DELILAHAnd now here I was, staring at my mother’s outstretched hand and the box she was holding, not sure if this was a gift or some new punishment in disguise.“Go on,” she coaxed softly.“Take it,” she said, pushing the little box so close to me it almost pressed against my chest.I had no choice. With trembling hands, I took it.Then my mom sat down next to me on the bed, facing me like she had all the time in the world. I didn’t know what to do, so I just sat there, holding the box, my fingers tight around the edges.“What are you waiting for?” she said, her voice light but sharp. “Open it.”I took a deep breath, my throat dry, my stomach twisting as I wondered what kind of torture device she had put in there for me.When I finally opened the box, my breath caught. Inside was a bracelet.....diamonds, everywhere.For a moment, I just stared at it, shocked. Why would she bring this?Did she buy Elena this gift, and now she wanted to throw this in my face?Or was this her way of say
DELILAHBut that’s not what my mother does.She smiles sweetly at me, too sweetly as she pulls me up and helps set me on the bed. My body still aches everywhere, pain radiating through me from everything she and Elena did yesterday.And yet here she is, smiling.....It feels like mind games.Because right now, I feel so confused. I feel like there’s a big bomb coming, and she’s just preparing me for it.When I’m finally settled on the bed, she takes a few steps back, still standing in front of me. And then she does something strange, she straightens herself, pulls her shoulders back, lifts her chin. Her posture is perfect, her expression calm, almost elegant. It’s as if she’s preparing herself for a presentation.“Well,” she begins, her tone light, casual, too casual.“First of all, we are not going to say anything about what happened yesterday. In my defense, I was drunk, and you got on my last nerves.”She pauses, almost like she’s waiting for me to thank her before adding,“But, I f
DELILAHThe room went quiet, too quiet. We could only hear Damien's and Elena's footsteps fading up the stairs. My mom waited until we could no longer hear them, before she let me go and turned to face me. She bent over me and gritted out,"You see what you did? You see what you do?"I could only stare at her in fear and try to pull away, but it didn’t stop her. She stepped closer."This is what you are, an attention seeker, a problem maker. You already created a problem, and now you want to add another one? What? So, because you saw Damien, you think he’s your angel? You really think he’s gonna save you? Haven’t you learned anything? He loves Elena, not you. Get that through your head."I didn’t. I tried to say that, but my mom put her hand back on me, on my shoulder. She didn’t press, but it was enough to show that she could still do what she wanted."Listen to me, Delilah. You have already crossed all lines you could cross, and right now, the only reason I'm still here, and the on
DELILAHMother watched me for a moment, and then, with a cruel calmness, she said, “The only place you’re going is upstairs to your room. You’re going to take a deep sleep and pretend that today never happened.”Her voice dropped lower, her grip tightening.“But it’s going to serve as a reminder next time you need reminding.”I swallowed hard, the ache in my throat matching the ache everywhere else.“I don’t want any more traumas,” I whispered, more to myself than to her.“Then remember,” she hissed. “You are still under the Blackwater’s protection. And I won’t let you make more of a mess of this family or its name.”Her hand finally dropped from my arm.“So upstairs,” she ordered, her voice leaving no room for argument. “Right this minute.”I started crying then. Not the quiet, hidden kind of crying I’d been doing for months, no. This time, I didn’t hide. I didn’t even try to act strong in front of her anymore.For the first time, I let it all go.I let myself feel everything, the pa
DELILAHI curled into myself, trying to protect my face and my head. My breath came fast, shallow, each one hurting more than the first.“Stop it!” I screamed. “Please stop.... Please stop.”But the words didn’t matter. They weren't listening. They didn’t want to listen.... They kept hitting me.I heard Elena laughing, a sharp, ugly sound that made my stomach twist.“You deserve this. You deserve this,” she kept shouting as she rained blows down on me.Tears ran down my cheeks, hot and bitter, but I refused to cry out loud. Not for them. Not while they were doing this to me. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.As I lay there still, they kept hitting me and hitting me. And then… I just stopped struggling.I let them.... I just let them keep hitting me.Then, somewhere through the ringing in my ears, I heard a phone call. Elena froze, then muttered something under her breath. Then she left the room.My mom stopped hitting me, too. I didn’t know what she was doing because I hadn’t got
DELILAH“No!” The word ripped out of me before I could stop it. It came out louder, harsher, more defiant than I’d intended.... but I didn’t care.Both of them froze.Elena’s brows shot up, her mouth twisting into a smug little smirk like she’d just been handed front-row tickets to my destruction. Mom, on the other hand, went deadly still, her tear-streaked face going rigid.“What did you just say to me?” Her voice was low, quiet... too quiet.“I said no,” I repeated, forcing my voice to stay steady even though my chest felt like it might cave in. “I’m not quitting. I can’t. I....”“You can and you will!” Mom shouted, cutting me off so sharply it made me flinch. She pushed Elena away and stood, her hands balled into fists. “You will march back there tomorrow and tell them you quit. You will stop embarrassing this family. Do you understand me?”“I’m not embarrassing this family!” I yelled back, the words spilling out before I could stop them.Mom’s eyes widened like I’d just slapped h