clarice paused for a while. "Why are you getting confrontational all of a sudden?"

Delilah wasn't prepared for that. "I-I um, you were smiling at your phone. A-and the group chat–"

"You mean this?" Clarice showed a picture of a dapper man in camo. He had Clarice's eyes, except he smiled more, looking brighter. "My son just came home from the military."

Now Delilah felt horrible. Horrible how she assumed, horrible how she just possibly accused an innocent person.

"I - uh - sorry, I"

"And what is it about a group chat?"

"I- about that, don't-"

But it was already too late, Clarice had already left Delilah hanging and she was gone. Great, first she falsely accused her, and now she wants in on the group chat. Delilah so deserved it. "Ughhh!" she groaned.

She ate her lunch with Alyce and Anita, defeated. She wasn't even sure if she could eat, all of her appetite seemed to be gone. She picked at her meat loaf.

"So," Alyce spoke up, "how did it go?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." She buried her head into the table.

"You asked Clarice, didn't you..."

"I- uh... yeah..." Delilah looked down at her shoes.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I told you Clarice would never do such a thing."

"Yeah, I should have listened... Cause now she really hates me."

—

Delilah had to find another lead, and quick. But after her ordeal with Clarice she didn't want to try again, or even talk to anybody else. She just wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there for the rest of her life.

But of course, the universe had to go against Delilah's favor, because there was a mandatory meeting at Mr. West's office. Everybody shuffled into the large conference room and lo and behold, Mr. West sitting at the head, looking very displeased.

"I've been receiving news of a certain issue these past couple of weeks. West Enterprises is a multi-million dollar company, run by competent professionals, not a high school. I do not condone childish bullying in the workplace, as many of you might have known.

Some people shifted uncomfortably and looked at each other worriedly.

"You understand, DON'T YOU?" Mr. West raised his voice. Delilah winced, it seemed that this was directed specifically at her. Was he mad at her for causing this much trouble? She deserved it, she guessed. Now she was in hot water.

"I'm giving everyone ten seconds to fess up, if nobody does, I'll fire everyone on the spot."

Delilah's stomach started to tie itself into knots. Now everyone is going to get fired. Her job, her apartment, her livelihood, and everyone else's. Everyone is going to hate her for sure. She wanted to scream out. She wanted to tell him that he shouldn't fire anybody else but her. She was the one who this drama was centered around, nobody had to get dragged into this. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

She scanned the room, some people's faces red with anger, some looking like they were about to cry. They muttered among themselves on who could possibly cause so much of a big fuss.

"Well?" Mr. West said coldly.

"I'll count to five..."

This was it. Delilah's and her coworker's lives were officially ruined.

"Four, three, two-"

One of the girls in the clique was the one to blurt it out, tears in her eyes.

"It was Ashley! Ashley did it!"