SEASON TWO,
CHAPTER 15:
ESCAPE PLAN GONE WRONG
"I busted the wrong guy out of jail."
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NOW ALL ALONE in a house, a teenage girl is sitting up in her room on a neatly made bed. Music is blaring through a speaker on one of the shelves and is loud enough to drown all of her sorrows away. Having an argument with her boyfriend was something that Delilah didn't think she'd have to experience today, let alone at any point during these rough times. But to make things worse, it's the couples first argument where one of them has chosen to walk away — usually they'd sit and talk it through.
Delilah knows that the boy will still try to go ahead with the plan no matter what she says, and that's just what annoys her even further. Nothing can be said to change JJ's mind when it comes to saving the people that he deeply cares about, knowing he'd do it again if Delilah was in John B's position. But the redhead doesn't regret speaking up about her feelings to the stupid plan, nor does she regret choosing to walk all the way home.
However, that doesn't stop Delilah from missing JJ. If he were by her side right now, his arms would be wrapped around her body as he whispers words of comfort into her ears. All the tears would be wiped away as the boy focuses his attention onto giving reassurance to his girlfriend. But instead, the pair have gotten into an argument and he can't do that.
A pillow is resting in the girls lap as she holds onto it tightly, hugging it as if it were a real person. A couple stray tears escape her green eyes and glide down her fair skin. Delilah doesn't even bother to wipe it away, not caring that they're now staining her cold cheeks. A sigh slips past her lips before she pushes herself up to her feet to continue on with the day. Walking over to the mirror, Lila glimpses at herself for a moment before choosing to ignore the state she's in and goes downstairs to grab some food.
The door being pushed open is suddenly heard, the sound filling the redheads ears due to it interrupting the quietness of the house — the music in her room has been switched off for the time being. She swiftly spins around on her heel who to see who it is, a hint of worry seeping into her body that it's an intruder. However, Delilah completely stops in her tracks at the unexpected sight of her mother standing in the open doorway.
"Mom?" Delilah calls.
"Hey." Julie greets, voice quiet. "I, uh... Haven't seen you in awhile."
"Same goes for you." Delilah says, unsure of what else to say. "Where did you go?"
"Rehab." Julie replies with a weak smile. "Delilah, you're my only child and I know that I've treated you like shit, so I want to get better."
"Mom, I'm 16. I'm nearly an adult." Delilah reminds in confusion. "Why now? You did this for most of my life anyway."
"That's the point. You're growing up and I'm scared of seeing my little girl move out." Julie tells her.
"It'll be no different to how we are now." Delilah informs. "And you left during a time where I would have needed you the most."
"Yeah, I saw the news." Julie states. "About your friend being a murderer. John B, is it?"
"That's him, but he wasn't the one to do it." Delilah replies. "Mom, I thought he died, and now he's been thrown into jail."
The woman notices the tears welling up in the young girls eyes as she talks about her friend. Julie chooses to walk forwards and wrap her arms around Delilah, making sure that her actions are slow to show that no harm is intended. Del just hesitates for a moment before deciding to hug her mother back too. But the daughter still has a guard up as a precaution, taken back by the sudden affection being given. Eventually, the pair break away from the hug and meet eyes.
"Do you mean it? That you're going to get better for me?" Delilah questions.
"Of course." Julie replies. "You're going through a hard time and I know that, Delilah. So I'm choosing to give drugs up to help you."
"Then promise me." Delilah insists.
"I... Honey, I- I can't." Julie stammers. "I'm going to rehab to sort everything out."
"Why did you leave rehab to begin with?" Delilah asks, confused. "You could've finished your time and come home."
The mother visibly freezes, lips being pulled into a thin line. Delilah just stares at her in disbelief that she even thought to believe the blatant lies that are being fed to her. The daughter shakes her head, a loud scoff slipping past her lips.
"Where were you really?" Delilah pushes.
"Jail." Julie admits. "I was where that friend of yours should've been."
"You say you want what's best for me then attack my friends. That's literally the exact opposite of what I want." Delilah fires back.
"Look, I'm still going to rehab." Julie informs.
"You can do that. You can get better. But I just don't think that we suit each other as family." Delilah tells her, tears in her eyes. "I can't just forget everything you did. And you can't stop telling me lies."
"Delilah, just give me a chance." Julie pleas.
"I want you to get better, I really do." Delilah states as she lets out a shaky breath. "But I can't continue this shit anymore. I just tried to give you a second chance and you already lied to me."
"I'm sorry." Julie apologises. "M- My sweet little girl. You've grown so much."
"I had to." Delilah replies. "Just go to rehab and get help, Mom. I'm fine living on my own anyway. My friends have my back."
A phone's ringtone goes off for a second or so as it vibrates against the hard metal that the device rests upon. But it doesn't just stop there, the ringtone goes off multiple more times to the point where it doesn't even to get to finish the sound. Delilah reaches over to the kitchen counter and picks the phone up to see a bunch of messages from JJ flood her notifications. Brows furrow together at the sight of what is being pleaded of her to do, confused.
TEXTS
JJ
I'm so sorry
I need your help
Please
SOS
Ly
Answer me
I'm begging
Again, I'm so sorry
You were right
Delilah
Help me
LY
PLEASE
I NEED YOUR HELP
Read at 11:15pm
REAL LIFE
Delilah looks up from her phone as a sigh slips past her lips. A quick message is sent to Kie, knowing that nothing can be done to help the boy if a car isn't able to drive to him. Meanwhile, Julie watches the girl carefully in confusion to what's happening, being left entirely in the dark due to the fact that they aren't close to talk about important things.
"Who's that?" Julie asks.
"Boyfriend." Delilah simply replies. "Look, I need to go. Make sure you actually do go to rehab, okay? If not, I probably won't come back home."
"Delilah—" Julie begins.
"Mom." Delilah warns, interrupting her. "Just get help like you said you would. I don't want the drugs and alcohol to kill you."
The teen hesitates before deciding to pull the woman into a warm hug, holding on tightly as she feels arms wrap around her body too. Delilah knows that this is probably the last time that they will be friendly with each other, and that's why she's trying to savour the sweet moment — maybe a second chance will be given, but no one can predict the future.
"I'm sorry." Julie apologises.
"Maybe in another life we could've been a better family." Delilah whispers.
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Driving along the streets in a car during the night is completely different as it's a lot quieter due to the fact that most people are in their homes sleeping. A black car is currently on the roads, containing three friends that are on their way to provide help to a boy that is pleading for it. Delilah is using JJ's location to track his whereabouts as she directs Kie to go down certain roads. However, the problem with trying to find JJ is that his location is constantly moving and travelling away from them all, which means that he's inside of a vehicle as well.
Fortunately, to resolve this issue, the three decide to swerve down another street and cut the vehicle off so that JJ has enough time to escape. The teenagers car pulls out in front of an ambulance and stops it in its tracks, making the vehicle unable to move from it's place. This allows JJ to push open the back door and sprint far away so that he's won't be seen leaving the patient in the back alone.
"Move!" The officer demands. "Get your car out of the way!"
"She just got her licence." Pope informs.
"It was accident. I'm sorry." Kie apologies.
"Move your car now!" The officer repeats.
Kiara listens and continues driving once again, now knowing that JJ has safely made it out of the vehicle. They drive around the block before finding the blond still running through a row of trees as he tries to get as far away from the ambulance as possible. His eyes fall onto the familiar black vehicle pulling up on the side of the road, swiftly opening the back door and sliding into the seat beside Delilah. Then, Kie pushes her foot down on the pedal and drives off again.
"I'm seriously not even gonna ask." Delilah mutters.
"I busted the wrong guy out of jail." JJ tells them as he tries to catch his breath. "Sue me."
"What?" Kie exclaims.
"At least I was trying." JJ argues.
"We're not fucking doing this again." Delilah fires back, still annoyed at him.
"Why are you always doing such stupid shit?" Kie asks. "Lila, you were meant to—"
"I know." Delilah replies, interrupting her. "I tried, but he didn't want to listen to me."
"How can you possibly fail? He normally listens to you." Kie states.
"Look, it's my fault." JJ informs, trying to take the blame for the redhead.
"I'm not someone to use when you need to get JJ under control because you don't like what he plans to do." Delilah snaps.
"I didn't mean it like that, Lila." Kie tells her, voice quiet. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologise." Delilah replies with a sigh. "I'm sorry for snapping. I just really don't want to talk about it right now. I'm really not in the mood."
"What's wrong?" Pope asks.
"My mom came home." Delilah states. "She lied to me about where she was and claimed she wants to get better. But I told her that I just don't think we're suited as a family."
"Del..." Pope begins, trailing off.
"I told her she can either go to rehab or stay home, but I won't be there if she stays." Delilah continues.
The girl wipes away the tears that have unknowingly fallen from her eyes, sniffling softly. She sinks down into the seat as she rests her head on the interior of the car, staring out of the window and into the night. JJ watches her carefully, just wanting to reach out and comfort his girlfriend after everything she's gone through today. He attempts to hold her hand, but Delilah just pulls herself away from him.
"Don't, JJ. Please." Delilah whispers.