Attachment Issues // Jess Mariano

CHAPTER 18:

"We were together. I forget the rest." - Walt Whitman

"Colin!" Delilah shouts, jumping into his arms the next morning as soon as he walks into Luke's.

"Lilah!" He shouts right back, spinning her in a circle happily. "I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too."

"Who's that guy?" Luke asks Jess quietly as the boy watches from behind the counter, fist so tight he's nearly snapping his pencil in half.

"I have no idea." Jess grinds out through his teeth angrily.

"How are you, are you alright? I came straight here." Colin says as soon as they've parted, his hands still on her shoulders as he looks her over to make sure she's healthy and uninjured.

"I'm fine, I'm sorry. You didn't need to come, I was just freaking out an-."

"Stop it, Lilah, it's alright." He interrupts. "I was gonna come see you soon anyways, i've missed you."

"I missed you too, C. Oh! Jess!" She calls out. Jess walks around the corner immediately, briefly considering how he must look to this guy.

"Hey Babe, who's this?" He asks, pecking her lips lightly. He doesn't normally call her 'Babe,' so she can tell there's something up.

"This is Colin, we've known eachother since we were kids. We used to spend every summer together in Massachusetts when he's home on break." She explains with a smile. Colin raises his brows at the girl suggestively, making her laugh as she smacks his arm.

---

"Hi, grandma." Delilah says, walking into the sitting room to sit with the woman. She'd spent the day with Ty taking a tour of Yale, but now she's just excited to see Jess.

And of course, her grandmother and sister as well. Rory sits beside her on the couch, dressed up in a black sweater dress.

"Hello Delilah, it's nice to see you dear. When will this Jess boy be getting here?"

"Soon, he's running a little late from work, though. I'm sorry."

"Oh it's alright." Emily says, only a bit distraught at the thought of her granddaughter dating a 'working man'. "Diner will keep."

"I'm still sorry, I know how you like things to be punctual. I would have been here earlier but there was a crash on the 84 and a bunch of traffic."

"Well that's perfectly alright dear, I was just catching up with Rory on her schooling. What about you, how are applications going?" Emily asks.

"I actually just sent them in. Yale, Penn State, Princeton, Harvard." She lists off. Before she can say anything else, though, the doorbell rings. Delilah stands immediately, rushing towards the foyer to see Jess.

Though as soon as she opens the door, her face drops.

He has a black eye.

"Oh my god, Jess, what happened?" She asks, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside.

"Nothing, nothing, it's not a big deal. I'm sorry I'm late" He tells her, pressing a light kiss to her lips and taking off his coat.

"Oh, that's alright. Come in, come in, it's cold out." Emily says, taking the coat and handing it off to her current maid, Mary.

"Uhm... Grandma, this is Jess." She introduces them awkwardly, still discreetly glancing over the boy for any other sign of injuries.

"It's nice to meet you." She offers up, shaking his hand.