I'll Stand By You - Chapters 11 to 13
Chapters 11 to 13 merged.
Chapter 11
"Morning, sweetheart." Cole mumbled into her hair, planting a soft kiss on her forehead as she muttered something, then snuggled closer to him."Come on, baby, we have to get up." he said stroking her hair. "Why?" she groaned into his chest. "Well, we could stay here all day..." he started saying but Delilah put her finger on his lips. She pecked his nose, then quickly got up and rushed over to the bathroom, calling out, "Go get ready!" Rico and Chip stared from their spot on Cole's feet, then turned to him. Cole sighed and yawned, flopping back down. 10 minutes later, she danced out of the bathroom and sat down beside Cole on the bed. She poked him in the ribs and said, "C'mon. Get up."she prodded.
He sat up, pulling her into his arms and then paused. scratched the back of his neck nervously. "What is it?" she asked turning to him. "Um..well, I was thinking..that.. "his voice trailed off. Delilah turned to him, putting a hand on his cheek and said, "What are you so nervous about? Just spit it out." "Well, I was thinking, that..maybe, we could..you know,..go on a date?" He looked at her hopefully when she suddenly burst out laughing. He looked hurt and confused so she stopped and said, spluttering, "You're just so adorable." She kissed his cheek, then said, "Of course I will. Now, come on, go get ready." Soon, they had reached the school and were heading towards the entrance when Delilah was pulled away by an excited looking Fizz. She blew Cole a kiss before being dragged away.
"What?" Delilah asked. "Luke asked me out!! He was, you know, all nervous and all and it was so cute. And then he started saying some rubbish about how he'd understand and all, and then he finally blurted it all. And he kissed me!! "Fizz said all in one breath, then started squealing. "What?! He kissed you!! When? Why didn't I know about this?! "Delilah said squealing along. Fizz calmed down and said, "Well, it was on the cheek. But a kiss is a kiss, right?" Delilah laughed. "Of course it is. So, when is it? Your date, I mean." "This Friday. Hey, maybe we all could go on a double date sometime? You, me, Luke and Colton?" "That'd be great! Oh, and me and Cole are going out tonight. You've got to help me find out an outfit !"
"Why are you so nervous, baby?" Delilah asked as she snuggled closer to Cole in the cozy booth in the little Italian restaurant, later that day. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his nose into her hair. "It's nothing. I just never been on a date before."he said. "Well, if it makes you feel better, you were my first kiss, are my first boyfriend and this is my first date." she looked up at him smiling. He smiled back and kissed her forehead. A waitress sauntered over to them and smiled at them and said, "What can I get you two lovebirds?" Delilah blushed at her comment and smiled. They gave their order, then resumed cuddling and talking until their food arrived. A half an hour later, they were at the beach, wrapped in each others arms. "I don't think I could ever get enough of you." Cole murmured in her ear making her smile and tilt her face upwards to kiss his chin. "We should get going." Delilah said about fifteen minutes later. They both got up and soon were standing outside Delilah's house, having a goodnight kiss. As they pulled apart, Cole whispered an 'I love you ' in her ear. She smiled, her eyes still closed and said, "I love you too." With that she pulled back and headed inside, blowing him one final kiss as she did so.
(***)
Three blissful weeks of being in a relationship ended when Sean decided to interfere. He and Cole hadn't talked in a long time but he still managed to catch up on his ex-best friends life. Delilah was at her house one day when her phone rang. Seeing that it was Cole, she picked it up smiling and said, "Hey." "Lee? Can you come over?" He sounded upset so she didn't bother asking him what was wrong and said that she would be there right away. She hurried downstairs and when she spotted Jasper, asked him to drop her off at Cole's. Once they were there, she raced out of the car and rang the doorbell. A crying Jenny opened the door, immediately pulling her into a hug. "Shh.. It's okay. Just cry it out."she soothed her. Once Jenny was calm and very much asleep on the couch, Delilah tiptoed upstairs and opened Cole's bedroom door. She peeked in, and when she saw him lying on his stomach on the bed, she walked in, closing the door softly behind her.
She sat down by his head and asked, "What happened?" He shifted his head into her lap as she stroked his hair. "Sean turned up." he said in a low voice. Delilah took a deep breath and asked gently, "What did he do?" "Jenny says that he started saying stuff about Slade's father and that he probably left her because we weren't well off. Something else too but I'm not sure Jenny is going to tell anybody."he said. He looked up at her to see her face red with anger. "I swear, I'm going to kill him !"she exploded. He smiled at her and said, "You can kill him tomorrow, sweetheart. Right now, I'm taking you home and we're going to get a good night's sleep." Reluctantly, Delilah agreed. Tdhe whole way home, she kept murmuring to herself about something Cole couldn't make out. He grabbed her hand and smiled tenderly at her. She couldn't help but smile back and he kissed the back of her hand.
They quietly slipped into the dark house and headed up to her room. Chip and Rico, fortunately, didn't make any noise as Delilah switched on the light and lightened up the room. She quickly got ready for bed, then walked back into her room to find Cole already under the covers, staring into space. She turned off the light and slipped in beside him and he automatically pulled her in his arms, burying his face in her hair. "Cole?" "Hmm?" he murmured in her neck. "I am really sorry for what Sean said. I mean, it is my fault that you guys stopped being friends and-" Before she could go any further, he silenced her with a soft kiss. "Do not even think about it, okay? It's not your fault that he's an asshole, understand?" She nodded and smiled at him in the darkness. "I love you."he whispered in her ear. "I love you too."
*********
"Good morning, baby."Cole whispered when her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him. "Mornin'." she said smiling. He gently kissed her forehead and sighed contentedly. "We have to get up."Delilah said but made no sign of moving. "Del, me and the boys are leaving early. Will you be alright?" Damien said entering the room. She nodded into Cole's chest and extracted herself from his arms to hug Damien goodbye. "Take care, alright?" He kissed her forehead and left the room and a few minutes later, she heard the cars zooming away. Sighing, Cole got up, bringing Delilah up with him. "I have to go. I'll pick you up, then we have to drop mom and Jenny off to work." Ten minutes later, they parted with a long kiss and Cole promised to come as soon as I can. Delilah went back into her bathroom and had a nice, long shower before stepping out and getting dressed.
She kissed both the dogs goodbye and headed downstairs for breakfast. Since the house was empty except for her and Sean,she only made some for herself. As she was buttering her toast, Sean came walking downstairs and she glared stonily at him. He ignored her and continued looking around the kitchen for food. Getting frustrated, he practically yelled, "What?!!" She dropped her toast and said angrily, "You know perfectly well what!" He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off. "This has gone too far, Sean. I've put up with your rudeness long enough and honestly, I don't know why you seem to hate me so much. But that is besides the point. You can say anything to me all you want but not the people I care about, alright? What you said to Jenny was something I'm not going to ignore. She means ten times more to me than you ever will and what you did was unacceptable."she said in a rant.
He just glared at her ad when she didn't get an answer, she stormed upstairs to her room, deciding that she would wait there. Downstairs, Sean ran a hand through his hair and headed outside, in desperate need of a cigarette. He took out one and his lighter, and tried to light it. When it didn't, he sighed and tossed it aside, putting his head in his hands. Meanwhile, Cole was at his house, getting impatient when is mom and sister were taking too long. They finally appeared in the living room and after locking the door, all headed out to his truck. Cole quickly got in the driver's seat while Jenny and Anna sat in the back.
The drive was silent except the occasional shifting of someone. But the silence was disrupted when they on the road that led to her house. Cole spotted Chip and Rico in the distance, barking and running and immediately knew something was wrong. The dogs never went anywhere without Delilah and even though they were animals, they looked panicked. Cole quickly stopped the car and raced towards them. On reaching, the dogs barked at him and motioned him towards the direction of the house and he ran like his life depended on it. On reaching the sight, he froze. He could see Sean panicking and saying something to him but he couldn't avert his eyes from the sight. In front of him, the large house which he had previously considered his own, was in flames and considering from Sean's frantic talking, Delialh was still inside.
Chapter 12
Cole froze for a second, his eyes going wide as he stared at the once beautiful house. "What the hell happened?" he shouted at Sean once he was out of his trance. "I-I don't know."he stuttered. "One minute, it's perfectly fine and the next thing I know, the ground floor is burning. I swear, I didn't do it on purpose."Sean said, his voice breaking with tears in his eyes. "Where is she?" Cole asked frantically. "In her room." By this time, Jenny and Anna had arrived and the dogs were still barking frantically. "Call Damien."was all Cole said before he sprinted inside. His mother screamed in protest but he ignored her. Meanwhile, Sean was dialing Damien's number with shaking hands. He picked up and said, "Hello?" "I-It's me."Sean said, gulping. "What happened?" Sean took a deep breath, then muttered, "The..the house. It's on fire." There was a short silence, then Damien muttered, "Shit. Are you okay? Is Del okay?"
When Sean didn't answer, he asked again. "Is Del okay?" Sean took another shaky breath, then said, "I don't know." There was a long silence, then Damien said, "I'm on my way." And hung up. His bottom lip quivering slightly, he turned towards the house and waited, shaking. He nervously looked around at the people. Jenny had called 911 and now there was a crowd of police officers, fire brigade and paramedics. The firefighters were trying to put out the fire but it didn't look too good. On top of that, Cole was nowhere to be seen and Delilah, well, he didn't know about her. Just as he was about to scream at the firefighters, Cole came rushing out, covered in ash, coughing like crazy with a unconscious Delilah in his arms.
Everybody sat in silence in the cramped waiting room which seemed to be getting more and more depressed each passing second. Damien, Jasper, Tyler and Steve were all pacing while Seth had gone to get some coffee for everyone. Slade sat in his mother's lap, asleep and Jenny and Anna were talking in hushed whispers. Sean was sitting silently in a dark corner, too scared to say anything.
Cole was sitting in the corner, opposite to Sean's, with his face nuzzled into his arms, silent tears making their way down his face. After a few more minutes of silence, when Cole's shoulders started shaking in silent sobs, Sean hesitantly said, "Look, I'm sorry, man..I---" Cole looked up,his eyes puffy and swollen and shouted, "Shut up!!! Just shut up !!" His loud voice in the silence made everyone jump out of their seats and look at him, but he had already buried his face back into his arms, bring his knees to his chest. Eventually, everyone except Cole and Damien fell asleep while they both waited for the doctor to come out. Fortunately, a few minutes later, the doctor did come out and faced them, letting out a tired sigh. "Now, I'm not gonna lie and say that there's nothing to worry about because, frankly there are. First of all, she got a nasty cut on her forehead. There are a few bruises and cuts here and there and that's where the minor injuries end." He ran a hand through his hair, then continued. "Now, as for the second degree burns, there are mostly on her arms and legs.
I've got to warn you, they look pretty bad but she should be fine in a few days, or weeks." Cole let out a relieved sigh while Damien inquired the doctor further. "When can we see her?" Cole asked after Damien was done. "Well, she'll wake up in about 18 to 24 hours but you can go in now, if you want. "the doctor said to Damien, then added, "But only family is allowed." "I'm her brother."Cole said, thinking fast and getting impatient. He turned to Damien and said, "You go in first." He needed to prepare himself first since the doctor had warned him that it looked pretty bad. But the waiting was in vain because when he entered the room and found his baby lying lifeless on the hospital bed, he burst into loud, heart-breaking sobs. It could've been minutes, or hours, he didn't know and he didn't care. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he fell asleep with his head by Delilah's side and a very noticeable ache in his chest.
Beep
Beep
Beep
Delilah woke up to the sound of her heartbeat, a bit confused at first but when her body started to ache all over, she remembered the fire. She looked up at the off-white ceiling and wondered how she had gotten out, when she heard someone's heavy breathing beside her. She turned her head slightly, her gaze landing on a sleeping Cole. His clothes were torn and dirty but she couldn't see his face. "Cole?" she whispered his name softly but it woke him up and he jumped, wide awake. He looked at her and tears entered his eyes. "Hey, sweetheart." he said softly and gently kissed her forehead. She managed a weak smile and looked up at him lovingly. She cleared her throat and Cole immediately got the glass of water that was on the table beside her bed. He brought it to her lips and she gulped down all the water in the glass. As he set the glass back on the table, she closed her eyes and sighed. "Get some rest, baby." She gave him another small smile before her eyes drooped and she fell asleep.
The next time she woke up, all of her brothers (except Sean, obviously) were in the room, along with Cole who had changed his clothes and washed his face. Everyone except him looked tensed. As soon her eyes opened, everyone rushed over to her, firing her with questions. She just looked at them tiredly for a second, then asked, "What's wrong?" The questions stopped, so did everyone's breaths. It was no use hiding anything. She knew them too well. Damien sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, the doctor was reading your medical history and well, he accidentally let it slip, in front of Sean, that ...well, you know..and he, just kinda exploded, I guess.." Too tired to care, Delilah just nodded and let her eyes droop before falling into a dreamless sleep.
It was almost two weeks later and Delilah was still in the hospital. Everyday, her brothers came to visit in the evening, then went back to their friend's place at night. Since nothing had been left of their house, they were all crashing at different places for the time being. Once Delilah had fully recovered, then they were going to discuss where they were going to stay. While all of them were god-knows-where, Cole remained by her side all the time, going home just for a quick shower or to get something she needed. It was a few days later on a Thursday afternoon, when Sean finally decided to make an appearance.
Cole had helped Delilah to sit up in her bed, ignoring her protests that she could get up herself, and was almost done spoon feeding her the Subway salad he had bought,when the door opened and both of them looked up to see a hesitant Sean standing at the entrance, looking down at his shoes. Cole glared at him for a minute, then turned back to Delilah and continued feeding her. When the bowl was empty, and her stomach full, he turned to give Sean a stony glare while taking Delilah's hand in his. Sean finally turned to look at both of them and almost immediately looked back down but stopped himself. He had to face it sometime. It was a now or never situation.
He took a deep breath and looked at Delilah, but found it better to look at Cole's hate-filled glare than her blank expression. After a minute of eerie silence, Cole said, "What do you want?" Sean stopped himself from looking back down at his shoes and mumbled, "I wanted to apologize..." "For what?" Cole grunted. "Umm...well ..." He visibly gulped and Cole said, "For what? For blowing up the house when your sister was still inside." Sean looked guiltily down at his shoes and said, "It was an accident !" Cole snorted and turned back to Delilah, and said, "Accident, my ass." Smiling, Delilah leant over and whispered, "Your very cute ass." He couldn't help but chuckle and smile and kiss her forehead and nose.
He knew Sean was still in the room, he could hear him shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another but right now, Cole wasn't in the mood. The same couldn't be said for Delilah. She turned to Sean and said, "So, you were saying?" He looked surprised and said, "Um...well, if we could talk in private." Shrugging, Delilah turned to Cole and gave him a look that said that he couldn't argue. He sighed and got up, leaning over to kiss her lips. Just as he was about to lean back, she whispered, "Don't worry, if he tries to kill me, I'll shout and you can just come rushing in and save me like the hero you are." He chuckled again and kissed her forehead lovingly before standing up properly and walking out of the room but not before giving Sean a glare and Delilah a soft smile. As soon as the door shut, Delilah turned to Sean and said, "So, let's talk."
Chapter 13
Sean awkwardly shifted his weight and stuttered. Delilah ignored his discomfort and motioned to him to sit down on the stool. For a minute, they sat in an awkward silence until Delilah got tired of it and said, "Look, if you're just going to sit there and do nothing, then---" He cut her off by saying, "I'm gay." To say that she looked surprised would be an understatement. Sean's cheeks and neck turned pink as she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh."she said, then after a pause asked, "What has that got to do with anything ?" He hesitated, then sighed and said, "I'm gonna start from the beginning so, don't interrupt, alright ?" She nodded and waited for him to start. He took a deep breath and started. "When you first came here, I was already furious with you. Back then, I thought that you were the reason I didn't have a perfect family. I mean, sure I had a mom but she wasn't much of a mother. She was an alcoholic and was rarely home. But when she was, she told me that the reason her and Dad split up was you. She said that she never wanted a daughter and well, you created some problems. I don't know why I believed her, but I did.
And because of that, Damien and the others started hating me. I guess I understand why. I mean, they all love you so much. So, well, when you came here, I pretty much hated you. And when Colton started spending more time with you, that blew me off." He paused to take a breath and Delilah took the chance to say something. "Are you saying that you had a crush on Cole?" Sean cleared his throat and said, "Had been the key word. That was before. Well, as I was saying, the closer you got to Cole, I started hating you more and more. Well, that was until I met Jensen. He was in town visiting his sick grandma and I met him at a diner a weeks ago. So, anyway, the more I met up with him during lunch, the less I felt towards Colton. So, I decided to let it go. But after a few days, I heard you guys talking about Colton's life at home. It pissed me off that after only a few months of being his best friend, you knew so much about him and I didn't.
And I honestly regret saying that to his sister, Jenny - I apologized, by the way. But, seriously, it was a kind of spur of the moment thing. So...uh,..I think that's it." Delilah nodded, both her eyebrows raised and opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off. "By the way, I find your reason for not telling me about your sickness totally unreasonable." She looked at him wide-eyed, then shrugged, settling back against the pillows. They sat in a comfortable silence, then Delilah said, "You mind calling Cole inside?" He nodded and got up and walked towards the door, and a second later, Cole appeared, lunging at her as if he hadn't seen her in years. Laughing, she hugged him back and giggled as he planted kisses all over face. Finally, he settled back down a chair and took her hand in both of his. He kissed the back of her hand and smilingly said, "Now, come on, it's time to sleep." "But, I'm not tired."she whined, sticking out her bottom lip.
He smiled and said, "So?" She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Cole sighed and sat down beside her, putting his arm around her. "What if I sing you to sleep?" "But you're a terrible singer!" she giggled, snuggling into his chest. He grinned at her and said, "That's the whole point ! Either you go to sleep, or you have to hear me singing." She grinned back, her grin equally cheeky, and said, "Well, what dong are you gonna sing then?" He groaned and pressed his nose against her hair. She laughed against his chest and he smiled, kissing her hair. "Alright, how about a deal? You go home and have a shower and I'll get some rest, alright ?"she said, craning her neck to look at him. He nodded and got off the bed as she laid down, getting comfortable. Leaning down, he gently kissed her forehead, then her nose, then her lips, making her giggle and playfully smack his chest. "Go and get cleaned. You stink."she said smiling up at him.
Cole couldn't help but lean down and give her another kiss on her lips, then on her nose, then finally got up. He gave her palm a kiss, then reluctantly walked out the door. About a minute later, the door opened and Damien walked in, sitting down on the chair and kissing her forehead. He remained silent for a moment, then said, "Dad called." Delilah sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for him to continue. "I don't know how he found out, Del, I swear. Anyway, he got mad that we didn't tell him that you were in the hospital."Damien continued. "And?" she asked, opening her eyes. Damien sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "He said he'll be here in a few hours." Sighing, Delilah closed her eyes again and fell asleep. A couple of hours later, she woke up to someone stroking her hair.
She smiled up at Cole who leaned down and kissed her forehead. He helped her sit and just as he sat back down, the door burst open revealing a tall, huge man with a nervous Damien tailing behind him. "Daddy!!!" Delilah exclaimed happily as soon as she saw him. He spotted her sitting on the bed and raced over to her, reaching forward to hug her and managed to push Cole off his chair in the process. Hugging her tightly to his chest, he murmured, "Are you alright, princess?" She nodded in his chest and said, "I'm fine, daddy." Kissing her hair, he pulled back and on noticing Cole, immediately went into protective-dad mode. "And who is this?" he asked. Delilah smiled and said, "Dad, this is the Colton I told you about. Cole, this is my dad." When the man turned, Cole finally got a good look at him.
Delilah's dad, Mark had the same hair as his daughter but his eyes were a muddy brown. His body was muscled and his features were hard and only softened for his beloved daughter. Cole gulped and reached out his hand and with a polite smile, said, "Hello, sir." Mark eyed his hand like he had not washed his hand for months and Delilah gave him a warning look and said, "Dad, behave." "But I want to play the role of the over protective dad!" he whined, his shoulders slumping and his bottom lip sticking out. She smilingly shook her head and patted him arm. "Maybe later." Sighing, Mark turned back to Cole and pulled him into a bone-crunching hug. "I hope you are treating, baby girl right." he said when he pulled back. Cole nodded, dazed. One thing was for sure, Delilah had this old man wrapped around her little finger!
"Morning, sweetheart." Cole mumbled into her hair, planting a soft kiss on her forehead as she muttered something, then snuggled closer to him."Come on, baby, we have to get up." he said stroking her hair. "Why?" she groaned into his chest. "Well, we could stay here all day..." he started saying but Delilah put her finger on his lips. She pecked his nose, then quickly got up and rushed over to the bathroom, calling out, "Go get ready!" Rico and Chip stared from their spot on Cole's feet, then turned to him. Cole sighed and yawned, flopping back down. 10 minutes later, she danced out of the bathroom and sat down beside Cole on the bed. She poked him in the ribs and said, "C'mon. Get up."she prodded.
He sat up, pulling her into his arms and then paused. scratched the back of his neck nervously. "What is it?" she asked turning to him. "Um..well, I was thinking..that.. "his voice trailed off. Delilah turned to him, putting a hand on his cheek and said, "What are you so nervous about? Just spit it out." "Well, I was thinking, that..maybe, we could..you know,..go on a date?" He looked at her hopefully when she suddenly burst out laughing. He looked hurt and confused so she stopped and said, spluttering, "You're just so adorable." She kissed his cheek, then said, "Of course I will. Now, come on, go get ready." Soon, they had reached the school and were heading towards the entrance when Delilah was pulled away by an excited looking Fizz. She blew Cole a kiss before being dragged away.
"What?" Delilah asked. "Luke asked me out!! He was, you know, all nervous and all and it was so cute. And then he started saying some rubbish about how he'd understand and all, and then he finally blurted it all. And he kissed me!! "Fizz said all in one breath, then started squealing. "What?! He kissed you!! When? Why didn't I know about this?! "Delilah said squealing along. Fizz calmed down and said, "Well, it was on the cheek. But a kiss is a kiss, right?" Delilah laughed. "Of course it is. So, when is it? Your date, I mean." "This Friday. Hey, maybe we all could go on a double date sometime? You, me, Luke and Colton?" "That'd be great! Oh, and me and Cole are going out tonight. You've got to help me find out an outfit !"
"Why are you so nervous, baby?" Delilah asked as she snuggled closer to Cole in the cozy booth in the little Italian restaurant, later that day. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his nose into her hair. "It's nothing. I just never been on a date before."he said. "Well, if it makes you feel better, you were my first kiss, are my first boyfriend and this is my first date." she looked up at him smiling. He smiled back and kissed her forehead. A waitress sauntered over to them and smiled at them and said, "What can I get you two lovebirds?" Delilah blushed at her comment and smiled. They gave their order, then resumed cuddling and talking until their food arrived. A half an hour later, they were at the beach, wrapped in each others arms. "I don't think I could ever get enough of you." Cole murmured in her ear making her smile and tilt her face upwards to kiss his chin. "We should get going." Delilah said about fifteen minutes later. They both got up and soon were standing outside Delilah's house, having a goodnight kiss. As they pulled apart, Cole whispered an 'I love you ' in her ear. She smiled, her eyes still closed and said, "I love you too." With that she pulled back and headed inside, blowing him one final kiss as she did so.
(***)
Three blissful weeks of being in a relationship ended when Sean decided to interfere. He and Cole hadn't talked in a long time but he still managed to catch up on his ex-best friends life. Delilah was at her house one day when her phone rang. Seeing that it was Cole, she picked it up smiling and said, "Hey." "Lee? Can you come over?" He sounded upset so she didn't bother asking him what was wrong and said that she would be there right away. She hurried downstairs and when she spotted Jasper, asked him to drop her off at Cole's. Once they were there, she raced out of the car and rang the doorbell. A crying Jenny opened the door, immediately pulling her into a hug. "Shh.. It's okay. Just cry it out."she soothed her. Once Jenny was calm and very much asleep on the couch, Delilah tiptoed upstairs and opened Cole's bedroom door. She peeked in, and when she saw him lying on his stomach on the bed, she walked in, closing the door softly behind her.
She sat down by his head and asked, "What happened?" He shifted his head into her lap as she stroked his hair. "Sean turned up." he said in a low voice. Delilah took a deep breath and asked gently, "What did he do?" "Jenny says that he started saying stuff about Slade's father and that he probably left her because we weren't well off. Something else too but I'm not sure Jenny is going to tell anybody."he said. He looked up at her to see her face red with anger. "I swear, I'm going to kill him !"she exploded. He smiled at her and said, "You can kill him tomorrow, sweetheart. Right now, I'm taking you home and we're going to get a good night's sleep." Reluctantly, Delilah agreed. Tdhe whole way home, she kept murmuring to herself about something Cole couldn't make out. He grabbed her hand and smiled tenderly at her. She couldn't help but smile back and he kissed the back of her hand.
They quietly slipped into the dark house and headed up to her room. Chip and Rico, fortunately, didn't make any noise as Delilah switched on the light and lightened up the room. She quickly got ready for bed, then walked back into her room to find Cole already under the covers, staring into space. She turned off the light and slipped in beside him and he automatically pulled her in his arms, burying his face in her hair. "Cole?" "Hmm?" he murmured in her neck. "I am really sorry for what Sean said. I mean, it is my fault that you guys stopped being friends and-" Before she could go any further, he silenced her with a soft kiss. "Do not even think about it, okay? It's not your fault that he's an asshole, understand?" She nodded and smiled at him in the darkness. "I love you."he whispered in her ear. "I love you too."
*********
"Good morning, baby."Cole whispered when her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him. "Mornin'." she said smiling. He gently kissed her forehead and sighed contentedly. "We have to get up."Delilah said but made no sign of moving. "Del, me and the boys are leaving early. Will you be alright?" Damien said entering the room. She nodded into Cole's chest and extracted herself from his arms to hug Damien goodbye. "Take care, alright?" He kissed her forehead and left the room and a few minutes later, she heard the cars zooming away. Sighing, Cole got up, bringing Delilah up with him. "I have to go. I'll pick you up, then we have to drop mom and Jenny off to work." Ten minutes later, they parted with a long kiss and Cole promised to come as soon as I can. Delilah went back into her bathroom and had a nice, long shower before stepping out and getting dressed.
She kissed both the dogs goodbye and headed downstairs for breakfast. Since the house was empty except for her and Sean,she only made some for herself. As she was buttering her toast, Sean came walking downstairs and she glared stonily at him. He ignored her and continued looking around the kitchen for food. Getting frustrated, he practically yelled, "What?!!" She dropped her toast and said angrily, "You know perfectly well what!" He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off. "This has gone too far, Sean. I've put up with your rudeness long enough and honestly, I don't know why you seem to hate me so much. But that is besides the point. You can say anything to me all you want but not the people I care about, alright? What you said to Jenny was something I'm not going to ignore. She means ten times more to me than you ever will and what you did was unacceptable."she said in a rant.
He just glared at her ad when she didn't get an answer, she stormed upstairs to her room, deciding that she would wait there. Downstairs, Sean ran a hand through his hair and headed outside, in desperate need of a cigarette. He took out one and his lighter, and tried to light it. When it didn't, he sighed and tossed it aside, putting his head in his hands. Meanwhile, Cole was at his house, getting impatient when is mom and sister were taking too long. They finally appeared in the living room and after locking the door, all headed out to his truck. Cole quickly got in the driver's seat while Jenny and Anna sat in the back.
The drive was silent except the occasional shifting of someone. But the silence was disrupted when they on the road that led to her house. Cole spotted Chip and Rico in the distance, barking and running and immediately knew something was wrong. The dogs never went anywhere without Delilah and even though they were animals, they looked panicked. Cole quickly stopped the car and raced towards them. On reaching, the dogs barked at him and motioned him towards the direction of the house and he ran like his life depended on it. On reaching the sight, he froze. He could see Sean panicking and saying something to him but he couldn't avert his eyes from the sight. In front of him, the large house which he had previously considered his own, was in flames and considering from Sean's frantic talking, Delialh was still inside.
Chapter 12
Cole froze for a second, his eyes going wide as he stared at the once beautiful house. "What the hell happened?" he shouted at Sean once he was out of his trance. "I-I don't know."he stuttered. "One minute, it's perfectly fine and the next thing I know, the ground floor is burning. I swear, I didn't do it on purpose."Sean said, his voice breaking with tears in his eyes. "Where is she?" Cole asked frantically. "In her room." By this time, Jenny and Anna had arrived and the dogs were still barking frantically. "Call Damien."was all Cole said before he sprinted inside. His mother screamed in protest but he ignored her. Meanwhile, Sean was dialing Damien's number with shaking hands. He picked up and said, "Hello?" "I-It's me."Sean said, gulping. "What happened?" Sean took a deep breath, then muttered, "The..the house. It's on fire." There was a short silence, then Damien muttered, "Shit. Are you okay? Is Del okay?"
When Sean didn't answer, he asked again. "Is Del okay?" Sean took another shaky breath, then said, "I don't know." There was a long silence, then Damien said, "I'm on my way." And hung up. His bottom lip quivering slightly, he turned towards the house and waited, shaking. He nervously looked around at the people. Jenny had called 911 and now there was a crowd of police officers, fire brigade and paramedics. The firefighters were trying to put out the fire but it didn't look too good. On top of that, Cole was nowhere to be seen and Delilah, well, he didn't know about her. Just as he was about to scream at the firefighters, Cole came rushing out, covered in ash, coughing like crazy with a unconscious Delilah in his arms.
Everybody sat in silence in the cramped waiting room which seemed to be getting more and more depressed each passing second. Damien, Jasper, Tyler and Steve were all pacing while Seth had gone to get some coffee for everyone. Slade sat in his mother's lap, asleep and Jenny and Anna were talking in hushed whispers. Sean was sitting silently in a dark corner, too scared to say anything.
Cole was sitting in the corner, opposite to Sean's, with his face nuzzled into his arms, silent tears making their way down his face. After a few more minutes of silence, when Cole's shoulders started shaking in silent sobs, Sean hesitantly said, "Look, I'm sorry, man..I---" Cole looked up,his eyes puffy and swollen and shouted, "Shut up!!! Just shut up !!" His loud voice in the silence made everyone jump out of their seats and look at him, but he had already buried his face back into his arms, bring his knees to his chest. Eventually, everyone except Cole and Damien fell asleep while they both waited for the doctor to come out. Fortunately, a few minutes later, the doctor did come out and faced them, letting out a tired sigh. "Now, I'm not gonna lie and say that there's nothing to worry about because, frankly there are. First of all, she got a nasty cut on her forehead. There are a few bruises and cuts here and there and that's where the minor injuries end." He ran a hand through his hair, then continued. "Now, as for the second degree burns, there are mostly on her arms and legs.
I've got to warn you, they look pretty bad but she should be fine in a few days, or weeks." Cole let out a relieved sigh while Damien inquired the doctor further. "When can we see her?" Cole asked after Damien was done. "Well, she'll wake up in about 18 to 24 hours but you can go in now, if you want. "the doctor said to Damien, then added, "But only family is allowed." "I'm her brother."Cole said, thinking fast and getting impatient. He turned to Damien and said, "You go in first." He needed to prepare himself first since the doctor had warned him that it looked pretty bad. But the waiting was in vain because when he entered the room and found his baby lying lifeless on the hospital bed, he burst into loud, heart-breaking sobs. It could've been minutes, or hours, he didn't know and he didn't care. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he fell asleep with his head by Delilah's side and a very noticeable ache in his chest.
Beep
Beep
Beep
Delilah woke up to the sound of her heartbeat, a bit confused at first but when her body started to ache all over, she remembered the fire. She looked up at the off-white ceiling and wondered how she had gotten out, when she heard someone's heavy breathing beside her. She turned her head slightly, her gaze landing on a sleeping Cole. His clothes were torn and dirty but she couldn't see his face. "Cole?" she whispered his name softly but it woke him up and he jumped, wide awake. He looked at her and tears entered his eyes. "Hey, sweetheart." he said softly and gently kissed her forehead. She managed a weak smile and looked up at him lovingly. She cleared her throat and Cole immediately got the glass of water that was on the table beside her bed. He brought it to her lips and she gulped down all the water in the glass. As he set the glass back on the table, she closed her eyes and sighed. "Get some rest, baby." She gave him another small smile before her eyes drooped and she fell asleep.
The next time she woke up, all of her brothers (except Sean, obviously) were in the room, along with Cole who had changed his clothes and washed his face. Everyone except him looked tensed. As soon her eyes opened, everyone rushed over to her, firing her with questions. She just looked at them tiredly for a second, then asked, "What's wrong?" The questions stopped, so did everyone's breaths. It was no use hiding anything. She knew them too well. Damien sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, the doctor was reading your medical history and well, he accidentally let it slip, in front of Sean, that ...well, you know..and he, just kinda exploded, I guess.." Too tired to care, Delilah just nodded and let her eyes droop before falling into a dreamless sleep.
It was almost two weeks later and Delilah was still in the hospital. Everyday, her brothers came to visit in the evening, then went back to their friend's place at night. Since nothing had been left of their house, they were all crashing at different places for the time being. Once Delilah had fully recovered, then they were going to discuss where they were going to stay. While all of them were god-knows-where, Cole remained by her side all the time, going home just for a quick shower or to get something she needed. It was a few days later on a Thursday afternoon, when Sean finally decided to make an appearance.
Cole had helped Delilah to sit up in her bed, ignoring her protests that she could get up herself, and was almost done spoon feeding her the Subway salad he had bought,when the door opened and both of them looked up to see a hesitant Sean standing at the entrance, looking down at his shoes. Cole glared at him for a minute, then turned back to Delilah and continued feeding her. When the bowl was empty, and her stomach full, he turned to give Sean a stony glare while taking Delilah's hand in his. Sean finally turned to look at both of them and almost immediately looked back down but stopped himself. He had to face it sometime. It was a now or never situation.
He took a deep breath and looked at Delilah, but found it better to look at Cole's hate-filled glare than her blank expression. After a minute of eerie silence, Cole said, "What do you want?" Sean stopped himself from looking back down at his shoes and mumbled, "I wanted to apologize..." "For what?" Cole grunted. "Umm...well ..." He visibly gulped and Cole said, "For what? For blowing up the house when your sister was still inside." Sean looked guiltily down at his shoes and said, "It was an accident !" Cole snorted and turned back to Delilah, and said, "Accident, my ass." Smiling, Delilah leant over and whispered, "Your very cute ass." He couldn't help but chuckle and smile and kiss her forehead and nose.
He knew Sean was still in the room, he could hear him shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another but right now, Cole wasn't in the mood. The same couldn't be said for Delilah. She turned to Sean and said, "So, you were saying?" He looked surprised and said, "Um...well, if we could talk in private." Shrugging, Delilah turned to Cole and gave him a look that said that he couldn't argue. He sighed and got up, leaning over to kiss her lips. Just as he was about to lean back, she whispered, "Don't worry, if he tries to kill me, I'll shout and you can just come rushing in and save me like the hero you are." He chuckled again and kissed her forehead lovingly before standing up properly and walking out of the room but not before giving Sean a glare and Delilah a soft smile. As soon as the door shut, Delilah turned to Sean and said, "So, let's talk."
Chapter 13
Sean awkwardly shifted his weight and stuttered. Delilah ignored his discomfort and motioned to him to sit down on the stool. For a minute, they sat in an awkward silence until Delilah got tired of it and said, "Look, if you're just going to sit there and do nothing, then---" He cut her off by saying, "I'm gay." To say that she looked surprised would be an understatement. Sean's cheeks and neck turned pink as she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh."she said, then after a pause asked, "What has that got to do with anything ?" He hesitated, then sighed and said, "I'm gonna start from the beginning so, don't interrupt, alright ?" She nodded and waited for him to start. He took a deep breath and started. "When you first came here, I was already furious with you. Back then, I thought that you were the reason I didn't have a perfect family. I mean, sure I had a mom but she wasn't much of a mother. She was an alcoholic and was rarely home. But when she was, she told me that the reason her and Dad split up was you. She said that she never wanted a daughter and well, you created some problems. I don't know why I believed her, but I did.
And because of that, Damien and the others started hating me. I guess I understand why. I mean, they all love you so much. So, well, when you came here, I pretty much hated you. And when Colton started spending more time with you, that blew me off." He paused to take a breath and Delilah took the chance to say something. "Are you saying that you had a crush on Cole?" Sean cleared his throat and said, "Had been the key word. That was before. Well, as I was saying, the closer you got to Cole, I started hating you more and more. Well, that was until I met Jensen. He was in town visiting his sick grandma and I met him at a diner a weeks ago. So, anyway, the more I met up with him during lunch, the less I felt towards Colton. So, I decided to let it go. But after a few days, I heard you guys talking about Colton's life at home. It pissed me off that after only a few months of being his best friend, you knew so much about him and I didn't.
And I honestly regret saying that to his sister, Jenny - I apologized, by the way. But, seriously, it was a kind of spur of the moment thing. So...uh,..I think that's it." Delilah nodded, both her eyebrows raised and opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off. "By the way, I find your reason for not telling me about your sickness totally unreasonable." She looked at him wide-eyed, then shrugged, settling back against the pillows. They sat in a comfortable silence, then Delilah said, "You mind calling Cole inside?" He nodded and got up and walked towards the door, and a second later, Cole appeared, lunging at her as if he hadn't seen her in years. Laughing, she hugged him back and giggled as he planted kisses all over face. Finally, he settled back down a chair and took her hand in both of his. He kissed the back of her hand and smilingly said, "Now, come on, it's time to sleep." "But, I'm not tired."she whined, sticking out her bottom lip.
He smiled and said, "So?" She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Cole sighed and sat down beside her, putting his arm around her. "What if I sing you to sleep?" "But you're a terrible singer!" she giggled, snuggling into his chest. He grinned at her and said, "That's the whole point ! Either you go to sleep, or you have to hear me singing." She grinned back, her grin equally cheeky, and said, "Well, what dong are you gonna sing then?" He groaned and pressed his nose against her hair. She laughed against his chest and he smiled, kissing her hair. "Alright, how about a deal? You go home and have a shower and I'll get some rest, alright ?"she said, craning her neck to look at him. He nodded and got off the bed as she laid down, getting comfortable. Leaning down, he gently kissed her forehead, then her nose, then her lips, making her giggle and playfully smack his chest. "Go and get cleaned. You stink."she said smiling up at him.
Cole couldn't help but lean down and give her another kiss on her lips, then on her nose, then finally got up. He gave her palm a kiss, then reluctantly walked out the door. About a minute later, the door opened and Damien walked in, sitting down on the chair and kissing her forehead. He remained silent for a moment, then said, "Dad called." Delilah sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for him to continue. "I don't know how he found out, Del, I swear. Anyway, he got mad that we didn't tell him that you were in the hospital."Damien continued. "And?" she asked, opening her eyes. Damien sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "He said he'll be here in a few hours." Sighing, Delilah closed her eyes again and fell asleep. A couple of hours later, she woke up to someone stroking her hair.
She smiled up at Cole who leaned down and kissed her forehead. He helped her sit and just as he sat back down, the door burst open revealing a tall, huge man with a nervous Damien tailing behind him. "Daddy!!!" Delilah exclaimed happily as soon as she saw him. He spotted her sitting on the bed and raced over to her, reaching forward to hug her and managed to push Cole off his chair in the process. Hugging her tightly to his chest, he murmured, "Are you alright, princess?" She nodded in his chest and said, "I'm fine, daddy." Kissing her hair, he pulled back and on noticing Cole, immediately went into protective-dad mode. "And who is this?" he asked. Delilah smiled and said, "Dad, this is the Colton I told you about. Cole, this is my dad." When the man turned, Cole finally got a good look at him.
Delilah's dad, Mark had the same hair as his daughter but his eyes were a muddy brown. His body was muscled and his features were hard and only softened for his beloved daughter. Cole gulped and reached out his hand and with a polite smile, said, "Hello, sir." Mark eyed his hand like he had not washed his hand for months and Delilah gave him a warning look and said, "Dad, behave." "But I want to play the role of the over protective dad!" he whined, his shoulders slumping and his bottom lip sticking out. She smilingly shook her head and patted him arm. "Maybe later." Sighing, Mark turned back to Cole and pulled him into a bone-crunching hug. "I hope you are treating, baby girl right." he said when he pulled back. Cole nodded, dazed. One thing was for sure, Delilah had this old man wrapped around her little finger!
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