Chapter 17 #3
“Yeah, well.” Delia sniffs. “It was over so fast. The vampire vanished before I could do anything. Retreated like a coward to his nest of fellow killers. It took me a long time before I finally accepted Nico was gone for good.” Delia exhales a long breath.
“Which is when I found Hayden. Or maybe he found me.”
“You found each other,” I say.
Delia cocks her head at me, smiling faintly.
“I was a wraith. A void of a being. Just…empty. But then, when I met him, for the first time since losing Nico, I had”—Delia’s eyes shine—“hope. Like maybe there was still something left in this world for me. I’d never met anyone else who could remotely understand what it was like to lose Nico, and he had just lost you a second time.
What’s the saying? Misery loves company?
“Hayden was there for me in a way no one else had ever been. And so I’m there for him.
Every time he loses you, he…Jesus, Rose, he becomes a fucking mess.
I get it. Every time, my heart bleeds because, well, at least I only lost Nico once.
Watching him endure what I went through?
Over and over and over?” Delia’s voice trembles.
“Oh god.” I feel a wave of nausea wash over me.
“Don’t worry, I help him. Every time. I’m there for him. Just like he was there for me. He’s the little brother I never had. When he picked up my pieces, I swore I’d see him through this. It’s the least I could do. After all he’s done for me?” Delia’s eyes shimmer with emotion.
I’m feeling light-headed and heartsore. Everything inside me pulses tender and painful. This is so much. My entire universe keeps shattering and re-forming.
“I’m glad—so glad—he has you, Delia,” I say earnestly.
“Are you kidding? I don’t know what I’d do without him.” Delia smiles, a tiny, warm one.
“You must mean it. I can’t imagine you agreeing to babysit his silly little mortal otherwise.”
Delia’s eyes soften. She leans forward and puts her hand on mine.
“Ro, I volunteered. He was so anxious, wanting to stay away, finding it impossible to keep tabs on you when you got here. I asked if he wanted help, because I care about him.” Delia pauses.
“And then you and I met. And hung out. And…I don’t know.
It stopped feeling like a favor after a while.
” She leans back, eyeing me thoughtfully.
“Like I said before, you and I have never really hung out. Whenever he finds you, I let him have his time with you, as much as he can. Every time, I hope it’s for forever, longer than a year, but…
well.” Delia rubs her forehead. “I’ve seen you before, of course.
Sort of met you in passing. I never told Hayden this, but…
I always thought you were a boring little prude. ”
“Delia!” I drop my jaw, half offended. I hurl a stevia pack at her face and she nips it deftly out of the air between two fingers.
“Obviously, I don’t think that anymore.” She rolls her eyes. “Humans are so sensitive.”
“Me particularly so, I think.” I wince.
“Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.” Delia’s eyes roam my face before her expression falls grave.
She sits up straighter. “Rose, I know I joke a lot. But I want to promise you something. I’m gonna make sure we fix things this time, okay?
” Her voice is fervent. “If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll find a way to help make sure this time things are different.
” Delia reaches out, takes both of my hands. “I swear it.”
I squeeze her hands, choking back tears, overwhelmed with gratitude and love. Please don’t let me lose her either. I don’t want to lose either of them.
I don’t want to die.
“Okay,” I whisper.
“Okay.” Delia’s smile is as hopeful as a sunrise. It’s contagious, that hope, filling me with a pinkish glow. “Oh, and Rose? Go easy on Hayden. I know he’s been sort of an idiot to you this time around, but”—she sighs, exasperated—“don’t hold it against him. He’d die before he’d hurt you.”
“Delia,” I begin, “if he loves me so much, then why won’t he—”
“You girls need anything?”
I slam my mouth shut when the waitress appears at our table, beaming down at us, hands on her hips. She glances out the window, her eyes widening. “My god, it’s snowing.”
Delia and I look out the window. Sure enough, soft, powdery flakes are falling from the sky. I shoot her a questioning look. Are you doing this? Even Delia looks surprised. She shakes her head.
“Before you know it, it’s gonna be Christmas.
” The waitress eyes the trees, nearly bare as stripped bone.
“Girls, warning you now. The older you get, time just goes—” She snaps her manicured fingers.
I flinch at the sound as if it’s a gunshot.
“It’s gone before you know it.” She refills our waters and walks away.
When I glance back out the window, the oak tree’s very last leaf shivers off the branch. Delia and I watch it ride the snowy wind all the way to the grass.
“What were you asking me?” Delia eventually says.
“Never mind,” I say.
At this point, I’ve only got time enough to go straight to the source.