Delphine's POV
"Dance your heart out baby," Victoire said, smiling to her daughter.
"Of course," Delphine smiled, leaned over and pecked her mom on the cheek, "and remember to pick me up from Jordan's at ten tomorrow morning."
"Yes, yes I know, I'll remember."
"Bye mom," she waved goodbye.
"See you later Dellie."
Delphine slammed the car door shut and her mother drove away. Radiating with confidence, Delphine jogged into the dance studio. This was the one place she could let go and be herself. Here, she could forget about her life and do what she loved. Here, the only thing that mattered was dance. She walked to the cubbies and put down her bag.
"Hey girl hey," a girl a year younger than she, Jordan winked at her.
"Sup yo," Delphine held up two fingers and leaned back, pursing her lips.
"You're beyond lame," her best friend laughed.
"Like I give a poop," she laughed.
"Funny," Jordan rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, c'mon let's go warm up."
The two entered the grand room. It had light blue, wood flooring and periwinkle walls. It had an "L" shape, and a big pole in the center left of the room. The dancers were lucky to have such a spacious area to dance in. It was normally used for rehearsals and large classes, but when the dancers got bored, it was a great room to mess around in. Delphine plugged her iPod into the jack and started playing "Carry on My Wayward Son".
"I dare you to improv to this while I record you," Delphine told her.
"How about you change the song and I'll improv to something else."
"Looks like you're the lame one now."
"Just turn it off, I don't need your old man music getting stuck in my head." Delphine shook her head and changed the song to something more modern. Jordan pulled her short brown hair into a tight bun.
"Why do you even listen to that stuff?" she asked.
"My mom says I get it from my dad."
"How? You've never even met him. He's a jerk who left your mom pregnant when she was only twenty."
"Ok dude, I know you're like family and all, but you don't know the first thing about my dad. He has a rough life and he left to keep me and my mom safe."
"Keep you guys safe? What, is the Illuminati on his tail?"
"Can we just… Not talk about it."
"Sorry…"
"It's whatever," Delphine rolled from a straddle into the center splits. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes, focusing more on the pain in her groin rather than the annoyance she felt building up inside her. It's true though, and Jordan knew it. She had never met her dad. Her mom only told her stories about how he was only sixteen and her mom fell in love at first sight. How he rescued her from an evil creature and how he kills monsters to save people. That was all. Those were the only things she knew about her father. That, and he always changes his name to keep his identity a secret. She doesn't know his name, but she has a small, worn picture of him and her mom, sitting in a frame hidden away in her mom's closet.
Delphine continued stretching when her instructor walked in, "alright ladies let's do a quick warm up then we can go across the floor."
Victoire's POV
"I know they're not hiring, but I was wondering if you know any other places that are. I have to support Del's dancing someway… The only way I can put food on the table is to get a third job… In this economy? Ha, yeah right. Did you see the price of gas now?... It's outrageous. How can they expect a single mother who's had to raise her daughter practically on her own to be able to afford all of this?... I can't take Dellie out of dance, that'll break her heart… If it comes down to it I will but if I can just get us by then she's staying in dance…It's the only thing that makes her happy… I know… I know and I understand that… I'll find a way, even if it kills me… I'll talk to you later… Bye," Victoire hung up the phone. She sighed and looked out the window. The silence that filled her townhouse was deafening. Stress was clouding her mind. She felt like she was going to be sick. There was an oddity in the air surrounding her. The lights started to flicker, her eyes widened. She took in a sharp breathe, knowing what this meant.
"You look lovely for someone who's about to lose their home," a female voice said.
"Is that supposed to be funny?"
"No, but I suppose the irony speaks for itself."
"Something tells me you're not here to discuss my living arrangements."
"Bright, you are. Don't worry, it'll be over quickly."
Victoire heard fingers snap, and she started choking. She coughed, trying to heave up what was causing her sudden lack of breath. Blood seeped from her mouth and dripped onto the white tile floor. Victoire fell to her knees, clutching her chest, gasping for air. She toppled onto her side, red still flowing from her mouth. The fit stopped and her hand fell to her side, limp. Her green eyes were wide with a dead stare.
Delphine's POV
"See you guys in a couple days, oh and good luck with that audition Caitlyn!"
"Let's go Delphie my mom's waiting in the car," Jordan said. The two girls walked out of the studio. As soon as they got in the car, they rolled all of the windows down, letting the cool breeze flow through. Delphine pulled her hair ties out, letting her dirty blonde hair flow in the wind.
"That's a lovely way to dry sweat from your hair," Jordan joked.
"It feels so good though!"
"It makes you look like a hot mess."
"My whole life is a hot mess so why the hell not?" Delphine laughed and hung her arm out the window. She felt free.
They pulled into Jordan's driveway. Delphine trotted up to the house, carrying her bags with her.
"I say we stay up all night," Delphine said running up the stairs.
"I say we trick my mom out of the house and throw a rager."
"Yeah and then we can drop out of high school, murder someone, and live off of meth and alcohol the rest of our lives."
"Sounds like a plan. Should we make blueprints too?"
"Shut the fuck up you loser," Delphine threw her pillow at her friend.
Jordan's older brother, Jason, walked into her room, "I heard you two talking about meth."
"Get out," Jordan gave him a cold look.
He gave a puppy dog look to Jordan, "what? I was just going to tell you that drugs are bad and scold you about staying in school."
"Bullshit, I found a joint in your room last week. I've been waiting to use it against you."
"You're gonna fucking black mail me, that's adorable," Jason laughed.
"You're only sixteen, and besides weed is illegal. Who's your dealer huh? 'Cus I'm sure he'll have loads of fun selling his poor man's coke in prison."
"Now you're the one that sounds high. I don't even know what you're talking about."
"I found a bag of crack in your room too," Jordan smirked.
"You're bluffing."
"And let's not forget the two empty six packs and vodka bottle I found in the basement. Oh and the pack of condoms in your sock drawer," Jordan raised an eyebrow. Jason looked nervous and Delphine saw his eyes flick over to her for a split second. Delphine blushed and looked away from him.
"Tell mom and I'll kill you personally."
"Oh I'm not going to tell mom, as long as I get what I want."
Jason paused and took a deep breath, "fine," he quickly left the scene, scowling.
"Sorry you had to see all of that. He's trash anyways."
"Oh it's um fine…" Delphine looked down at her hands, which were fiddling with her iPod. She pretended not to care about what had just happened. She already knew all of that stuff, even before Jordan found the evidence. She drank with him once before. He talked her into it. He was also her first time. Jordan didn't know any of this. Her mind would just think that Jason forced Delphine to do that stuff, when Delphine actually wanted to.
"Gross I think I have some food in my teeth from dinner. I'm gonna go brush." Delphine fumbled through her bag looking for her toothbrush.
"Dammit, I left it at home."
"Just run home and get it really quickly. You're only right down the street."
"Yeah, I'll be right back."
Delphine crept down the stairs, trying not to wake up Jordan's sleeping mom. She snuck out the front door and started towards her house. She opened her garage and went inside her townhouse. Upon opening the door, she noticed the kitchen lights were on. She walked over to the kitchen to turn them off, when she saw a sight that stopped her dead in her tracks. Her mom was on the floor, in a pool of blood. Delphine let out a deafening cry and knelt next to her mom. There were no punctures in her skin, or any slashes. There were no marks at all. It was as if she just died. Delphine knew that this meant her mom was killed by a sort of monster. She knew what she had to do.
Ignoring her blurred vision, she ran to her bedroom and grabbed a duffle bag. She took clothes for all weather and shoved them in. She grabbed anything else she needed, along with a knife and a gun her mom kept in her nightstand. She went into her mom's closet and took the picture of her parents. She took it out of the frame and put the frame in a random box. As she was about to leave she noticed a white pharmacy bag on the counter. It was her antidepressant refill. She shoved the bottle of pills into the side of her bag. She quietly left the townhouse, she ran as fast and as far as she could before someone grabbed her.
"Let me go!" She yelled, "Let me go you fucker! I have gun!"
"Calm the hell down bitch!" A familiar voice rang in her ear. It was Jason. Delphine stopped struggling and he let go. She turned to him.
"What are you doing out here and why the hell did you grab me?"
"I needed air and I grabbed you because I saw you running like a psychopath and I knew I needed to stop you from…" he trailed off.
"Stop me from what?"
"Doing something drastic."
"Sometimes drastic is necessary."
"I'm not going to let you do something stupid. Now tell me what's wrong."
Delphine knew she couldn't lie to him. It was dark but he could see her face was covered in snot and tears. He's the last person to see her so he has to know what happened so the police don't track her.
"I need you to listen and do exactly what I say," Jason nodded and looked her in the eyes, waiting on her every word. "My mom is dead. She was killed by something— I'm not sure what it is, but I know it wasn't something human."
"So an animal?"
"No. Worse. It's hard to explain but just listen. I'm running away to find my dad. He's the only family I have and I'm not going to be put in some stupid orphanage."
"Your dad? Is he even alive? How are you going to find him?"
"I have an idea, but it's taking a huge risk. My dad's kind of like a detective, in a way. And when the cops start the investigation of how my mom— well, he'll come to town to investigate too. That's how I'll find him."
"So you're just going to fall off the face of the Earth until you find your dad on a small chance that he'll show up here? You're walking your tiny ass on some thin ice D."
"I know. It's the only chance I have. It'll be almost impossible to track him down on my own. He covers his tracks well and I gotta be smart to be able to follow him."
"I'd be more worried about the cops finding you or being attacked by an animal."
"Trust me, if I get attacked, I'm well equipped to handle it."
"Ok so what do you need me to do?"
"When I get to where I need to be where I can hide, I'll give you the signal. When I do, I need you to go to my townhouse and call the cops. Make up a story about why you're there and how you found my mom… dead. Delete the text I'm going to send you and any other trace of me. This conversation never happened. Got it?"
"Yeah… I got it."
"Alright then. I guess this is goodbye."
"Yeah… Goodbye."
Jason leaned down and kissed Delphine.
"By the way, if you're going to suddenly disappear to find your mystery dad, then I suggest you never yell out the fact that you have a gun." He winked at her and she gave him a slight smile before she ran off into the darkness.