THE REDHEAD ☾ jj maybank

31 | safe in each others arms

Tears begin rolling down her cold cheeks once again, the girl not even bothering to wipe them away this time. Instead, they end up as a droplet on the end of her chin that only falls onto her clothes or onto the hard concrete she walks along. She can't control the mess that's been created of her tonight, unable to put back the pieces of herself and hold it together.

However, something catches Delilah's full attention; the backyard of the Château is covered with bright lights, some being different neon coloured ones. As she edges closer towards the area, she can almost feel this tug that's telling her to go check out what it is. So she does, walking forwards and entering the back yard of John B's home.

In the middle of the lawn, a hot tub has been placed and set up with the water already bubbling with heat. More neon coloured jets are emitting from the inbuilt lights of the hot tub, while alcohol glasses and small pool floats drift around in the hot water. On top of that, three of Delilah's friends are stood there.

JJ suddenly rises to his feet from his place inside of the hot tub, revealing multiple new bruises that are the size of tennis balls located on his ribs. The strain in his voice as he continues shouting at the other two is visible and only shows the amount of pain that he's been through today. Delilah's heart drops to her stomach at the mere sight of these new injuries on his body, immediately forgetting about her own problems and worrying for her boyfriend instead.

The redhead sprints out from the opening in the bushes, ignoring the worried looks from both Kiara and Pope as she swiftly climbs into the hot tub. In an instant, she wraps her arms around JJ's neck as his arms snake around her waist tightly. Sobs begins to leave his mouth at the mere feeling of the girl's touch being provided to him as comfort, burying his face in the crook of her neck. Delilah does the same, trying her hardest to hold back her own tears in order to appear strong for the boy that's shaking in her arms.

Kiara and Pope stand nearby and watch their best friends with concern settling in their stomach. It doesn't go unnoticed by either one of them that fresh cuts and bruises have been imprinted onto Delilah's skin too. Never have they seen the girl with injuries as bad as these ones, which only makes them worry even more since they don't know where she went after walking away. The two exchange glances.

"I can't take him anymore!" JJ exclaims through sobs. "I- I was gonna kill him."

"It's okay, you're okay." Delilah whispers, softly.

Tears now slide down the girls cheeks as she finds herself internally breaking down at the sight of JJ appearing so broken in front of her. The blond boy holds his girlfriend closer to his body more than ever, the pair crying into one another's arms. Their friends soon climb into the hot tub and joins them, wrapping their own arms around the two broken teenagers and holding them close.

This is where Delilah feels safe. This is where she feels at home. With the friends she is proud to call family, thankful that they're always there for her and one another.

Once JJ manages to calm down from his breakdown while in the arms of his girlfriend and friends, they all eventually pull away and let go. JJ finally looks down at Delilah with his red raw eyes, only to have them widen at the unexpected sight of her so beaten up and broken too. It's clear that Lila's been crying for so much longer than just in the hot tub, her green eyes appearing dull and bloodshot while her eyelids are puffy from swelling.

"Ly—" JJ quietly begins.

"I'm okay, J." Delilah assures, interrupting him.

A small smile splits across the redheads face as she tries not to take the attention off of the broken boy. All Delilah wants to do is just forget about what had happened to her hours ago and focus on keeping her boyfriend happy. But JJ can't do that, nor will he won't let her do that. His blue eyes stare down at her with concern, already knowing that she's lying with saying she's okay. He reaches his hand out and cups her face gently in his hands, meeting her teary eyes again.

Neither of one of the two notice that Kiara and Pope have decided to walk away to give them space to talk. This is a situation that they've unfortunately shared the same experience with each other. As well as that, the couple are so much closer, meaning that they'll be able to find comfort in one another.

"What happened?" JJ asks.

"JJ—" Delilah begins.

"Ly, please." JJ begs, his voice cracking slightly as he interrupts her.

"My mom." Delilah tells him after hesitating on her reply. "She's been lying, she's never left the island and was just buying drugs instead. I told the blunt truth of how she's never cared about me and how I don't want her back in my life, but she lashed out."

"I'm sorry." JJ apologises, his sentence quiet with guilt. "I'm sorry you had to go through what I do."

"No, no, no. Don't do that. Don't apologise." Delilah urges as she holds a hand over the top of his one on her cheek. "You can't control someone else's actions. It was a one time thing, she'll disappear for drugs again. I'm more worried about you, J."

"You're always worried about anyone else apart from yourself, Ly. I don't want you to be unhappy again because of her." JJ tells the girl. "Remember that we're all here for you, gorgeous, and we're not leaving anytime soon. I love you."

"I love you too." Delilah replies.

JJ's thumb brushes against her skin as he gently wipes away at the fallen tears staining her cheeks, leaving behind a trail of sadness. Delilah reaches up and wraps her arms around JJ's neck, whereas his arms then snake around her waist again. The pair hold onto each other tightly, never planning to let go any time soon. Comfort and happiness is found is once another. A smile splits tugs at the teenagers faces as their broken pieces are put back together.

"I love you so much, J. I don't want to ever lose you. Ever." Delilah whispers against the crook of his neck as she clings onto his body.

"I love you too, angel." JJ replies, pressing a gentle kiss onto her shoulder as he continues holding her close. "You're not gonna lose me."

✦ ·  ·  ·  · ──────────── ·  ·  ·  · ✦

Everything that happened during the day has been put to the side as the couple have calmed down from their breakdowns. They're all now seated out on the docks as the moon hangs high in the sky, now visible and reflecting onto the ocean water below. Kiara has her ukulele in her possession, voice soft as she sings to avoid silence falling over them. This has been one thing that's been able to provide comfort to her best friends experiencing such a horrific situation with the very people that are meant to be their parents.

Delilah's head rests upon JJ's lap, her puffy green eyes closed shut. She finds herself at peace with Kie's quiet singing, and just being around the majority of the group in general. JJ twirls strands of ginger hair around his finger as he stares down at the girl, eyes still filled with love and concern. He's too worried that the same thing will repeat of her crying herself to sleep everyday, depressing thoughts glued to her mind. He's too worried that she might try harming herself like she used to. Delilah's come so far just for her mother to return with a lie she's been using for many years, deeply hurting her daughter.

"When are we going ahead with this plan?" Delilah asks, curious to know.

"Well, John B has to go fishing with Ward in the morning." Pope informs.

"Sorry, what?" Delilah questions, sitting up. "He's put all this effort in for the gold and can't do it right now because he's going fishing with an old man?"

"I mean, it's better if we do it in the night." Kie tells the girl, reasoning against the argument.

"True." Delilah agrees., laying back down again to look up at the boy with a smile. "Hey, baby."

"Hi, pretty girl." JJ says.

The boy laughs at the randomness of his girlfriends greeting, but admits to himself that he also finds it adorable since she used a pet name towards him for once. Delilah just puckers her lips as a silent sign of wanting a kiss, causing JJ to grin at her. He then ducks his head down and presses his lips onto hers, kissing the girl softly and with love.

"Softies." Pope jokes, smirking in hopes to get on their nerves slightly.

"Fuck off." Delilah fires back, sticking her middle finger up before laughing.