"No. No I'm not," Delaney stated firmly, but on the inside, she was trembling. "You ⎯ have every right to feel that way. I'm sorry. I promise that it won't happen again."
"Promises aren't enough," he sniffled, his hands gripping tighter onto her shoulders. Delaney winced at the feeling on his fingers digging into her skin. "You have to give me the whole truth."
"Jordan, I am ⎯ " she let out a sudden gasp when she was slammed against the wall, the impact enough to shake the bookshelf next to her.
"No, you're not!" he sobbed. "You always lie! About Eli, and now Miguel. You never tell me the truth."
Her back was now stinging and throbbing, and Delaney was the most scared she had ever been. What the hell happened?
"I do. Jordan, I promise I do," she frantically nodded, caged in by his arms.
"You're always with them," his voice was now suddenly lighter, quivering. "You never want to be with just me. Do you ⎯ do you hate me, Laney? Do you not want to be with me anymore?"
"I don't hate you, Jordan," she reluctantly lifted up her hands, gently cupping his face. "I promise you, I am not lying."
He looked into her eyes for a moment, searching for any trace of a lie. He gasped out a breath when he couldn't find any.
"Oh my god," he breathed out, immediately backing away from her. "Laney, I ⎯ I am so sorry. I ⎯ oh my god."
"Jordan ⎯ " she went to reach for him but he only took a step back.
"No! Don't come near me," he ran a hand through his hair, more tears coming out of his eyes. "I got into it with my dad and then I drank and then now I'm here ⎯ I'm so sorry."
"It's ⎯ it's okay," Delaney reached for him again, this time, he let her.
"No. I hurt you," he cried, his knees buckling and they both fell to the ground.
"Jordan," she sucked back her tears. "It's okay. I'm okay. You're okay."
She held his face in her hands, her heart breaking seeing the sadness in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry," he sobbed, arms wrapping tightly around her and he stuffed his face into her shoulder.
"It's okay, it's okay," she reassured, tears escaping her eyes and she was finally able to suck in a breath of air.
A floorboard creaking caught her attention, making her look in the direction of the kitchen, where Demetri stood in the entry way of with a glass of water in his hand. He was looking at them with a shocked face.
She gave an exasperated sigh, her hand caressing Jordan's hair as a way to comfort him. "You're okay. It's okay. Everything is okay."
✸
Delaney waved goodbye to Jordan's mother as she drove off with her passed out son in the back seats, letting out a shaky breath before going back into the house and shutting the front door. Demetri was standing in the living room, arms crossed over his chest, ready to blow up.
Delaney just shook her head at him, walking into the kitchen instead.
"Laney," he said in a warning tone, his steps following her into the kitchen.
"Let's not do this," she immediately responded, digging into the freezer and pulled out a frozen bag of peas. She held it onto her bruising shoulder, leaning against the fridge.
Demetri scoffed. "Let's not do this? Are you serious? He just threw you against a wall!"
"He didn't mean to!" she exclaimed back, and he stared back at her in disbelief. "He just ⎯ he had rough night and he got drunk but he didn't mean to."
"He accused you of sleeping with your best friends, Delaney! You are literally holding a bag of peas to your bruising shoulder. It shouldn't matter if he was drunk or not. You don't hurt your partner."
"I'm fine," she snapped. "It's just a freakin bruise that will be gone in two days. Leave it alone."
"Are you seriously asking me that right now? I just watched my little sister's boyfriend scream at her face and slam her into a wall! You really think I'm just gonna leave it alone? We have to tell mom and dad," at this, Delaney sat up straighter in a panic.
"No! We are not gonna tell them anything," she stepped closer to him. "Because it was just and accident. It will never happen again."
"Yeah, and what if it does? You just gonna tell everyone that he didn't mean to and that he was just angry and sad and emotional? I mean, come on, Laney! Shit like this always happens again," Demetri couldn't believe that she was really defending him.
"Why are you acting like he's always like this? He's not," Delaney weakly defended her boyfriend.
"Because this stuff is real. And I don't want you to put with that. For god sake, you're 15. Can you think for a second?"
"I am thinking, Demetri. And I am thinking that Jordan already goes through so much shit in his life that he doesn't need me running my mouth about something that is not a big deal! So, please, just drop it," she walked past him, leaving Demetri in the kitchen by himself.
✸ AUTHOR'S NOTE ! ngl this one hit a little too close to home and i wrote this way too fast
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