Hey, everyone! Sorry it took me a little while to update! I just wanted to make this chapter as great as I could because these next couple of chapters are gonna be intense and extremely crucial to this story. Probably two of the most important ones in here. So I really hope it turns out alright.
HUGE TRIGGER WARNING: There is abuse, angst, and even rape in this chapter. I tried to not make it as graphic as I could, but it's still really dark. So don't say I didn't warn you and I don't wanna see any complaints!
Other than that, I hope you enjoy!
Sitting on the gym floor with their backs pressed against the wall, Delilah and Erica watched as a couple of their classmates take their turn to climb the rock wall. Rock climbing was something that Delilah had never done before but from what she has seen so far, it didn't look so hard. It actually looked kind of fun. And it sure beat the hell out of running or doing push-ups. Erica, on the other hand, didn't look as excited as Delilah. She was staring up at the rock wall with wide and fearful eyes.
"Hey," Delilah said, lightly nudging her friend, "Are you alright?"
"Is it just me or is that wall really high?" Erica asked shakily, "Like, ridiculously high."
The brunette shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think it's that high." But Erica didn't look so convinced. "Erica, are you afraid of heights?"
"Uh… I'm, um…" Erica stammered. She finally let out a frustrated groan. "Yes, I am a little. God, I feel pathetic."
"You're not pathetic," Delilah assured her, "Having a fear of heights is a normal thing. It's nothing to be embarrassed of."
"I know…"
"Don't feel scared. And if it helps in any way, just remember that I'm gonna be right beside you the whole time. You'll be fine. Trust me."
Letting out a sigh, Erica rested her head on Delilah's shoulder. "And this is why you're my best friend."
"Yeah, I am pretty amazing, aren't I?" Delilah laughed.
"Alright," Coach Finstock bellowed after Stiles Stilinski and Natalie Henderson slid down the rock wall, "Delilah, Erica, you two are up. Let's go."
The two girls got up off the floor and went over to the rock wall. They clipped on the harnesses around their waists before getting into their starting positions. Coach Finstock blew his whistle and they started to climb the wall. Delilah was getting the hang of it. Hey, this was actually kind of fun! Maybe she should do this more often. She could get a pretty good workout from it.
Delilah was more than halfway up the wall when she looked down. Two feet below her, Erica was practically frozen in place. Her body was starting to tremble and she looked like she was about to cry. Oh, no. She was panicking really badly. And she looked like she could break out into a seizure at any moment. This was not good at all.
"Oh, please…" Erica whimpered.
"Erica," Coach Finstock called up to her, "Dizzy? Is it vertigo?"
"Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear," Lydia Martin told him, rolling her eyes, "She's just freaking out."
It looked like Erica wasn't going to move anytime soon so Delilah lowered herself so she was right next to her friend. "Erica, breathe," she instructed her, "Just breathe. You're okay. Do you wanna go back down?"
"I'm fine," Erica assured her, although she didn't sound so certain herself.
"Coach, maybe it's not safe," Allison Argent said, "You know she's epileptic."
Coach Finstock threw his hands up exasperatedly. "Why doesn't anybody tell me this stuff? I have to get- Erica, y- you're fine. Just- just kick off from the wall. Th- there's a mat to catch you. Come on."
Grabbing Erica's hand, Delilah said, "On the count of three, we'll jump down together, okay? One… two… three."
And together they pushed themselves off the wall and landed on the mat. Delilah helped Erica up, who was doing her best to not burst into tears. What made the situation worse was that some of their classmates were laughing at her. God, did people have any sympathy for the poor girl? It was so disappointing.
Wanting to get Erica away from these people, Delilah escorted her out of the room. Not without shooting her classmates a glare, of course. They went to the hallway so Erica could get a drink of water from one of the fountains. After getting her drink, Erica wiped her mouth and sat in front of the lockers. Delilah knelt across from her.
"Just ignore them," she told her, "They're all a bunch of jerks who are insecure about themselves. What they think doesn't matter."
"I'm gonna go try it again," Erica said with determination, "I wanna try it again."
"Erica, I don't really think that's a good idea," Delilah said, "What if you actually have a seizure?"
"I don't care," Erica assured her, "If anything does happen, I'll have you there with me to supervise."
She stood up to go back to the gym but Delilah grabbed ahold of her arm before she could take another step. "You don't have to prove anything to anyone, Erica."
"Yes I do. I need to prove to myself that I can get through anything that's difficult. And I'm not gonna let some stupid condition stop me."
Nothing good could come out of this. Delilah could feel it deep in her gut. But Erica looked so determined that it was hard for the brunette to deny this of her. So she reluctantly let Erica lead her back to the gym. They waited for the rest of the class to leave before sneaking back in. It was a little darker in there since Coach Finstock had turned off most of the lights, but the rock wall was the most visible object there. Erica slipped the hair tie off her wrist and pulled her blonde hair up in the messy bun, staring up at the wall the whole time.
"Be careful up there, alright?" Delilah said, "I don't want you getting hurt."
"Don't worry," Erica said, her eyes never leaving the wall, "I'll be fine. Just stay here in case something does end up going wrong."
After she hooked the harness around her waist, she grabbed onto the rocks and slowly began to climb up. She was taking her time and anticipating each step she took. Delilah bit onto her fingernails as she watched her best friend. At least Erica wasn't rushing, which made the brunette feel a teeny bit more at ease.
But then it all went south very quickly. Erica had stopped mid-climb. At first Delilah thought that she was just stopping to take a breath. Then Erica started to shake.
Oh, god. This could not be happening right now. She was having a seizure.
Delilah screamed her name and went to go catch her when she fell off the wall. Luckily Scott McCall got to her before Erica could get hurt. He laid her on the ground as her seizure grew worse. Stiles, Natalie, Allison, and Lydia had circled around Scott and Delilah as they tried to calm Erica down.
"Lay her on her side so she doesn't choke," Delilah instructed. She smoothed Erica's hair back. "You're gonna be okay."
"How'd you know?" Allison asked Scott.
"I just felt it," he told her. Delilah understood what he meant right away. She remembered Isaac telling her that Scott was also a werewolf and to be careful around him. Scott looked at Delilah. "Call an ambulance for her."
She nodded her head and pulled away from the crowd to call nine-one-one. It didn't take long afterwards for the paramedics to arrive, lay Erica on a gurney, and then send her off to the hospital. Delilah was upset with herself. While she did say in the beginning that Erica trying to rock-climb again was a bad idea, she knew she should've pushed harder to try to talk her out of it. And hearing their peers make fun of her epilepsy made her even angrier. It wasn't fair for Erica to be laughed at for a disability she was born with. Why does the world have to be so damn cruel and make the less fortunate feel even more worthless?
That was when an idea hit Delilah. Was it a smart idea? Probably not, but right now, it seemed as if there was no other choice for Erica. And the positive seemed to overshadow the negative. Pulling her phone back out, Delilah dialed a number she knew by heart.
"Hey, baby," she heard Isaac say, "What's up? Is everything alright?"
"Remember when you said that Derek needed more people in his pack?" Delilah asked, getting right to it.
"Yeah… why?"
Looking in the direction the ambulance drove off towards, Delilah said, "Well, I think I know someone who could really benefit from the bite."
Well, crap. Since Erica had left school early, Delilah spent the rest of the day totally alone. She would've sat with her at lunch, but now she had no idea what she was going to do. In her head, she weighed her options. Like Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls, Delilah could go eat her lunch in one of the stalls in the restroom. But the more she thought about it, it started to gross her out. It was just so unsanitary!
Outside, maybe? Delilah could lay out in the sun and get some fresh air. The she remembered that bees were always flying around out there and she was extremely allergic to them.
There was also always the option of skipping lunch and either sitting in her next class and do some homework or practicing for winter guard in the dance room. As if her stomach knew what she was thinking, it rumbled loudly, making her whine and clutch onto it. It probably wouldn't be wise to not eat since she didn't have breakfast that morning.
Delilah's silent prayers were answered when she spotted Vernon Boyd (who usually went by his last name) sitting by himself. Personally Delilah had never spoken to Boyd before. They've had a couple of classes together in the past but that was all. Boyd had always been a bit of a lone wolf (ha! Isaac would be rolling his eyes but feel proud of Delilah's little pun). He seemed like a pretty laid back guy and he looked like a pretty laid-back guy and he looked like he could use some company. With her best smile, Delilah made her way past the crowd and over to Boyd's table.
"Hi, Boyd," she said cheerfully.
His head lifted up and he looked at Delilah with a confused expression. "Uh... hello?"
"Mind if I sit here with you?" Delilah asked.
"I... I guess not..." Boyd said slowly.
"Cool! Thanks." Delilah sat across from the bulky teen and pulled a brown paper bag out of her book bag. "You probably don't remember me, do you?"
"Yeah, you're Delilah," Boyd nodded "You've been in a few of the same classes as me. Sorry if this sounds rude, but why are you sitting here?"
"I thought you looked a bit lonely over here. Plus it never hurts to make a new friend, right?"
"You don't have anyone else to sit with," Boyd accused.
Delilah cringed at the bluntness of his tone. "Maybe..." The darker boy raised his eyebrows. She covered her face with her hands and groaned. "Crap, now I feel like an asshole."
"Don't sweat it," Boyd said, waving it off, "I know you mean well. But I thought you were friends with those guys over there." He pointed to Delilah's old usual table with Annie and Trenton.
"Oh, no," the brunette sighed, "Not anymore. They aren't the kind of friends that I needed in my life. I'm just disappointed that it took me a while to realize that. The only people I really hang out with now are my boyfriend Isaac Lahey and Erica Reyes."
Boyd seemed to perk up when he heard this. "You're friends with Erica?"
"Yep. We've become really close lately. It sucks that she got sick during gym today. When she comes back from the hospital, I'll introduce you to her. I think you two would get along well."
Even though he didn't say anything, Delilah certainly didn't miss the way Boyd bashfully looked down and how red hues tinted his cheeks. If she didn't know any better, she would've assumed that someone had a little crush on Erica. She would be squealing in excitement but she didn't want to look like an idiot. But this was so cute! Erica had an admirer!
If those two get together, Delilah swore that she was going to lose her mind. Of course in a good way! Erica needed a boyfriend and to disregard her feelings for Stiles, who was still unavailable. Delilah could just picture her and Isaac going on double dates with them and gushing with Erica over how amazing their boyfriends were.
Whoa. Way to get ahead of yourself there, Delilah. Let's just start on actually getting them together first.
"You know, Boyd. If you want, I could put in the good word for you to Erica," she said with a smile.
"What?" Boyd shook his head frantically. "No, no. That really won't be necessary."
"Oh, come on! What's the worst that could happen? I think Erica would be flattered. And you'll never know how she feels if you don't ask."
"Look, Delilah, I appreciate your... enthusiasm over this, but I think it's best if you just stay out of it..." Boyd's voice died down when his eyes fell past Delilah. Furrowing her eyebrows, she turned around and her jaw immediately dropped.
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion when a curvaceous blonde strutted in the cafeteria. Although Delilah was one hundred percent straight, she would consider turning lesbian for her. She wasn't afraid to admit that this girl was undeniably hot. She was wearing a tight white shirt, matching black leather jacket and miniskirt, and leopard-print heels. Her blonde hair was voluptuous and shiny, features that every girl would kill to have. Did she just step out of Vogue magazine? She was flawless!
The girl passed by a table filled with boys and grabbed one of their apples. Seductively, she took a bite of it and walked away, leaving the boys gawking and most likely horny. When she reached Delilah and Boyd's table, she shot them a confident smile. It was something that Delilah had never thought she would ever see from this girl.
"Erica?"
Said girl winked and grinned at her best friend exiting the cafeteria. Delilah was absolutely speechless. But then a small smile broke out on her face when she put the pieces together on what had happened.
"Well, thank you, Derek Hale."
Because of all of the craziness that has happened with Dave Lahey being murdered, Isaac being arrested, and Delilah finding out her boyfriend's hairy secret, she never found the time to go grocery shopping. Her mom had picked up extra shifts at work and Lawrence was busy doing… whatever it was that he did all day, Delilah was the one responsible for most of the cooking and cleaning in the house. The refrigerator and pantry was beginning to look bare and Lawrence had definitely noticed. So after receiving a few bruises and even a cut on her lip, Delilah decided to stop procrastinating and make a trip down to the grocery store.
Right now she was in the cereal aisle, trying to find something that wasn't overly sugary. She finally come across a box of Honey Nut Cheerios- tasted good and was good for you. But to Delilah's dismay, it was on the top shelf and even when she stood on her toes, she couldn't reach it. She stretched as much as she could and her fingers barely brushed the box. Then another arm- which was clad in leather- reached up and grabbed it. Delilah turned around and her stomach flipped when she locked eyes with Derek Hale- the ex-wanted man.
He held the box to her and raised an eyebrow. "Were you trying to grab this?"
"Um… yeah," Delilah said nervously, taking the cereal from him, "Thanks." She tossed it in her cart and began to walk away.
"It's Delilah, right?"
Said girl stopped and looked back at the alpha. "Yeah, that's me. I'm sorry, did you need something?"
"No. I just don't think we've actually met before." He stuck his hand out. "Derek Hale."
"I know who you are," Delilah said, hesitantly shaking his hand, "Isaac had told me about you. Where is he anyway? I thought he was supposed to be with you since he's in hiding."
"He's staying with a friend of mine," Derek told her, "Don't worry. Her place is stable so Isaac's in good hands with her."
This had Delilah sighing in relief. "That's good."
"Yeah." Derek shoved his hands in his pockets. "So Isaac had told me about your epileptic friend. What was her name again? Erica?" Delilah nodded. "He told me that you suggested me turning her."
"I thought it could help her," the brunette said, "I'm just so tired of seeing her suffer and being picked on all the time just because she's sick. With the bite, she won't be sick anymore. And maybe she'll finally be happy. She deserves that."
Derek seemed surprised by the teenager's words. "You seem to really care about her."
"No one should have to live with being put down all the time. Especially those who are innocent. I guess that's why I didn't get so mad at Isaac when he told me what was going on. How could I be? Although things didn't turn out the way he would have necessarily wanted them to, at least he's away from his monster of a dad."
"You do know that becoming a werewolf could put both of them in danger," Derek pointed out.
"I just want them to be happy…"
"What about you, Delilah? Are you happy? Honestly?"
That completely threw her off guard. What did Derek Hale care if the girlfriend of his beta was happy or not? It wasn't any of his concern.
But it did have Delilah thinking. Was she happy? There were some great aspects in her life. She had the most amazing boyfriend she could ask for, she finally found a friend that wasn't a judgmental and egotistical jerk, and she was gifted dancer. There wasn't a lot to complain about.
However, at the end of the day, Delilah still had to go home and deal with her trashed mother and stepfather that was always out to get her. So in the end, which parts of her life outweighed the others?
"It could be a lot worse," Delilah finally admitted.
"And how long are you planning on waiting for things to get worse?" Derek asked, "It's gonna get harder for you to come up with excuses for your injuries. Including that busted lip."
Delilah's hand flew up to cover her cut. "I- I just fell down the stairs."
"See, even if I wasn't a werewolf, I could tell that you were lying. You're not as convincing as you think you are. Neither is any of your family."
Right then Delilah could feel her heart drop. He knew. Derek freakin' knew her secret. How?
"What did Isaac tell you?" Delilah asked accusingly.
"He didn't have to tell me anything," Derek shrugged, "Your body language and voice gave it away. That's how Isaac was before the bite. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you wear long sleeves to hide your personal punishment." The brunette just looked down, feeling exposed and embarrassed. "I know you dedicate your life to putting others' happiness before yours. Maybe it's time for you to start putting yourself first for once. Think about that."
And with a blink of an eye, Derek was gone, leaving Delilah as confused as ever. Suddenly, she felt incredibly stupid. Did everyone know about her? First Jackson, now Derek. While Jackson wasn't the brightest bulb out there, he was able to discover what demons she was hiding. He might've been the first person to actually confront her about it, but that was a warning that maybe her other classmates knew, too. Delilah thought she had been so good at keeping this to herself. Clearly she was so wrong.
Then Derek started going all Yoda on her, minus the mixed-up language. 'Start thinking of yourself more'… What the hell was that supposed to imply? That she was allowing people to walk all over her? Yeah, Delilah was a nice person. So what? That was more than what she could say for most people in this town. Earlier events had proved that to her. Delilah liked making people happy. It made her feel good, like she was doing something right. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Right?
Delilah entered the school the next day feeling surprisingly really good. Seeing Erica looking so fierce and actually happy made the brunette feel like she was unstoppable. She had finally done something to make someone's life better. There was no better feeling than that. Because of this positive mood, Delilah decided to wake up a little earlier than usual and put a bit more effort into her appearance. Her outfit of the day consisted of a pink ombre maxi dress, a cream colored cardigan, and tan sandals. Her wavy brown hair was let loose and had more body to it than usual. For the first time in a long time, Delilah really felt... pretty. It was nice.
When she got to her locker, Erica was standing there, still wearing that badass leather jacket. Maybe Delilah should invest in one of those. It was definitely a showstopper. Anyway, Erica noticed her best friend and beamed. She didn't even give Delilah time to think before she enveloped her in a huge hug.
"Someone's definitely feeling better," Delilah giggled.
Erica pulled away but placed her hand on her shoulders. "You... You really changed my life, you know that?"
Innocently, Delilah shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, shut up," Erica giggled, "Don't think I don't know that you were the one who told Derek Hale to turn me. And now because of you, I feel so happy and free and..." She let out a sigh of content. "I haven't felt this way in a long time. And I have you to thank for that."
"It was seriously the least I could do. You've been suffering for so long and I couldn't bare to stand by and not do anything about it anymore. You deserve nothing but the best and if turning you was the best way to do that, then so be it."
Both girls felt like they could cry out of sheer joyful. Erica pulled Delilah back in another hug. "Seriously, you are the most amazing friend I have ever had, bar none. How could I ever repay you?"
"There's no need to do," Delilah assured her, "Just seeing you like this is repayment enough."
"Yeah right. I totally owe you one." They laughed as they pulled away from each other. "I should get going to my first class. If I get there early, I could probably talk one of boys in there to lend me there notes."
No surprise that Erica was already using her newfound confidence and hotness to her advantage. A little deceiving, but Delilah found it sort of funny.
"Alright, you little heartbreaker," she laughed, "I'll see you later then."
"For sure!"
The brunette smiled to herself when she watched Erica walked away. Yep. Delilah had done good. All she needed to do was keep this excellent vibe up and she was going to have an amazing day.
She opened her locker to take out some books when she felt her phone vibrating in her cardigan pocket. She set her books down to take out her phone. The smile on her face widened when she read the text from her boyfriend.
To: Delilah Lambert
Feeling a little naughty today? ;)
Biting her bottom lip, Delilah texted him back.
To: Isaac Lahey
That depends ;) What do you have in mind?
To: Delilah Lambert
I was thinking you cutting class, some breakfast from Jane's, and spending the day by our spot. How does that sound?
Hmm... that seemed pretty intriguing. And a little scary to be honest. Delilah had never skipped school before for any reason other than being sick. She was a 'model student' after all. But right now, the thought sounded appealing. Getting to hang out with her boyfriend over sitting through another boring lecture in Harris's class... seemed like a pretty sweet deal to Delilah.
To: Isaac Lahey
AMAZING! :D But how are we gonna pull that off?
To: Delilah Lambert
Come out through the back and you'll find out :P
After scoping around the area to see if anyone was paying attention to her, Delilah managed to escape through the back doors of the school. Standing next to a white Cadillac was Isaac, wearing a leather jacket and a smirk that was so unfamiliar to the brunette but still so sexy. His smirk instantly turned into a full-blown smile when he looked up and down at Delilah. The color of her cheeks turned pink under her boyfriend's gaze.
"Well, don't you look beautiful today," Isaac commented, "Not that you never look beautiful. But right now, you look radiant."
"I just felt like dressing up for once," Delilah said, "You like it?"
"I love it." Isaac cupped his girlfriend's cheek and kissed her deeply.
"So, how exactly am I supposed to get out of school without being suspicious?" Delilah asked after their lips parted.
Isaac whipped out his phone. "Leave that all to me, baby." He punched in a few numbers and then held the phone up to his ear. "Hello, this is Lawrence Porter, Delilah Lambert's stepfather."
The voice Isaac used to portray Lawrence was just too spot-on. It took everything in Delilah to not crack up at his faux deep voice. She slapped her hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter.
Trying not to break character, Isaac placed a finger over his lips before continuing his act. "Yes, unfortunately, Delilah has caught a bad case of food poisoning last night and has been sick since then. I'm afraid that she won't be attending school today. If you have any further, feel free to call me at (245) 584-3487. Thank you very much for understanding. Have a good day, sir."
"Oh my god," Delilah laughed, "That was awesome! Who knew that you were such a gifted actor?"
"I'm a man of many talents," Isaac chuckled, slipping his phone back in his pocket, "It was about time I put them into use. And the good thing about being on the lacrosse is you get everyone's number. Now Greenberg's most likely going to be receiving many phone calls today." This sent the both of them into another fit of giggles. "So are you ready to go?"
"Yes, I am." They hopped into the car and buckled up. Isaac then put the car into gear and drove away from the school. "How exactly are we supposed to get breakfast from Jane's Spot? You're supposed to be in hiding."
"Lucky for me, Anabelle was more than willing to help me plan the day out, hence the car." Isaac gestured to the large paper bag in the backseat. "She had gone into the diner earlier and got the food for us. Of course I paid for it, even though Anabelle said she had no problem with spending her money on us. I think she has a bit of a soft spot for young love."
"I ran into Derek last night at the market and he told me that you were staying with her," Delilah said, "That is incredibly generous of her to take you in."
"She's been very kind to me. Almost like a mother figure. It's been so long since I've had anything like that so I'm extremely grateful for that."
With a smile, Delilah laced her fingers with Isaac's. "Even with your cool new attitude, you're still a big softy."
"Careful now," the blond joked, "I don't wanna lose my bad boy reputation." Delilah shook her head but laughed.
About ten minutes later, the couple ended up at their spot by the pond in the woods. Isaac had laid a blanket down (courtesy of Anabelle) for them to sit on. When they got comfortable, he pulled out containers filled with pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, mixed fruit, and apple juice. Good thing Delilah had skipped out on breakfast again this morning because this was a lot of food and it all looked delicious!
They spent about twenty minutes eating their breakfast in a comfortable silence. All of the food was gone by the time they both decided they were full and couldn't have another bite. After all of the trash was put back into the paper bag, Isaac lied down on his back while Delilah rested her head on his broad chest. He stroked her hair as they looked up at the clouds in the sky and listened to the minimal sounds nature had to offer.
"You know, I've never ditched before," Delilah said after a while, "It's kinda exciting. It gives you an adrenaline rush. Makes me wanna maybe do it again later in the future."
"I take you out of school one time and you're already turning into a rebel," Isaac teased, "Am I becoming a bad influence on you, Miss Delilah Lambert?"
She giggled. "No. It's just relieving breaking the rules once in a while. I've always been known as the goody two shoes. Everyone expects me to be perfect all the time and it can be stressful. I like be able to not care what everyone else thinks and do whatever I want whenever I want."
"That's understandable," Isaac said, "Just try not to make it a daily habit, alright? I don't want to see you on the news because you robbed a bank."
"Shut up," Delilah laughed, smacking his arm.
But he just also laughed it off. She pushed herself up so she was rest on her elbows and staring down at the breathtaking blond boy next to her. Reaching up, Isaac tucked her soft brown waves behind her ear.
"What else is on your mind, beautiful?" he asked softly.
"I really miss you," Delilah admitted, "It sucks that I went from being able to see you every day to, like, twice a week."
"Yeah, I know," Isaac sighed, "You're the only reason why I miss going to school. We didn't have to hide anything from anyone. Now we have to sneak around just to make sure neither one of us get caught. But if this is the price I have to pay... then I would take seeing you only twice a week to not seeing you at all."
Delilah hummed in agreement. "When do you think you'll be back?"
"As soon as I'm proven innocent. That could take days, weeks, or even months. Hopefully sooner rather than later."
"It will be. I know that you'll get your name cleared in no time. And when that time comes, you and me are gonna have a huge celebration." Delilah lowered her head so she could plant a kiss on her boyfriend's lips.
When she pulled away, a sly grin was etched on his face. "Why wait until then?" He then flipped her over so now he was the one on top.
"Isaac!" the brunette shrieked when started peppering kisses on her face and neck, "Stop it! That tickles!"
"You know you love it," Isaac said cockily as he continued to kiss her, "Just like I love you."
"Has being a werewolf caused you to be even cornier?"
"I don't know. Is that a bad thing?"
"If it was another girl, then it probably would be." Delilah smiled as she caressed Isaac's cheek. "But it's a good thing that I love you too much to care." With that, the teenagers continued on with their day of nothing but love and affection.
After enjoying a fantastic day with Isaac, he dropped Delilah off back at the school just when the last bell had rung. They shared one last kiss and exchange of I love you's before Delilah departed and snuck into her own car to go home. Neither her mother nor Lawrence were at the house yet, so she figured that she could get a head start on dinner. After changing out of her clothes into and oversized grey sweater and maroon shorts, Delilah began prepping a spaghetti dinner.
She had just placed the garlic bread in the oven when Lawrence walked in. For once, Delilah wasn't feeling so nervous around her stepfather. Other than the fact that she got to see her boyfriend, all of her chores were done, the pantry was stocked, and Isaac's phone call to the school was so convincing that the principal wouldn't know that she really skipped. Everything was going surprisingly well so far.
"Hi," Delilah greeted with a smile (she couldn't even remember the last time she had smiled at him and wasn't fake about it), "How was work?"
"Fine," Lawrence grumbled, "When's dinner gonna be ready? I'm fuckin' starving."
"I just put in the garlic bread so after about ten minutes everything should be finished. Why don't you go rest for a bit? I'm sure you had a long day today."
Lawrence narrowed his beady eyes at her. "You seem to be very happy right now. What's up with you?"
Delilah shrugged her shoulders and said, "I just woke up this morning in a good mood. Today has been nice to me."
"Whatever. I'm gonna be upstairs. Call me down when dinner's ready."
Then he walked out of the room. Delilah continued to cook the food for a bit longer. Delilah continued to cook the food for a bit longer, humming softly to herself. When everything was finished she turned the stovetop and oven off and filled both her and Lawrence's plates with food. She wiped her hands off with a hand towel as she called Lawrence down. But he never came down. She tried calling him again and she still received no response. So Delilah placed the towel on the counter and went upstairs.
"Lawrence?" she repeated for the umpteenth time, "Is everything alright?" She walked past her room to see that it was wide open. Much to her surprise, Lawrence was glaring down at something he was holding. "What are you doing in here..."
In his hands was a box of condoms. Opened. It was the same box Delilah had stuffed in the back of her nightstand drawer. Her face paled. Every positive feeling Delilah had vanished completely and was replaced with terror. She was definitely in for it now.
"You've been fucking the Lahey kid?" Lawrence growled out, not taking his eyes off the box.
"It's not like that, Lawrence," Delilah said, "Let's just sit down, have dinner, and we can talk about this, okay?" She went to step out of the room but Lawrence grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back in the room.
He slammed the door shut and pressed Delilah against it. "You've been sneaking around with him, haven't you? After I told you that you were never allowed to see him again. And not only that, you've been fucking a fugitive in my house!"
"Just let me explain, please," Delilah begged. But her stepfather wrapped his beefy hand around her neck to prevent her from talking anymore.
"You've always been a bad girl, Delilah," Lawrence told her, "And just when I think you couldn't take things further, you prove me wrong. And you're gonna get it. Boy, aren't you gonna get it tonight."
"Lawrence, please-"
"Stop talking!"
He threw the box, knocking the lamp on the nightstand to the floor. Delilah's breath hitched at the sound of the glass breaking. When Lawrence's rotten breath hit her face, she tried to turn her head away but he just tightened his hold on her neck. There were going to be some nasty bruises from that in the morning.
"Listen and listen to me good, okay, whore?" Lawrence seethed in her face, "I could call the cops and have them throw the boy back in jail, but I honestly don't think that won't really be that effective of a punishment for you. So I have another idea in mind. By the time I'm done with you, you will never wanna have sex with any boy ever again."
Delilah's eyes widened. "What... what are you gonna do to me?"
The wolffish grin that stretched across Lawrence's face envied the one from Derek at the police station the other day. Actually, it was much more frightening. Worse than Delilah had ever seen from him. And these next few words he spat out chilled her to the bone.
"I'm gonna ruin you, Delilah Rose Lambert."
Then he pulled her by her hair and threw her onto her bed. Delilah attempted to get away but Lawrence had already pinned her arms above her head to prevent her from doing so. A cry escaped her lips when her body squirmed underneath his and his nails pressed harder in her wrists. His nails were so sharp that she was certain that he had drawn blood from her. Tears had already started pouring out and the extremely too close proximity between Delilah and her stepfather's bodies made her stomach queasy.
Keeping one hand around her wrists, Lawrence reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small object. He pushed the button on the handle and the blade of his pocket knife sprung out. In one swift motion, he sliced open Delilah's sweater, followed by her shorts. Then he ripped the ruined clothes off her and tossed them to the floor, leaving the girl in only her bra and underwear. Lawrence raised one of her arms up to get a good look at his stepdaughter's cuts.
"Would you look at that?" he chuckled darkly, "I guess my punishment's haven't been enough for you so you have to do it yourself. Well, why don't you let me help you with that?"
Lawrence pressed the knife against the skin and began carving away on her body. The sharp blade made Delilah scream. What made the cutting worse was that whenever she jolted from movements of the knife, it would dig deeper into her. It wasn't like Lawrence was doing it like how Delilah always did. No, whatever he was doing felt more complex. Especially when he started cutting into other parts of her body, like her other arm, chest, stomach, and thighs.
"Don't fight me," Lawrence seethed, "It'll only get worse."
So much blood was being lost that the brunette was getting a little woozy. She didn't even have to see it- she could just feel the liquid pooling underneath her and staining her underwear and sheets. If Delilah survived from the amount of blood loss, then there was a guardian angel watching over her.
By the time Lawrence was finished slicing her skin, Delilah's eyes were blinded by her tears. Just the slightest movement set her on fire and it was too much to handle.
However, she could tell that the monster straddling her was nowhere near done with her. What more torture could he possibly do? Seeing her crumble from his knife wasn't satisfying enough for him?
Apparently not.
Still managing to keep Delilah underneath him, Lawrence flipped her over so she was lying on her stomach. Her open wounds rubbed against the sheets, making her wince. Before she knew it, Lawrence had literally tore her panties off. She felt so exposed and she wasn't even fully naked. Also Isaac had seen everything and they had made love to each other! But Delilah knew that this was nowhere near the same thing.
His hands were large and rough against her bare skin. Every touch made Delilah feel so sick. Never in her life had she felt so violated and she didn't know how much more she could take. Then she heard Lawrence unzipping his jeans and pulling them down so his lower half was out on display. Good thing Delilah couldn't see him because if she did, she definitely would have thrown up. Lawrence reached down to the floor to grab a condom.
"Might as well practice safe sex," he snickered evilly as he unwrapped the condom and slid it over his dick. He stroked himself a few times to get harder. "Since all you've been with are boys, let me show you how a real man fucks."
That was the only warning Delilah got before her stepfather shoved himself inside of her as swiftly and hard as he could. A loud scream ripped out of her throat, nothing but agonizing pain shooting up her core. Lawrence was in no means small. Definitely bigger than Isaac. He dug his blunt nails into her hips before pounding away like a mad man.
Delilah didn't even bother to fight back, even when he pulled on her now tangled hair and brought her up to her knees. She couldn't. If she did, the abuse would get even worse. Possibly leading to death! So she had no choice but to just accept it with tear-stained cheeks. That didn't make this situation better though.
No matter how messed up it was, the brunette couldn't help but compare Lawrence and Isaac. Isaac- her sweet and loving Isaac- was always gentle with her. Always showering her with affection, placing passionate kisses on her lips, and whispering how much her loved her. Everything about the moments they shared together was nothing short of perfect. They didn't have sex. They made love.
But this... this wasn't making love. Hell, this wasn't even sex. This was way beyond fucked up. It was grimy. It was filthy. It was taboo.
This was abuse kicked up to the point Delilah had never expected even a man like Lawrence to go. This really was hell.
Lawrence's attack went on to what felt like hours. It had to end at some point though. Thank god. When he finally reached his twisted release, he pulled out of Delilah. She immediately collapsed back down on her stomach, her weak knees giving out on her. The bed shifted when Lawrence finally got off. He threw the soiled condom in the trash bin and tucked himself back in his jeans.
"Next time you see Isaac," he spat out, he's gonna know exactly what happened. He'll be so disgusted with you that he's gonna want nothing to do with you. No one will want you. No one will love you. You'll be reminded of that every time you look in the mirror and see the worthless piece of shit you really are. Who would ever want a girl as fucked up as you? Not even a sleazy fugitive would love you after realizing just how damaged you are. Think about that the next time you wanna go behind my back and disobey me."
After one last slap to her face, Lawrence left the room.
Numb. She was just so numb. Every ounce of Delilah's body was rid of any sort of feeling. And she couldn't move anything. She didn't have the energy to try. All she could do was lay there like a lifeless doll and hopelessly wait for someone to maybe rescue her. It was all wishful thinking.
Isaac. Delilah wanted nothing more at that moment than to be wrapped up in Isaac's arms and have him take the emotional pain away if not the physical. She needed to hear his soothing voice to tell her that everything was going to be okay.
But why the hell would he want her now? Lawrence was right. She was nothing. Just broken pieces that no one would dare pick up. Once Isaac finds out what had happened, he would never want to see or speak to her again. That thought made Delilah's body wrack with silent but powerful sobs. Isaac deserved so much better than her. He shouldn't be dragged into this mess. It killed her to think this way, but it was the truth.
Eventually, the crying tired Delilah out and her eyelids grew heavy. She was soon able to slip into unconsciousness, naked and soaked in blood. This time, she hoped that she wouldn't wake up in the morning and tonight's abuse would be the end of all of the misery she had been put through for years.
So yeah, this was an extremely rough chapter for Delilah. Poor thing... And remember that this is EXTREMELY important to this story and you'll find out why in the next chapter.
I really hope this was a good enough chapter for you all! PLEASE review and let me know what you think! Also be sure to check out my other stories Awake And Alive, No One Else, and Dream A Little Dream Of Me. Hopefully I be updating those this month. I most likely will.
I was asked if I was going to go through the whole Isaac and Allison fling that occurs throughout season 3. I've been going back and forth on this subject constantly. I honestly really don't want to have Isaac and Allison hook up. I thought it was dumb in the show (sorry to those who do like Isaac and Allison together!). Also I already have something planned for Isaac and Delilah in season 3 that's gonna really affect them and it would be pretty messed up to add Allison into the mix. But there is going to be a male OC that will spice things up for the gang and could potentially be a love interest for her. He'll only be present in season 3 so it won't totally throw off the plots of the show.
If you guys have anymore questions about any of my stories, feel free to ask me! Until then, I'll be sure to update soon! xoxo, Maddie :)