Love in the Dark (LarssonSiblingsSeries#1)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - DELILAH

DELILAH

I get on my hands and knees on the kitchen floor and search through the sink cupboard for a couple of potatoes. It's our first official day in the new flat with all of our furniture. So, I thought it would be an excellent idea to cook a shepherd's pie.

For me, of course. I remembered to get all of the ingredients from the supermarket earlier in the day. Well, almost all of the ingredients. Potatoes must have skipped my mind.

"Do you think this dress is too slutty?"

I brace on my hands to turn around, and see Poppy standing by the kitchen door. "Yes."

"Damn." She tries to pull the lace material half-way down her thighs, but it doesn't work. "It's my favourite dress."

"Is this a first date?" I reply, pulling myself back up from the floor.

Poppy grins at me in the process of chewing her gum. "It's a meet the parents for the first time kind of date."

My mind spins at the thought of her willing to meet a guy's parents. It's unheard of in Poppy's world. "Shut up. Who is he? And, why am I only finding out about him now?"

"Don't laugh," she says on the defence right away, which is never good. "It's Liam from accounting at work."

I frown at the floor, mentally going over the faces of people who work with her and stop when I remember him. "Liam who only ever talks about politics and his travelling experiences?"

"DeDe, stop judging me! He's a nice person."

I hold up my hands. "I'm not judging, babe. Not one bit. If you like him, that's all that matters."

"I didn't expect to like him as much as I do. I was having a moment of self-destruction when he asked me out. You know, the type of crisis when you realise you are twenty-five and haven't had a serious relationship in a while and want to cry at every baby you see because your brain is telling you, you'll never be a mother and are going to die alone."

I don't blink once through her projection and still don't when she finishes talking. "Pops, slow down a sec. You're worried about these things?"

Poppy nods. "Yes, it terrifies me."

It seems my friend is good at keeping secrets. "Right, my lovely." I take hold of her hand. "We are going to search your wardrobe for a new outfit and make his parents love you."

Poppy giggles when we both skip across the landing, because, A: We have a landing to skip across now. And, B: The thought of her meeting with Liam's parents going well excites her. I feel slightly guilty for not picking up on Poppy's worries about the future because I'm too wrapped up in my drama.

When we reach her bedroom, I pull open her wardrobe doors and search for the perfect dress. I search hard. Poppy likes the barely-there look. I'm sliding the different hangers across the metal bar when I come across the perfect flowery knee-length number at the back.

I hold the dress still on the hanger out towards her while she fiddles with her hair. "How about this? It's gorgeous."

Poppy snatches the item from my hand like a starved dog. "I bought this three years ago in the Ted Baker sale for my nephew's christening. It's perfect."

I sit on her bed, excited to know more about her plans tonight. "So, what's the POA? Are you all going out for a meal? Or are they holding it at their house?"

Poppy begins to get changed in front of me, and I avert my eyes to the television playing on the wall. "Liam made reservations at Boon's."

My eyes go wide. "Boon's? It must be love."

"I really like him. I hope I don't make an idiot out of myself."

I shake my head. "Be yourself, and they'll love you. But, one word of advice; don't mention the reason for accepting the date he asked you on. I think baby chat is something to avoid."

Poppy covers her face with her hands. "I wouldn't dare. They would all think I was desperate for anyone."

"Do you want me to curl your hair?" I ask, noticing how she won't stop fingering the strands.

"No," she says, glancing down at her watch. "I'm running late as it is and Liam will be here soon."

I nod and get up from my seat on the bed to walk back into the kitchen to find my purse and coat. The 24-hour supermarket is only a short distance from the flat complex, and I haven't had the time to get a good feel for my new surroundings yet, so walking along the riverbank seems like the perfect evening.

"I'm heading out to get some potatoes and to take a look around. Text me if you need anything," I say behind Poppy's bedroom door.

"Okay, honey!" I'll see you in the morning."

My lips turn up at the sides. "Will you be coming home tonight?"

Poppy cackles away to herself, seeming to find my question hilarious. "Who knows, we'll see how the night goes. I might bring him back here."

"Either way, let me know," I shout, slipping out of the flat door.

Riverbank goes on for at least half-a-mile with the river and a neatly cut grass verge on one side and a strip of trendy bars, restaurants and shops on the other. The path leading up it is paved out in grey marble stone with the road in the middle made of matching cobbles. It feels expensive, almost making me feel like an imposter for living here.

The sound of music stops me from my daydream as it glides down from a bar two doors down. I tilt my head to read the sign seeing 'Number Four' flashing in cream lights with artificial nails studded all around the letters.

I can't help but rush over to the pub door to get a better look at who is singing. Their angelic voice is almost sending me into a trance. I step inside through the door and push my way towards the front of the stage, excusing myself every time I bang into someone.

I can't see the woman's face yet, but her voice reminds me of a mix of Aretha Franklin and Sia with her own twist on the side. My feet ache when I stand up on my tippy-toes to see over the crowd of heads. When Betty Larsson's face appears in my line of vision, I sink back onto my heel and feel my heart pound in my chest.

Wow.

I heard she could sing, but she is miles ahead of anything I ever heard.

I absorb the sound a while longer, hearing the sadness in her tone as she sings about missing someone. The lyrics hit me right in the middle of the chest, bringing my emotions to the surface. It's so easy to relate to her every word.

There are tiny cracks in her voice that only add to the vibe of it all, as she repeats the word: Loyal, and I wonder if she's experienced betrayal in her life.

Getting lost in the whirl of the performance, I step from side to side, wanting to shield my heart as Betty splits hers wide open for us all to see. My throat spasms in retaliation to her very real lyrics, feeling her torture as she hits the high note of the next song.

I move forward into the crowd and lift my arms in respect, wanting to get up on the stage and sing in the face of the people who made her hurt this bad. The poor love. A few girls scoot out of my way, and the tears gleam on their cheeks, the song catching them in the heart too.

We share a look, and one of them juts her bottom lip out and touches her chest as if to say, 'How sad is this song?'. I nod at them both and then try to get closer to the stage, but am cut short when I accidently bump into a hard body.

I stumble back when I notice it's in fact, two hard bodies, and almost die on the spot when they both turn around to see who hit them. And, I get Edward's guarded smile.

"Delilah?"