Categories > Cartoons > Delilah and Julius > The Last Night
Delilah woke up in her room, curled up in a tight ball. Her bed sheets were in a tangled mess underneath her body. As she opened her eyes, a sense of relief washed over her; it had all been a terrible dream. Her father hadn't really hit her. She had just dreamt up the whole thing.
She brushed her brown hair from her eyes and slowly sat upright. This whole ordeal with her and Julius was messing with her mind. Imagine, her father hitting her! What a riot! He was her dad, kind and gentle. Hitting her would be ... just wrong. Shaking her head, she laughed quietly.
"Delilah, Delilah, Delilah," she murmured, reaching up to rub away an itch on her cheek, "you and your silly imagination--"
She stopped abruptly. Her cheek was swollen, and hurt when her hand brushed it. No ... A sick feeling gripped her stomach. She stood up hastily, panic taking over. No. No! It had all been a dream! She'd already established that! Even so, she'd been hit in the guest room, not her own.
/He took you back to your room,/ a voice said inside her. /He felt sorry for you. He's ashamed of letting his temper get away from him. But you already knew about his bad humour, didn't you?/
Not bothering to question what the voice meant, Delilah went straight for the bathroom. She must have banged her head on something while she was asleep. That was the only reasonable explanation. No way had her dad slapped her.
She threw open the bathroom door and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her mouth dropped.//No .../ She couldn't believe the girl staring back at her, with that lost, lonely, desperate expression in her eyes, was her. Her left cheek was inflated, red. The corner of her eye was bruised; she'd probably get a black eye. Still unable to believe what she was seeing, her hand went to her face again. She traced the swollen area, tears coming to her eyes. Everything slowly came back to her: the blur out of the corner of her eye, the explosion of pain, the loud /crack/, her knees giving out ...
Delilah covered her face in her hands, sinking to the tiled floor. How could this be happening to her? All she had ever wanted was her parents back. But now that her father had returned, she almost wished he never had.
Stop thinking like that! She cried in her head. I should be grateful that Dad's come home! Instead, I'm wishing that I was still guessing whether he was alive or not. Really, I deserved that cuff. If I hadn't provoked him ...
Sighing, she got back to her feet. She really had asked for it, pressing him about why he had left her behind. From his voice, she had known it was a touchy subject. Still ... She pushed the memory from her mind and went back to her closet. She'd better to try and cover this up with makeup.
*
It took a great deal of courage for Delilah to walk into the cafeteria, pretending nothing was wrong. Sitting down beside Nosey, she grabbed the cereal box and started pouring herself breakfast. For a second, she almost believed no one would notice her face -
"Delilah, what happened to you?" Ursula asked, leaning across the table. "Your cheek's all swollen and puffy."
"Yes, Ursula, I'm well aware of that," Delilah grumbled through clenched teeth.
However, Ursula's statement had attracted attention. Nosey was staring intently at her face, and Emmett kept giving her probably what he assumed to be subtle glances. Sighing, Delilah shoved a spoonful of cereal in her mouth and chewed angrily. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, Julius entered the room.
Groaning quietly, she turned her face away from him as he sat down beside Ursula. He took a few bites of his muffin before casually looking at her. His brows furrowed in confusion as he noticed the swelling.
"Delilah, you okay?" he asked.
She had to bite her tongue. Oh, so what? Now you actually care about me? You're a real two-faced hypocrite, Julius Chevalier. She smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Well, what happened?" he pressed, leaning in closer, his eyes full of concern.
Her heart began pounding harder, but she ignored it. "Stupid accident," she muttered. "I forgot I left something in front of my door, and I tripped over it ... after our talk last night," she added bitterly, hoping he got the message.
Accepting her answer, Julius took another bite of his muffin and leaned back, cracking some joke at Nosey. Delilah sighed again, her mind wandering. She could have told him the truth. He probably would have taken her aside and comforted her, hugged her - dammit, her heart pounded harder just thinking about it. But no, she didn't want to believe it herself. And if she didn't talk about it, then it hadn't actually happened.
She brushed her brown hair from her eyes and slowly sat upright. This whole ordeal with her and Julius was messing with her mind. Imagine, her father hitting her! What a riot! He was her dad, kind and gentle. Hitting her would be ... just wrong. Shaking her head, she laughed quietly.
"Delilah, Delilah, Delilah," she murmured, reaching up to rub away an itch on her cheek, "you and your silly imagination--"
She stopped abruptly. Her cheek was swollen, and hurt when her hand brushed it. No ... A sick feeling gripped her stomach. She stood up hastily, panic taking over. No. No! It had all been a dream! She'd already established that! Even so, she'd been hit in the guest room, not her own.
/He took you back to your room,/ a voice said inside her. /He felt sorry for you. He's ashamed of letting his temper get away from him. But you already knew about his bad humour, didn't you?/
Not bothering to question what the voice meant, Delilah went straight for the bathroom. She must have banged her head on something while she was asleep. That was the only reasonable explanation. No way had her dad slapped her.
She threw open the bathroom door and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her mouth dropped.//No .../ She couldn't believe the girl staring back at her, with that lost, lonely, desperate expression in her eyes, was her. Her left cheek was inflated, red. The corner of her eye was bruised; she'd probably get a black eye. Still unable to believe what she was seeing, her hand went to her face again. She traced the swollen area, tears coming to her eyes. Everything slowly came back to her: the blur out of the corner of her eye, the explosion of pain, the loud /crack/, her knees giving out ...
Delilah covered her face in her hands, sinking to the tiled floor. How could this be happening to her? All she had ever wanted was her parents back. But now that her father had returned, she almost wished he never had.
Stop thinking like that! She cried in her head. I should be grateful that Dad's come home! Instead, I'm wishing that I was still guessing whether he was alive or not. Really, I deserved that cuff. If I hadn't provoked him ...
Sighing, she got back to her feet. She really had asked for it, pressing him about why he had left her behind. From his voice, she had known it was a touchy subject. Still ... She pushed the memory from her mind and went back to her closet. She'd better to try and cover this up with makeup.
*
It took a great deal of courage for Delilah to walk into the cafeteria, pretending nothing was wrong. Sitting down beside Nosey, she grabbed the cereal box and started pouring herself breakfast. For a second, she almost believed no one would notice her face -
"Delilah, what happened to you?" Ursula asked, leaning across the table. "Your cheek's all swollen and puffy."
"Yes, Ursula, I'm well aware of that," Delilah grumbled through clenched teeth.
However, Ursula's statement had attracted attention. Nosey was staring intently at her face, and Emmett kept giving her probably what he assumed to be subtle glances. Sighing, Delilah shoved a spoonful of cereal in her mouth and chewed angrily. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, Julius entered the room.
Groaning quietly, she turned her face away from him as he sat down beside Ursula. He took a few bites of his muffin before casually looking at her. His brows furrowed in confusion as he noticed the swelling.
"Delilah, you okay?" he asked.
She had to bite her tongue. Oh, so what? Now you actually care about me? You're a real two-faced hypocrite, Julius Chevalier. She smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Well, what happened?" he pressed, leaning in closer, his eyes full of concern.
Her heart began pounding harder, but she ignored it. "Stupid accident," she muttered. "I forgot I left something in front of my door, and I tripped over it ... after our talk last night," she added bitterly, hoping he got the message.
Accepting her answer, Julius took another bite of his muffin and leaned back, cracking some joke at Nosey. Delilah sighed again, her mind wandering. She could have told him the truth. He probably would have taken her aside and comforted her, hugged her - dammit, her heart pounded harder just thinking about it. But no, she didn't want to believe it herself. And if she didn't talk about it, then it hadn't actually happened.
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