Blind Love (Sulfur Heights Series)

by Brannon, M. S.

  “It’s stinking cold! Stop!”

  After chasing her until the hose no longer stretches, I walk over to the faucet and shut the water off.

  “You are such a jerk!” She is trying to be mad at me, but it’s hard for her when I flash a smile her way. She has wrapped her towel around her body and is now ringing her hair of water.

  Flashes of last night start jarring my memory. After leaving the redhead’s house, I wasn’t feeling like I normally feel when I leave—satisfied and comfortable. I wanted and needed more. That’s why I went into her room. What exactly did I need from her that I couldn’t get from my random hook-up with the redhead? What the hell is wrong with me? I am starting to get aggravated with myself. She is slowly digging herself under my skin and not leaving anytime soon. Damn!

  I follow Delilah upstairs and into the kitchen where she sits on the counter, leaning back against the cupboard and giving me heated looks. I’m completely uncomfortable with the way she’s taking up shop in my mind and I glare back at her. Then she speaks.

  “You should really lay off the booze.” I move closer to her and cause her breath to hitch in her throat. “I do have a boyfriend you know, and I don’t appreciate you passing out in my room in the middle of the night.”

  “Well, I don’t recall you complaining, so maybe you need to take your self-righteous attitude somewhere else.” I get as close as I can to her and put my hands up beside her head on the cupboard, pinning her against me. She doesn’t look away, either; Delilah meets me glare for glare. Then her eyes move to my lips and back up. I keep my eyes attached to hers. If anything is going to happen, it’s going to be on her. I won’t start anything, but I damn well will finish it.

  Just as I think she’s going to kiss me, Drake’s horrible timing screws it all up.

  “Where is she?” Drake is crazy angry and I don’t recall ever seeing him this upset. Well, not for a really long time. Delilah looks to me and she’s scared. Drake is a big motherfucker and when he’s mad like he is now, God help anyone who’s standing in his way. “Where the fuck is she, Delilah? And don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about because I’m about to lose it!”

  Secrets! I can’t stand fucking secrets. When I look into my brother’s eyes and back to hers, I know immediately she’s hiding something. I step back and really look at her. What the hell did Presley do and why is Delilah covering for her?

  She looks back to me then over to Drake and squeaks out, “Drake, please, you have to calm down.”

  “How long did you know about this?” Drake fumes. I am completely baffled, staring between the two of them.

  “What?” Delilah so innocently lies, and that’s when Drake chucks something at her, hitting Delilah with the object.

  My need to protect her comes to the surface and I can’t allow this to continue.

  “What the fuck, Drake?” I shout then look to the floor and see a crushed box with the words pregnancy test on it. Oh. Shit. No wonder he’s pissed. I would be pissed, too, knowing my girl is knocked up and keeping it a secret. I’m glad I’m not that stupid. Even when I’m drunk, I always use a condom.

  Drake starts moving toward her when he shouts, “Don’t! Don’t you dare act like you know nothing about this.”

  Delilah is crying. Giant tears are rolling down her cheeks and again I want to protect her from the pain she’s feeling even though Drake’s anger is justified.

  Then he grabs her arms, screaming, “Where is she?”

  Acting on my newly found instinct, I grab Drake’s shoulders and pull him off then swiftly put myself between Delilah and a raging Drake. His actions are worrying me now, but I know he won’t hit her; well, I don’t think he will anyway. I still get this ache in my gut telling me to protect her no matter what.

  “Back the fuck off, Drake!” I shout.

  I can feel Delilah pressed against my back, just like the night at the races when that asshole was making fun of her. Her skin is cool against my back as I shield her with my body.

  “I’m sorry, Drake. I practically begged her to tell you, but she was afraid you would leave her. Look, I know she’s had problems since she’s lived her, but you don’t understand, she’s had issues handling change her whole life. This was too much for her and—”

  “And what? Just fucking tell me!” Drake is pushing his body against mine, puffing up his chest.

  I have to protect Delilah. I widen my stance and start to shoulder him back. He’s taller than me, but I’m a mean son of a bitch. I won’t let him get any closer.

  “She left for the clinic, Drake.” Delilah falls to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably and I turn to hold her as Drake runs out the back door. I can hear the Chevelle roar as he peels down the driveway.

  I sit down beside her on the floor, unsure of how I’m supposed to comfort her, then decide to put one arm around her shoulders. She tucks herself in and bawls into my shoulder and chest.

  I can’t believe what just happened. Presley’s pregnant and is going to get an abortion. I’m all for the woman’s right to choose, but I know for a fact that Drake is the exact opposite. He’s admitted in his drunken state of mind of how he despises his birth mom for abandoning him and declared he would never do that to his own kid. I can’t imagine what he’s going through right now.

  I personally would be ready to jump off a cliff if I knew I was going to be a dad. I am the last person who needs to be responsible for a child. Would I support it? Hell, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I would want it to happen.

  We sit on the floor for a few more minutes until Delilah calms herself down and her breathing is back to normal.

  “Are you okay?” I ask as I stare into her tear stained eyes.

  “Yeah, I guess so. Drake hates me now. God, when it comes to your family, I’m always screwing up. Reggie is probably the only person now who likes me.”

  “Hey, what about me?” I say, acting offended.

  “Please, Jake. There are days you can barely look at me, and if you did like me, you wouldn’t be so nasty toward me.” She gets up off the floor and readjusts the towel around her body as she walks out of the kitchen.

  Before I know it’s happening, I’m following her down the hall, ready to plead my case. Why I care is still a mystery to me, yet I can’t stop myself from letting her know. I reach her bedroom door, putting my foot between the door and the jam, preventing her from shutting it. She gives me an incredulous look then rolls her eyes that I won’t allow her to close the door on me.

  “I don’t hate you, Delilah.” Her eyes connect with mine, and like so many times before, we are locked in a retinal showdown. “I’m not sure how to explain this because I don’t understand it myself, but I know I don’t hate you. There is no one else in my life that pisses me off as much as you do. You can get under my skin and frustrate me to the point that I’m beyond words, but trust me when I say, I don’t hate you. Not one little bit.”

  Pissed at myself for admitting the confusing feelings that are building for Delilah, I leave her wondering and walk toward my room. I can’t deal with this now and I’m not sure I will ever be able to.

  Chapter 6

  Delilah

  I’ve been in Sulfur Heights for a couple of months and my experience here is the opposite of what I’ve expected. My best friend in the entire world has sunken into a sadness that I’m not sure how she will be able to pull herself out of. Presley and Drake haven’t had a conversation with one another since the day he found out she’s pregnant.

  Thankfully, she has realized the magnitude of her mistake and didn’t go through with the abortion, but the distance between her and Drake is heartbreaking to watch. Presley stays in my room and sleeps all day and all night. Whenever I try to talk to her about it, she rolls over and tells me she’s fine, just tired. I know there is more to her story, however I’m afraid to push.

  When I noticed her anorexia and depression, it took months before I could convince her she had a problem, or should I say, admitt
ed she had a problem. Then I got her parents involved and they checked her into a facility. Presley didn’t talk to me for a month after that, and it was the longest four weeks of my life.

  I contemplate going back and forth on telling Drake about Presley’s past. Maybe that will wake him up enough that he’ll start acting like an adult. I’ve never seen anyone hold a grudge like he does. The one thing I know I can do for Presley is to be there for her, therefore I hold her at night while trying to comfort her as much as I can during the day.

  As I lie in bed next to Presley’s sleeping body, I start thinking about the time I’ve spent here. I will be leaving tomorrow and it will be sad. I will miss all the kids at the shelter, especially Mason, the little boy who refused to talk. After working there two weeks and using much persistence, he finally came around and began talking to me. Now he is opening up, being social with kids, and has bonded with Joanna as well. He is such a sweet boy; I hope he’ll be okay. I hope they’ll all be okay. God knows they’ve already got the odds stacked against him.

  Jake has taken me on more J&D adventures, as he likes to call them. I’ve been in the car for every drag race since the first and he even let me sit shot gun one time to get the full experience. I’ve tried to sweet talk Jeremy into letting me drive, but he’s told me I’m crazy and no one races his baby other than him. Jake has also taught me the art of pool playing and has even given me some hustling pointers. Not that I would ever use them, but I can see why Jake is so good at it. He does have a talent for shooting pool, however the way he studies his opponent is an art form.

  He sits and observes the random guys playing, watching their moves, the angles they favor and singling out the weakest. Then Jake swoops in like a hawk, daring the guy to challenge him and they do! Either these guys are idiots or have problems with their ego because it’s impossible for them to say no. I’m surprised he doesn’t trash talk or try to psyche out his opponent; he only has stone-cold, intense focus as he sinks the balls in the pockets, shot after shot. It’s quite entertaining. I even let myself get involved in one round, playing some old guy with gross teeth. I used my pageant skills to win this guy over by smiling politely and bending over at just the right angle. Not exposing myself or anything, but making it interesting.

  The one thing that truly stinks is what happened to my Mini Cooper. Jerks! I can’t believe what they did to my car. It was stripped of all its pieces. Everything on it was missing—doors, mirrors, seats—all of it, gone.

  It was a hot, sunny morning as I walked out the back door, getting ready to go to the shelter, when I saw the Mini Cooper was nothing except an empty shell. Only the frame was left sitting in the street. I was so angry and ready to lie down on the dirty street and cry. I ran back into the house and down to the basement, barging into Jake’s room, which was pitch black at eight o’clock in the morning. When I flipped on the light I was expecting I’d be tripping over crap or it would smell like stale booze and dirty socks, but to my surprise it was the complete opposite.

  Running to his bed, I slapped his arm until he stirred awake.

  “Hey! What the hell, D?” Jake startled, sat up and ran his hands over his face.

  “Someone destroyed my car!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, trying desperately to get air back into them.

  Jake rolled his body over and placed his bare feet on the floor. Expelling a deep breath, he said, “Jesus, D, I just went to bed two hours ago, and what do you mean your car is destroyed? It was fine when I came home at three.”

  “It’s not rocket science, Jake! Someone dismantled my car! It is literally missing every piece. It’s only a hollow shell! What am I going to do now?” I leaned against the wall, trying to keep myself from falling over. Tears pricked my eyes knowing my mother was going to kill me, not to mention Emerson. He’d been itching to get me to come home since the day I arrived. This would surely send him over the edge and onto the first plane to Michigan.

  “Awe, someone stripped it. Yeah, that happens around here sometimes, but why the hell would they strip a Mini Cooper? Those cars aren’t exactly popular.”

  “I can’t believe this!” I was so upset , and he was acting like it was no big deal.

  Jake was obviously not in any hurry. He finally stood, stretching his muscled arms over his head when my eyes snapped to his manhood grown huge in his boxer briefs. He wasn’t exposed, however it definitely showed how obscenely large he is. Oh, my sweet baby Jesus. This… this… was not okay. My virgin eyes should only look at my future husband’s privates and I was most certain that would be Emerson. Oh, my God. What did I do? I couldn’t look away.

  Why couldn’t I look away?

  I was a taken woman, but I couldn’t look away. Was that really what they did? Although, I couldn’t see it in the flesh, it looked like it could rip a woman in half. Yikes!

  My curiosity got the better of me until Jake’s eyes met mine. I was mortified. He’d totally caught me ogling his package. I turned my body away from him, knowing my face was as red as a tomato.

  “See something you like, cupcake?”

  I was beyond embarrassed. Jake would never let me live this down, and for the last couple of weeks I was here I was sure he would be talking about it incessantly.

  “Shut up! Just get dressed and come look at my car.” I stormed upstairs, knowing it was going to suck looking into his eyes.

  When I think about it now, it makes me smile because I am such a virgin. Most girls would not get embarrassed about seeing a guy’s giant wiener going all Big Top in this boxers, but I was completely unprepared for it.

  Later, Jake explained it was his morning wood and it happens to every guy. To save face, I acted like I already knew what he was talking about, but inwardly, I knew I should have paid better attention in sex-ed. class.

  The sound of my door creaking open breaks my mind from wandering thoughts as Jake’s head peaks in and then he tip toes over to my bed. I’m irritated, he’s probably drunk walking again. I get out of bed to avoid him waking Presley.

  “Hey, it’s two o’clock in the morning; get out of here,” I whisper shout to him.

  “Come on. It’s your last J&D adventure before you leave us for good.” Jake’s eyes are intense as always, but not glossy, and the stench of whiskey is not present at all on his breath. Miracles happen every day because Jake is completely sober.

  “Where are we going at this time of the morning?” I ask, knowing he’s not going to tell me.

  “That’s for you to find out. Come on.” He’s growing impatient with me when I notice what he’s wearing.

  “I’ve never seen you in shorts before and now I know why. Your legs are practically see through they’re so white.” I cover my mouth to suppress my giggle.

  “Shut up. Are you in or what?”

  Nodding my head yes, I say what I always say when he invites me on these little adventures, “Count me in.”

  “Good!”

  I glare at him and snap my head to Presley, hoping he didn’t wake her up.

  He giggles to himself. “Come on. Put on some shorts and bring an extra change of clothes. You have one minute to get your ass outside.” He slips out of the room as quietly as he came in while I move to my suitcase, throwing on a tank top and cotton workout shorts. I grab spare clothes, shove them in a bag and head out the door.

  Jake is leaning against the Challenger, arms across his chest and a devilish smile on his face. Oh, great, what in the Sam-hell am I getting myself into?

  Jake

  Delilah looks like she’s ready to go kick boxing at the gym as she tromps down the stairs in her tight shorts, tank and sneakers. I am quite certain this woman’s goal in life is to kill me because everything she wears sends an electrical shot straight to my dick and it immediately stands at attention.

  I open the Challenger car door and climb behind the steering wheel before she sees what one look at her gorgeous body does to me. I know I’ve declared my summer goal is to make Delilah my friend, but I seem t
o be having a hard time with that lately because, for the last week, all I can think about is nailing her. I’m sure it’s my sick head’s way of proving to me that I will never be able to have a woman like Delilah. My body wants her, though I’m not sure my conscience can follow through with it. Since the night of her first drag race experience she’s been setting up shop in my mind and I find myself actually listening to what she has to say. Meaning, I actually care about what she’s saying. I’ve never cared what another woman has to say, my mother included.

  Delilah climbs in the passenger seat and I peel down the driveway, heading up to Old Miller’s Road. The night air is perfect for where we are going and I can’t wait to show her. It’s a childhood spot that has only good memories for me and I’m truly looking forward to sharing it with her.

  Another twinge of appreciation strikes me when I think of Delilah being the only person outside of Jeremy who’s seen where we’re going. Damn! What the hell is wrong with me? I shake my head of its foreign thoughts and look over at her. I can tell she’s anxious yet excited. When her ocean-blue eyes meet with mine they are dancing with anticipation.

  I pull off Old Miller’s Road and take the Challenger down a very small dirt road surrounded by overgrown trees. Branches are slapping the sides of the car as I slowly make my way down to the spot. Jeremy is going to blow a gasket the minute he sees the scratches on his car, but I told him where I was going, so he shouldn’t be surprised. Fuck it, I’ll deal with him later. Tonight, it’s about Delilah and giving her a great last memory of Sulfur Heights before she returns to her mansion in Memphis.

  I don’t know if I will ever see her again; I’m thinking I will. Nevertheless, if for some reason I don’t, I want this night to be the last, best memory of her time spent here. Again, the fact that I care is throwing me and really pissing me off.

  We finally arrive at a safe place to park, but we need to walk through the trees a little bit to get to where I want to go, so I put the car in park and turn it off. Delilah looks at me completely confused and a little worried. I say nothing to her as I exit the car and go to the back, getting a rope and backpack from the trunk. That gets her attention real quick.