Delia's P.O.V.
"Zayn it might be time for you to leave," I said, keeping my eyes on Connor. "I'll call you later."
Zayn nodded and grabbed his jacket before walking out.
"You think you're cool?" he asked. "Standing up to big brother Connor in front of your boyfriend."
"I wasn't trying to be cool," I said. "I was trying to get your ugly face out of mine and out of my room."
He advanced toward me quickly and raised his arm to slap me. I caught his wrist and said, "Will you stop? It's get old."
Obviously he didn't care though because he took his other hand and hit my jaw. Blood exploded in my mouth as I was thrown onto my side on my bed. He grabbed me around my stomach and threw me from my bed onto the ground. My head banged against the ground and his foot connected with stomach, forcing the air out of me and preventing me from screaming. I began to lash out with my arms and legs, trying to inflict some sort of pain on him, but he simply grabbed my arms and lifted me up so I was standing and the dragged me out of the room.
I tried to claw at him with my nails, kick at him, but I couldn't do anything. His grip on me was so tight as he dragged me down the stairs and into the basement. He threw me down the cold concrete steps and I looked up at him from the floor.
"How does it feel princess?" he sneered. "You lose."
He slammed the door shut and I was left alone in the cold, dark basement. I got to my feet, wincing as I did so and ran to the door. I turned the knob, but the door was locked from the inside and I was officially stuck.
I banged on the door with my hand and kicked at it with my foot and yelled, "Connor! Let me out!"
It felt like a lifetime in front of that door, yelling, kicking, banging on it, trying to get out. Finally, I gave up and sat on the steps. I couldn't believe this. Connor was treating me like I was his prisoner, not his sister.
Finally, after an eternity, the door opened and Connor stood there.
"Your class starts in 2 hours," he said.
I nodded and stood up. I walked past him and right as I reached the stairs he said, "Tell your boyfriend to stop blowing up your phone. The bill is going to be huge."
"Yeah the bill I pay out of my trust fund from mum because I can't get a job," I snapped. "You spend all your money on booze and cigarettes."
I ran upstairs to my room to begin getting ready for school. I showered off all the makeup from last night and picked a pair of skinny jeans, a purple tank top with a bow and ruffles on the front and a leather jacket before sliding on a pair of low heeled riding boots. Just because it was early didn't mean I had to look like a bum.
I let my natural red waves flow onto my shoulders as I added a slouchy white knit hat. I put on gold drop earrings, a gold rose necklace, some gold bangles and a gold snake ring. I finished off my fierce looking smoky eye makeup and spritzed on my favorite perfume before grabbing my tote bag and sliding on my sunglasses as I grabbed my keys and walked out the door.
"Bye," I said.
"How are you getting there?" Connor asked.
"I figured I'd drive," I said in a "duh" tone.
"I need the car today," Connor said. "Me and Tony-,"
"If you're going with Tony get a ride with him," I said. "I don't have a car and I need one to get to Uni. This is my education Connor. And I'm going to be stubborn about getting there in a timely manner."
I walked out the door and to Connor's dingy old car and started the ignition before peeling off down the street.
"I hope that cleared everything up. Please turn your paper in tomorrow for full credit. Delia, may I have a word?" my professor said as the class ended.
I walked up to his desk. "Is something wrong?"
"No," he smiled. "Something is very, very right."
I raised an eyebrow as I adjusted my bag on my shoulder.
"I looked at your paper while the class was copying the notes. You're the only one who turned it in today and I must say Delia, it's exemplary," he beamed in pride. We'd only been in class a few weeks, how had I made such a good impression already? "You're the only one who really understood the assignment and got it in when it was supposed to have been due."
"Well thank you," I said. "I had a lot of help from a friend of mine. He basically helped me understand everything."
"Still the written portion is outstanding. The language you used was academically good, you used advanced vocabulary, but I loved how you added an edge to your writing," he said.
"An edge?" I questioned. I hadn't thought I had tried to make my writing reflect my style.
"Yes an edge. Just listen to this sentence you wrote, ''It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' Can you really be living the paradise life but have your world crumpling around out like a piece of paper all at the same time? If you're living your dream, can it really be like the apocalypse is happening?' You continue the modern speak through the entire piece, but you didn't make it like you were emailing a friend either. You used evidence to back up everything you said and your vocabulary is outstanding. A+ work."
"Thank you sir," I smiled. "Really though I had a lot of-what are you doing?" I asked stepping away from him quickly.
His hand had been resting on the edge of his desk and as I had shifted my weight, he had grazed my thigh. But this wasn't a brush and pull away, this was more of a stroking, like I was his play toy and not his student of one hour.
"Delia you can't deny that you're beautiful," he said standing up. I stepped back quickly, farther away from him.
"I never said I wasn't," I replied. "But I do have an issue when my professor starts hitting on me and touching me like I'm not his student."
"Delia you're not a normal girl," he said. "You have an edge to your look, to your attitude. It's a nice edge. And let's not look over the fact you are physically attractive."
"Right so that's all I am," I said. "I'm just a pretty face with a bad attitude and you think it's OK to be all over me? I'm not a skank. I don't sleep around and I certainly don't sleep with my professor who is at least 30 years older than me. Good day sir," I said hitching my bag farther on my shoulder and quickly walking out of the room.
I walked with my back straight, shoulders back, chin up to the bathroom and locked myself in a stall. I wanted to break down so bad right now, but I wouldn't let myself.
I sat on the toilet, head in my hands and replayed the meeting with my professor over and over again. He'd basically told me I didn't have anything but my looks. His flattery about my writing was just to get me to trust him. All he wanted was a student play toy.
I took a deep breath before I left the bathroom. My next class was in an hour so I went to the coffee shop and sat at a table. I just sat there, sipping coffee, watching people filter in and out as I sat, thinking about what was happening to me.
I was worthless. No one cared about me. They just wanted my looks, wanted what I could give them. No one wanted me as a person. I was alone in the world.
It was like a huge party. I'd go by myself, act confident, be strong, let myself go, but at the end of the night, I had to go home and get beat up by Connor. I was alone in the world like it was a party. I went through as the edgy girl with confidence and I let myself be me, without letting myself fall apart. But then I had to listen to what people were saying and I let myself get beat up about it. It was a vicious circle.
I checked my watch and threw my coffee cup away before hitching my bag over my shoulder and walking to my next class. I saw people looking at me with my straight back, pushed back shoulder, chin level with the ground as I walked.
"Have you seen her before?" someone whispered.
"No but I know who she is. My sister told me about her. That's Delia Rougler."
People must have been talking all summer about me and what I'd done in my first year at Uni and all the parties over summer.
Someone fell into step beside me. I looked over and saw a black haired boy with mischievous hazel eyes looking at me as I walked.
"Can I help you?" I asked.
"Yes you can. Can you tell me where I can find another girl like you? No? I didn't think you 'cause baby, you're one of a kind," he said with a cheeky wink.
I raised an eyebrow, not impressed with what he had just said. "Is that all you got?" I asked.
His cheeky grin snapped into a look of shock. Clearly, he wasn't used to someone telling him his pickup line didn't work.
"Well I could take a number. Or I could get yours," he winked.
I raised my other eyebrow.
"I'm losing it," he muttered to himself. "This can't be happening."
"What getting rejected by the ginger? Look at the bright side, you can brag that you met a ginger who didn't want you," I smiled.
He looked at me in surprise and said, "Someone desperately needs a soul."
"Someone desperately needs a better argument," I replied without skipping a beat.
I reached my class and waved with a sarcastic smile before walking inside and sitting down at a desk.
A couple girls walked in, giggling and then they spotted me. One whispered something to the other, and I felt both of their eyes on me. One, the girl with long dark brown hair and big brown eyes sat a row in front of me and one row to the right and the other, the girl with shoulder length blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes sat on her right. They whispered, turning and looking at me occasionally as a couple more people came in.
"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer," I said fiercely as the dark haired girl met my eyes as she turned for the tenth time.
She gasped and they both turned red as they turned around again. I heard a laugh from behind me and I turned to see a guy with light brown hair and green eyes laughing at what I had just said. I smiled and turned around as someone applauded me. This was life at Uni and I liked it that way. Yeah it was a little like high school, but when you got down to it, people didn't hide in their cliques, they were open to what the cheeky redhead was saying to the gossipy chocolate haired girl and her blonde friend.
I walked out of class later and made my way to the music room for the god part of music.
"Uh is it Delia?"
I turned and there in front of me was the brunette and her blonde friend. They reminded me of cheerleaders, the blonde one especially. Her head bobbled when she quickly came over to me and her eyes were round with unknown excitement.
"Can I help you?" I asked.
"Um sorry for staring," the brunette began.
"But you turned down Oliver!" the blonde blurted, her voice high.
I looked at her in a little disgust as the brunette said, "Vi, I told you to keep your mouth shut."
"Who's Oliver?" I asked.
"That boy with the black hair and hazel eyes who talked to you before Musical Theory," the brunette said.
"Got it. OK yeah, I didn't plan a date or whatever with him what's the big deal?" I asked.
"What's the big deal?" the brunette gasped.
"He's Oliver!" Vi squeaked. "I mean no one turns down Oliver!"
"Obviously someone does, because I did," I answered.
"But why?" the brunette asked. "I mean he's like an angel."
"Because I didn't want to go out with him. What's it to you anyway? Why do you care so much who I turn down or not?" I asked.
"Well Oliver went to high school with us," the brunette explained. "He's a friend of ours. It's the first time any girl has rejected him."
"Well I'm sorry if I don't want to go out with him because I have someone in my life already," I said. "I mean come on."
"That's never stopped any girl. They break up with their boyfriends for Olly," Vi squeaked. The fact that she called him Olly made my skin crawl.
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," I said. "Now if you'll excuse me I have a class to get to."
I turned and walked to class, thinking about the boy with black hair and hazel eyes. I wasn't going to lie, he was really cute, but I wasn't about to leave Zayn for him. I mean Zayn was Zayn.
I had him. He was mine. And I realized how much I truly did care for him, how much I was falling for him.
I wasn't paying attention as my professor started the class, simply explaining how the course was run. I couldn't concentrate, not when I was realizing the ugly truth.
I was vulnerable. I was going to get hurt. I was scared.