Later that morning, at 7:45, my alarm clock went off. Fifteen minutes before I should start heading home. I tried to move before the noise woke Delcan up too, but he was holding down my arm tightly. I sighed, maneuvering myself to grab my phone the best way I could. My leg accidentally hit Delcan, and he groaned, hitting me back.
Very appropriate, I thought to myself, pressing the stop button. Sighing, I looked at the missed message I had from Mrs. Heslop. Something inside of me tightened at the thought of Delcan’s parents, but I didn’t know why.
They care about Delcan, it’s clear as night and day that he’s special to them. But I don’t know how far that love goes. How much they’re willing to do for Delcan’s benefit.
How much am I willing to do?
Before I could come up with the answer I already knew, Delcan stirred, freeing my arm. Silently I thanked him, stretching my arm out. “What time is it?” he muttered, rolling himself into the pillows.
“7:50,” I told him.
Delcan looked at me, his green eyes narrowed. “And why are we awake at elderly time? Have you ever slept in?”
I put my phone on the bedside table again, feeling a smile creep onto my face. Whatever version of Delcan he was hiding was gone, and the one I knew too well was back, just a bit hungover. “My head,” he complained.
“That is a side effect of drinking so much, yeah,” I responded.
Delcan groaned again, flipping me off lazily. “Tell me,” he muttered. “Did we make out last night?”
“I-yes. Y-yes, we did.”
“Was I on top of you?”
I pressed my lips in a thin line, feeling myself blush. “Yeah.”
Delcan looked at me for a moment before his eyes followed a speck of dust. “Anything else I should know about?”
“Did something happen when you were eleven?” I questioned. It was stupid, and probably none of my business, but my curiosity was getting the best of me. Delcan raised his eyebrows, but his mouth stayed closed. “I’m not going to judge-”628Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qsvPYr4DW
“What did I say?” he interrupted.
I hesitated, and I could tell it annoyed Delcan. He sat up slowly now, running hands through his messed up hair in the process. “You just kept saying you were eleven,” I told him. “Once you told me they did it for their own benefit...what are you doing?”
Delcan was placing his hand on my knee to get over me, sighing in the process. He walked swiftly to the bathroom, then he threw up in the toilet. I felt my stomach become uneasy, but I tried not to imagine any of it. Instead, I stood up, waiting until I was positive he was done. “Do you need anything?” I asked.
“A hammer to the head sounds nice,” Delcan muttered, standing up as he flushed the toilet. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, by the way.” He went over the sink to begin brushing his teeth, adding extra toothpaste. I noticed how his hands were shaking.
I looked back to see the clock on his bedside table. 7:53. “Hey, Delcan?”
“Hmm?”
“I have a curfew, and I’m pretty sure my parents will be awake at 8:30 so if I can do anything to help you-”628Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjOg3J4MF8
Delcan spit out the toothpaste, then he began checking himself out in the mirror. “It’s fine,” he told me. “Thanks...for staying though.” Delcan turned to look at me, and I watched the smile slowly spread on his face. “We wouldn’t want you to get in trouble, huh?”628Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44upsbFIDv
I broke eye contact, looking at anything else but him. “Yeah, I guess not.” And then I remembered something: I’m the favorite. “Actually, if you need me there's a chance I could extend my curfew maybe for a few hours.”628Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsISS5SQl1
“No, I’m okay.”
I didn’t want to leave him here alone. “Are you sure?”
Delcan brushed past me, his eyes searching the bedroom. Finally, he found his phone, and he held it up to show me. “My parents will be home in ten minutes,” Delcan told me. Mrs. Heslop said 9, I thought to myself. “I’ll be fine. Go enjoy yourself, Ezra.”
Crap. “Wait.” Delcan stopped moving, and his green eyes met mine. “I need to ask you something.”
Delcan sat down on the bed slowly. “If it’s about covering for you with my parents, I already had that plan.”
“No,” I said. I wondered if I should be sitting down as well, but then I realized how weird it could be. Delcan sighed, messing with his bottom lip. “They know I was here. It has nothing to do with last night at all.”
For a moment, Delcan stayed silent. “I knew it,” he told himself. Straightening his posture, Delcan looked at me with a prideful stare. “You’re good. I’m not gonna hold any grudge for it at all. I understand. I messed up, and you’re not used to different things so don’t feel bad and just get it over with.”
“I’m not breaking up with you,” I scowled. “Stop it.”
Delcan raised an eyebrow. “What else would you be asking me?”
“Who asks permission in a breakup, Delcan?”
He glared at me, his breaths short and angry. Finally, he shook his head and looked at his door. “Ask away.”
Put it behind you, I thought to myself. There’s no need to keep an angry tone with him. I took a deep breath, thankful he couldn’t see me close my eyes. “Do you want to go to the dance with me?”
Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.
Delcan looked at me in surprise. “Huh?”
Oh no. “The...winter dance we’re having in February. I-it’s fine.” I should’ve known he wouldn’t say yes to me. I’m not pulling enough weight in our relationship for him to say yes. “I really need to get going anyway.”
I grabbed my shoes from the side of the room, hurryingly putting them on. My hands were shaking, causing my shoelaces to fall out of my hands. Huffing through my nose, I tried again. “Ez, I didn’t even know-”
“You said no,” I told him. “It’s okay.”
“I didn’t say anything really,” Delcan said, laughing. “Can you wait for a minute so I can give you an answer?”
I stood up, brushing a speck of something off my jeans. “No need,” I said. Looking at him is going to make things worse. “I’ll see you when school starts again. I hope you feel better soon.” Aggravated, Delcan called out my name again, but I was already making my way downstairs. I didn’t want to hear him let me down easily.
But most of all, I didn’t want to hear a pitiful yes.
Remembering that Delcan was quicker than me, I walked quickly to the nearest bus stop, not bothering to call Haven and give her an explanation.
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