11. Delilah
Chapter eleven
Delilah
L ooking at myself one last time in my mirror, I sighed. Please. Please get through the day...
I silently begged myself, as it had been a few days since my kiss with Archer, and since I’d been to the academy, I hadn’t seen him in any of my recent classes...
Not that I was secretly waiting for him in every class we shared to see if he would notice me or discuss the other night. Yeah, I was definitely not waiting for him.
Hearing a knock, I turned to see Benjamin standing by the door.
“Good morning, Delilah. You missed breakfast.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Woke up a little late, is all,” I responded, and he hummed.
“You’ve missed breakfast for the last two days in a row... I can only assume you woke up late for those days, too,” he remarked, and I averted my eyes unconsciously as his gaze on me was starting to shift.
He cleared his throat. “Kimiko is waiting for you outside. Your father told me to send his regards as he left for work early this morning, and if you wish, you may bid your mother goodbye. She is downstairs with the twins.”
I nodded my head and grabbed my things. My heels clicked as I walked to the door and past him.
“Thank you, Benny. I’ll see you later this afternoon.”
Just before I descended the stairs, he said, “Think twice about what you’re doing, Delilah… It may be a good idea to consider whether your father would approve or not.”
I stopped in my tracks abruptly, and my throat went dry.
I looked over my shoulder to Benjamin. He still stood at the door of my room with a knowing look, and he looked right through me.
I gulped. “I’ll see you this afternoon, Benjamin.”
I turned away and walked down the stairs. Gosh! Is there anything that butler cannot catch up on? It should be illegal for him to know so much.
Maybe he doesn’t know?
…Who am I kidding? Of course he does. It’s Benjamin. He and Reginald can’t function normally without knowing everything about everyone’s business.
I groaned internally, only now realizing Reginald could know of this. He was on a different spectrum of nosey.
Going with my clearly optimistic side, I thought nothing of it as I walked into the dining room to see the twins giggling as their food was no longer on their little trays but scattered on the floor and my mother’s shirt. She sighed heavily, and I walked over to start helping clean the floor. She looked over and gave me a small smile.
“You don’t have to, sweetheart. You have school,” she said, but from the tone of her voice, I knew she was grateful.
“It’s okay, Mom. You look like you’ve seen better days…” I muttered, and she nodded, her fingers rubbing against her temples.
“This morning wasn’t off to a great start; your father has been on edge lately, and trying to calm him, get a full night’s rest, and tend to the children while Benjamin and Reginald are busy is a hassle,” she said, and I could tell she was tired.
Reginald walked into the room as he dried his hands off, and tsked at my mother.
“Now you listen here. You are going to march up those stairs, hop in the rose petal bath I set, and get into bed for a nap. I thought I told you to call Benjamin to watch over the little ones.”
My mother pouted as I hid my smile. Ever since this pregnancy with the twins, they’d been babying her, much to her dismay.
“B-but you were washing dishes, and Ben was upstairs, and I just wanted to help,” she tried to reason, but he shook his head.
“These children already run you wild during the night when we’re not here. You can barely keep your eyes open, and Mr. Russel is not making things any easier. Trust me, I know. Now, upstairs. I don’t want to hear another word.”
Mom sighed as she stood up and gave him a genuine smile.
“Thank you, Regi.”
He scoffed. “What are you thanking me for? The bath is getting cold. Chop chop!” he said dramatically, and Mom kissed my forehead before going up the stairs.
I looked over to Reginald, who was paying me no mind as he began wiping Trinity’s face.
“If I were you,” he began, “I would just head to school. I’d rather not discuss the fact I may know something I don’t need to know.”
I quickly turned and ran for the door. I closed it behind me and looked to see Kimiko standing at the car with an irritated look on her face. I speed-walked over to her, and she scoffed.
“About time you showed—”
I spoke in a low tone, cutting her off. “I think Benjamin and Reginald know what happened the night of the auction.”
Kimiko stared at me as if she couldn’t believe it. “They know?” she whispered, and I sighed.
“Yes. Maybe? I don’t know. They were just acting weird—” I began, and we both went quiet as George exited the car and came over to open the door for us.
I smiled at him. “You didn’t have to, George... We were eventually going to get in.”
He gave me a knowing look. “Keyword: eventually , Delilah.”
We thanked him as we entered the car, and he returned to the front. He pulled off, and Kimi and I stayed quiet as tension was building in the car. Feeling it, George sighed as he lifted the partition and blocked himself from our conversation.
We looked back at each other simultaneously, and she was the first to speak.
“You could be overthinking this... Maybe they know something else?” she said, trying to reason otherwise, but we both didn’t want to admit what could be true.
“They noticed my change in routine. They know something is up,” I muttered, and she rolled her eyes.
“Can’t they occupy their time with other things than the personal lives of other people?”
“Unfortunately, their job description must require them to be overly involved in everyone else’s business,” I muttered, shaking my head.
Eventually, we reached the school grounds, and George opened the door for us to step out. I thanked him one last time, and we made our way inside to our classes.
“What do you want to do for our free period?” I asked Kimi as I walked her to her first class, which was on the way to my first.
She made a face. “Actually... The board has shifted my free period to be when I meet with a few council members so we can have meetings as frequently as possible.”
“Oh,” I said softly, and the mood instantly shifted.
Kimiko stopped walking and grabbed my arm softly.
“I’m sorry, Dee. I know we haven’t spent much time together, but—”
I shook my head. “It’s okay, Kimi, really. You’re literally the president now. I can’t have you all to myself now, can I? You have the whole school to worry about now.”
“You know I’ll worry about you first, Delilah. What will you do in that time?” she asked, and I shrugged.
“I could go study in the library or do something else. It doesn’t matter; I’ll be fine, Kim-Kim,” I said, and she gave me a sad smile as she hugged me and entered her class.
“I’ll see you in a few.”
I nodded and walked to my class, holding back a sigh.
I’ll be fine.
A few hours went by, and I entered the library to do a bit of studying. I loved Kimi to death, and I didn’t want her to feel bad about not coddling me. So I had to suck it up, despite me missing her protectiveness as we roamed the halls together.
Sitting on one of the tables designated for studying, I unpacked my things and opened my laptop to begin. I heard someone sigh heavily, and I couldn’t help but turn to look in their direction for a split second. I wasn’t expecting to see Brad, the former president, sitting with piles of work. I stood up and walked over to him slowly.
“Hey, Brad,” I said, and he looked up at me as if he hadn’t slept in days. My heart sank. “What’s the matter? You look exhausted,” I asked.
He looked around the room for a moment to see if anyone was near, then he responded, looking back at me, “I’m paying Luca’s price for not winning the election.”
I took a seat beside him. “What do you mean, paying the price?”
“I-I’m not really supposed to say...” he said, trying to look back at the book before him, but I closed it quickly, causing him to jump.
“What do you mean?” I asked harshly, and he hesitated, but my gaze ultimately caused him to crack.
“My family... doesn’t have much money. I was lucky to be good at managing and computer science to score a spot in the school, but it wasn’t the most fun being here at my rank. I was thankful to have financial assistance to pay for the school, but Luca thought of me as nothing more than a burden. He made my life a living hell until there was an election, and he gave me a proposition that was hard to say no to,” Brad said, and I nodded to let him know I was still listening.
“Each president had been one from wealth, and if someone like me could win office, I could put hope into the students that we could change the system, and those of ‘lower class’ could do more than sit there. Luca wanted nothing to do with that; he wanted control in the school, and who better to demand it from than someone he could fit into the palm of his hand? In return for me playing him as president, he would grant me immunity from his cruel ways, and I accepted it as quickly as the offer came. He made sure I did everything he wanted me to do with no question, and I always obliged… Then Kimiko came along. She actually wanted change. She had the money, resources, mindset, knowledge, courage… everything I lack. It was no surprise to me that she won, so now Luca put me back at square one, and I’m doing the work that he has scheduled for the next two weeks.”
“Brad,” I whispered, not knowing much else to say, and he sighed.
“The school board doesn’t care about people like me; all they want is ‘diversity.’ They simply care to say that they accept all kinds of students, regardless of wealth, but for what they can offer, which is the farthest from the truth. Being president gave them more reason to express how ‘diverse’ their school was. Why would I jeopardize any of it? Thankfully, my family is doing much better, and my father’s business is growing rapidly, but that doesn’t change anything in their eyes or Luca’s. We’re all the same.”
I sighed. “Brad, you know this isn’t right,” I muttered, and he shrugged.
“I appreciate the sentiment, Delilah… but it’s best I keep my head down to just get by.”
“If only Luca could keep his mouth shut and do the same,” I muttered, annoyed, and Brad could smile at my choice of words, a small glimmer of amusement in his tired eyes.
“Well, don’t you have a way with words?” We heard a voice, and I sighed in annoyance, looking to the other side of the table to see Luca and his posse. He strolled over to us, and I stood up and folded my arms, looking directly up at him.
“You’re disgusting,” I fired, and he chuckled.
“I hope that wasn’t an insult. If it was, you’re adorable,” he said, and I ignored Brad’s blatant stare as he watched our interaction.
“He shouldn’t have to do your work just because your brain compacity can only take so much.”
Luca bit his lip, and I felt his arm snake around my body. He pulled me unbearably close to him.
“Be nice, doll. No need to be upset.”
“Get your hands off of me,” I seethed, and he chuckled as he tightened his grip on me. Brad’s eyes widened, and I could see the fear in them as he watched our confrontation.
Luca’s grip remained firm and possessive, and the smell of his cologne was overpowering.
“Feisty today, aren’t we?” he murmured, his voice low and dangerous by my ear.
Summoning all my strength, I pushed him away from me successfully. Standing firm, I looked him directly in the eyes.
“If you had a moral compass, I’d tell you you should be ashamed of yourself.”
He scoffed. “Brad and I had an agreement, and it came to an end. It’s as simple as that. He knew the consequences of not winning.”
“You will leave him alone, Luca. He’s a person, just like you. He doesn’t need to submit to you.”
Luca’s face turned into one of anger as he glared at me. “He is nothing like me. Weak, poor, worthless, and pathetic is what he is, and he should be reminded of where his place is in this world. You obviously still haven’t learned yours,” he said, lowering his voice.
I looked over to Brad. “Let’s go,” I said to him, and he gulped slightly as he looked from Luca to me, back and forth.
“I-I don’t t-think—” he started, but I gave him a look, and he didn’t say anything as he quickly grabbed his things and stood up.
Luca chuckled as he looked me up and down. “Killian Russel’s daughter doing charity work… never thought I’d see the day.” He glanced over to Brad. “You’re safe for now, Williams. Be thankful Ms. Russel was here to play the hero… Who knows, soon enough, she may even dig herself a hole as deep as yours.” With that, he and his entourage left the room, leaving Brad staring at me in stunned silence.
I looked away from him as I went to grab my things. So much for trying to study.
“What the hell was that?” he asked, his tone a mix of confusion and awe.
“I saved you from Luca, at least for the time being. You should be grateful,” I replied, trying to sound nonchalant.
“I know that! But what I don’t get is how you managed to tell Luca Crawford what to do, and he actually listened!” Brad whisper-yelled, his eyes wide.
“I’d hardly call any of that listening,” I said with a sigh.
“He listens to you more than he does to anyone else.”
“And what’s your point, Brad?” I shot back, my patience wearing thin.
“You really don’t get it, do you?” He looked at me as if I’d missed some crucial revelation.
“Don’t get what? At this point, it feels like everyone knows everything except me!” I snapped.
“You’ve dug yourself a grave,” Brad said, his expression serious.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my frustration mounting.
“You may think that what you’re doing will stop Luca, and sure, it might for a bit. But he’ll come after you—if he hasn’t already,” Brad warned.
I rolled my eyes as I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed for the door. “Once again, Brad, you’re welcome.”
I exited the library and stopped, as the boy from my first day was standing right outside the library—only this time, it looked like he was waiting for me. He also didn’t look angry, more confused, but I wasn’t in the mood to run after him for the hundredth time.
“I don’t have time for this,” I muttered as I went around him and walked to my next class.