the third person

08

ASHER

"Why did you tell me all that?"

Ryan looked up from his phone. "Because it would be weird if you found it out from your- uhm, I mean... Delilah."

I gave him a look. "Why would Del know?"

"'Cause she's friends with Jane?"

"How is she even?"

"They both dated some girl called Olivia. A long story. Jane wrote some songs about it, go listen."

I wrinkled my nose. "I don't listen to hers."

"Why the hell not?"

"I don't listen to music, in general."

"Wow." He resumed scrolling through his phone when Mary came and sat beside him. She kissed him on his cheek and he smiled. I wished I didn't know how fake of a smile that was.

"Isn't Del coming today?" She asked.

I shook my head, then shrugged. Mary pursed her lips. 

The coffee shop's door opened with a jingle and the smell of fresh flowers came. I turned around to see Delilah skipping her way towards us with a bright smile on her face. She sat beside me with a bounce. 

"What got you so happy, girl?" Ryan asked amusedly.

She shook her head and smiled. I wanted to see her smiling like that all the time.

"My father was going to get transferred, but turns out we're staying here." She explained.

"Oh, good-" My eyes widened as I realized what I was about to say. "....for you."

"Thanks?"

I nodded stupidly and Ryan kicked me from under the table. I mouthed a curse.

"So, how are you all?"

"We're fine," Ryan stated calmly.

There was silence for a few seconds. Then she began, "What do you usually talk about?" She gestured at the table between us 4.

Ryan solemnly chin-pointed at me and chuckled when I tried to kick him under the table.

"Arthur Joy is your brother, right?" Del asked me.

"Yeah."

"I heard he's dating Blaze Carterwood?"

"He's what?" My eyes widened as I turned my torso towards her. 

"I don't know- prolly just a rumour, man, chill."

I slumped down in my chair. 

"Why are you so protective over him? Aren't you both the same age?" She asked.

"Art has a habit of trusting the wrong people."

"Ah, I see-"

"His ex cheated on him." Mary broke in and I shot her a glare. 

"That's not what happened."

"As if you'd know-" 

"Guys." Ryan slapped the table and kept his phone down. 

"What sort of brother doesn't sit with his brother and talk about what's going on in his life? What's the last time you asked Art if he's fine?" Mary's voice gained volume with every word. My breathing was getting shallower. 

"What's the last time Art asked if he's fine?" Ryan tried standing up for me, but the last time Art asked if I was fine was 10 minutes ago.

I tapped Ryan's arm. "She's not wrong." I stared out of the window at Springfield again. 

There was silence for a few moments. I can't say I forgot Del was there, it isn't physically possible, but I wished she hadn't heard that argument. She's going to think I'm a bad person now.

"Do you guys want to go there?" Del asked suddenly.

"Where?"

She pointed at Springfield and we all looked at her incredulously. "Look, we know you know Jane, but you can't just ask her if you can bring 3 strangers into her house-" I pointed at Ryan, "-one of whom is a very big fan."

"I'm not a very big-"

"She's all you talk about," Mary muttered and Ryan pursed his lips tight. Del found the situation hilarious.

"Who said we're going to ask her? She's not even going to be home."

"You can't just sneak into Springfield-"

"Why not, it's not the white house. It doesn't even have that much protection. The only reason people don't break in is because Jane's dogs are carnivorous and Jane has a lot of guns."

Before any of us could say anything, she added, "I know her dogs."

I looked at Ryan, and he shrugged. Mary looked hesitant.

It took us 10 minutes to reach the front gate of the mansion. It was the biggest mansion ever. It had the beach right next to it, a large area of the shoreline. From afar you couldn't notice but from near it looked like a huge Victorian castle. I wondered how she managed to live there alone. 

Delilah led us around the outer boundary until we reached a secluded part of the beach. We walked on the sand, slowly because we couldn't risk our respective cancers, until we reached a picket fence and a small gate. It was the mansion's garden. Delilah calmly opened the door and we all trespassed in.

"Have you done this before?" Mary whispered. 

"Yes," Del replied. "also, there's no need to whisper."

"Why did you sneak into Springfield before?" Ryan questioned.

"She has some good chocolates."

"You risked getting arrested for chocolates?"

"Uh, yes."

She tapped twice on the glass sliding door and less than a second later, very ferocious-looking German Shepherds barked and clawed at the door. I love dogs, but these weren't dogs, they were beasts. I'd heard of the things they'd done. They'd eaten a full-grown man alive because he tried sneaking in to see Jane? Damn.

Mary and Ryan moved behind me, I turned, "Seriously?"

Del was trying to control the dogs from outside. They knew her. They sat when she asked them to sit. She opened the glass door slowly and suddenly one of the dogs lashed out, I quickly moved out of the way and it jumped right on Mary. She screamed and tried pushing the dog off when there was a sharp whistle.

The dog ran away towards the beach. Ryan was getting Mary up, she was crying and hiccuping. I and Del tried to look for the source of the whistle. Suddenly we saw her, in a crop top and high-waisted shorts, her beasts obediently sitting on the ground beside her feet. Her brown hair flew around her, and her eyes gleamed with amusement. 

"Well, this is a surprise."