Hey, guys! Sorry it's been a while. I was busy with finals. On the bright side, I now have a month off of school so I plan on updating a lot more! So here's chapter 8!

WARNING: Abuse and descriptive self-harm

"Alright, ladies!" Coach Finstock barked at his gym class filled with both boys and girls, "Today, you're going to be tested on the mile run." Everyone groaned and complained. "Hey, no whining! It's the state requirement. I don't make the rules; I just go through with them. Also, my cable's out so watching Greenberg trip over his own two feet is the only entertainment I have right now. Now everyone line up!"

The students lined up behind a long strip of blue tape Coach Finstock had stuck to the floor. Delilah took her place next to Erica, who she had become closer with the past few weeks. As soon as Coach Finstock blew his whistle, the whole class either started sprinting or jogging. Since Delilah was feeling very sore that day, she decided to take it easy and jog alongside Erica.

"I am so glad that we only have to do this once a semester," Delilah said about six minutes into the run, "My feet are killing me!"

"Do they make you guys run in guard?" Erica asked.

"Yeah, but it's mostly when we're in trouble, which actually happens a lot…"

Erica laughed. "That's pretty brutal. But I've always thought that guard was really cool. Especially the tricks you guys do with the flags, rifles, and sabers."

"You should join next year," Delilah suggested excitedly, "We always need new people since we lose seniors every year."

"Um, I don't think I'll be able to," Erica shamefully said, "My epilepsy can be very unpredictable."

Nodding her head, Delilah slightly frowned. "Oh. Well, that's understandable. So you don't do any sports or anything like that?"

"No, a lot of extreme activity can cause me to have a seizure."

Delilah slowed down so they both could start walking since it looked like Erica couldn't handle running anymore. "If you don't mind me asking, what's having a seizure like?"

The blonde scratched her arm as she thought to herself. "Well, it's not fun, let me tell you that. I don't know, I've never really thought about it…" She let out a sigh. "I guess it's like experiencing your own personal earthquake. You're just shaking uncontrollably. And then you get this sort of metallic taste in your mouth. It's really unpleasant."

"Oh my…" Delilah shook her head. "I can't believe that people give you such a hard time for a disability that you have no control over. That makes me so mad."

"I remember towards the end of last year or the beginning of this year, I had a seizure during class and I ended up peeing myself," Erica said, "Someone took a video of it and sent it to everyone in school."

The dancer gasped. "Are you serious? That's awful!"

"Yeah, but I couldn't do anything about it," Erica said, "Not without making myself look like a snitch."

"Still, no one should ever make fun of someone like that. I'm not a mean person, but there are times when I seriously hate people."

Once again, Erica laughed and shrugged. "Oh well. What are you gonna do, you know?"

"I guess so," Delilah said. She nudged her friend with her elbow. "We just have one more lap left. Let's jog the rest of the way."

"Do we really have to?" Erica groaned.

"Yep, come on. You can do this, Erica. I believe in you! Just think about the nice cold water we get to drink afterwards!"

That seemed to be enough motivation to get Erica moving, even though she did it with a roll of her eyes. Both of them jogged the rest of the mile. They couldn't have been any more relieved when Coach Finstock marked their hands with a marker for the last time.

"Nice job, ladies," he said, "Go get some water. Greenberg, why the hell are you walking? Move your ass!"

Both girls walked through the hallways to search for a water fountain. They found one with two faucets and they bent down to get a drink. The water instantly cooled the sweating girls down, which was very much needed. About a minute later, Erica straightened her spine and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"So where's your boyfriend at today?" she asked, "He's usually in my first period class but he wasn't there this morning."

"Yeah, he texted me and said that he wasn't really feeling good so he was staying home," Delilah said, "I'm going over to his house after school to bring him some soup and make sure he's okay."

"Aw, you're such a good girlfriend," Erica said, pinching Delilah's cheek. Playfully, the brunette rolled her eyes and swatted her friend's hand away. "But seriously, how long have you two been together?"

"A little over a month now."

"Really?" Erica let out a low whistle. "I can't believe it's been that long already."

"I know, right?" Delilah giggled, "Time does go by fast when you're having fun."

A small smirk crept up on Erica's face. They sat down and leaned against a row of lockers. "And speaking of fun, have you and Isaac… you know…"

Delilah blushed when she realized what Erica meant. "Oh, um, no, we haven't. Not yet."

"Yet? So you guys are planning on it?"

"Well, we've talked about it before. About a few weeks ago, things got a little heated between us but we decided that we should wait for a bit to make sure that I was really ready. That Isaac was the one who I really wanted to lose my virginity to."

"Oh. So do you feel like he is?"

Smiling softly, Delilah nodded her head. "Yeah. I know we haven't known each other and been together for long, but I think he's the one for me. It sounds ridiculous because we're both so young, but… I can't picture myself with anyone else but him. He's just the sweetest and most caring guy I've ever met. We literally know everything about each other. Everything just feels right with Isaac. He makes me wanna be a better person. I really love him."

"I'm really happy for the both of you," Erica smiled sincerely, "I hope I have that one day."

"You will," Delilah assured her, "Is there a guy that you have eyes for?"

As her cheeks turned red, Erica tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "Um, I may have a crush on Stiles Stilinski."

"Really? I've talked to him a couple of times before. He's a very… interesting character."

"Yeah, but he's dating Natalie Henderson so that's pretty much out of the question."

"Don't worry," the brunette said, "I guarantee that there is one guy out there who is dying to sweep you off your feet."

Erica scoffed. "I doubt it."

"Hey, have a more positive attitude." Delilah poked her friend's cheek. "There's someone out there for everyone. Your Prince Charming will find you."

"Please let it be soon!"

Laughing, Delilah stood up, pulling Erica along with her. "Class is gonna be over soon. We should probably go change out of these clothes." The friends linked their arms together and walked to the girls' locker room.

After school that day, Delilah drove over to the farmer's market to grab some chicken noodle soup for her boyfriend. Then she drove into her neighborhood and noticed that neither her mother, Lawrence, nor Dave's cars were present. They were all working still, which made Delilah feel better that she didn't have to worry about them for a while. She grabbed the plastic bag and walked up to the front door. Her hand hovered over the door handle, contemplating whether she should knock or just walk in. it might've been rude to barge in someone else's home unannounced, but Delilah also didn't want Isaac moving around a lot if he really was sick. Finally, she decided to walk inside the house.

This was the first time that Delilah had actually been inside Isaac's house. It was very ordinary and a little dark, which set off a kind of creepy vibe. Delilah set the bag on the counter in the kitchen and looked around a bit. There weren't any pictures hanging up on the walls or anything like that, and it made the dancer sad. At her house, there weren't any pictures around either since most of them had her biological dad included. All evidence that her dad was even around for the very short time he was, was gone. It was like a piece of Delilah had burned along with the photos.

Delilah went upstairs to Isaac's room. The door was opened so she saw that her boyfriend was sleeping in his bed with his back facing her. She went in and sat down beside him, raking her fingers through his slightly damp hair. Isaac's lips were in an 'O' shape, making him look almost childlike in her sleep. It was absolutely adorable. But then Delilah noticed a cut on his cheek and it was bleeding a little. That definitely wasn't there when she was with him the day before.

While continuing to run her fingers through Isaac's curls, his eyes eventually fluttered open. He moaned a little and groggily looked up at the brunette. "Delilah?"

"Hi, baby," she said softly, smiling.

"What are you doing here?" Isaac asked, "Why aren't you at school?"

"School ended almost an hour ago."

"It did?" furrowing his eyebrows, Isaac looked over at his phone. "Oh. I didn't even realize I was asleep for so long."

"Yeah, well I came by to see how you were feeling." Delilah pushed his hair out his eyes. "What happened to your cheek?"

Isaac sighed. "When my dad was home earlier, I went downstairs to take some medicine and then all of a sudden I threw up on the carpet. He was pissed. He threw a glass at me and made me clean up the mess."

"God, that's so inconsiderate of him." Delilah pushed herself off the bed. "Do you guys keep a first-aid kit anywhere?"

Lazily, Isaac pointed towards his door. "Right next to the bathroom in that cabinet."

Delilah walked out of the room and opened the cabinet. It was filled with mostly towels, bed sheets, and extra blankets. She found the first-aid kit and pulled it out. Then she noticed a washcloth and took that out as well. She ran some cold water on the washcloth before going back into Isaac's room.

"What are you doing?" Isaac asked.

"We don't want this to get infected," Delilah said, opening the first-aid kit, "Stay still." She pulled out a disinfectant wipe and cleaned the blood off his cheek. Once it was clean, she placed a Band-Aid over the cut. Then Delilah picked up the washcloth and dabbed the beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.

The whole time, Isaac watched his girlfriend in awe. The last time anyone had ever taken care of him like this was when his mother was still alive. Whenever he had gotten sick, he would either have to tough it out and go to school or his dad would punish him to the point where he couldn't even move. Isaac was starting to feel better just by Delilah's gentle touch. She was so warm and it felt amazing against his cool skin. It was like she was some sort of magical healer or something.

"I brought you some soup," Delilah said, breaking Isaac out of his thoughts, "Do you want me to heat it up for you?"

Smiling, Isaac said, "Normally, I would protest and say that you didn't have to do any of that for me, but that actually sounds really good right now."

"Alright," Delilah said, "I'll be right back." She kissed his forehead before going downstairs.

Seven minutes later, the brunette returned to Isaac's bedroom with a tray holding steaming chicken noodle soup, buttered toast, and ginger ale. Isaac sat up and Delilah placed the tray on his lap before sitting across from him.

"You know," Isaac said after taking his first slurp of the soup, "you really didn't have to go through all of this trouble for me."

"Well, what are girlfriends for?" Delilah shrugged. She rolled her eyes when Isaac smirked. "Oh my god, Isaac!"

"Sorry," he laughed, "Force of habit."

"Yeah, I'm sure it is," Delilah said sarcastically but laughed anyway, "But seriously. I love taking care of people. It gives me a warm feeling knowing that I helped someone, whether it's nursing them back to health, teaching them something they don't understand, or giving them advice on personal problems."

"I've noticed. Erica Reyes had no friends before you two met, and now since you hang out with each other all the time, she always has the biggest smile on her face. I have never seen her look so happy before." He tucked her brown hair behind her ear. "You're really good at it."

The dancer blushed. "Well, I gotta be good at something."

"Don't talk like that, Delilah," Isaac scolded, "You're amazing. Every day I wonder to myself how I got so lucky to have you. But I couldn't be any happier either way."

Unsure how to respond, Delilah sat back and watched Isaac eat his lunch. They sat in a comfortable silence, minus the couple of times when Isaac asked if she wanted a bite of his food, but she shook her head and politely declined. When Isaac finished eating, he set his tray on the floor and Delilah scooted closer to him so he could rest his head on her lap.

"You're so cold," Delilah said as she massaged his temples with her fingertips.

"It feels warm in here to me," Isaac countered, "God, being sick sucks."

"I know. When I was younger and I would get the stomach bug, Mom would give me soup, toast, and ginger ale. Then we would just lie in bed all day and watch Disney movies while she rubbed my head like this."

"That sounds really relaxing," Isaac said, "Did it help you feel better?"

Delilah nodded. "Always. But ever since Lawrence came into the picture, she didn't have time to take care of me. I always had to go to school whenever I got sick."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Luckily, I don't get sick as much anymore. Just a case of the sniffles every once in a while."

Reaching up to caress his girlfriend's cheek, Isaac smiled softly. "Personally, I think your mom taught you well. After my mom died, my dad would just ignore me whenever I wasn't feeling good. Now I've got a beautiful nurse to take care of me."

"My, don't you know how to make a girl flustered," Delilah giggled.

Isaac chuckled and yawned as he snuggled his face into her thigh. "I don't understand how I can sleep all day and still feel exhausted."

"Here," Delilah said, reaching for her book bag, "I brought something else for you." She pulled out a bottle of Nyquil and Isaac grimaced. "I know it's nasty, but one drink of this and you will have the best sleep of your life."

"The things I'm will to do for you…" Isaac grumbled as he watched Delilah pour the medicine in the bottle cap.

"You'll be thanking me in the morning after you've slept like a baby."

She handed the blond the small cap filled with Nyquil. Deciding to just get it over and done with, Isaac tilted his head back and downed the medicine. He stuck his tongue out and cringed.

"Ugh, that stuff's awful!"

"It's not supposed to taste good, silly," Delilah giggled, "It's just supposed to get the job done."

It wasn't long before Isaac's eyes were starting to feel heavy. Lying back down on his side, he pulled his thick blue blanket up to his chin. Delilah began playing with his curls again.

"Need anything else before you doze off?" she asked.

"Yeah," Isaac nodded, "If you could do just one more thing for me, that would be great."

"What?"

"Lay with me."

He scooted away a little to give Delilah some room. When Isaac gave her a reassuring smile when he saw her hesitate a little and told her it was okay, she smiled back and slipped under the covers next to him. Delilah turned to her side and she felt Isaac's strong arms around her waist. As he cuddled closer and buried his nose in her wavy brown hair, Isaac got a whiff of her cinnamon scent.

"This feels nice," he sighed happily, "I wish it could always be like this. Lying here with you, away from everyone and everything else. Minus the part about being sick, of course."

"Yeah, me too," Delilah agreed, "I really wish I didn't have to go home later." She shook her head. "But I don't wanna think about that right now. I just wanna relax with you."

"Fine with me." Isaac kissed her head. "Thank you for everything you've done for me today."

"There's no need to thank me, babe. I was happy to do it all."

"But you didn't have to. It means so much to me to actually have someone concerned about my health and well-being for once. I feel that I can't express enough how blessed I am to have someone like you care for me as much as you do."

A blush appeared on Delilah's cheeks. "Anything for you." She brought their interlocked hands to her lips and kissed them.

"I think you're gonna make an amazing mom someday."

The comment had completely caught Delilah by surprise. But Isaac had already fallen asleep before she could respond. She could feel the natural heat of her boyfriend's body radiate through her thank top and it was so comforting that she was getting tired as well. But she wasn't able to fall asleep just yet. Even when she closed her eyes and tried to let all of her thoughts fade away, she was still wide awake. Thoughts of the beautiful boy holding her were clouding her mind.

Isaac's words were on repeat in her brain. "You're going to be an amazing mom." While that would have crept some girls out, it actually gave Delilah a warm feeling inside. One of her biggest dreams was to become a mother. When she was in her twenties, of course. No way was she ready for that right now, especially with the life she has. But Delilah had already promised herself that she was going to give her future child everything that she never had- a loving family. She would be sure that her child would never have to go through the pain and fear she had to suffer through. They wouldn't be afraid of anything and anyone. No one would ever hurt them. Delilah would be sure of it. There was no chance in hell she was ever going to become like her mother, drugged up and allowing someone to hurt her baby.

Looking down at her and Isaac's hands, Delilah frowned. She didn't deserve someone as sweet as Isaac. He was way too good to her. He was always making sure that she was being taken care of before even thinking about taking care of himself, even though he was hurting from his own dad also. While tending to her wounds, Isaac would always put on a brave face like there was nothing wrong with him.

She felt guilty. Guilty and scummy. Isaac tries so hard to make her happy for the short time they spend together (although he didn't really need to). What did Delilah have to offer him, anyway? A first-aid kit and poor excuses of comforting words. It always seemed that Isaac went out of his way to make her smile while she had no idea what to do to get him to do the same. He would tell her that as long as she was by his side, that's all he really needed. Delilah loved Isaac with all her heart, but unfortunately, there were still demons inside her that he couldn't chase away.

Delilah stared down at her arms and her depression hit her hard once again as she saw the various cuts etched on them. Isaac knew that she was still hurting herself. Most of the time, he didn't mention them whenever she took off her jacket or roll up her sleeves, but Delilah wasn't blind. She notices the sad looks every time. He hated that she was still doing this to herself and wanted her to stop. But she couldn't, even though she desperately wanted to, too. Because little did Isaac know that her situation was getting worse.

Whenever Delilah was with Isaac or Erica was when her smile was the most genuine. But when they weren't around, darkness crept into her heart and she walked around with no emotion on her face. She did everything so mechanically. Like a robot. It was probably because she was in Annie and Trenton's group that Delilah felt that she could finally rip that sunny mask on her face. That didn't necessarily mean that she was acting like an angst-filled teenager and hated the world all the time- she was just now able to go on without pretending to be something she wasn't.

As if he could sense her thinking too much, Isaac subconsciously rubbed his thumb over her knuckles and hugged her tighter. Feeling her boyfriend's arms around her made Delilah smile. She felt so safe with him because whenever she was with him, she knew that just for that moment, everything was going to be okay. Isaac was always going to be there for her. And she was always going to be there for him. The thought itself was enough for Delilah to finally relax and fall asleep.

It was a very pleasant dream. Then again, anything other the nightmares that haunted Delilah when she usually slept was pleasant. But this time, instead of Lawrence torturing her, Isaac was the star in her dream.

It was set when the couple was a few years older. Delilah could tell because their bodies and faces were more matured. Also, there was a wedding ring around Delilah's finger, so they had to be in their early twenties. In her dream, they weren't in Beacon Hills anymore. It looked like they were in Europe. Paris, to be exact. Call her a typical girly girl, but Delilah had always wanted to go to Paris, especially when it was winter. She had seen pictures of Paris when Christmas lights were up on buildings and snow blanketed the streets. She thought the scenery was beyond gorgeous. Of course, she was never able to go since her family could hardly afford to get by since her mom and step-dad spend all their money on drugs and alcohol. Not to mention that Lawrence would never allow Delilah to go.

Back to the dream. It was nighttime in Paris. Snow was falling from the sky and the city was filled with thousands of bright lights. Hand in hand, Isaac and Delilah walked down the streets. They were bundled up in coats and scarves, but each other's touch was what was really keeping them warm. Like all couples did, they went over to the Eiffel Tower. Delilah had the biggest smile on her face. To see her favorite historical monument in person was a dream come true, even though it was all just in her head. And to have the boy she loved wrap his arms around her was just the icing on the cake. She remembered that towards the end of the dream, Isaac lowered his head down to give her the most passionate and loving kiss he could give her. He then placed her hands on her round pregnant belly.

Wait, pregnant? How did Delilah not catch that earlier? But then she remembered both her and Isaac looking down at her belly like it was the most precious thing in the world. They both looked so proud and their smiles were so genuine. It was such a sweet and happy moment between them. And there was no Trenton, no Dave, and no Lawrence. It was just the two of them. The way it was meant to be.

If only it were real. It was definitely the best dream Delilah had ever had. But as they say, all good things must come to an end.

When Delilah woke up, she was still smiling, and it only brightened when she noticed that Isaac was still holding her hand. She yawned as she looked out the window. It was pretty dark. Furrowing her eyebrows, Delilah dug her phone out of her book bag to look at the time. Her eyes widened in fear. It was 9:52.

"Oh, fuck!"

Being careful not to wake up Isaac, Delilah pulled his arms off of her and slipped out of the bed. She quickly tied her shoes and put her sweatshirt back on. After grabbing her book bag, she kissed Isaac's forehead before dashing out of the house over to hers.

She texted Isaac, explaining that she had to go home but that she left the medicine and soup on the kitchen counter in case he needed them. She almost texted him that she loved him but decided against it since she wasn't sure how he would react to that. When Delilah entered her house, it was very quiet and no one was in sight. Letting out a sigh of relief, the brunette figured that she was in the clear. She ran a hand through her hair and placed her keys on the counter.

"You're late."

Delilah let out a shriek and accidentally dropped her bag. She looked up and saw her step-dad slowly walking down the stairs. "Lawrence, you scared me."

"You were supposed to be home three hours ago to make dinner," Lawrence continued, "Where the fuck have you been?"

"I know, I'm sorry," Delilah apologized, "I had gone over to Isaac's house after school-"

"And what the fuck were you doing there?"

"He was sick so I wanted to check on him to see how he was doing…"

Lawrence stalked towards the girl and she walked backwards until she hit the wall behind her. "It doesn't take seven hours to just check up on someone. And you should've called if you knew you were gonna be late."

"I didn't realize how much time got away from us."

"Then you shouldn't have been fucking around with that Lahey kid like I know you've been doing."

"What?" Delilah managed to squeak out.

"Don't be stupid, Delilah!" Lawrence spat, his face extremely close to hers. Delilah's eyes squeezed shut and she turned her head away. Even then she could still smell booze and marijuana on his breath. "You don't think I know that you've been whoring around with your precious boy toy?"

With wide eyes, Delilah frantically shook her head. "No, no! It's not like that, I swear! Isaac and I are not having sex. I mean, we actually fell asleep together like taking a nap-"

All of a sudden, Lawrence wrapped his hand around her neck tightly. "Don't even try to be funny with me," he growled. When Delilah scratched at his hand to get him off of her, it made him even madder and his nails dug into her skin. "Are you really gonna try to fight me right now?"

"I-I'm sorry!" she choked, "I d-didn't mean to be l-late! Just, please! You're h-hurting me!"

"Oh, am I?" Lawrence mocked, "Well then, why don't we change this up a bit?"

There was no trace of gentleness when he grabbed Delilah's hair and dragged her upstairs to her bedroom. He pulled her into her bathroom where the bathtub was filled almost all the way up to the brim. Did Lawrence have this set up long before Delilah got home? What on earth did he have in store for her? Lawrence pushed his step-daughter down to the floor so she was kneeling in front of the tub.

Yanking on Delilah's hair again, Lawrence pulled her head back so she was looking up at him. But her vision was blurred from the tears threatening to just pour out. This only made Lawrence grin madly.

"Clearly the punishments I've been giving you aren't enough to make you listen," he said, "Let's see where a little water treatment gets you."

That's when Delilah realized what Lawrence was going to do. Water had always been one of her biggest phobias. Drowning specifically was what she was afraid of the most. Delilah had never learned how to swim and she had made the mistake of watching movies like 'Jaws' when she was younger. It had freaked her out. Gloria told her that it was all just special effects, but that wasn't convincing enough for the dancer. To this day, Delilah had never been in a pool or in the ocean at the beach. Just staring at the tub filled with water was making her panic. And she knew that Lawrence knew about her fear. What a sadistic bastard.

"Please, Lawrence, don't!" she begged, "It won't happen again, I promise! Give me another punishment, but don't-"

He didn't let her finish her plea. Instead, he pushed her head in the water. It was freezing! There were probably ice cubes in there that have melted down. Delilah screamed as loud as she could, but it came out very warbled since she was underwater. Her nails clawed at the porcelain tub, trying to push herself back above the surface. Lawrence's grip on her was way too strong and he grabbed her neck again when he felt her fight against him.

Oxygen was leaving her body. Delilah could feel it. Her lungs were starting to burn from being underwater for almost two minutes, even though it felt like two hours. It was incredibly hard to breath. She stopped struggling when it felt like Lawrence wasn't going to let her up any time soon. But Delilah was getting very claustrophobic and she just prayed to God that this wouldn't last much longer.

Finally, just when she thought she was going to become unconscious, Lawrence yanked her out of the water and pushed her away. Her head hit the wall pretty hard and it made her lightheaded, but she was just glad that she was alive. She could have easily died from that punishment! Delilah gasped for air and coughed uncontrollably. Mascara ran down her face from both the bathwater and crying.

After slumping against the wall, Lawrence grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "You should be glad that I let you off easy this time," he snarled, "Just a couple more minutes and you would've been dead. But try to fight me again and you won't be so lucky next time. You're gonna wish you were dead. Got it?" Delilah whimpered in response, causing Lawrence to slap her hard across the face. "Got it?!"

"Y-yes, sir!" Delilah cried.

"That's what I thought," Lawrence said, standing up, "Get your ass to bed. I don't wanna look at you anymore, slut." As he left the bedroom, he kicked the guard equipment over from their place against the wall.

When she heard the door shut, Delilah crawled over to the tub and unplugged the drain. She leaned against the cool hard side of the tub as her arms grew weak. Everything hurt- her head, her neck, and her lungs especially. Out of all of the punishments Delilah had ever received, this had to have been the scariest and most dangerous one so far. She couldn't believe that Lawrence went as far as almost killing her! How twisted did you have to be to try to drown your stepchild, whether you hated them or not? It made her wonder if Dave had done anything similar to Isaac before. That would have been a thousand times worse since he was Isaac's flesh and blood. Delilah felt sick the more she thought about it.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed something gleaming on her shower caddy. Delilah turned her head and winced at the pain in her neck. She then spotted her razor resting on her bottom shelf. It was like it was staring back at her, tempting her to just pick it up and cut. In the back of her head, Delilah could hear Isaac's voice, pleading her not to do it. She would have given in to her boyfriend if Lawrence's voice hadn't crept in and overpowered her mind. The words 'slut' and 'whore' were screaming at her and she couldn't take it anymore.

Delilah shakily reached over the bathtub and grabbed her razor. She detached the blade from the handle. Holding it up in the light, the brunette admired the way the blade shone almost unrealistically. Just a couple of days ago was when Delilah got a new razor so she knew that it was very sharp. She pushed her sleeve up and stared at her branded forearm. With trembling hands, she pressed the sharp piece of metal against her wrist, right above and old scar that had healed a few weeks ago.

But she didn't cut right away. The voices were still jostling in her head. Not only was it Isaac and Lawrence's voices, she could also hear her mom, Erica, Annie, Trenton, and a bunch of other people yelling at her. They were either telling her to cut or throw the blade away. It was way too overwhelming and Delilah was starting to feel dizzy. Or that may have still been from when she hit her head. Either way, she couldn't think straight, especially when Isaac's voice grew louder than everyone else's.

'Don't do it, please!' she heard him cry out, 'Delilah, don't! DELILAH!'

All of the voices silenced as Delilah made the first slice to her skin. Her breath hitched when she felt the familiar sting from the blade. Crimson blood seeped through the line and down her arm. It hurt. It always hurt, even though Delilah never cut herself too deep. But it made her feel numb overall, which was what she intended. Emotional pain was much more damaging in her opinion. A couple of cuts were nothing compared to feeling worthless. That was the most hurtful of all, feeling like she couldn't make anyone happy no matter how hard she tried.

She cut herself a couple of times on her left arm and twice more on the other one. The blood loss always made her feel drowsy and after a while, her hands gave out. The blade slipped out of her hand and hit the tile floor, making a little clanking sound. Raising her arms up with the little strength she had, Delilah watched as the red liquid raced down her fair skin. Blood stained the cuffs of her white sweatshirt, but she didn't bother to clean it up. She would just throw it away later.

The longer she stared at what she had done, the guiltier she felt as she imagined Isaac sitting in front of her with tears streaking down his face as he watched his girlfriend hurting. Delilah then started to cry also, shaking her head in shame.

"I'm so sorry, Isaac," she sobbed, "Please forgive me. I'm so sorry…" She sat against the wall for another hour with tears that poured out more than the blood did. It just seemed like neither one would ever end.

The next day Delilah woke up feeling completely drained. She did not want to get out of bed, but she had a test in history that she could not miss. Not in the mood to dress up, she just put on a burgundy hoodie, skinny jeans, and brown moccasins. The only makeup she applied was foundation just so she could cover up the bruises on her neck and face. She also wrapped her arms up in gauze so her cuts wouldn't rub against her sleeves.

Delilah drove to school in silence. When she parked her car, the first bell had already rung, so she didn't have time to go to her locker to get any of her books. Good thing that she had her test first period and gym second so she didn't need anything right now. Erica wasn't in gym so Delilah was by herself. She was surprised that Coach Finstock let her sit out when she told him that she wasn't feeling well. He never questioned it, so she just let it be. It was pretty boring without Erica, but Delilah was just glad that she didn't have to move around a lot and irritate her sore body.

When break came around, the brunette was finally able to go to her locker. As soon as she opened it, a piece of paper fell out. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she picked it up. She unfolded it and read what was inside.

Hey, baby. I just wanted to say thank you again for taking care of me yesterday. I'm feeling much better today because of you. And you were right me getting the best sleep ever, even though I had to take that god awful medicine. But it worked! You're amazing. Xoxo, Isaac.

She folded the note back up and her eyes widened when she looked inside her locker. A bundle of roses were lying on top of her math book. She picked up one of the flowers and inspected the ruby red petals. For the first time that day, a smile stretched across Delilah's face. Could Isaac be any sweeter?

"There you are," Delilah turned around and saw Isaac walking towards her with two thermoses in his hands and looking much livelier than the day before. "I was going to give you those this morning but you weren't here so I just put them in your locker. I hope you don't mind."

Instead of saying anything, Delilah wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her head on his chest. Isaac was taken aback but he carefully placed his arms around his girlfriend without spilling the drinks.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Delilah said, pulling away and smiling softly, "I'm just really happy to see you." She pointed to the thermoses. "What are those for?"

Isaac lifted his hands with a shy smile. "I woke up kinda early this morning, so I made hot chocolate for us." He held the blue thermos out to her.

"Wow, first the flowers and now hot chocolate?" Delilah giggled as she accepted the drink, "You're pulling out all the stops today, aren't you?"

"Since you took care of me yesterday, I wanted to do something nice back."

Delilah unscrewed the lid and took a whiff of the steaming hot chocolate. She was about to take a drink when she got an idea. With a smirk, she looked up at Isaac.

"You have gym next period, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Isaac said, "Why?"

"Why don't we just skip third period so we can enjoy our hot chocolate?"

One of Isaac's eyebrows rose up. "Can you get away with that? I don't want you to get in trouble with your teacher."

"I'll be fine," Delilah assured him, "We're watching a movie in economics today so I won't be missing much."

"Alright then," Isaac shrugged, "We should probably go before someone catches us."

He took Delilah's hand and they ran down the hallways. They accidentally bumped into a few people along the way, but the couple just laughed and apologized. Isaac led Delilah out of the school and to the lacrosse field. It was chilly outside so Isaac held his girlfriend closer to his side.

They sat on the top of the bleachers and enjoyed their hot chocolate, which Delilah thought was delicious. During the entire period, they had a very playful conversation and shared many laughs. It definitely beat going to class.

"Wait, so your brother cut off your hair and drew all over your face with permanent marker?" Delilah asked, "That's awful!"

"It was so embarrassing," Isaac said, shaking his head, "And the worst part was I still had to go to school. Everyone kept staring at me like I was a weirdo. My hair was all uneven and the marker didn't come off until after a week."

"That reminds me of the time in seventh grade when I thought getting pink highlights would be the coolest thing in the world." Delilah shuddered at the memory. "Worst idea ever!"

Isaac laughed. "Oh yeah, I remember that. They actually looked kinda cute on you."

"Not even. The streaks were too thick and it was so obnoxiously bright. I looked like I belonged in the eighties."

"They weren't that bad," Isaac said, "But I do prefer your natural brown hair. It goes really well with your eyes."

"Well, thank you," Delilah smiled, "I'm glad you think so." She brought her thermos to her lips and sipped on her hot chocolate.

"So, Delilah," Isaac said, "are you doing anything next Saturday?"

The brunette's lips pursed as she thought to herself. She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Why?"

Her boyfriend drummed his fingers on his thermos. "Well, the winter formal's next Saturday. I know it's very last minute and you probably don't have a dress yet. But since you love to dance, I figured you'd wanna go. So, would you wanna go… with me?"

Delilah giggled when Isaac started to blush. "I love how you still get nervous around me after dating for like a month," she said, "Of course I'll go to the winter formal with you."

"Really?" Delilah nodded, making Isaac laugh breathlessly. "Great! But I'm just letting you know now that I'm exactly a good dancer. I tend to trip on my own feet."

"Don't worry," Delilah said, "I can teach you a couple of things." She lightly held Isaac's chin as she brought their lips together in a sweet kiss.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I apologize if it wasn't very interesting. This was more of a filler. But the next chapter will be much more exciting since it will be the winter formal and Isaac and Delilah will take the next step in their relationship ;) Anyway, PLEASE review and let me know what you think! And if you haven't, please go check out my StilesxOC story, Awake and Alive! Just a couple more chapters until season 2, which is when I will start uploading Derek's story No One Else! I'm super excited and I've already finished the first couple of chapters. If you want me to update faster, then PLEASE send some feedback and let me know that you're still interested! It keeps my motivation up!

And also, thank you guys SO much for all of your love and support so far! It really means a lot to me to know that people are still enjoying my stories!

I will most definitely update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)