DELICATE / Brandon Darrow

thirty

thirty
peace sign
FIRST PERSON

IT WAS TIME FOR Nicki's funeral so we headed our way down there. It was really small since it was the way Rowan knew she would've wanted it.

Rowan was giving her speech when I started to tear up. Sean put his arm around me and made sure I was okay. I looked down and saw that him and Hailey were holding hands.

I smiled lightly at that.

Through out the past days, it was really quiet. Going back to school felt different. It felt strange.

As I was walking out the doors, I saw Trevor and went up to him. "Trevor," I called.

"What?" He said, a little rudely but not his usual tone.

"I'm sorry," I confessed and it made him confused. "About my mom, and your parents. Trevor, my mom hurt me and my family too. I just want you to know that you're not alone, whether you hate me or not."

He didn't respond nor make any movement that would make me believe he would so I sighed in defeat. As I was about to walk away from him, his voice stopped me in my tracks.

"I don't hate you," it sounded like saying that hurt him but when I turned to face him, he gave me an awkward smile. "I guess you're kind of cool."

I took a second to let his words settle before I smiled widely at him. "You're cool too," I said softly. "I'll see you around?"

He nodded with a small smile. "See you," giving me a peace sign that I returned.

I made my journey home with a little more of a better attitude then I had before.

Walking inside of my room triggered me. It brought back memories. So, I decided to try and change it up. And by nightfall, I was satisfied with the outcome. The only thing that bothered me was Fishy, who sat there mocking me.

ROWAN:
i'm outside
ROWAN:
elisia is in trouble!

ELISIA:
i need help!
ELISIA:
i'm at the grotto

I got up out of my bed and snuck out my window since my dad came back home. I went out there and Rowan was sure enough, outside.

"What happened?" I whispered harshly.

"I don't know. Elisia texted me saying that she needed help," Rowan answered. "She's at the Grotto."

"I know. I just got her text right now," I nodded.

We ran our way over to the Grotto to be met with Hailey.

"Did you get Elisia's message?" Rowan asked Hailey.

"Yeah, I did. Where is she?" Hailey asked.

"We don't know," I shrugged.

Until we saw Elisia run up to us.

"Hailey," she was out of breath. "You're okay?"

"What? What do you mean?" Hailey asked.

"I got your text saying you needed help," Elisia responded in confusion.

"We got the exact same message from you," Rowan looked very tensed.

Then we heard loud shuffling behind us. We turned and saw a light all the way at the end of a large tunnel.

"What is that?" I asked.

Rowan grabbed my hand, I grabbed Hailey's and Hailey grabbed Elisia's. We all started to walk down the tunnel until we met the end. We moved the long strips to see what was waiting for us on the inside.

It was a bonfire. We all got messages which made everybody turn around. They were all wearing masks. Until one caught my eye.

Sean.

But the one that shocked me the most was Zoe wearing a King Cobra mask— or something like it. My old best friend, who I was hanging out with, was King Cobra.

It just didn't make any sense.

After that, we all made a run for it. I went home and locked all my doors and windows, just in case.

♡

THIRD PERSON
THE NEXT DAY

Rowan and Elisia came over to Cynthia's house since Hailey told them she was sick.

"Hey," they said simultaneously, scaring Cynthia.

"Hi," she laughed out.

"Have you talked to Sean since last night?" Rowan decided to rip the bandaid by asking.

Cynthia stared emotionlessly before shaking her head and looking away. "But I know that was him."

"We believe you," Elisia nodded. "Maybe he was there to find out who King Cobra was. If Brandon isn't King Cobra then maybe that's what he was doing? Trying to get justice for him," she tried to make her feel better.

"Let's just talk about something else," Cynthia said.

"Okay," Elisia nodded, rubbing her arm.

"Your room looks almost completely empty," Rowan observed, looking around in awe.

"Yup," she popped the 'p', "moving in with my mom."

"Really?" Rowan questioned.

Cynthia nodded. "It's kind of annoying because I spent all day yesterday rearranging everything just to be packing it up today," she rolled her eyes before she jumped up in realization. "I forgot; I need to get more boxes. I'll be right back."

After she left, and was out of sight, Elisia began to interrogate Rowan again. "So, when are you going to tell her?"

"I'm not," Rowan shook her head. "It's pretty obvious how she feels about Brandon."

"That's not true," Elisia denied. "Cynthia cares about everyone. I'm sure what happened between her and Brandon was because she wanted to make sure that he wasn't alone," she told her. "Rowan, you like her. She deserves to know."

"I can't," Rowan finished.

Cynthia entered the room, unaware of their conversation. Noticing the tension, she gave them a look but they fixed it up with a smile, offering to help her out.

They all packed things while listening to music and talking about basic teenage girl stuff. But all Rowan could think about was how mad Cynthia would be when she found out.

Rowan knew it was wrong to set up Brandon without Cynthia knowing but she wanted to protect her.

SEASON THREE ↴