𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 | 𝐪. 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬

chapter 44

"come in!" luke yelled once delia knocked on his door three times. she opened the door quickly, hoping jack would not find her out here. she really did not feel like talking to him right now.

delia entered his room full of nerves. she kept playing with her hands and fidgeting. at first, luke was on his phone but looked up and was immediately concerned. "why are you so nervous?" he asked with worry in his voice.

"because this is hard for me to admit and telling you is its own challenge."

"come on, it can't be the bad!"

the brunette sighed, "just promise me that you're not going get mad at me afterwards, okay?"

luke nodded and urged delia to continue. he had a feeling he knew what the topic of conversation was going to be. luke just wanted to hear her actually say what everyone has known all along.

"i think i like quinn," delia blurted out. luke immediately opened his mouth to speak but delia held a hand up. she continued, "you don't need lecture me on how wrong that it is. i already know."

she didn't dare look at luke purely out of shame and guilt. what kind of girl dates one brother and falls for another? delia could come up with several examples but none had a truly happy ending. the last thing she wanted was to lose a valuable friendship with anyone. the silence in the room wasn't helping her thoughts either.

while delia was internally freaking out, luke was trying to quietly celebrate. it has been so physically painful for him to watch these two from a distance. finally, luke responded, "oh thank god! that took way too long! this slow burn was actually killing me!"

"wait, so you're not mad? you don't hate me?"

the boy was shocked. he could never hate delia despite not knowing her for that long. luke trusted her and knew she was meant for quinn. as much as he loved jack, delia was not his and they weren't a great match.

luke reassured delia, "no, i'm not mad nor do i hate you. how could you possibly think that?"

"because i broke up with jack and now i like quinn. that kind of puts you in the middle," delia stated as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

he stared at her blankly, "honestly, that's not even a concern for me right now. i'm just so happy you finally admitted you like quinn that all the potential hazards have disappeared."

luke's honesty brought a smile to delia's face. at least she had one hughes on her side. "you really think all will end well if i tell quinn how i feel?" the girl asked.

the youngest brother took a pause. while he was elated to find out quinn and delia liked one another, he knew there was going to be a rough patch. jack was going to be hurt and most likely mad at quinn. luke was hoping jack would eventually see how perfect these two were for wash other and put aside his feelings. it was going to take time but he truly believed this could work out. delia and quinn just had to believe it.

"i'm not going to lie to you, delia. jack will absolutely be upset but i think he will get over it. it's just not going to be fun at first. this is something you and quinn need to discuss and figure out. but you do have my full support," luke explained in the most serious tone delia had ever heard from him.

"okay i think i just need to think all of this over."

luke nodded as he completely understood the situation and all the risks. at the end of the day, he just wants those two to be happy.

as delia was about to head back to her room, luke said, "oh and delia, don't overthink anything with my parents. i know they seem like they want you and jack back together and maybe they do but i think they will still be thrilled to have you around no matter what you do. don't like them dictate your feelings."

she kindly smiled at luke and shut the door. the poor girl didn't even have a moment to think before a new problem sprouted. jack had just left his room as delia entered the hallway. delia tried to turn the opposite direction quickly but it was no use. she had been spotted.

"delia, wait!" jack called out.

she took a deep breath before slowly turning around to face him. this couldn't possibly be a worse time for this. "what's up?" delia answered.

"is there something going on? you've been off all day," jack asked with concern. delia went to respond but the brunette boy added, "and don't lie to me. i know you only call cole when you're struggling or need his opinion."

delia knew jack was right. he could tell when she was lying. but that doesn't mean she had to tell the full truth. no way was she ready to face all that with jack right now when she hasn't even addressed it with the right hughes brother.

"life's just been a little crazy that's all," the singer shrugged.

she stood there for a few seconds waiting for jack to say something but he never did. he just stared at her. instead of dealing with more awkward silence, she started to walk back to her room.

in one swift motion, jack grabbed her wrist and questioned, "why did you call cole?"

"jack, i would really rather not talk about that right now. i just want to go to bed," delia tried getting out of this uncomfortable situation.

in what world would delia want to tell her ex boyfriend that she likes his older brother? on top of that admit that she just talked to his younger brother about it. delia felt like her life was getting far too messy and that she needed out of this house.

jack frowned, "i just don't understand. did i do something?"

the girl sighed, "no, i just need some sleep. it's been a long day and i have to pack first thing in the morning."

"oh, okay. i'll see you in the morning then. good night delia."

delia said 'goodnight' back and continued her way back to her room. she wasn't lying when she said she was exhausted. but let's be honest, she wasn't going to go to bed any time soon. delia was an over thinker. tonight she would get no sleep and stress over the hughes family.