Underneath

6

delilah

Delilah spotted Hunter sitting at a white table by the school parking lot -- the same spot where Parker and him had had their dispute yesterday. Only this time, he wasn't alone. She could see the back of a blonde-haired boy sitting next to Hunter. She began making her way towards him, prepared to make sure he wouldn't tell anyone about her dealing weed yesterday. She took about five steps before noticing that Hunter's shoulders were slumped and the blonde-haired boy had his arm loosely slung around Hunter's shoulders.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Did something awful end up happening to his grandma? Last time she had seen him, he had been frantically trying to get home to check up on her. Suddenly, what she was about to tell him seemed so minuscule to what he must be dealing with.

Should she continue to walk towards him and tell him not to tell anyone about her business? This felt like an awkward time to approach him -- she had no idea how to comfort him especially since she didn't know him.

Her conversation with her mom echoed in her mind.

"I will not have everything I've worked for be ruined by you."

Shame followed by determination flowed through Delilah as she willed her feet to continue walking to the table where Hunter was sitting. She was not going to fail her mom. When she reached the table, she saw that Hunter's head was buried in his hands.

Oh man. Her timing was impeccable.

"Hey. Is everything alright?"

Delilah sat down on the opposite side of Hunter and the blonde-haired boy and set down a McDonald's brown bag. She emptied the contents of the bag: two large red cartons full of golden fries along with two bags of ketchup. She pushed one of the cartons towards Hunter.

Hunter lifted his head from his hands, pushed his disheveled chestnut curly hair away from his face and gave Delilah a surprised look.

"How did you find me?" Hunter asked. His dark lashes were brimmed heavily with tears before he managed to wipe them away. He pushed the fries back to Delilah and shook his head. His friend, on the other hand, hungrily grabbed one of the McDonald's cartons.

"I figured you'd be sitting in the same spot as yesterday," she said, shrugging. "Who's this?"

"This is Oliver Palmer."

As shallow as it sounded, Delilah only paid attention to the people in her inner circle. She had too much on her plate to be remembering names of people she wasn't friends with. Delilah looked at him closely. Short blonde hairs stuck up in all directions and his blue-gray eyes reminded her of stormy skies. He had on a tie-dye graphic tee with the Jurassic Park logo on it. He gave her a wide smile before popping a french fry in his mouth.

"I'm Delilah Saunders." She returned the smile before turning her attention towards Hunter. "Is your grandma okay?"

He let out a tense sigh and his voice was shaky when he spoke. "My grandma had cardiac arrest. She's alive and stabilized right now, but they're keeping her in the hospital for the next two days to keep an eye on her." He rubbed his eyes and Delilah noticed the dark circles that underlined his hazel eyes.

She felt a sense of relief wash through her even though she didn't know his grandma. "That's amazing! Shouldn't you be celebrating then? Your grandma's going to be okay."

Hunter nodded, but cast a worried look at Delilah. "I'm incredibly relieved that she's okay, but she's also getting worse. She already has heart disease and now this..."

The table fell silent. Delilah swallowed hard while she searched for the right words to say. "Don't worry. Your grandma will fight through this and she'll come out stronger than ever. You won't lose her."

Oliver nodded and patted Hunter on the back. "That's what I've been telling you, man. Your grandma is such a strong woman and she will get through this. Remember when your grandpa passed away and your grandma still pushed through so she could raise you? She loves you guys and that's what will keep her alive."

Hunter gave a small nod in agreement but his face seemed distracted.

Delilah cleared her throat. It was either now or never.

"Can I talk to you alone about something?"

"Sure."

Delilah and Hunter turned towards Oliver who was already halfway through the carton of fries. "Alright, I'm leaving," Oliver said, before popping one last french fry into his mouth.

Delilah waited until Oliver was out of earshot before she spoke.

"I know this isn't exactly the best time to bring this up, but you know how you were there yesterday when I told Parker I'd deal to him? Please don't tell anyone."

"What?" He asked, blankly.

"I agreed to deal weed yesterday and you were there. Please don't tell anyone."

"What? You think I'm going to tell people? You think that's what's going on in my mind right now?"

"Obviously not, but I just wanted to tell you to make sure you won't say anything."

"Seriously?" Hunter asked.

"Yes. I can't afford to get caught. If you want, I could give you some money," Delilah said tersely. She slipped a crisp fifty dollar bill towards him and and adjusted her striped v-neck top to allow the swell of her large breasts to peek through. "Or, we could always work out something more pleasurable."

"Wow. I thought you came to find me because you genuinely wanted to know if my grandma was okay. But, of course all you care about is your drugs. Everything this whole school has been saying about you is right."

"Shhh! Lower your voice," Delilah hushed. The conversation from nearby tables had died down as curious heads turned in their direction. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's exactly what it means. I don't want anything from you. I'm here worrying about my grandma's health and you think I'm going to tell other people about your business."

"Well, are you?"

Hunter paused for a moment. "Why are you even still dealing after you just got released? I can't tell if you're incredibly reckless or just plain stupid," Hunter said bluntly. 

Delilah's heart raced as she felt anger boil deep inside her, as hot as lava. Hunter had absolutely no right to be criticizing her especially since he knew nothing about her. "That's none of your business. If you even say a word to anyone about me dealing, I will find a way ruin you." 

Hunter's gaze hardened and his brows lifted. "Get your manipulative and paranoid ass away from me and then maybe I'll keep my mouth shut," He said, slowly enunciating each word before standing up and storming back into the school.

Delilah weakly took her fifty dollar bill back, embarrassment burning through her. She normally never had a problem getting a guy to keep his mouth shut. That could not have gone any worse.

***

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