Begin Again

HOPE

It's been a week since the meetup, and things were starting to feel like they were falling apart again. 

'Del, what happened to you?' Zeke put his arm around Delano's neck and rested on his shoulders as they walked out of the last class of the day. Delano smiled dryly, he obviously knew what Zeke meant on the spot. 

The past seven days had been hard for him. He came home to his mother busy making phone calls and replying emails of 'It's okay, I truly understand your concerns' to those companies that rejected her. She was getting more anxious each day, and Delano had officially lost his appetite to his mother's distress. It felt like Flavien had wanted them to suffer, to make them beg for his mercy, and for them to come crawling back to him with regret. But Delano had made his mother promise never to go back to that heinous man. 

'It's nothing, really,' he replied with a weak punch on Zeke's ribs. 

'C'mon, it ain't nothing,' Zeke frowned. 'You know what? You should skip drama practice today, you're not healthy.'

'It's okay, I'll just read a few lines and practice a few scenes, and then I'll get some rest,' Delano assured him. 

'Well... if you're sure, but don't force yourself, you've been through enough to let yourself loose sometimes,' Zeke said before they parted ways, himself to the basketball court for a little competition with Fletcher and Delano to the theatre. 

Along the hallway full of swarming people going in all directions, Delano felt like he was pushed between the empty spaces as if he was drowning in a river of gushing water. His head was already heavy when he finally saw the signboard of the theatre shaking and pulsing above his head, he felt a sudden urge to hold on to the frame of the door and in seconds his knees were weak. He trembled as a slight shiver went through his spine and he dropped down onto the floor, he felt a painful knock on the back of his head as he hit the cold floor and everything after that was black. 

***

'Is he awake?' 

Delano could hear voices around him, though his eyes could not find their way to open themselves. 

'Delano!' He frowned as he was still blinded by the fluorescent light just above his head. He could only see shadows the size of humans around him, and from their voices he could actually make out that there were six people there, and all of them sounded familiar. 

'Hey, are you alright?' Delano rubbed his eyes and saw his friends, his mother and a young man wearing a white medical coat. Fletcher was standing the closest to him, and he was the one who asked him the question.  

'Yeah... I guess,' Delano sat up with Zeke's help. He looked around and found himself lying on a hospital bed with the smell of antiseptics all over his body. 'How long was I out?'

'Two hours,' The doctor replied. 'It's nothing much to worry about, but it seems like you were putting too much stress and pressure on your own shoulders. I suggest you to talk to your school counselor, or with any trusted adult and your friends as well.' 

'Sure, doc, thank you,' Delano shook his hand weakly, and the doctor left the room. 

His friends made way as Corinne moved to sit on the side of his bed, her hands touching his face as if he was made up of something fragile that would break without handling with extreme care.

'I'm sorry, mother, I really am,' he said and closed his eyes to give her a hug. 

'It's okay, Delano, you're okay.' She smiled, not visible to Delano but he could hear it through her words. 'I'll leave you kids to catch up.' 

As Corinne walked out, Delano turned to his friends, who were anxiously waiting for their turn to talk to him. 

'How did I get here?' All he remembered was seeing the things around him going into a spiral when he fell backwards. The rest was history. 

'You're lucky that Piper was the one who found you, she was so worried. It would have been much worse if Austin came across you lying unconscious, just imagine what he would do.' Sydney explained. 

'We were supposed to have coffee together, but since you couldn't get to us, we came to you,' Piper said shyly, blushing a little at Sydney's words. 

'Thank you, guys, I really appreciate it.' Delano pulled them into a group hug. For once, he could smell something else instead of antiseptics. Family. 

***

The five teenagers sat around Delano's coffee table in his living room, all of them wearing serious looks on their young faces. 

'Here's what Jean told me, pay attention guys,' Sydney cleared her throat before she continued. 

'Flaivne Cadieux -- Delano's father, obvi -- had a large sum of money flowing in and out of his bank account, not to the actors or other production companies, but to someone called Trevor H. She did some research and what do you know? He's a drug dealer.' 

Silence. 

'Are you sure? But... how?' Delano frowned. He couldn't believe it when he saw his father cheating on his mother, but doing drugs? That's a whole new level of unbelievable. 

'A hundred percent. She even got photos of them meeting up at a club near Cadiex Productions.' 

'Wow.' Zeke sighed. 

'But how did she know where to find them?' Delano asked.

'There's the weird part. Since last Monday, Jean had been receiving texts from an anonymous private number, telling her where to find the documents she needed and to find proof of Mr Cadieux dealing with Trevor.' 

Questions were starting to pop into Delano's head. No one else knew about the mission except for the five of them and Sydney's cousin. So who was the unknown texter? And what does he/she want from them?

'So I'm guessing, since we've got the proof, that it would be enough to take him down?' Fletcher suggested. 

'Correct,' Sydney pressed her hand harder onto the coffee table. 'Jean's contacted a lawyer.'

'We're bringing him to court.'