Hey There, Delilah - A 5 Seconds of Summer story

Chapter 57

“Delilah, were you kissing Ollie or not?” Michael broke in, his voice tight as he glared at Jules, clearly trying to make her shut up.

I bit my lip and nodded. “Unintentionally.”

“There! See! She even admitted it herself!”

“Stop it, Jules!” Stella raised her voice. “Please.”

I clenched my fist, the one not holding the apple.

I sent a glance at Luke.

He was sitting on the couch, his breakfast on the coffee table. His hair was tousled, his face pale. He had circles under his eyes. I was willing to bet he hadn’t slept much either.

He refused to look at me.

That stung worse than any of Jules’ words.

I released a bitter, humourless laugh. “Well, I for one am glad to know my friendship means so much to all of you. I’m glad this is the last concert. I’m done with your bitching, Jules. I made a mistake. Yes, it was a bad one. But that doesn’t make me Joey! I didn’t cheat on you! I am not your worthless ex-boyfriend! Take your anger out on me, I don’t fucking care! I’m so done here.”

I stormed out of the bus, shocked silence at my back.

Tears burnt my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

“Delilah! Wait!”

Calum?

I stopped and turned slowly, the gravel crunching beneath my feet. I watched him carefully; unsure of whose side he was on.

His face was tense, as though he was holding back anger.

I bit my lip fiercely. Not my side then.

Calum had always been loyal to Luke, and unable to let things go, and no matter how much he liked me as a friend, he’d never choose me over his unrelated brother.

Cake forever.

“What do you want, Calum?” I asked, tiredly.

“What do I want?” Cal demanded. “Delilah, I want to know what the hell you’re trying to do here!”

I half-closed my eyes. “Please don’t, Cal.”

“No. You’re going to answer me! Why would you cheat on Luke?”

And there it was, the burning question that Calum had just been dying to know the second he heard about it.

Loyal to the bitter end.

I flicked my eyes open and glared at the boy I’d once called a close friend.

“Are my words going in one ear and out the other?” I demanded. “I’ve told all of you! It was a mistake!”

“That’s what Alison said.” Calum said, tightly. “And look what she did to him. I can’t let Luke go through that again, Delilah. I won’t.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Stay away from him, Delilah. He can’t take another Alison.”

Pure fury sung in my veins.

“Are you calling me a self-absorbed, spiteful, deceitful bitch?” I spat, clenching my fists.

Calum’s eyes opened wide in shock. “No! Just that…just stay away from him, Del. Please. You’ve hurt him enough.”

“And he hasn’t hurt me?” A single tear dripped down my cheek and I scrubbed it away angrily. “And none of you have hurt me?” I shook my head, coughing out a humourless laugh. “Fine. Fuck you. Fuck you all. I’ll go find some real friends. Maybe I’ll even find someone who’ll stick around, someone who’ll give shit. Have a fucking fantastic day.” And with those parting words, I turned and marched furiously out of the gates, breaking into a sprint.

I didn’t go to Hyde Park, I couldn’t face it.

I found another tiny park, barely a patch of straggly grass and a swing.

My shaky legs gave out as I hit the swing and I sat down on the hot rubber and sobbed.

I felt like my heart was breaking, like it had been forcibly sliced in two.

And when I ran out of tears, when my throat scratched dryly, I wrapped my hands around the chains of the swing and tilted my head back to stare at the glaring blue sky.

“Delilah?” The soft, musical voice broke me out of my loathing thoughts.

I sat upright and saw Laurie, dressed in her usual outfit of flowing skirt and olive green singlet.

I forced a wobbly smile. “Hi.”

“You look like hell.” Laurie told me, bluntly, sitting on the swing that dangled next to mine.

“Thanks?” I chuckled dryly.

“I know what happened.” She said, after a peaceful pause. “Ollie was ranting about it last night.”

I shrugged uncomfortably. “I made a mistake.”

Laurie smiled at me softly. “I know. I’ve made it too.”

“Really?” I asked, stunned that this gorgeous, wraith-like girl in front of me had ever broken someone’s heart.

“I was sixteen and stoned out of my mind.” Laurie sighed. “The dealer was hot and my boyfriend was out of town, or so I thought. He walked in on us making out in my garden shed. Classy, I know.”

My eyes widened in shock. “What happened?”

She shrugged, smiling faintly. “He dumped me on the spot. The pretty  dealer guy took one look at my tears and scampered. I cried in the garden shed for hours and hours, feeling like I’d just lost the world.”

“Oh, Laurie.” I sighed. “That’s awful.”

“It was at the time.” Laurie agreed, a small smile tickling her lips. “But then my neighbour, a boy I’d never really noticed before, climbed over my back fence and held me as I cried. It turned into a special thing; we’d always be climbing over each other’s fences and share our secrets. He taught me how to play the banjo and I taught him how to play the piano. He finally asked me out when I turned eighteen, and we’ve been together ever since.”

“That’s a beautiful story.” I said, awed. “But…I don’t really understand your underlying message.”

Laurie chuckled. “Good things can come from the bad, Del. We all learn from our mistakes. I haven’t touched a joint since that day, and have become a professional piano player with the world’s most incredible boyfriend.” She patted my arm sympathetically. “Don’t lose hope.”

Then she was gone, flitting through the grass and out onto the footpath, vanishing as though she’d never been here at all.

I mulled over her words in silence for a while.

“Don’t lose hope.”

Maybe this was all I needed. A clean slate, a fresh start.

None of that drama from secrets, no more of a boy I hadn’t seen in eight years holding tightly to my heart.

A new beginning.

I took my phone out of my pocket with shaky hands and dialed Dad’s number.

He answered quickly, cheerfully. “Delilah, what’s up, sweetheart?”

I took a deep breath. “Dad, after tonight, I want to come home.”