Love's Rebirth

Chapter 7

Delia's POV

The week had been full of activity, with very little time for me to think about anything else, including my absent fiancee. It was only as Friday started to wind down that I realized Leon and I had barely spoken the entire week. He hadn't called me to say he'd arrived safely or that he was back in town. This should have alarmed me, but I slowly realized I barely thought about him in the hustle and bustle. This realization left a cold pit in my stomach, and I refused to acknowledge the questions it raised. Leon and I were happy. Granted, he wasn't ok with the "no s*x" thing, and he grumbled about it every time we were together, but I didn't think this was a major conflict since he'd agreed to it when he's asked me out. Something in my heart shifted, and the questions I refused to ask nagged at my subconscious, begging to be noticed. I made the conscious choice to ignore my gut and continue living in blissful ignorance. I wrapped up my final task for the day, stretching once I had finished it, and allowed myself a moment to unwind before going home. I got up from my chairs and stood to face the bank of windows behind me. The view of the city stared back at me, glittering beautifully against the backdrop of my inner turmoil. The pit in my stomach kept growing, refusing to be ignored, and I found myself tapping my foot anxiously, anticipating something bad but not knowing what it was. I gave up on the view and got ready to leave.

Just as I was grabbing my blazer, Abi walked in with a gleeful expression on her face and announced excitedly, "I'm taking you out. This week has been insane and we need to decompress. So you, me, loud music and fruity cocktails. What do you say?" She looked at me expectantly, and I knew Abi well enough to know that her request was more of an order. I looked at her, trying to gauge her reaction if I refused, then promptly gave up and acquiesced, realizing that arguing with Abi would take more energy than I had to spare. We left the building together. I offered her a lift, which she accepted. When we arrived at her apartment building, she gave me one last excited look, almost as if to say "don't you dare bail on me", before exiting the car with a promise to text me details of the club.

When I got home, I made my way to my room to freshen up and get ready for my night out. In the shower, thoughts of Xavier intruded, with memories of our past interactions replaying in my mind. One particular interaction stood out, and I shuddered even though the water was scalding. Xavier had been handsome from youth into adulthood, but he always seemed unsure of himself. I tried so hard to relate to him, engage with him , and failed at every turn. The memory that replayed itself was our interaction at his and Trent's graduation. His eyes had been warm when talking to Trent, but as soon as we made eye contact, his smile vanished, and his eyes went cold, their grey depths hardening like steel. The awkward side hug he gave me and cold stare left me feeling empty. After their graduation ceremony, he declined my family's dinner invitation. After that day, he very rarely appeared in spaces where I would be. My relationship with Leon made avoiding me difficult, but Xavier certainly did his best to succeed. I tried to block the memories out, but they would sneak back in when my guard was down. The pit in my stomach kept growing with every single memory, and I couldn't shake the feeling Xavier would be at the center of whatever storm was coming.

I finished my shower, noticed a notification on my phone, and sat on the chair at my vanity, trying to decide my makeup look for the evening. I read Abi's text as i weighed the pros and cons of each makeup look. She had texted to inform me that she'd be coming to pick me up instead of waiting at the club because she didn't trust me not to back out i replied with an "ok, cool" before returning to my previois task. I was stuck between a warm, natural look or a more dramatic look with a bold smokey eye. I decided the smokey eye would fit my current mood best. After completing my makeup, I did my hair slowly, methodically, styling my braids into an elaborate updo, leaving some strands out to soften the look. Once my makeup and hair were done, I put the outfit I'd selected on, a silver scoop neck halter top and black skinny jeans. The jeans fit like a second skin and showed off every curve. I knew my body was attractive, but I rarely wore clothes that accentuated it to this degree. I debated changing, but my phone rang, and the choice was taken from me. My mom walked in just as I was about to leave the room, nodded her head enthusiastically in approval, got a strange look on her face, and left my room in a hurry. Abi had arrived, and she was waiting downstairs. Clearly, I had taken longer than I thought when getting ready. I filled my black clutch with essential like lip gloss, my card, my phone, a pad, a tampon, a pack of tissues, and a small pack of gum. I completed the look with a pair of 2-inch silver heels. The straps criss crossed over my ankle. I took one last quick look in the mirror and decided I looked good and left the room.

I got downstairs and found Trent hitting on Abi. I watched from the stairs as he complimented her repeatedly, flexing his arms occasionally to show off his large biceps and giving her the smirk he had practiced on many women. Abi seemed unaffected by his advances, which spurred him on even more. I was impressed at her level of resistance, but I also felt bad for my brother. Even though he was using all the rehearsed tactics that won him girl after girl after girl, this time he seemed genuinely interested. Abi rejected him repeatedly before he sighed and gave up, but I saw the stubborn set of his mouth, and I instinctively knew this was far from over. I made it to the landing, and Abi's eyes lit up. "D, you look incredible. I'm going to have to beat a lot of guys with a stick to keep them off you. I wanna be you when I grow up." she said with an excited grin. Trent looked horrified. "What the hell are you wearing?!" he shouted as I approached Abi. I rolled my eyes and fixed him with a glare. "Clothes. Have you ever heard of them?" I replied sharply. My tone seemed to catch him off guard, but he recovered quickly, softening his attitude and speaking more calmly now. "I'm sorry I yelled. I was just concerned that you were showing so much of your body off." he admitted sheepishly. I just rolled my eyes again, this time with a soft smile, and kissed his cheek lightly. "Abi and I are going out. I had to look the part." I said calmly. He kissed my forehead gently before shooting Abi an intense, possessive look that she completely ignored in favor of gushing over my look. I chuckled softly at her praise. The more she talked, the more excited I got about tonight. Sam walked in just as Abi and I were making our final touches, and he didn't look happy.