Hey There, Delilah

A Neutral Party Shines a Light

Song: comfort playlist by sunsetdreams

Vincent was speechless and his brain was taking a moment to process things.

He was tired from a day of lugging around clubs as a golf caddy. Walking through the course in the spring and summer wasn't so bad. But he hated doing it in the fall when the season slowly transitioned into winter.

Vincent was forgetful. Always wearing his Bermuda-length golf shorts instead of the long pants he kept. His arms were cold because he wore a short sleeve collared golf shirt. The one that the country club required him to wear. His toes were chilly due to the fact that Vincent always forgot to wear wool socks inside his tennis shoes.

The pay was fucking amazing, though, and the tips were phenomenal. So he was cold, but he was also making bank. It seemed like a fair enough trade off.

Also, Kiki would frown and tut when he came by later and Vincent looked forward to it. Because that meant that they could sneak away for a few seconds while Kiki warmed him up. That was even better than making money.

He was on his break, sitting on an expensive chair with a mug of hot chocolate in his hands. When his sweetest, cutest friend came through the doors like a whirlwind. Eyes puffier than usual and hair messy from the sudden gust of air that almost blew her over. She looked miserable and Vincent was on his feet in an instant to check on her.

Now that she'd joined him and his hot chocolate, with a mountain of food, he was in shock after hearing her story.

Lilah groaned, covering her face with her hands. Vincent was quiet. Vincent was never quiet. He always had something to say and the fact that he was so silent now made her feel even worse.

"I'm a terrible person," Lilah whined, sniffling and shoving another muffin into her mouth.

Her whining snapped Vincent out of his stupor and he frowned. His chocolate brown eyes were filled with disappointment. For Lilah and Ambrose.

"You're not a terrible person," he said, slapping her hand so she could drop the muffin and stop inhaling it. "You just made a mistake. A big mistake. But a mistake nonetheless. It's nothing that can't be fixed."

"He told me to fuck off back to my ivory tower." Lilah mumbled, picking out the chocolate chips from the discarded muffin. "Not that I blame him. I only sent him death flowers and then accused him of a crime he didn't commit. Then I dragged him down to the police station where the only person that left looking like a fool was me."

Lilah smiled cynically, tearing the muffin apart into small chunks. Her eyes sparkled with tears. Tears that she wouldn't dare let fall. If anyone saw her crying at the country club then everyone and their mother would know by dinner time.

"Yeah, that was fucked up. I can't deny that." Vincent took a sip from his hot drink, humming at the warmth that filled his mouth. He set the white mug on the wooden table and laced his fingers together. "But let's look at this from a bigger perspective."

Lilah paused, banana nut bread hovering before her pathetic pout. "Huh?"

"Think about it. You sent the roses to Ambrose. To your knowledge, he's the only one that the roses would go to, right? So it's not unfair to jump to the conclusion that Ambrose was the man that wrecked the flower shop," he explained. "Who else could it possibly have been if not him? How are you supposed to know that Ambrose was allergic to roses? Or that it would somehow end up with Jill and then her psycho husband would get ahold of them somehow?"

Lilah chewed on her bottom lip. Vincent's words alleviated some of her guilt. But not all of it.

She couldn't get the image of Ambrose's bewildered face out of her mind. Or how upset he looked when they were watching the video and Lilah saw that it wasn't him that caused the damage.