Attachment Issues // Jess Mariano

CHAPTER 3:

"Some people don't have the drive to love as hard as you." - Ry Reed

Jess waits for Delilah on one of the benches inside the doorway of the school, and for some reason, he's nervous. They'd gotten along that morning and actually had a few classes together, but that doesn't mean it was going to work that way again, and somehow, he wants it to.

Because Delilah actually, literally understands what he's going through, and for some reason, that means a hell of a lot more than he thinks it should.

She lets out a small groan as she plunks down in the seat beside him, distracting him from the book in his hands.

"Today was hell." She tells him tiredly, taking a deep breath before standing up. "Let's go."

"Alright." He agrees, standing and walking beside her through the hallway and out the door. Most of the students had fled the school as soon as the bell rang, though there are still plenty of stragglers walking out beside them.

"Hey!" Luke shouts, spotting his nephew and pushing off of the stone pillar he'd been leaning on. He's slightly taken aback, though, by the sight of the girl he's walking with.

Delilah Gilmore, chuckling lightly at something he'd said.

Of course, both look up at the sound of his voice, though neither stop moving.

"How was school?" He asks Jess, catching up to walk beside him.

"Great." Jess says, tucking the book he had been showing to Delilah into his back pocket. She had scolded him for folding it like that, but he really didn't care that much about the spine of the book.

"Learn anything good?"

"Oh, yeah, tons of things. I got gold stars plastered all over my forehead." He says sarcastically, earning a jab from Delilah.

"Don't be an ass, Jess." She warns, making him roll his eyes.

"Yeah? Well, I had an interesting call today. Want to know who it was from?"

"Not really."

"From Taylor Doose. You know, he owns the market."

"If you say so." Jess says, struggling to hold in a chuckle as he catches sight of the slight smile on Delilah's lips.

"He said you came in today."

"I did."

"And he said you took some money out of a donation cup to help repair the bridge and maybe toilet papered his store. I told him he was crazy. 'You wouldn't do that, you're not a thief,' that he was just trying to start trouble. Then I hung up on him."

"Yep." Jess says, continuing to walk past several cars and having to slow down a bit when he notices Delilah is struggling to keep up.

"Don't get me wrong, I enjoy hanging up on Taylor and he is crazy, but I was just wondering if maybe any of the things he said were true."

"Well what do you think?" Jess asks.

"I think if you tell me it's not true then i'm gonna believe it."

"Okay, It's not true."

"That doesn't sound very convincing."

"Look, what exactly do you want from me?" He asks, stopping. Delilah comes to a halt by his side, somehow wanting to be there for him. She remembers having hundreds of arguments with Ty, sometimes about the stupidest things, but it's hard to know someone who isn't your parent is being forced to take care of you simply because you're related. Especially when your parents are alive and healthy and perfectly able to do it themselves. "You bring me here to this place, you put me in a school that says the 'pledge of allegiance' in six different languages, two of which I've never heard of before! You take me away from my home, my friends. And now you want what from me?" He shouts.