Every since the night in the tub, Rod and Delilah's relationship was growing a little closer. The two felt comfortable expressing themselves to one another. Whatever she said to him, was safe and vice versa.
Laying on his chest, Delilah listened closely to his heart beat, while he ran his fingers through her hair. The silence between them at the moment wasn't one filled with awkwardness, but rather good vibes.
"So what should I do?" Delilah finally spoke up. The situation between her and her alleged father was eating at her. She had so many questions for both him and her mother.
"What do you feel?" Rod gripped her body tighter, knowing this was a touchy subject for her.
"I just, wanna know why I spent my whole life thinking one thing, not knowing that all along, this man that took part of creating me, was somewhere wandering out in the world, I guess waiting for me." She sighed.
"Do you feel like you want to get to know him?" Rod questioned.
"I just need answers, from him, or my mother." She shook her head.
"Well, no disrespect, but your mom may not be the best pick for those answers." He said.
"You're right. She'd probably just try to lie anyways." Delilah rolled over, where her back was facing Rod. He did exactly what she wanted him to do, and pulled her backside closer to him.
"Try to get some rest ma, I'll find the nigga for you, so y'all can have a sit down." He assured her, before her eyes closed, and she drifted off to sleep.
________________________________
"Nicolas... right?" Delilah asked the man sitting before her.
She had decided to meet him in a small cafe up the street, after Rod did what he said and found him for her.
"Yes, Delilah, or you could just call me dad." He smiled. He wanted to build a strong relationship between the two, but he knew that would take some time. He was hoping that she would listen to everything he told her today, and they could have a fresh start.
"Too soon." Delilah said, lowering her head. Rod sat a couple tables down, just to make sure she was ok. Neither one of them knew this man, so they were playing it safe. It was some crazy people in the city.
"You are so beautiful. I always knew you would grow up to be." He told her, honestly. From the moment he first laid eyes on Delilah, when she was born, he instantly fell in love with his and Marge's creation.
"Why'd you leave us?" Delilah finally allowed herself to break down. Tears rolled down her chocolate cheeks, as she stared into the eyes of this stranger. She wanted to know why he left her with Marge for all those years, to be handled like garbage.
"It wasn't my choice." Nicolas looked away, not wanting to start crying himself. He didn't like to see his baby girl shedding tears about something he couldn't go back and change. If it was up to him, none of the things that happened would have.
"Do you know what I had to go through without you?" Delilah grabbed a napkin from the dispenser, wiping her face.
"Baby girl, I'm sorry, for not being there. But your mother was going to kill me when I tried to take you with me. The drugs had her gone, she wasn't in her right mind." He shook his head thinking about how the lady he once fell in love with, had turned into a careless feign.
"And you didn't fight?!" Delilah semi-yelled. "You left me with a borderline crackhead, to be sold multiple times to complete strangers?" Her face became red.
"She... she let people touch you?" Nicolas asked.
Delilah shook her head yes, before more tears cascaded down. This was always something she hated talking about, and now she was stuck thinking that maybe if she had her father around, she wouldn't have had to go throw any of that.
Nicolas rolled up his sleeve, revealing a big scar on his arm. "I tried Delilah, I wanted you bad. You were everything to me, but some people, you just can't win a battle against." He finally let a tear roll down his cheek.
Getting up from his seat, he sat over on Delilah's side of the table. He pulled her into a hug, and inhaled. He hadn't held his daughter since weeks after she was born, and this would be a moment he'd cherish for the rest of his life.
Surprisingly, Delilah didn't pull away from his embrace. This was something she needed.
"I'm so sorry baby girl. I swear if I could go back in time, I would have fought harder for you. It hurts me that I missed the most important parts of your life. I wasn't there to save you from the harsh things your mom put you through. I'm here now Delilah. I promise you, I'll be here from now on. Nobody's going to hurt you any more." He placed a kiss on top of Delilah's head.
Inside, all Delilah felt, was hate towards her mother. Just a few days ago, she was contemplating on making things right with her, because after all, she was her mother, none of that mattered any more. This woman had caused so much pain, so much hurt. She wanted nothing more, but for her mother to burn in hell.
"I gotta go." Delilah released herself from her father's embrace. She needed time to figure things out.
"Everything okay?" Rod asked her as she approached his table.
"Please, just get me out of here."
