𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 | 𝐪. 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬

chapter 42

delia stared at her phone in shock. were her eyes playing a trick on her or had quinn really sent her a red heart? more importantly, why did she send one back? all she knew was now was not the time to be thinking about this. she was at luke's hockey game and seated right next to her ex boyfriend. delia had tried everything in power not to sit right next to jack, but ellen insisted that the two needed to catch up more. the girl knew better than try to argue with her.

"why do you look like you had just seen a ghost?" jack asked while chuckling.

delia snapped out of her thoughts, "i'm sorry, what?"

"are you okay, like actually?"

delia furrowed her eyebrows. why would he ask such a thing? it's not really any of his business. before she was going to snap at him, she remembered to be nice and all would go well. she smiled, "yeah i'm good! just excited to watch luke!"

jack gave her an uncertain look. he clearly did not buy it but wasn't going to press further. delia was thankful for that. she did not want to have this conversation with him or any member of the hughes family.

the brunette was confused by her feelings. not that long ago she would have told anyone that she was in love with jack hughes but that changed. there was nothing wrong with that. the issue here was that she may have developed feelings for his older brother. that would cause quite the controversy and drama within the family. but delia wasn't even certain if she liked quinn. sure, she enjoyed his company and talking to him but she felt that way with all her friends.

she had convinced herself that she only viewed quinn as a friend when another nagging thought appeared. why would she call him a greek god? nearly all of their interactions started replaying in her mind and each one should started to overanalyze. delia began chewing on her lip. not only did jack notice this but so did ellen.

"is everything okay over there, delia?" ellen asked the girl.

jack also looked over at his ex girlfriend for her response. delia smiled, "yeah, i think i'm just going to go to the bathroom real quick." she left as soon as those words left her lips.

delia was in dire need of air and someone to talk to who was not a hughes. two people came to mind when she was able to find an empty bathroom stall. she knew she had to make this phone call short if she didn't want the entire hughes family to become suspicious. delia was just hoping the first person she called wasn't busy. she probably should have texted him first before calling but it was too late now.

"hello?" a very confused voice answered after three rings.

instant relief flooded over delia, "oh, thank god!you have no idea how happy i am to hear your voice!"

there was silence for a few seconds. the person on the other end was even more perplexed than before, "you do realize this is cole, right?"

"yes of course. who else would i call instead of you?" the girl questioned her therapist. this was not how she thought the conversation was going to start.

cole sighed, "you know what, that doesn't matter. what's up?"

delia took a very deep breath. she couldn't believe she was admitting this or even considering the thought that it was true. she prayed to god that cole wasn't going to laugh.

"please don't laugh and i swear i'm telling the truth, but i think i might like quinn," delia confessed.

the other line went quiet. cole hadn't said anything for far too long and it worried delia. had she sent her therapist into shock?

she questioned, "cole, why aren't you responding?"

that's when cole broke into laughter. it was the kind of laugh that brought tears to your eyes. delia was starting to get annoyed when cole finally calmed down. "sorry, it's just i didn't think it would take you this long to figure this out. but i'm glad that you finally did," cole replied.

"what are you talking about?"

cole paused, "before i explain to you what i'm referring to, how about you tell me why you think you like him? why are you not sure?"

the brunette tried gathering her thoughts. she really thought this would be a lot easier because she was talking to cole. unfortunately, it did not make things any easier. delia opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. it was like her body could not physically do it.

"i can't like him," delia whispered. it was all she could convey.

the boy immediately felt a wave of sadness overcome him. he knew exactly why she had said that. "you can't control who you do and don't like. and i know you're worried that it's going to cause problems in the family. maybe it will at some point, but they're brothers and jack will get over it. but you're never going to know if you don't at least give it a try," cole reassured the girl who was on the verge of crying.

"i just don't know how this will even work. i mean, i don't know if quinn even likes me and what is his family going to think if i move on from one brother to the next. i can't have the entire family hating me or him for that matter," delia rambled.

cole looked at the time and knew he was going to have to wrap up this conversation, "look, dels. all your worries are valid, but i'd recommend talking to luke about it. i know you're going to think i'm crazy, but just trust me. run it past him first. i really hate to cut this short, but i have to get going in a few."

"okay, i'll talk to luke after the game and see what his input is. i'm sorry for putting this all on you," delia apologized.

cole laughed, "hey, i did offer it, so there's no need to apologize!"

delia started to laugh in response. cole did always know how to make her feel better. hence why he was her therapist out of the friend group.

before cole was going to say goodbye, delia remembered he never answered her one question. "what did you mean when you said you're glad i finally did?"

"it has been so obvious that you've had a crush on him since you met him. the time you visited me and you were explaining how you fell asleep on him, i just knew. all the other guys noticed after that, but we all knew it was a matter of time," cole said.

delia was dumbfounded. had it really been that painfully obvious? why hadn't she noticed it before? looking back, that would explain so many comments before and glances at the two. delia was feeling very stupid in that moment.

cole continued, "anyways, i really got to get going, but don't overthink all this. if it happens, it happens. tell the hughes family i say hi. bye, delia."

"bye, cole," then the line went dead.

delia stood there for a second to fully grasp the fact that she likes quinn. that didn't last long before she realized the game was about to start. she rushed out of the bathroom back to her seat. delia knew she was going to be questioned when she returned. delia dreaded that but knew she couldn't miss luke playing. he might actually kill her.

the girl made it back to her seat with a smile. they all noticed her presence immediately. ellen spoke first, "feeling better?"

"yep, just needed to call a friend real quick," delia nodded.

jack furrowed his eyebrows, "who did you call?"

"cole."

that was the last word spoken before the puck was dropped. delia's focus was on the game in front of her. same with ellen and jim. jack's attention though was on the girl right next to him, trying to figure out what was going on in that pretty little head of hers.