The Angel in Hell

T O U C H

Shut Up and Drive by Rihanna<3

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After Felix's final confession the house was quiet. Elsbeth and James had driven up to their stables for a horse ride, they said they needed the exercise before the journey home later this afternoon but everybody left in the house knew it was just a cover to escape. Even they knew there wasn't a carpet ever made that would be big enough to sweep this mess under.

Felix had returned home about an hour ago, his body yet again soaked in saltwater, his hair dripping onto the oakwood floors. He didn't say anything when he locked eyes with Delilah who was standing at the top of the stairs, facing the front door. They both stared for a while, at each other, not really sure if they liked the feeling of it. The feeling of seeing eachother again, not really sure if it was different now or exactly the same. Being scared of both concepts. Eventually, his eyes fell onto Delilah's stomach as a long white shirt folded over it, nearly covering the bottoms of her boxer-style maternity shorts. His jaw unclenched and Delilah couldn't tell if the welling of tears in his eyes were from some stray drop of stinging sea salt or if he actually felt something when he looked at her.

As if her feet had a mind of her own, Delilah found herself taking gentle steps down the stairs, clutching onto the bannister for support. Felix inched closer, up the first step. Then the second, then third and so forth until he stood on the step beneath her in the middle of the staircase. He still towered over her. Their eyes remained on eachother, fear and apprehension ridden across their irises. Felix looked again at her stomach, this time with longing in his eyes. She saw his hand unclench and almost reach out towards her, energy crackling from his fingertips. A pang of empathy shot through Delilah's body for the boy in front of her, looking so broken and grey, so different from his former self. Again as if she had no free will over her limbs, her hand slowly reached out towards his and they touched.

For the first time in months, Delilah was properly touching him again. Although only the day before she had been banging her fists onto his chest in anger she hadn't properly felt him against her skin.

It burnt. Like hot red hell-fire, their skin burnt into eachothers as Delilah lifted his hand to her stomach. She took a breath and closed her eyes, trying to locate where she thought her - their - baby would kick next. Even if she hated this boy infront of her there was a sense that it wasn't unconditional, that it might not last forever. Finally the life inside her pushed its hand against her flesh and the jolt that rippled through Felix's body signified he felt it too. He gasped quietly, closing his eyes and letting the little hands beneath his spread a sense of calm over his soul. He looked back at Delilah, his face still grey but his eyes with a renewed glint in them. For the first time Felix looked almost familiar to Delilah.

Farleigh appeared from the door to the sitting room and glanced at the two of them as he made his way to the kitchen. They quickly looked away from one another and parted, making their way in opposite directions from the stairs.

Delilah, Farleigh and Venetia were sat in the summer house that stood at the end of the back law to the house, reading and listening to The Smiths- also trying to escape inside the pages of books and melancholy lyrics. But despite all the pain that still remained between Felix and the rest of his family, Delilah couldn't help but linger on the moment from the stairs.

Delilah sat in possibly the most comfortable armchair in the world, a maroon coloured leather, feather down cushioned cloud accompanied by a footstool that stood at the perfect height for her feet to rest on. She had sat in this very armchair hundreds of times over the vast years she'd spent with the Cattons and at this point, everybody knew it was hers. Wrapped in a knitted blanket woven with thick strands of highland wool, she rested her head on the palm of her hand while she let herself melt into the mysteries of 'Thirteen Reasons Why'. It was a novel she'd been waiting to get her hands on since it was first announced to be written in the paper at the beginning of last year but now she was reading it, it was all rather dark. Despite the disturbing nature of Hannah Baker's story, Delilah was almost comforted in reading someone else's mystery instead of living her own.