Page 18 of The Obsession

“Yeah! And that girl was the one who discovered him… Jesus, that’s rough. How much you wanna bet she’s going to milk this for all it’s worth and use it to get a vacation from school?”

I was suddenly filled with an urge to punch Josh in the face. “I dunno.”

“C’mon, twenty bucks says she won’t show up for at least a week.” Josh elbowed me again. “You scared of losing?” He clucked at me.

“No, I just don’t wanna be a dick,” I shot back.

“Pfft. Whatever. All right, see ya, loser,” Josh said good-naturedly. He melted into the crowd.

I forced myself to smile at the students who greeted me as I made my way to chemistry. My mouth went dry when I entered the classroom. Delilah’s seat was empty. Darkness bloomed in the pit of my stomach. Was she okay? Did the cops—did they do something to her? I had to make myself sit still in class instead of running all the way to her house. The last thing I needed was for Ms. Taylor to get a call about me. Delilah was probably at home comforting her grief-stricken mother. It wasn’t an easy time for either of them. Right. Nothing was wrong. I replayed the videos of her in my mind, getting sicker with worry by the minute.

As soon as classes ended for the day, I faked a stomachache and told Coach I was going to be in the dorms. I made my way to the Eastern Gardens, where a hole in the hedge allowed us to make unscheduled visits into town. The hole was Draycott’s best-kept secret. I wriggled through and jogged all the way to the nearest bus stop. Since I was supposed to remain on campus, I couldn’t very well check my car out of the school garage.

Forty-five minutes later, I was strolling toward Delilah’s house, Daddy tugging vehemently at the leash. I walked slowly, cautious, unsure what I would find. There were cars parked outside her house, and it hit me then, that they must be having a wake or something. Of course. What did I expect? To be able to walk right into her house and have a heart-to-heart with her? I’d been so excited to finally get to see the real Delilah that I didn’t think things through before coming here. Daddy whined, and I patted him on the head and breathed out. “You were looking forward to seeing her too, huh?”

He panted and shook his tail then tugged ferociously on the leash. Oh well. At least one of us was having a good time. I walked us to a nearby playground. As I went past it, something clattered at my feet. A pebble. I glanced up and saw Delilah waving at me from the swings. My chest expanded at the sight of her. I wanted to run to her, but I made myself walk instead.

“Be cool, man,” I muttered to Daddy as we closed the distance.

“Hey,” Delilah said. She smiled at Daddy. “Hey, Daddy.”

Daddy rolled over on his back and stared expectantly up at her. Delilah cracked the tiniest hint of a smile, knelt on the grass, and rubbed his belly.

“Uh, I heard about what happened. I’m sorry,” I said weakly. I studied her closely, trying to get a hint of how she was handling everything. Now that I saw Delilah in person, I couldn’t help but notice tiny transformations about her. Was it just my imagination, or was she carrying herself differently? Did she seem more confident, more empowered?Should I be sorry?I wanted to say. But that would be too crass. I’d push her away.

A shadow crossed Delilah’s face. “I don’t really want to talk about it. I’ve done nothing but talk about the accident ever since it happened.” She glanced up at me. “Is that okay? I’m sorry.”

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize. We can talk about whatever else you want.”

“Thanks.” We stayed silent for a while as she continued rubbing Daddy’s belly.

“So… Read any good books lately?” I ask.

That got a laugh out of her. She shook her head. “I haven’t had much time to read lately. What about you?”

“I’m kinda ashamed to admit it, but despite my good looks, I’m kind of a nerd.” I grinned when Delilah snorted with laughter. “What, you don’t believe me?”

She shrugged, the hint of a smile playing on her lips.

“I read pretty much everything. I just finishedThe Rook, and I loved that.”

“Wow, you’re right, you are a nerd,” Delilah said.

This was my chance. I could finally put all that research, all the homework I’d done to good use. “Before that I was reading these historical mysteries set in Singapore—”

Delilah’s eyes widened, and she stopped rubbing Daddy’s belly for a second. “The Merlion Murder series?”

“Yeah. You know them?” Was that the right amount of surprise in my voice?

“Tan Jing Xu is one of my favorite writers. I didn’t think anyone at school had ever heard of her,” she said.

“Yeah, my mom brought back one of her books after her first trip to Singapore, and I was hooked. Her writing…” I shook my head, and I wasn’t lying here, although maybe I was stretching the moment a bit. “I wanna say it’s sublime, but I don’t wanna be the sort of asshole who sayssublime.”

Delilah laughed, her eyes brighter than I had ever seen them, and god, did I ever want to kiss her. “Her writing is really great,” she said. “But it’s not actually why I love her books.” She looked down at Daddy and rubbed his tummy again. “I’ve only been to Singapore twice, and even though I love the place, I always felt like an outsider. Even my own family in Singapore calls meang moh. Know what that means?”

I shook my head, not daring to say a word.

Delilah gave a wry smile. “It literally meansredhead. It’s what they call white people in Singapore. Basically, they call mewhitey. But over here, most people consider me Asian.” She shrugged. “That’s me—not Asian enough for Asian people, not white enough for white people. Anyway, I’ve always wanted to learn more about Singapore, especially after my dad—um. After his accident. And Tan Jing Xu puts in like, hundreds of hours into researching every possible thing for her books. Reading them feels like…” She shook her head, searching for the right words.

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