keeper (d. Hale)

rag doll.

He left the keys in the ignition so he could continue to blast the heat against her.

"Derek, I don't understand..." she turned in her seat to see him open the trunk and grab something from inside. He slammed it before disappearing into the building.

Delilah flopped back in her seat, slightly dejected from his lack of response and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Delilah let out an annoyed breath. Derek had been gone forever at this point or at least long enough for Delilah to rearrange the glove compartment 3 times over. There wasn't much, just a bit of paperwork containing both of their names, a tire pressure gauge, and a couple peanut butter granola bars that had Delilah's mouth water.

She opened one and nibbled on the end. Her appetite for macaroni and cheese had all but evaporated from earlier but she knew she needed to eat something. And this bar, despite the peanut butter, tasted like ash in her mouth and it was making her feel sick.

She couldn't finish it and dropped the uneaten portion back into the wrapper and tucked into the cup holder to grab later.

Later. When would that be?

She leaned her head back on the seat and if it was a different time she would have probably closed her eyes and slipped into a warm sleep.

This couldn't happen. She knew that, as she hadn't yet taken the tincture sitting on the box in Derek's bedside table. Come to think of it, never did he.

Delilah chewed on the inside of her cheek as she tried to weigh her options. She could sit and wait like Derek asked her to do and possibly fall asleep, or she could go find him and tell him she needed the tincture.

She waited another moment before reaching over to turn off the car. The engine fell silent and Delilah only became wholly aware that the quiet hum of the radio was only other sound on the vacant street. She quickly turned it off.

It was eerie here and enough to send Delilah out the car door to find her husband. With her feet planted firmly on the sidewalk, she stood and felt an ache deep in her bones. She hadn't noticed it before with Derek refusing to put her down but right now she almost wanted to let out a scream as her joints protested her every movement.

Delilah closed the door behind her and pulled the leather jacket tighter against her body.

"Derek?" She asked as she followed that path she saw him take after he left her alone in the car. It was a side door that she could easily pull open due to the broken lock. She hoped Derek wasn't the one to do this.

She frowned when she realized the hallway she stepped into lead to another door that opened to a set of stairs. Looking up the centre of the stairwell she judged that it went up at least six, maybe seven floors, if not more.

"Derek!" She called up and waited for a response.

Nothing.

Slowly, Delilah started to climb the first set of stairs. In her both tired and slightly pained state, she leaned heavily on the railing, using it to support herself with each step. She reached the first floor landing and opened the door to another hallway. It was warmly lit with an ornate carpet lining the floor. Other than that, there wasn't much else except the gold plated numbers adorning the front of the different doors set on opposite sides of the hall.

101 and 102.

Delilah frowned when nothing else drew her attention. Derek wasn't here. She closed the stairwell door and continued up to the next floor.