The Devil's Trail

46- Strange

Zak placed the painkillers in front of Delilah, on the glass kitchen table, making her look up at him.

"Take them."

She sat back against the seat and sighed "I don't need them."

He cocked his head to the side, knowing full well how bad of pain she was in. Delilah forgot how perceptive he was when she was holding herself, moving slower and he knew she wasn't sleeping.

"I don't need them yet." She corrected before returning back to her food in which she pushed around her plate.

"If you don't take them, then you need to eat."

"Please Zak, stop fussing over every little thing."

"I can't help it. It's my job to care."

"It's not your job to smother me!" She snapped before dropping her fork and pushing her face into her hands.

It had been two days since they returned from the hospital, two days of silence, bad moods, no appetite or sleep. He couldn't understand what was going through her mind right now. He couldn't support her how he needed to, because he honestly had no clue what she was going through. He still had his mom, his dad although estranged, but if he had to guess the pain she felt, it would be similar to the pain he felt when he lost his gran.

For that, he knew she needed something.

"I didn't mean that." She mumbled quietly dropping her hands onto her lap.

He took a breath and pulled out the seat beside her "I know. But don't drive a wedge between us now. I want to help you through whatever it is you feel Delilah."

"That's the problem... I don't feel anything." She replied looking at him.

His heart ached at the circles framing her eyes, how she looked withdrawn and lost behind those grey eyes.

"Grief works in weird ways."

She shook her head "I mean, I don't feel a thing and I should.. Shouldn't I?"

He shrugged.

"She technically saved my life."

"But she also risked it, countless amount of times." Zak added.

"Exactly, so there should be something. I... I didn't go to see Poppy yesterday."

He sat back. "Then where did you go?"

Zak almost tore Vegas to the ground to find her, and when she came home, she mentioned Poppy and went to lay down.

"The graveyard.."

"To see your dad?"

She shook her head and pushed her dirty hair behind her ears "No, I couldn't bare the idea of facing him. So I went and found a grave. Don't know the person, don't know a single thing about them, but I felt something."

He listened as she explained how she felt sorrow, how the gold letters on the black stone choked her up and the small flowers that had been left by someone.

"I felt something for a stranger, more than my own mother... Is it because she killed herself?" She asked him.

Zak swallowed "We don't know if that's what happened..."

"It is. I know it is. She knew she wouldn't go to prison, that was the only way she knew for sure.. Maybe it is that?"

He shifted forward and took hold of her hands gently, the thought that was set on his tongue occurred last night when he woke to find her stood in the garden, near the hot tub, overlooking Vegas.