THE STRANGE DAYS TEND TO STICK IN DELPHI'S MEMORIES THE LONGEST and this day was the strangest.
A summer in Forks wasn't a real summer and that's what she loved about it.
It was the time of year that all her family came home. Most of the year, she and Evan were the only kids at home with her aunt Allie looking after them as her parents were continually away for a business, younger sister off at boarding school and brother away at college.
But after the first couple of weeks, the allure of being around family quickly wore off and their father was in yet another argument with their aunt.
So she and Evan always did the most logical thing, ditch the family and meet up with their friends. Leaving before sunrise so they wouldn't be pestered by parents.
The night before Evan packed lunches for the whole day because it was known that Delphi should stay away from the kitchen if you wanted to keep yourself food-poison free. As for Evan, he didn't understand temperatures and how the body regulated itself, so naturally, the daughter of a fashion designer picked the outfits of the day. Her bag was filled to the brim with the essentials, including everything that Evan would forget and anything else that caught her eye.
As the Frobisher girl snuck down the stairs and passed the kitchen, she caught a glimpse of a girl not much younger than her sitting on the marble countertop devouring a jar of marshmallow fluff and listening to Pink Floyd.
Their eyes connect and a look of understanding passed Cynthia's face as her older sister snuck out. The sisters were never close in the practice sense, no sleeping in the others bed, talking about boys and asking for fashion advice. They almost never spoke, with Cynthia off at an Alaskan boarding school and among other things. But Delphi believed that in another life they would've been twins and had everything not happened the way it did, everything would've been different. But none of that changed the fact that even a simple exchange of look between the sisters was worth a lifetime of conversation.
As Delphi and Evan's bikes rode into the dawn, and Newton's Olympic Outfitters parking lot came into the hearing distance, Evan started a silly fight because he didn't want any of their friends to know they were close.
"Honestly woman, why do you insist on choosing my outfit every time we leave the house?" Evan ripped the beanie on his head.
It didn't bother her that Evan didn't want their friends to know that they could tolerate one another, her brother was the same with her and her with Cynthia. But in the end, they all loved each other.
"Because without me, you'd be a fashion disaster and both freezing and sweating your ass off." She spoke from experience.
Delphi gave a little wave at Ash and William who were lugging bags out of the shop.
"Don't even act like you have better fashion advice than Ash. Even William would surpass you any day."
The four of them turned around to see two jeeps approaching, one black and the other navy blue. Coming to a screeching stop outside the store, Ryan, Riley, and Lexi hopped out.
"Thanks, hun," Ryan had a crush on Ashley, unreciprocated but still the sweetest thing. No one ever mentioned it because he got really defensive and switched to Ryan Howe Douche Mode 2.0., "Okay, so what's the plan for today?"
"I've made an itinerary for today," the most Ashley Newton thing to come out of her mouth today and it wasn't even 7 am.
Groans echoed around the empty parking lot.
"Don't complain. First, we drive to the campgrounds and set everything up. Then we to hike to the top of the mountain and then propel down. Once we're back at the bottom, we return to the campgrounds just in time for lunch or dinner, depending on how much you sook instead of enjoying nature."
"I'm not wasting my energy this summer, or any summer," Evan gladly accepted the title of 'Laziest Person,' something he's been voted since elementary.
"What other time will you? You guys are just lazy sacks of meat, useless and annoying to look at."
"Wow, tell us how you really feel."
"At least some of you are useful. Riley's brought everyone coffee, so fill up. Lexi's got baked goods and other snackables. Ryan got his dad's jeeps and Ashley's arranged to borrow some gear from the shop. Am I missing something?"
"Yeah? What did you, Evan and Will bring?"
"Well, I set this whole thing up and . . . " She paused for someone to contribute.
"I brought my fantastic personality," Will giving his charismatic smile, was being completely serious.
"And what be brought is a surprise." It's was Evan's idea to pack the portable DVD players, but what they didn't realise that there was going to be other entertainment available.
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EVERYONE WAS EXHAUSTED, but no one was willing to admit that to the cocky William and Ryan, who hadn't broken a sweat and competed all the way up and down the mountain.
As the group cooled down at the campsite, Lexi brought out all the food and drinks as Ashley packed away all the gear for the night. The sun had begun to set and the fire was already lit with everyone around it.
Everyone was chatting silently when Evan exclaimed loudly, "Delphi, what the hell? What is this?"
That got everyone's attention. He was frantically waving a previously unopened letter. "You should read this."
"You shouldn't look through my stuff," Delphi stumbled her way over her cousin who was smiling widely, struggling to hide his amusement.
"What is it?" She ripped the letter out of his hands and began to read out loud.
Whatever was being discussed seconds before began to fade out as they were all focused on Evan and Delphi.
"To the girl with everything.
It hurts when I look at you. It hurts when I don't."
"Why'd you stop?" A wide-eyed Ash exclaimed.
"It's not important." That was a lie.
Evan snatched from his cousin and continued where Delphi left off, "She's just embarrassed. I'll finish it.
"Delphi the moment I laid eyes on in middle school and you were wearing that blue dress and polka-dot tights, I was smitten.
And when we became friends I didn't want to ruin it by confessing my feelings, but it's been years since I just have to tell you that I love you.
I want you to know that I don't expect anything will happen between us because I'm only a boy who's too afraid to tell you who I am.
Only that I love you."
The other blonde gushed, "That was so sweet and – very poetic."
"Indeed it was," she was stuck in thought. Delphi knew that things just came to her sometimes, things that she couldn't possibly know. But when she held the letter she didn't see anything, but she felt everything that the person writing felt. And what she felt was a universe of feeling that only one word described, love.
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YOU ARE READING
Prophetic ▹ Riley Biers (Daughters of Lilith I)
Vampire❝ she never loved him until he was gone, and when she found him again he wasn't alone. his love for her was eternal, but easily hidden by one that's carnal ❞ ••• Delphi Frobisher always saw what was coming, it was a talent. But she never saw...
