Brenda wanted a normal school year. Instead her mom died.
Salma needed space from her sister and terrible ex. Or else she'd lose her mind.
Delilah didn't think she'd have any more problems after moving far from her hometown. That was until she becam...
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❝When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable.❞
― Jess C. Scott
🗝DELILAH🗝
"It's not that big of a deal," Clive shooed me off with the hand that wasn't wounded. His injured hand was currently tucked under his left arm, shielded from view. "You're blowing it out of proportion. I'm ok."
"What happened then?" I asked sternly, crossing my arms over my chest.
He simply replied with: "I tripped."
"And I was born yesterday," I barked back at him. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing!" he shouted and gripped the corner of the table. "Why would I need to hide anything? There's nothing to hide and there's nothing for you to freak out about. I'm perfectly fine! If you don't believe me, ask him," he pointed at the figure approaching us. It was Diesel.
"Go ahead. Tell her that I'm not making anything up, Diesel." The finely dressed boy sat motionless in his seat and tucked his lower lip his teeth. "Speak damnit, and tell her I'm not lying!"
The noise inside the diner that I was consumed by earlier hushed down while Clive shouted at me, giving me a piece of mind. What was up with him lately? It was like he was on edge all of the time. Tonight obviously wasn't the right time to confront him about what was going on with him, so I let him have it. This time.
"I believe you," I raised my hands up in front of me. There was no need in him making a scene. "You just tripped. I believe you," I lied and settled myself into the booth, but from the way Clive narrowed his eyes on me, I quickly got up.
"I was hoping to have some time alone," Clive announced, moving his gaze between me and Diesel. I knew that look all too well. Without saying a word, I stepped away from their booth and turned to Wyatt. We didn't order anything, mostly waiting for Clive to wait up.
It was half an hour since we last spoke when Clive went up to our booth, asking me if I was ready to go. He pointed his index finger to the window, "Diesel's waiting outside for us right now."
I direction my attention to where Clive was pointing at. Not until that moment did I that the sun had already started to peek behind the treetops, smearing a warm orange color across the sky and banishing the darkness of night. Finally, my eyes settled on what Clive originally had told me to look at. Out in the gravel parking lot stood Diesel, leaning his back up against a top of the line sports car. It was sleek and hardly had a speck of dirt on it.
Wyatt took the words right out of my mouth. "That's his car?"
"Of course it's his," Clive snorted. "So, are you ready to go, Delilah?"
"Yeah," I nodded, but before I got out of my seat, I asked Wyatt to call me before bed.
"I was already planning on to." He flashed a dimple. I looked away, hiding the stupid look taking over my face. Surely, I was grinning like a buffoon.
Once outside, we made our way to the car. Diesel awkwardly waved in our direction and went up to Clive. My eyes respectfully looked away when I saw them move in closer for a kiss on the lips.
"I'm sorry, if I was acting out of it earlier," Clive said when we got into the car. He turned around in his seat and faced me, "I didn't mean to be so harsh. I don't know what came over me. I got so drunk so fast."
"It's okay," I lied for the second time that night. There was no way I was going to simply discarded his actions. I forgave him, but I wouldn't forget. But because I had no interest in starting another fight after enjoying my time with Wyatt, I decided to drop it.
"Delilah, what time does your Intro to British Lit start?"
"At about one," I answered and sat up in my seat. "Why do you ask?"
He didn't answer me. Instead, he turned on the radio and blasted some pop song. I relaxed back in the leather seat and watched the landscape zoom past me outside my window.
🗝🗝🗝
"Where the hell are we?" was the first thing that came out of my mouth when the car had come to a complete stop. At some point during the drive, I had dozed off. Because I didn't get to sleep last night, I wasn't shocked that I had fallen asleep so quickly. "I thought we were going back to the dorms?" I asked as I glanced out the window. We were clearly in the city and far, far away from the trees that surrounded our college campus. "Are we in downtown?"
"We sure are," Clive beamed and hopped out of the car. "C'mon!"
Still groggy, I struggled for a second to open the door. When I did, I was very happy. The tinted windows had shielded away most of the sunlight, but the second I stepped into the warm morning air, bright light made me wince in discomfort.
After closing the door, I shuffled away from the car and hurried after Clive, who was walking hand in hand with Diesel.
"Diesel," Clive chirped, "would you mind staying in the car?"
"I've actually have a few errands to get to," he pecked Clive's cheek and slipped something into his hand. "When you guys are done, just call me and I'll pick you up."
"Ok." Clive's smile only grew. "Goodbye."
Diesel waved and backtracked to his car. Quietly, we both began heading east, not saying a word to each other, until finally, Clive broke the silence.
"Are you mad at me?"
Yes. Yes I was.
"What? No, of course not," I told him, "Why would you think that?"
He let out a sigh in relief. "Good."
"Why are we here, though? Of all places."
He linked his arm with mine, "Well I felt like with the bitch way I was acting, we should do something fun so I can make up for how I acted."
"You don't have to do that, Clive." I groaned. "Besides, it early in the morning. Nothing is open."
"We'll go shopping later when places start opening. I wanted to take a walk with you." He snaked a hand into his back pocket and retrieved a debit card. "The treat is on me."
He wasn't lying when he made that promise to me. For the rest of the morning, Clive purchased whatever I wanted. From a new pair of red boots to a new leather jacket, Clive grabbed as much as he could, convincing me that I simply needed shoes in this color. I took the boots and jacket, whereas he got three different colored septum rings to replace his black one.
Besides the random splurge, we talked more than we had that entire week. He told me about Diesel and how he was possible one of the greatest things that had happened for him for a long time. Then, he told me to divulge on what went on with Wyatt when the fight broke out. For a moment there, it felt like we were back home, living our old lives and doing what we always did best. It reminded of that night years ago and how I had run to Clive's house for the following month after my sister ruined my life.
Whenever anything bad occurred, I always found myself turning to him. Out of all of the mayhem and madness that had ripped my life to shreds, our friendship was the only consistent thing in my life.
I might have become homesick during my time in college, but as long as I had Clive at my side, I knew that it didn't matter where I ended up.
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