27. Omniscient
Chapter twenty-seven
Omniscient
Ten Years Ago
D elilah walked to her father as he sat speaking to Uncle Blaine and Uncle Shin. They were celebrating her ninth birthday, and the party was relatively small… well, as small as Brielle could convince Killian to make it.
“Daddy,” Delilah began, and he looked over to her with a smile.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
She glanced over at her uncles for a split second before looking back to her father. “Mom says you need to stop talking so much and come help her welcome the guests that you decided to invite. She knows it’s not all your fault because she knows Uncle Blaine was talking to you.”
“I’m offended,” Blaine said as he looked away, and Killian sighed.
“You’re always offended, Blaine. Tell her I’ll be over in a moment, darling.”
Delilah nodded and went over to Brielle, who stood inviting everyone in, but from the fake smile on her face, Delilah knew her mother was anything but happy.
Noticing Delilah returning, Brielle walked over to her with her two-year-old sister on her hip, and she giggled. “There’s the birthday girl!”
Delilah smiled as the guests wished her a happy birthday, and Brielle whispered in her ear, “Where is your father? It’s his fault I’m about to lose my sanity.”
Delilah held back a laugh as she heard her father’s voice, which was as cheerful as ever.
“Welcome, everyone! I’m sorry for my absence. Sweetheart, you should have called me over earlier,” he said, placing a kiss on Brielle’s head. “Please follow me. The party is being hosted in the back.”
The guests followed him out to the garden, and Brielle sighed. “I swear that man is bipolar. He has a different persona every time I see him.”
Delilah watched Benjamin as he froze at the door. Brielle directed her attention over and rolled her eyes as she heard Calvin’s voice.
“Are you not going to let me in, Alfred? I know you technically have a restraining order against me, but must we drag it out after so many years?”
Setting Ivory on the floor, Brielle approached the men as Delilah stayed with her sister. “Calvin, I thought I told you you could come if you were on your best behavior. Bullying Benjamin was undoubtedly not part of my agreement.”
Calvin sighed and entered as Vivienne came in with Stephan and Archer behind her.
“Thank you for the invite, Brielle. He will surely be on his best behavior, right, Cal?” Vivienne spoke with a sinister tone toward him, and Calvin raised his hands in surrender.
“Yes, yes! I understand.”
Benjamin examined the scene for a moment and looked over to Brielle. “Sir isn’t aware of the Lockwoods joining us for Delilah’s party, is he?”
Brielle sighed, and before she could speak, Calvin gasped.
“Killian has yet to know that I will taking part of today’s festivities? Excellent. Alfred, walk me over to the scene of the party, would you?”
Benjamin looked over to Brielle, who gave him an apologetic look and said, “Why don’t we all go? I could possibly diffuse the bomb that is likely going to go off.”
Vivienne agreed, and they walked past the foyer, only to see Delilah now sitting on the living room couch while Ivory sat on her lap.
“Why, hello, Kitten,” Calvin greeted, and Archer immediately looked up and locked eyes on Delilah. Avoiding eye contact with Archer, she looked over to Calvin.
“Hi, Calvin.”
“Happy birthday. I have a few presents for Alfred here to bring inside for you. It’s only right that I spoil my goddaughter.”
Vivienne rolled her eyes and pushed Calvin away from them as she smiled.
“Happy birthday, sweetie,” she said to Delilah, and Brielle walked over to the little girl as she picked up Ivory.
“Kimi should be back from violin practice in a little; you can say hi to the boys if you want to,” she said, leaving room for her to decline.
But wanting to get over the awkwardness, Delilah sighed. “I’ll say hi,” she replied, and Brielle kissed her forehead.
“All right, sweetie. I’ll see you in a little.”
She walked out of the room, and Delilah stood up as she looked to the ground.
Stephan rolled his eyes. “Hello. Happy birthday I guess… bye,” he finished and walked away to where the party was being held.
Archer stood still as he watched Delilah practically tremble. He approached her slowly, and she stepped back out of instinct.
He chuckled. “Where’s my hi, Princess ?” he asked her, but she knew better than his sweet tone. She bit her lip and played with her fingers as she immediately regretted her decision to stay and say hello.
“Hi, Archer.” She spoke softly, and he took another step closer to her, and instead of moving, she stood still. They stood in silence for a bit before she decided she’d had enough of the feeling of his stares.
She walked forward and moved to walk around him only to find her hand being caught in his. She stopped for a moment, and her breath hitched as he slowly pulled her beside him.
“Archer,” she said, and he hummed in response as his hand held hers in a grip that wouldn’t allow her to leave.
“You need to find a new partner for our upcoming project,” he said, and she looked over to him, finally making eye contact with him since he’d been there.
“What?”
“Colton; I don’t want him to be your partner,” he responded, and she rolled her eyes.
“He’s new and didn’t have anyone to be his partner.”
“I must’ve missed when I said that I cared about any of that. You said you didn’t want to be my partner, and I respect that… But I don’t like sharing. Work with someone else or work alone.”
Delilah went to speak but then heard a throat being cleared. They both looked over to see Reginald, who was looking clearly unimpressed.
“Kimiko has arrived from violin practice. Come along, Delilah.”
She pulled herself from Archer’s grip, which had now loosened, and walked over to Reginald. They made their way to the front door, and Delilah said nothing as all she could sense was the embarrassment that Archer had made her feel.
Kimiko stood at the door, waiting expectantly, and Reginald left the two of them as he went to tend to other matters concerning the party.
Kimiko spoke as Delilah hugged her. “Happy birthday—”
Delilah sighed as she cut her off. “Please don’t be mad,” she whispered, and her friend pulled away.
“Why would I be mad—” Kimiko stopped mid-sentence as she watched Archer saunter into the room, an expression of boredom written on his face. She pulled away from Delilah entirely and glared at Archer.
“What are you doing here? You weren’t even invited.”
He simply shrugged. “I beg to differ as my father was through the roof to see an invitation from Mrs. Russel herself.”
“And what did Mr. Russel have to say about that?” she asked, and as if on cue, Killian’s loud voice shook the entire home.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, LOCKWOOD!”
Grabbing Delilah’s hand, Kimiko glared at Archer for the final time. “See? Not invited.” She dragged Delilah away from him to which he could do nothing but watch with an unreadable expression.
“Thank you all for coming. It was nice to see you all!” Brielle said with a small smile to the last few guests who were now on their way out. She groaned heavily as she closed the door and watched Killian, Calvin, Shin, and Blaine sitting at the dining room table, going back and forth. Though it was always three against one, Calvin stood his ground and made up for the lack of assistance in going after the other three.
Meanwhile, Delilah sat outside with her dog in her lap as she watched her younger brother, Zachary, playing in the kiddie pool.
Someone took a seat beside her, and she looked over to see Archer staring off into the open yard.
“You’re afraid of me,” he stated rather than asked, and she sighed as she shrugged.
“You’re not exactly friendly.”
He didn’t say anything. He looked over to her for a moment, and she averted her gaze.
“You’re right. I’m not kind to anyone, but I make an effort with you, Princess.”
“Really? You make an effort?” she asked, clearly not impressed with his response, and he sighed.
“Delilah. You and I both know this is as far as an effort that I can make.”
She continued looking away from him as she puffed, “Well, you should try harder.”
He looked around for a short moment before gazing over at her once the coast was clear.
“...can I hold you?” he whispered, and she gulped softly as she made a move to scoot away, her heart racing as he watched her.
“T-that’s not a good idea.”
He grabbed her arm again, only this time more gently, as he made eye contact with her.
“Just for a little while. Our parents are busy; no one will know.”
She bit her lip for a second and eventually moved over to him. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his head in the crook of her neck. She leaned into his hold.
“You know I don’t mean to be harsh, Princess.”
She didn’t say anything, even as a small blush made its way to her face. Though Archer hadn’t always been mean or cruel to her, his jealous and overprotective behavior was what made her want to stay away. At times he was as kind as he could be, though his possessiveness or personality usually overpowered it.
Her dog remained comfortable on her lap despite Archer’s presence, and slowly, she could feel his hand slipping into hers. Her eyes glanced down at the hands that were beginning to intertwine, though she said nothing.
They sat in silence for a short while before they heard a throat clear. Getting ready to jump in fright, Delilah tried to move from Archer’s now unbreakable hold, but she relaxed slightly when she heard Benjamin’s voice.
Benjamin was well aware of their love-hate relationship but said nothing because a few things were better to be left unsaid.
“...Archer, your mother is calling for you,” Benjamin said.
Archer whispered in Delilah’s ear before he pulled away and stood: “Happy birthday.”
He gave Delilah one last glance before following Benjamin inside. Before entering the home, he glimpsed over his shoulder to see her back to him now, and he mouthed the words he’d longed to say to her.
“I love you…”