Hey There Delilah (Sequel to Not The Same)

They Don't Know About Us

"Just tell me what the quadratic equation is?!"  

"I don't know it, mom! I can't remember all of these stupid equations! Why the hell do I need them anyways? All of this would be a billion times easier if I just went to a normal school!" I saw my daughters eyes start watering. One of the hardest things for a mom to ever watch. 

"All of this crap is because you're scared! You're weak!" She yelled back at me. I bit back my own tears as my daughter ran out of the room and slammed her bedroom door. Sighing, I threw down the pencil I was holding and collapsed my head onto the notebook and textbook we were working on.  

Obviously I was weak. If I was strong enough, I wouldn't be here. I'd be in London touring the world with my family. I raised my head and gently pressed my pointer and middle fingers into my temples, rubbing light, soothing circles. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. I counted while I waited.

1...

2...

3... 

At 215, I heard Delilah's door squeak open. She came and sat back down next to me.  

We both just stared at the unfinished work in front of us. Eventually I turned to her and saw that her light blue eyes were stained red.  

"X=-B+ or - the square root of B squared - 4AB all over 2 A." She replied. I smiled at my daughter. My brilliant, beautiful daughter.  

"Plug these in, please." I indicated the first fifteen problems on the math page. Delilah sighed, but obliged anyways. 

Standing up, I pulled down the sleeves of my sweater and made my way to where my phone sat charging on the counter.

One message from Sammy. 

Sammy: I need you to work tomorrow. I'll pay you overtime, Johnny cancelled. 

Sammy was my boss and Johnny was a coworker. I had been working at a little cafe for a long time now. It was a fairly busy place, right in the middle of the hustle of New York City. However I never worked out front. At night, I cleaned the place out, that was the most. During the day, I did everything else I could. I clean, do dishes, and help out a lot with the business aspect. I had taken a couple courses of online college to help out with that. 

I trusted the people who worked there with my secret. They knew about Liam. Hopefully they were the only souls who knew. It's fairly easy to keep a secret when only about six people were in on it. They all supported me, especially Sammy. I guess you could call her my best friend, but pretty much just on a professional level. Sammy had my back and would do anything to help support Delilah and I. That's why she gave me the job in the first place.

"I have to work tomorrow." I told Delilah who looked up from the problem she was simplifying.  

"Why?"  

"Johnny can't." 

"Why?" She pressed. 

"I don't know why, Delilah! Just get back to your schoolwork." 

I'm qualified to homeschool Delilah thanks to some more online courses. Sammy helped me pay for these too. I teach Delilah at home because she looks to much like her father. 

Someone would say something, see me, figure it out.

It's my biggest fear. Someone learning the secret that I've tried so hard to hide from the world. I try to avoid any contact with people. I've separated Delilah and I from the outside world but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. If we were to walk out into Times Square without any type of disguise, there would be picture after picture after picture. News articles upon news articles. Liam would find out and piece it all together and hate me. It's best to keep our secret, a secret. 

 Keeping our lives on the downlow are the easiest. Easiest for us? No. But it's easier for Liam, his band, their families, fans, and managers. Making it easier for those millions of people, makes it worth it for me and Delilah to barely live our live. She understands that too.

------------Saturday, 8:30 AM----------- 

"Hey, Delilah. Need any help?" Carla asked me as she walked into the back kitchen. Carla had been working at Sammy's for about five months now. A fairly newer employee, but she was super nice. 

"No thanks, I think I've got it." I stared at the blank paper in front of me and absentmindedly twirled my pencil around my fingers. 

To be honest, I completely forgot what I was even supposed to be writing about. 

"What are you thinking about?" She asked me.  

"Uhhh, just.. Thinking." I started jotting down some lyrics on the paper in front of me and quietly hummed the song to myself. It flowed out of the slight seperation of my lips and onto the page naturally.

After about a minute, I stopped and looked up to where Carla, my mother, and Sammy were all focused on me. It was then that I realized my hum had ended up being singing instead.

"What?" I asked dropping the pencil. Everyone looked at my mother. Her eyes were wide and watery. Like she was holding back tears.

"That was beautiful." My mom spoke simply, then busied herself with putting the dishes she had been holding into the sink. Confused, I look to Sammy and Carla. 

"Back to work." Sammy finalized. Carla went back through the swinging doors, notebook in hand, ready to take someone's order. Sammy however sat down beside me. She seemed to stare off into space so I followed her eyes across the kitchen to where my mom stood in front of the sink. 

Her hands just sat frozen in the sink and her head was tilted down towards her left wrist. From where I sat I couldn't see her wrist, but I knew what was etched on it.  

"It's hard for her sometimes." I turned my attention back to Sammy. She was 36, two years older than my mom. She had fine lines due to stress etched around her eyes, forehead and the corners of her mouth.  

"Trust me, I know." 

"She really wishes you could go to that audition." In response, I just nodded my head. What else was I supposed to say? I swallowed down the lump in my throat.  

There was a secret hope in me. One day, maybe I'll make it. Maybe no one would notice my uncanny similarities to Liam Payne. But it probably won't happen. Either way, I'm going to have to live with whatever happens. That's been my motto for the past fifteen years.  

I would give anything to at least have a fair shot at that audition. I would risk our secret. But that's up to my mother and my mom doesn't think it's worth the risk.  

"By the way, you sang that better than your father." Sammy gave me a wink and stood, brushing her hands off on her green work apron. She slid the paper in front of me closer and walked off. I reviewed the lyrics I had just written down. The beautiful lyrics my dad had sang so many years before.

People say we shouldn't be together/ Too young to know about forever/ But I say they don't know what they're talk talk talkin about

Cause this love/ Is only gettin stronger/ And I don't wait any longer/ I just wanna tell the world that you're mine boooyyyy/ ohh

They don't know about the things we do/ They don't know about the I Love You's/ But I bet you if they only knew/ They would just be jealous of us/ They don't know about the Up All Nights/ They don't know I've waited all my life/ Just to find a love that feels this right

Baby they don't know about/ They don't know about us

They sure as hell don't know about us. But one day they will. They all will. Whether they like it or not, the world's going to know my name.

--------------------Author's Note--------------------

Hi lovelies <3 Hope you've had a good day! Don't forget to comment, vote, and fan please!! I love you all

xx, Ashley