Page 26 of The Obsession

The drive home was too short. We never stopped talking, our conversation flowing so easily, it was like we were old friends picking up right where we left off. All too soon, we were parked in front of her house.

I’d told myself that I had to go at her pace, and so when I turned off the engine, I did not reach over to take her hand or kiss her or anything that might freak her out, even though I wanted to so badly, even though the smell of her had been distracting me the entire way home—almonds and flowers—and I could only look at her in small doses. Her lips were so plump, so kissable.

I focused on a spot right below her ear and said, “I had a great time today.”

“Me too.” Delilah bit her bottom lip. Then, before I could react, she reached over, caught my shirt in her hand, and tugged me to her.

Our lips met in one beautiful, heart-stopping crush. My thoughts went haywire. I was kissing Delilah. My Delilah. This was really happening. The weight of it was so intense, my throat closed up with tears. Nothing like this had happened with Sophie. Even in my wildest dreams, I never thought things would progress this well, everything clicking into place beautifully, like streams flowing downhill to join a river, everything was meant to be. I was so delirious with the touch of her, the scent everywhere around me, that I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud until Delilah pulled away from me.

“What?” she said.

It took me a moment to gather my senses. “Hm?” I mumbled.

“You said ‘I love you.’” Her eyes were so wide, I could see the whites all around her irises. Her breath was still rapid from our earth-shaking kiss.

It hit me then, what I’d said, those dreaded three words that were so incredibly true. “I—I don’t—”

And then the small voice at the back of my mind suddenly became a big voice, impossible to ignore. Well, why not? Why shouldn’t I be honest with her? We were soul mates. Surely, after today, after everything, after the way we talked, we kissed, we connected, she’d feel the same way. I reached out and took her hand, firm, in mine.

“It’s true, Delilah. I love you.”

She continued gaping at me.

“I’ve loved you ever since I saw you the first day of school.”

She recoiled. “But—that was months ago!”

“I couldn’t just ask you out. I had to make sure everything was perfect, and the wait was worth it, wasn’t it? You felt it too, I know. The way you smiled at me, the way you looked at me, maybe you don’t know it yet, but you’re in love with me too. Today was so…” My voice came out a hell of a lot calmer than I felt, but I had to talk slow so she’d understand, so she’d get how fucking important this was.

Her lips twitched into a smile, but it wasn’t a happy one. It was an I’d-better-smile-so-this-psycho-won’t-kill-me type of smile, and she tugged her hand free from mine.

“Um. Thank you for the really great day. I’m pretty tired. I think I’m gonna go in now. I’ll see you at school, okay?” she said, her voice brittle, close to breaking. She reached for her bag.

I was losing her. Panic burst through the endorphin-fueled fog I’d been in since our kiss. I couldn’t lose her, not now. If she got out of the car now, all I’d be left with was the faint scent of her, which would only linger for a few hours. By tomorrow, all traces of her would be gone, and I’d only have awkward glances at school and the knowledge of the most perfect relationship ruined before it could even begin.

Delilah got out, and I scrambled after her. Already she was on the pathway leading to her house.

“Please, Delilah, just… Please give me a chance.” I was doing it all wrong, I knew even as I begged her. My voice was too raw, too desperate.

“It’s been really great, Logan,” she said. “But I think it’s probably best if we just stay friends?”

“But—the date went so well. It was perfect, you know it was.”

She hesitated. “Yeah, but…”

“And that kiss. There’s something here, Dee. You know there is.”

For a second, I thought she might relent, give in to the inevitability of us, but then her face hardened. “I’m sorry, Logan. I don’t think this is a good idea. I’ll see you at school.”

“Wait!” I practically screamed it.Calm. Down. I didn’t trust myself to talk again, not for a while, so I just took out my phone. Before our date, I’d saved another copy in it, aside from the one I wore around my neck. Maybe even then, part of me had known I might need this fail-safe, in case things took a bad turn on our date. I found the file I’d saved in a hidden folder and encrypted with a password, the one I’d watched over and over again the whole of last week, knowing this video would change our entire lives. Delilah as a Valkyrie, raining vengeance on the man who’d made life hell for her and her mother. I held up the phone so we could both see the screen.

Delilah was already on her doorstep, the polite smile completely gone, and I hadn’t wanted to go down this route, really, but I was about to lose her, and I couldn’t let that happen, not again.

“I really should go—” she said.

I pressed play. The screen lit up, showing the interior of Delilah’s garage. Brandon’s legs sticking out from under his car, one of his feet tapping away, probably to some music. Delilah’s entire body went rigid. She turned back to face me, and her eyes slowly crept to look at my phone screen. Her mouth dropped open, but no sound came out for a few seconds.

“This is—”

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