“What for?” he sneered and sat back on the floor as he rubbed his neck. “You’re not going to come around, Dante. Go back to your job and leave our sisters out of it.”
“Look, I know you’re coming to terms with what happened but—”
Dom walked out of the room and stood over both of us. He narrowed his eyes at me and said, “I’ve come to terms with it in the last five minutes listening to my little sister recount the bullshit you put her through. You need to leave.”
“Dom—”
“Did you come to apologize to her or to us? Because we can tell her sorry for you, but you know we’re not going to accept shit from you right now. My kid sister’s in a hospital bed for God’s sake. And you and Izzy knew what the hell you were doing. You should have got her out of there that day.”
“It was complicated,” I said calmly and folded my arms across my chest as I stood to meet him eye to eye. Dom was as big as me and he glared at me with a rage that might have matched my training. He’d put up a good fight. “It’s not always black-and-white.”
He stared at me, assessing everything I was saying. “What wasn’t black-and-white about getting her out of danger?”
I think he knew right then that there was something more between us. I don’t think Delilah had admitted it outright, but Dom knew because we’d been best friends a long time. We knew one another well enough to recognize when one of us was chasing a girl. His gaze flicked to the breakfast bag and then back to me as I stood there quietly, not answering his question.
“You want to give me a few days before you admit the real shit? Or her a few days? Because she really doesn’t want to see you… or anyone for that matter.”
Dimitri shook his head at the ground, looking like he might cry, and Dom shook with fury. I stood there, making it worse rather than better.
I had to change the wolf in me that wanted to see her. I had to do what was right rather than indulge in a side of me they didn’t know.
“I’m giving you all until she’s home. You get me?”
Dom nodded, Dimitri sighed.
I backed away, pointing to the food. “Give her the quesito in there.”
And then I was gone.
For days, I didn’t see her, even though I knew she was awake. For days, I sent texts and made calls that went unanswered.
I told myself it was all just a lot, that we’d make things right when she got back home. I worked. Or pretended to. Paperwork had never been my thing. I did what I had to do and left the paperwork for the government and official personnel to figure out.
Izzy was the first who called the day Delilah got released. “You don’t have to call, Izzy.”
“I told her our kiss was nothing, that she saw it wrong. She thought you engaged with me when obviously you pushed me away. I told her how you feel. She’s just not really responding. And I know I don’t have to call you. Quite frankly, giving the guy I thought I might love updates on the girl he loves isn’t my idea of fun, but it’s for her. She’s got to get through this. She’s not trying right now. She’s talking herself into something terrible, Dante. I can feel her retreating, can feel my sister not moving forward but backward, and it’s freaking painful. I can’t stop it, so I’m calling you to tell you that you need to.”
“I should give her space.”
“Get your ass here. My family babies the shit out of her, and when she said she didn’t want to talk to anyone, they listened and practically barricaded the door for her. My mom is scared she’s back to college days, and honestly, she might be right. It’s that bad.”
It’d been three days. The minutes felt like hours. And then the hours felt like days.
“Has she gotten my flowers?”
“She doesn’t read the notes. She barely looks at the flowers.”
I took a deep breath. “Get ready for me to rip apart your family.”
“You’ll make it stronger, but it might hurt a little first.”
“No shit,” I muttered, but I was already heading toward my car as I hung up the phone.
* * *
“Dude,you sent a shit ton of flowers already. She doesn’t need fucking bouquets from you.” My best friend stood in the doorway, not asking me to come in or opening the door any farther.
“I’m coming in one way or another, Dom.” I ticked my head toward the door.