The Covenant by B.N. (best authors to read .TXT) 📕

she got back in bed she decided to tell Tess that she would not be in school. Why, are you sick? Tess asked. Tired and I have a headache she replied, lying about the headache part. Oh…well I guess I’ll talk to you later then, Tess had typed. Delilah put her phone on her night stand and climbed into her warm bed.
It was starting to get bright outside so she clicked off her lamp. She sighed, pleased to be in her warm bed and not at school. She closed her eyes and fell straight asleep. She slept soundly, though she did wake up once when she heard Josh getting ready for work. She got up at around two; she ate then took a shower. She felt a little groggy and her sleep had not helped her calm down. She pulled her hair up and decided to get her outfit for work out early, she might have missed school but there was no way she was going to miss work. She imagined Mr. Pent’s scowling face and frowned. She went to her small over stuffed closet. She pulled out a pair of fresh slacks and deliberated on which blouse she wanted. She went with a burgundy colored one then she tossed the outfit on her bed, which she had just made. She went to the living room and watched TV until three, which was around the time Josh came in. He stared at her like he had forgotten she was home. She ignored him and started to go to her room when he stopped her. “I don’t have the time but when I get back we need to have a talk” he said, his voice stern. “I have to be at work in an hour” she informed, not liking the firm look on his face. He frowned. “When you get home we’ll have a talk” he said, walking to the kitchen. Delilah walked into her room wondering what she had done wrong. Fifteen minutes later she heard her brother leave, noticing he didn’t say goodbye. “I must be in some real trouble” she whispered to herself.
Mr. Pent was out and Velma was trying to fill in. Delilah had a hard time concentrating so she asked Velma if she could take stock in the back. Velma agreed. Jake didn’t work on Tuesday’s so she didn’t have to worry about him following her around. Claire, a quiet blonde headed girl worked with her on Tuesday’s and she didn’t seem to want to talk to anyone, but she was good to work with if Delilah had a lot on her mind. Today would have been the perfect day to relax and think through her problems, but the problem was that she didn’t want to. There were too many problems in her life right now and none of them seemed easy to solve. Again her mind went back to what Josh had said. Why would they need to have a talk? She pursed her lips as she checked for any broken candles that might have been damaged during shipment. In the back of her mind she wondered if he was going to tell her he can’t take care of her anymore and that she would have to go live with their aunt Sandra. Whenever Josh said he had to tell her anything her mind automatically assumed that he wanted to get rid of her. Who would want to waste away their golden years by taking care of their little sister? I sure wouldn’t. She thought to herself, a slight frown on her face. She thought of that the rest of her shift.
She mumbled a goodbye to Velma and Claire as she exited the shop from the back. She walked to her car in her regular rushed pace, only to come to a screeching halt. It was dark out and there were no lights in the parking lot only the dim light from the street lights which where placed in front of the shops. He was leaning against her car, ankles crossed, hands in pockets. She felt her heart lurch and fought her instincts which told her to scream and run away. Instead she stayed perfectly still, waiting for him to say something. She watched as her breath clouded in her face. He sighed; sounding bored, and then pushed off of her car to stand. She slowly walked towards her car, not trusting him. He didn’t move as she walked past him to go to the driver’s side. “How’d you find out where I work?” she asked, pulling her keys out of her pocket. He was on the passenger side, tracing aimlessly on the top of the car with his fingers. He didn’t look up. “You weren’t at school today” he informed. “So” she shrugged. “So, I was worried and I asked your lapdog where you worked, I figured you wouldn’t skip school and work” he still didn’t look up. Delilah had never felt more afraid in her life. She searched for her car keys on her crowded key chain with shaky hands. She was about to say that she didn’t appreciate him calling Tess her lapdog but he looked up then and his smoky eyes silenced her. She swallowed. “I’m fine” she whispered, hoping he didn’t hear the shakiness in her voice. He moved then. He walked around the car slowly, his fingers trailing across the hood. She again fought the urge to scream. “Really? You seem a little jumpy to me” he said softly, as he came to stand right in front of her. Her whole body trembled and she knew it wasn’t because of the cold weather. She unlocked her door. “I wonder why” she said, staring up into his eyes to see how he responded. He didn’t react in any way. Instead he just met her glaze full on. “Is something wrong?” he asked, his voice sounding too innocent to Delilah’s ears. She shook her head, not knowing if her voice would come out as a shriek. A gush of freezing wind blew, blowing her side swept bang in her eyes. He reached out and brushed her hair out of her eyes. She flinched. “Are you scared of me?” he asked suddenly. “No” she mumbled, knowing she answered too fast. She knew he knew that she was lying, but he didn’t react to her answer.
He leaned against her door as if having no intention on letting her leave. “Pepper?” she whispered. He stared at her, waiting. “I have to get home before my brother gets worried” she said, her voice a little higher than a whisper. “Sorry, don’t want big brother to get upset” he said, his tone mocking. He moved away from the door. She still didn’t trust him enough to relax. He began to walk away. She opened her door about to get in when he turned back towards her. “Oh and Delilah” he called, getting her attention. She stared at him. “I really hope you feel better” he said, then turned and disappeared into the darkest corner of the lot. Delilah tried to breathe normally hoping her heart wouldn’t explode on her way home. She fought to see the road as she wiped away fear filled tears. She prayed that Josh wasn’t home. If he saw her shaking and crying uncontrollably he would probably send her to Aunt Sandra. She forced herself to relax, it didn’t work.
When she got home she was relieved to see the driveway empty. She rushed into the house and went straight to her room. She buried her face in her pillow and began to sob quietly. Soon she fell asleep. The alarm tolled loudly in Delilah’s ears. She got out of bed, showered, dressed, ate, and brushed her teeth then made her way to school.
At lunch Jake stopped her and said he was glad she felt better. Tess seemed to be talking about something but Delilah couldn’t focus. “…so I told Jake and he actually had a talk with him, not that you care…since you’re like in love with Pepper and all” Tess muttered looking aggravated. “Wait…what did you tell Jake?” Delilah asked, only hearing the end of Tess’s chattering. Tess rolled her eyes. “Remember when Jake asked me who my date was?” Tess asked. Delilah nodded. “Well I told him and he talked to Vince, I don’t know what he said but Vince called me last night and begged me to forgive him…I would have told you last night but you didn’t pick up” Tess frowned. “I had a lot on my mind plus work…and speaking of work, why did you tell Pepper where I worked?” she asked, her tone full of disgust. Tess shrugged. “He asked, why what’s wrong?” she asked, concern on her face. “Nothing” Delilah whispered. Nothing you would understand, she added in her mind. Her next two classes went by too fast.
She was on her way to Mr. Gale’s class when someone tugged on her ponytail. “Hey” Jake greeted, giving her a warm smile. “Hey” she said, finding herself smiling though she was sure she was in no mood for smiling. They stopped in front of the classroom door. “I heard you had a talk with Vince” she said, staring up at his face to see his reaction. His smile seemed to have wavered. “I might have” he said lowly, shrugging. “Why?” she asked, truly curious. His smile returned and his dark brown eyes had a shimmer to them. “I think you can guess…it’s obvious that I like you and I’m not ashamed to say it” he said, his eyes glistening with emotion. Delilah blushed and fidgeted uncomfortably. “I don’t think…” she began to say but he interrupted. “I know you don’t like me like that but maybe if we…” this time Delilah interrupted, shaking her head about to object. Jake brushed her bang out of her eyes. “We can talk about it later” he said, turning then disappearing into the classroom down the hall. Delilah realized that anyone in the classroom could have been watching her and Jake. She eyed the class and saw that no one had paid her a mind, except for Pepper. He was staring at her, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowed. She took her seat next to him and folded her arms on the table, burying her face in them. The bell rang loudly for class to start.
She sat up looking only at the board. She noticed out the corner of her eye Pepper turn towards her. She turned slightly, staring at him coldly. “If you were trying to make me jealous, it’s working” he said then grinned devilishly at her. Her eyes widened and her face seemed to be warming quickly. “Why would I want to make you jealous?” she asked, shocked. He didn’t answer instead his smile grew wider. “You’re going to break his heart” he said after a while, seeming happy by his prediction. “How do you know?” she mumbled, knowing he was talking about Jake. “He’s a nice guy” he shrugged. “So” she said, confused. “So, you’re not attracted to nice guys” he stated. “Yes I am and how do you know what kind of guys I’m attracted to?” she said, not meaning to sound like a pouting child. “You’re attracted to me and I’m not a good boy” he stated, his usually smoky eyes had a stormy look to them, daring her to deny it. It took all of Delilah’s will power to not deny that she was attracted to him. Instead she paused, pursing her lips. In truth she was attracted to Pepper but she didn’t want him to know that. “I like Jake” Delilah informed, changing the direction of the conversation. She had switched one word around, she might have been attracted to Pepper but she did not like him. “You do?” he asked, feigning interest. She