"That's awesome, kiddo. I’m not sure a dog is a good idea right now.” I don’t have time to help him learn how to train a puppy.
“Will you think about it?” he asks, giving me those pleading eyes. “Please. I’ll take good care of it.”
Damn those puppy dog eyes. They’ll get you every time.
“I make no promises. Now, let's get you in the truck, and you can tell me all about what else you did in school on the way home." Lifting Dash, I put him in his booster seat, securing him in before helping Delaney into the passenger seat before speaking softly. "We'll talk about what's wrong when we get home."
"There's nothing to talk about," she protests.
"There is. I can see it in your eyes, sweetheart. You can't hide the truth when it’s right there for me to see."
"Daddy, I want mac and cheese. Can we get some from The Hideaway? Please." He draws out his plead. This kid and his obsession with mac and cheese.
"Will you eat a vegetable with your mac and cheese?" Delaney asks.
Since moving her in, she's been able to slowly get him to eat more vegetables with his dinner. Even had him eat a chicken tender or two. He's found he loves watermelon, cantaloupe, along with honeydew. He refuses oranges, though. Says the strings make them gross. I can't really blame him there.
"I want to try brocowee," Dash shouts, not getting the word right.
I glance in Delaney's direction, cocking a brow in question, only getting a shrug to answer my unspoken words.
"All right, kiddo, we'll go to The Hideaway." I close Delaney's door, round the hood, and hop in behind the wheel. If my kid will tries something new to eat, I'll take him wherever he wants to go. But after we eat, I'm going to finally get Delaney to talk to me. I need to know what's going on with her. What happened today that upset her?
I won't let her evade talking to me more than she has. To tell me about the attack on her own, however, it seems that's not going to happen anytime soon. To know what's going on with her, I need the full picture, not just what she wants to give me.
Chapter Seventeen
Delaney
Today's been one of those days where everything just wants to pile right on top of me. The curse that I swear by seems to be taking its toll with each ticking second going by.
First thing this morning, I had to dealwith the questioning stares and contemptuous looks of my colleagues. Then the principal called me into his office, where I found both him and the head of the school board. That wasn't even the topping on the cake, though it made up all the layers. I also received a text message from Philip demanding to know where I was. I didn't opened the message. Instead, I blocked the number just as I did with the last one he texted me from.
At lunchtime, I’d finally gotten a call from Dustin. The fire marshal had been in touch after completing his investigation at the house. He hadn’t wanted to tell me the results, but I had the right to know. A part of me had been relieved it wasn’t something that I’d done to cause the fire, but the rest of me wanted to freak out, finding out it’d essentially been set onpurpose. The fire marshal stated he found evidence of gasoline being used as the accelerant that started the fire. The heat of the fire caused the second floor to collapse in from the heat and the flames eating at the beams, weakening them.
The only bright side of my day had been the children in my class. They were always a joy to be around, and I hate that I missed so much time with them. An added bonus part to make the day better had been dinner at The Hideaway. I absolutely demolished my food in record time. I’m blaming it on my eating for three gig.
Dinner had been full of Dash filling his dad in on what all we did in class and when he was in gym, not to mention what he and two other kids talked about at lunch–slimy frogs–gross. He did all of this while consuming all of his mac and cheese mixed in with broccoli, which seemed to surprise Tyler immensely. Dash isn't one for wanting to eat veggies. He seems to stick to one thing, but this past week I'd been able to get him to eat some at every meal by making them fun to eat.
Now with us being back at Tyler's, Dash riding around on his bike while we watch from the swing, I knew it was coming. Tyler let it slide earlier, but time was up.
"Alright, sweetheart, tell me what happened today that upset you," Tyler prompts, one arm stretched along the back of the swing, fingers playing with my hair. His long legs keep the swing in motion while I sit with my feet curled up in front of me.
This swing has become my favorite spot to relax around here. Soon, I won't be able to sit as I like to while he sets the pace of movement with his long legs. I discovered this morning that my pants no longer fit me. I had to rig them up with a hair tie. When I looked in the mirror, I noticed I was already starting to sport the slightest bump. I’d been able to conceal it for the most part by wearing a flowy top and cardigan, but my pants were another story.
Sighing, I keep my eyes on Dash as I begin, "You know I've always thought of myself as cursed. Cursed to never be happy. Cursed to lose everyone in my life. Cursed to never see the sunlight through all the rain."
"Why's that?" Tyler asks, his fingers stilling, but he keeps the swing moving.
"My mom walked out on us when I was little. Then Dad passed away. Davis was killed, leaving Dustin and me broken in a lot of ways. Now, I'm pregnant, and I'm scared out of my mind I'll lose them. I'm scared of being happy in the now when it can be ripped away from me in the blink of an eye."
"Can't predict the future, Delaney. You gotta live in the here and now. Not worry about the what-ifs."
I nod at Tyler's gentle words. I couldn't agree more. "You saw the guy who attacked me, Philip. I know you heard me tell him what I did, but here’s the full story. I went on a handful of dates with him. I didn’t see it going anywhere, so I told him I’d rather be friends. He seemed okay with it. We hung out a few other times while out with other people. When he found out I was moving home, he tried to talk me out of it. I refused, and he slapped me. The day he showed up at my apartment, he beat me up because I wasn’t happy he moved to town to be with me. I told him to leave.”
I feel Tyler tense, but he doesn't say anything, so I keep right on going.
"This morning while the kids were at gym class, the principal called me to his office. He and the superintendent were both waiting for me."