hello delilah

XXXIV

I threw my head back in frustration, running both my hands down my face as I continued to bear the weight of Delilahs legs on my lap as she slept. Hours ago, she had been in tears after Donny's phone call, shaking uncontrollably on the couch beside me as the tv droned on. I wrapped my arms around her in a reassuring hug, breathing deeply. She kept mumbling about how Donny would find her, and if he were to discover she really did have a boyfriend he'd be infuriated. Tears streaked down her face as her hands clamped together in her lap. "What if-"

I grasped her hands and pulled her to my chest, "He won't." I murmured, meeting her teary eyed gaze, stretched as wide as saucers as they appeared puffed and bloodshot. "You need to take it easy, Del."

Urging her to lay down and rest, she took hold of my shirt sleeve. "Will you stay?" She croaked, wetting her lips as she took a slow breath. Wordlessly, I nodded as she curled up beside me and sniffled for a good few minutes before closing her eyes. "Thank you." Delilah whispered as I draped a blanket atop the two of us and faced the television.

My thoughts focused on everything but the program playing softly in front of me, the screen a haze of color. How could someone hurt her? How long had he been going after her? The image of that creep Donny in the picture David had shown me the night before was imprinted in my mind. My sight wandered once more to the girl sound asleep beside me, if it weren't for that phone call, would I have ever built up the courage to talk to her? Would I have known that her favorite color was the softest shade of blue? That her favorite season is winter because she finds watching the snowfall so peaceful, so cozy, so mesmerizing. That she hates all physical activity and would rather curl up with a good book clutched in her hands, and that she prefers tea over coffee. That she always jots down novel ideas on the notepad on her bedside table; she would make a magnificent author.

It feels as if I've known her for far more than half a year. Delilah; fragile yet so determined, I thought, reaching over her figure to tuck her hair behind her ear, a habit I don't plan on breaking anytime soon.

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This is NOT the end, even though it is coming soon. The song I inserted correlates so well with this book, I think, so check it out if you haven't