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DELILAH
“Are you still with me? Delilah? Are you awake?”
I think I am, though I’m not sure I want to be. My head. It’s like somebody drove a concrete truck through my skull. I don’t want to open my eyes, knowing how much worse it will be once the light hits them.
“You’re all right, and everything will be fine.” I flinch at a cold sensation on the back of my head. It’s just ice, I realize once I hear it moving, the cubes jangling around.
It takes me a moment to put everything together—my thoughts are moving so slowly. “Lucas?” I whisper, trying to pry my eyes open.
“You gave me a little bit of a scare,” he murmurs, his voice warm and even gentle. I gave him a scare? When he’s the one who ran off? I don't know how long I spent looking for him.
Only that it was dark by the time I found him getting beaten by two men.
“What happened?” I lift my hand, prepared to test the area that hurts the worst, but he keeps me from doing it.
“Leave the ice where it is for now. Believe me, you’ll feel a lot better if you do.” He shakes a pill bottle close to my face. “Something for the pain.”
“Thank you,” I whisper. So now I’m with the kind Lucas. The gentle, protective one. All it took was getting knocked out.
“What were you doing? Were you trying to get yourself killed?” I take a couple of pills, then sip the water as slowly as I can. My stomach’s a little queasy, so I want to be careful.
He closes the curtains over the windows, but there’s still enough light to catch sight of the damage done to his face. It’s not too much, but enough that it’s clear he’s been fighting.
Is this what he does? Gets himself all worked up until there’s no way to keep living unless he vents everything built up inside? Like a volcano.
“I could ask you the same question. What the hell are you doing here? Why did you leave school? How did you even manage this?”
I can’t keep up with his questions, and trying to think only hurts my head. But I know better than to think he’ll let this go unless I give him an answer. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. That’s why I’m here. I saw you leaving, and I was worried.”
“About me?”
“Who else?”
“Delilah. I’m the last person who needs somebody following them to make sure they don’t get hurt.”
“Are you sure about that?” I open my eyes just enough to shoot him a dirty look. “Because I found you lying in a dirty alley.”
“That’s my business.” Then it’s a pretty fucked-up business, but I keep my mouth shut. I like Kind Lucas and don’t want him to go away.
“How did you know I was leaving? Did somebody tell you?” I hear the suspicion in his voice.
“No. It’s nothing like that. I was following you.”
“That makes me feel much better.”
“You know what I mean. I checked on you, and you were headed out to the helipad.”
“But why were you checking on me? That’s what I’m trying to understand. Why would you do that?”
Maybe it’s the irritation in his voice that stirs my own irritation. “Because you haven’t been honest with me. I saw that woman.”
“Which woman?” he mutters.
“Which one would I be talking about? The blond lady who came out of your apartment. I heard her in your office, too. That’s who I was talking about when I went to see you the other day. I know she’s around.”
“Wait a minute.” There’s laughter in his voice, the jerk, like my feelings are all a big joke. “You think something is going on there? Is that what this is about?”
“Don’t make a joke about it. It’s not funny.”
