Personal Soldier

Chapter 5

Delilah stood backstage, waiting to be introduced.

Her phone rang and she answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, sweetheart," her father said.

"Dad?"

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your mother passed away a few minutes ago."

Delilah gasped softly and whispered, "Oh my God." She raised her voice slightly. "How soon do you want me back in Harrisburg?"

"As soon as you can. I'm so sorry, dear."

"Thanks, Dad. I love you."

"I love you, too."

She hung up and threw her phone into a chair nearby.

Anthony came up next to her and asked, "You ready?" He noticed her sullen expression. "What's wrong?"

Delilah met his eyes, saying nothing. She noticed Sebastian walk up next to her and said, "I gotta go back to Harrisburg as soon as I can."

Sebastian tilted his head. "Why's that?"

"My mom."

Instantly, he pulled her into a hug, pressing a kiss to her hair. "I'm so sorry, Del. Do you want to do the panel?"

She shrugged. "Yes, no, I don't know. I just want to be home. Devin and my dad are already starting to make arrangements, and I should be there with them but I don't want to go. But I do. You know?"

"Tell you what. Come onto stage with me and Anthony, and if you can't bear being on stage, just give me that look that lets me know that you want to leave and we'll get you backstage."

Delilah nodded slowly. "Okay. Thank you."

Sebastian rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "You ready, sweetheart?"

She took his hand and licked her lips to try to calm her nerves. "Mhmm."

"Delilah, are you sure you're up for this?" Anthony asked.

"No, it's okay. The fans want to see us and I don't want to disappoint them."

"Your mother just-"

"I know my mother just fucking died!" Delilah snapped, letting out a sigh. "Just... I want to go on stage. I'll let you know if I can't bear that."

Sebastian and Anthony exchanged a look and nodded.

The three made their way onto the stage and started the panel. Towards the middle, things began going downhill.

Anthony said into his microphone, "Who else has a question?" He pointed to a boy in a Spider-Man shirt and said, "Come on up."

The boy walked up to the microphone and said, "I just wanted to say that I really like seeing Sam and Bucky together. But adding a character in, like the directors did, isn't cool. Gail Richards was from a different universe and I don't see why she has to be in the movie."

"Believe it or not, it was actually Chris that suggested it. Bucky's trying to move on with his life and who's to say he didn't meet someone."

Sebastian glanced at Delilah and smiled. "I mean, I've already fallen for her and I'm sure Bucky would too."

"She's not that pretty and she's not that great an actress."

"The Internet's going to be fun for you tonight."

"Yeah it will. You know why? Because I'm going to-"

Anthony cut him off. "You're going to what? Dismiss my friend's capability to act on the big screen? I for one think she did a great job."