Until Delilah by Harlow Layne
Max
After four very longhours at the hospital, Delilah and Beckham are finally released. Although they might have to come back to receive rabies shots if we can’t find the dog that bit them. Hearing that news started another round of tears for Delilah. Not that I blame her. The night has been traumatic for everyone involved.
When I heard the gut wrenching scream she let out, my stomach dropped, and my feet raced out of the house before I had a chance to even comprehend what happened. And then when I saw poor Beck and his bloody head, my heart skipped a beat.
And damn if my heart didn’t ache for Delilah as she cried in my arms.
Now on the way back to my house, Delilah is leaning her head against the window looking at nothing with her puffy eyes while Beckham is asleep in the back.
I called my dad and told him the news once the nurses had reassured me both of them would be okay and had mentioned rabies. He and a few of the Mayson men are searching my property for the dog in question now. For Delilah’s sake, I hope they kept their women at home. I’m not sure if she can handle the full force of my family right now.
When we’re halfway home, Delilah breaks the silence. “After I get Beck in bed and I know he’s asleep, I’m going to call my parents to let them know what happened.”
It seems a little strange she’s telling me that. It’s perfectly normal to tell family when another member’s been hurt.
“They’re going to freak out and want to come right away.” She lets out a small puff of air making the window fog up. “I don’t want to cut their trip short.”
I can understand that, but family is more important than a vacation.
Carefully, I take her bandaged hand in mine. She has scrapes all along her arms from tree branches, but it’s the bite mark on her wrist I’m trying to avoid hurting. How had we not noticed she was bit as well? “They’ll be thankful you told them. Think about when Beckham is older. Do you want him to not call you when something big happens like today?”
“Oh, god, I don’t want to think of him as an adult and not living with me.”
“Eventually it will happen and when it does, you’ll want him to call you if or when he gets hurt.”
“You’re right, but I don’t want to think about it right now. It’s not only telling them about him getting hurt, but that we’re no longer in Mississippi and why. My dad is going to want to kill Bradley.”
“I don’t blame him. If I had the chance, I’d do bodily harm to him without blinking an eye,” I confess. I’ve thought about it more than once, and even thought about hiring a private detective to look into it, but thought better of it, at least for the time being.
Her hand under mine relaxes as she turns to look at me. “Please don’t do that. He’s not worth it.”
“He may not be worth it, but you are. I know you said he controlled you for years and through that, I believe he’s diminished your self-worth. You deserve to be cared for and loved, Delilah.”
Taking her hand from mine, she covers her face and lets out a few sniffles, but otherwise stays quiet until we reach my house. Pulling up my driveway, I notice a few trucks so they must not have found the dog yet. Once I pull the truck into my garage, I hop out to help Delilah and Beck out. I know she’d rather carry him, but I don’t want her to tear her stitches out when I can do the heavy lifting.
Only, once I get Beckham out of the back, Delilah still hasn’t moved from her spot in the truck. She continues to stare straight ahead until I open the door for her. The problem is, I don’t think she’s waiting for me to open it for her. She’s so deep in thought she hasn’t realized we’re here yet. If she wasn’t pregnant, I’d offer her a drink to help relax her, but unfortunately, I can’t.
We walk silently inside the house to the stairs. I notice some blood on the floor that I make a note to clean up before she has a chance to spot it. I stop at the top of the landing and wait for Delilah to catch up.
“After I put him in bed, I’m going to go out back and talk to my dad. He and a few of December’s cousins are here trying to find the dog. Will you be okay?”
She nods slowly, as if in a daze. I know they said they gave her some type of pain medicine that’s safe for the baby, but I’m not sure if it’s the meds, the situation, or what.
I lay Beckham down and he doesn’t move a muscle, too exhausted from the night. Turning, I expect to find Delilah hot on my heels, wanting to tuck her boy in, but she’s standing at the door staring at me.
Moving to her, I carefully take her hands in mine. “I’ll only be gone for a few minutes, but if you need anything you can call me.”
“I don’t know where my phone is,” she says, almost robotically. Her gaze trained on her hands in mine.
“I’ll find it and bring it up to you. Why don’t you take a nice hot bath while I’m gone?” I suggest.
She finally looks at Beckham, and her eyes start to glisten in the moonlight. “Yeah,” she starts shakily. “Maybe I’ll do that.”
“Just make sure to keep your stitches out of the water.” I give a little shake to her hand.
“We’ve never had stitches before.” Her tone is without life until she looks at me. “Will he be able to play on Saturday? It will break his heart to miss a game.”
I’m not sure since it’s my first-time coaching. It’s not like we have a doctor on the team to give the okay like in the major leagues. “I think we’ll just have to wait and see. The helmet might hurt on his—”
She nods and looks back at her son. “That makes sense. He’s always loved dogs, but now… do you think he’ll be scared of them?”
I want to tell her no, but who knows how he’ll respond to the trauma from today. “I don’t know, beauty, but we’ll do our best to make sure he’s not.” Her eyes flick up to mine at the endearment that slipped effortlessly off my lips, but that’s her only acknowledgment.
“Now, go tuck your boy in, take a nice hot bath, and when you’re done, I’ll be downstairs waiting for you.” I want to be here for her, but I need to see if there’s been any sign of the dog.
I leave Delilah tending to her sleeping boy and head out back.
It takes me longer than I thought it would to find my dad and Asher.
My dad claps me on the back and looks out to the forest. “You just missed Nico and Talon. We found the dog and they’re taking it to get looked at now by July.”
“Now, I’m no vet, but it looked like the dog was shot,” Asher says while looking out into the woods like my dad did.
“Never thought when I bought this place it would be dangerous. I liked the privacy and the views it has.” I only hope Delilah doesn’t blame me for what happened. What if she wants to go back to the shelter after tonight?
“It’s not like it was a wolf. A dog can get shot in town as easily as out here. How’s your girl?” Asher asks, moving to look toward the house.
“I think she’s in shock right now, but damn did she cry. I didn’t think she’d ever let them take her boy. I only hope that dog doesn’t have rabies. I can’t imagine them having to go through all those shots after today.”
“You’ve already fallen,” my dad mutters.
“I think I fell for her the second I met her. What I feel for her in such a short amount of time is unexplainable.”
“You don’t need to explain,” Asher says. “It’s the boom, boy. While I don’t know much about her situation, I know she hasn’t had it easy as of late. She probably thinks it’s happening too fast, but give her time.”
“There’s something she’s keeping from me and I have to believe it’s bad after everything else she’s told me. I want to protect her, but after today, what if she thinks it would be safer to be somewhere else?” I confess what’s been eating me up inside.
“Do you want me to get Cobi to look into it?” Asher asks as we start to walk back to the house.
“Do I want you to? Yes, but I’m not going to. Not right now, at least. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve got a bad feeling about it.”
“Well, let me know if you want Cobi to see what he can find out. You’re certainly showing more restraint than most,” Asher chuckled.
“Restraint is my middle name right now. I’m holding everything back until she’s ready.” We walk a couple of minutes in silence. “I want to thank you guys for keeping the women at home tonight. Delilah would have run for the hills with all of them smothering her.”
Both my dad and Asher chuckle. Pulling me into a side hug, my dad pats me on the back. “They can be a bit much, but they mean well. It won’t take your girl long to figure that out.”
“I’m coming to the game on Saturday to meet her and the boy,” Asher smirks at me. “And I’m bringing November, so you might want to warn her.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” I laugh. Although I think on any other given day, Delilah would have welcomed them with open arms. “And thanks for coming out to help. I don’t know what I would have done without it.”
“That’s what family’s for. Now, get inside and go tend to your woman. I think I saw her standing at the window looking out.”
Fuck, I’d been gone much longer than I intended. She probably thinks the dog got me as well.
I watch as my dad and his father-in-law walk around the side of my house and into the darkness. With Delilah and Beckham here, I need to have more security lights put in place. After tonight, I’m not taking any more chances with their safety.
Sure enough, Delilah is waiting for me in the kitchen when I walk inside, cradling a cup in her hands.
“One of the worst things about being pregnant is not being able to drink. No alcohol and no caffeine. Two things that all moms need.” She leans back on the counter and takes a sip of what I’m not sure.
Moving toward her, I ask. “If you can’t have alcohol or caffeine, what are you drinking?”
“Hot chocolate. It reminds me of sitting out back with my parents when I was little before bed. It’s comforting.” She looks down at her bare feet and then back at me. “I hate that I have to call them with this news. It’s going to devastate them when they learn everything I’ve been keeping from them.”
I pull her into a hug and feel her body relax against mine. It’s something we both need after the night we had. “At first, they’ll be disappointed, but if you explain yourself, they’ll understand. Do you want me to stay with you when you call, or do you want your privacy?”
“Can you stay around? Don’t listen but be here if I need you.”
She’s so damn cute. I keep it to myself though with only a twitch of my lips. “I’ll be wherever you need me. Now go call your parents before it gets too late,” I start to guide her to the couch. “You have to be exhausted.”
“I am exhausted.” She sits down and folds her legs up under her. Pulling her phone out of the pocket of the sweatshirt she has on, she stares down at her phone for a long moment before she goes to her contact list and then places the phone to her ear.
Biting her lip, Delilah looks to me as the phone rings. I know the moment someone answers because her eyes immediately well up with tears. “Hey, Mama,” she chokes out. “Is Dad there with you?”
I start to move to give her the privacy she wanted when her hand darts out and captures mine.
“Hey, Dad,” she says after a moment and then her chin starts to tremble. I give her hand a reassuring squeeze and then plant my ass on the couch next to her. “I have a couple of things I need to tell you both.”
Pinching her eyes closed, she listens for a moment before she answers them. “I’m fine. We’re both fine now. Earlier Beck got bit by a dog and in the process, I was bitten as well. We both got stitches, but now we’re… resting.”
I can hear a lot of talking on the other end but can’t make it out.
“Yeah, about that. I know I was vague in my text with Ava, but I had to be. I’m not going to get into specifics with you right now, but I left Bradley.”
From what I can hear, her parents don’t seem too broken up about it. I think I actually heard her dad whoop.
“Please don’t interrupt as I tell you this next part because I’m not sure if I stop if I’ll be able to continue.” Her parents agree, and then she looks to me and waits until I nod in agreement before she continues. “I overheard something I wasn’t supposed to and got caught. Bradley beat me up. Badly. And I had to be taken to the hospital. While I was there, I found out I was pregnant. I knew if I stayed any longer, he’d kill us, so I waited until he was asleep, and I left.”
My eyes bore into the side of her head. She can’t even look at me after her revelation. It’s either that or her parents who are yelling.
“I know I should have told you what was going on, but I didn’t have time.” She shakes her head and curls her fingers tighter around her phone. “I’m in Tennessee.” There’s a short pause before she shakes her head. “I couldn’t go home. It would be the first place they’d look for me.”
She listens for a few seconds and then answers.
“I was afraid he’d somehow have your phone bugged. He very well might. I wouldn’t be surprised if mine was, that’s why I left it behind.”
Another pause as she listens.
“I cut and dyed my hair in a bus station bathroom. I don’t even look like myself,” she chuckles humorlessly.
That’s news to me. I scan her hair, trying to figure what color it is naturally if it isn’t this dark brown. I don’t know how she did such a good job while at a bus station.
“We were at a shelter,” she answers, and then starts to nibble on her bottom lip. “Since we got here, we’ve met some really good people.”
“Where are you now?” I hear a man demand.
“Someplace safe. Beck’s teacher introduced me to her son, and he rescued us one night when we got locked out of the shelter. We’ve been staying with him.”
“Oh, honey,” I hear her mom say and a bark from her dad.
“No, I’m not coming home. Bradley will find me there, and I’m not going to put either of you in danger. I promise I’m safe here or as safe as I can be with Bradley and his family breathing.”
That sounds ominous as fuck. What does she mean by that? Who is this Bradley? If Delilah won’t give me answers, I’m going to need to find answers on my own.
“You don’t need to cut your trip short. I know how much Rio means to you,” she says quietly.
“You and your sister mean more to us than anything, sweetheart. You have to know we’d drop anything and everything for you,” I hear her dad say.
It’s good to hear how much they love her.
“Tell us where you are, and we’ll come to you. I want to see you with my own two eyes that you and Beck are safe,” I hear her dad say.
“Is Ava safe at school?” her mom asks.
“I think so. I did warn her to stay away from Bradley when I sent her a message. You don’t have to come right away. You can finish your trip.”
“How do you think we’re going to be able to do anything but worry until we see you? You send us the address to where you’re staying, and we’ll be there either tomorrow or the next day.”
“Delilah, what has that man done to you?” her mom asks, her voice sad.
“Too much, but not any longer. I’m free. I’ll tell you more when you get here.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind,” her mom answers back. I want to chuckle. There’s no way she’s getting out of telling her parents everything. I only hope I get to hear it as well.
“I love you, baby girl. Don’t ever doubt that.”
“I love you too, and I don’t doubt it. Never, not even for a second,” Delilah says softly as tears start to track down her cheeks.
“We’re just happy you’re okay, but if you need to hire security you let us know and we’ll find the best damn person on the planet to keep you and my grandchildren safe. I can’t believe I’m going to be a GiGi again.”
“I can’t either,” she says while picking at the fuzz on a blanket.
“Tell Beck, we love him, and we’ll see him soon, okay?” her mom says. It’s hard to hear, but it sounds like she’s crying.
“I will. I love you, Mama. Thank you for not being mad.” It’s then Delilah finally looks at me. The weight of the world seems to have been lifted off her shoulders.
“I could never be mad at you. Once we get off the phone, I want to know the address we’re going to and then I’ll text you once I’ve got our plane tickets booked.”
“I will. I promise. I love you both.”
“We love you too,” her parents say in unison before she hangs up.
Setting her phone down, Delilah looks to me with questions swimming in her eyes.
I know what she wants to ask. Am I mad at her for not telling me the whole truth? “It seems I still have more to learn about you.”
“Yeah,” she answers on a breathy exhale.
“And your parents are coming to visit.”
“It seems so. If you want Beckham and me to go stay at a hotel while they’re here or—”
“If you suggest staying someplace else ever again, I’m going to take you over my knee.”
It doesn’t escape my notice how her eyes dilate and her cheeks pink up from my words.