Until Delilah

by Harlow Layne

  “Stay right there while I get a few supplies,” I order him. Beckham has never met a dog in his life that he doesn’t instantly fall in love with, but he’s never encountered one that’s hurt either. Neither have I, but I’ve heard stories and I know we need to be cautious.

  I run back to the kitchen to grab a towel, and the bowl of leftover taco meat from dinner to make the dog want to be near us when it’s hurt. When I get to the door, I don’t see Beckham there, and my heart begins to sprint in my chest as I search for him.

  My feet take off the second I find Beckham skipping toward the dog like they’re going to be the bestest of friends after they meet. I want to scream, but I’m afraid I’ll startle the dog. Instead, I try to run as stealthy as possible to stop my son before he reaches the injured animal.

  Only I’m too late. To my horror, Beckham reaches out his hand to pet the dog, and I see my life with Beckham flash before my eyes. From the moment I held him in the hospital to his Little League game last Saturday.

  I scream bloody murder while my feet seem to slow. I feel like I’m stuck in cement as I watch in horror as the dog bares its teeth and lunges for Beckham.

  It all happens so fast. There’s crying and blood. So much blood as I take my son in my arms and run back for the house. Tears stream down my face as I watch blood pump from the wound on the top of his head with each of his cries.

  As I start to make my way up the steps to the upper deck, I’m stopped by an ashen faced Max. He tries to take Beck from me, but I can’t let go. If I do, then I know something bad will happen to him.

  “Delilah,” Max says in a low voice, “let me take him.”

  “No,” my voice is broken with tears as I clutch Beckham closer to me. “I can’t. Please, you have to do something. Please,” I beg.

  “Head to the garage while I get a clean towel to place on his wound.” At the word wound, I sob, nearly falling to my knees. “We’ll take him to the hospital, and he’ll be fine.”

  I look up at him, but all I see is a blur. “Do you promise?”

  “I promise. Now let’s go,” he orders.

  I take a step and nearly fall, unable to see through my tears. Max catches me and picks me up with Beck still in my arms. “I’ve got you.”

  All I can do is hold him closer as Max races around his house before he sits us down in his truck. Unwilling and unable to let Beckham go, he buckles me in with my son in my lap. He hasn’t stopped crying the entire time, which makes me cry harder. The pain he has to be in nearly cripples me.

  “We’ll be there in less than ten minutes. Just hold on there, little buddy,” Max says while I hear the engine of his truck rev.

  I try to blink away the tears so I can assess his wound, but they won’t stop falling. I start to chant, “Please be okay, please be okay.”

  In what feels like a blink of an eye and also an eternity, I feel the truck come to a screeching halt in front of the hospital. The next thing I know, my door is thrown open and Max is lifting us both out of the truck.

  There’s a commotion of voices, but I can’t make any of them out. My head feels light as I try to breathe in Beckham’s scent, but it’s muddled with the smell of antiseptic.

  Someone tries to take him away, but I hold him tighter, unwilling to let him go. “No,” I cry out, “I need to be with my son. He needs me.”

  “Ma’am, we can’t help your son with you holding onto him. You need to give him to us,” a kind, feminine voice says to my right.

  “What if something bad happens to him?” I choke out.

  “We’re going to do our very best to take care of him, but right now you’re hindering that. You can stay by his side, but you have to let us look at him.”

  “Delilah,” Max’s soft voice, pierces through the cacophony of voices, “let them see Beckham so they can make him better. I promise he’s going to be okay.”

  I know what I need to do, but it isn’t as easy as it seems. My son is my whole life and if anything were to happen to him, I’m not sure I’d be able to go on. Still, I open my eyes and arms and let a team of hospital staff take my son away from me. Once they whisk him away, I let my head fall onto Max’s chest and cry.

  “You can follow us,” a man says.

  As if I’m as light as a feather, Max carries me and follows along. Every few seconds his hold on me tightens. When we stop, I wipe my tears away with the backs of my hands. I try to focus on what they’re doing to Beck, but I can’t see past all the staff.

  Max starts to move away, making me whip my head to him and glare. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m only sitting us down so we’ll be out to the way and they can better attend to Beckham. I know it looked bad, but heads bleed alot. I’ve had plenty of gashes to the head in my time and learned early on they bleed more than most. He’ll be fine. I promise you.” His big hand runs down my hair and back and then up again.

  “I told him to stay at the door. I went to get the taco meat and when I came back, he was gone,” I cry out, closing my eyes as flashes of what happened earlier keep looping through my head.

  “Ma’am we need to take a look at your wounds as well if you could—”

  “You’re hurt?” Max interrupts, his blue eyes tracing over every inch of me he can see.

  “I… I don’t know. I don’t feel anything.”

  A soft hand rests on my arm for a moment before lifting it. It’s then that I see blood coating my arm.

  Pulling my arm away, I argue. “I don’t want to leave my son. It can wait.”

  “Delilah, none of that,” Max stands and places me on my feet. “You don’t want Beck to have to wait for you to get taken care of once he’s done, do you?”

  A sweet older woman comes to stand in front of me with a sympathetic smile on her wrinkled face. “The room right next door is open, so you won’t be far. If there are any problems, which there won’t be, they’ll come to get you.”

  My eyes dart to Max and that’s when I see blood covering his light gray t-shirt and arm. “You’ll stay with him, right?”

  He swallows and I watch as his Adam’s apple bobs. “If you don’t need me, I won’t leave this spot.”

  “I want you here if I can’t be.” My eyes start to tear up at the thought of not being with Beck when he needs me. Even though I know my parents couldn’t do anything immediately, I wish I had my phone so I could call them and let them know what’s happening. I need to hear their voices. It’s then that I vow to myself when we get back to Max’s house, I’m going to call my parents and tell them everything that’s happened since I last talked to them.

  8

  Max

  After four very long hours at the hospital, Delilah and Beckham are finally released. Although they might have to come back to receive rabies shots if we can’t find the dog that bit them. Hearing that news started another round of tears for Delilah. Not that I blame her. The night has been traumatic for everyone involved.

  When I heard the gut wrenching scream she let out, my stomach dropped, and my feet raced out of the house before I had a chance to even comprehend what happened. And then when I saw poor Beck and his bloody head, my heart skipped a beat.

  And damn if my heart didn’t ache for Delilah as she cried in my arms.

  Now on the way back to my house, Delilah is leaning her head against the window looking at nothing with her puffy eyes while Beckham is asleep in the back.

  I called my dad and told him the news once the nurses had reassured me both of them would be okay and had mentioned rabies. He and a few of the Mayson men are searching my property for the dog in question now. For Delilah’s sake, I hope they kept their women at home. I’m not sure if she can handle the full force of my family right now.

  When we’re halfway home, Delilah breaks the silence. “After I get Beck in bed and I know he’s asleep, I’m going to call my parents to let them know what happened.”

  It seems a little strange she’s telling me that. It’s perfectly normal to tell fa
mily when another member’s been hurt.

  “They’re going to freak out and want to come right away.” She lets out a small puff of air making the window fog up. “I don’t want to cut their trip short.”

  I can understand that, but family is more important than a vacation.

  Carefully, I take her bandaged hand in mine. She has scrapes all along her arms from tree branches, but it’s the bite mark on her wrist I’m trying to avoid hurting. How had we not noticed she was bit as well? “They’ll be thankful you told them. Think about when Beckham is older. Do you want him to not call you when something big happens like today?”

  “Oh, god, I don’t want to think of him as an adult and not living with me.”

  “Eventually it will happen and when it does, you’ll want him to call you if or when he gets hurt.”

  “You’re right, but I don’t want to think about it right now. It’s not only telling them about him getting hurt, but that we’re no longer in Mississippi and why. My dad is going to want to kill Bradley.”

  “I don’t blame him. If I had the chance, I’d do bodily harm to him without blinking an eye,” I confess. I’ve thought about it more than once, and even thought about hiring a private detective to look into it, but thought better of it, at least for the time being.

  Her hand under mine relaxes as she turns to look at me. “Please don’t do that. He’s not worth it.”

  “He may not be worth it, but you are. I know you said he controlled you for years and through that, I believe he’s diminished your self-worth. You deserve to be cared for and loved, Delilah.”

  Taking her hand from mine, she covers her face and lets out a few sniffles, but otherwise stays quiet until we reach my house. Pulling up my driveway, I notice a few trucks so they must not have found the dog yet. Once I pull the truck into my garage, I hop out to help Delilah and Beck out. I know she’d rather carry him, but I don’t want her to tear her stitches out when I can do the heavy lifting.

  Only, once I get Beckham out of the back, Delilah still hasn’t moved from her spot in the truck. She continues to stare straight ahead until I open the door for her. The problem is, I don’t think she’s waiting for me to open it for her. She’s so deep in thought she hasn’t realized we’re here yet. If she wasn’t pregnant, I’d offer her a drink to help relax her, but unfortunately, I can’t.

  We walk silently inside the house to the stairs. I notice some blood on the floor that I make a note to clean up before she has a chance to spot it. I stop at the top of the landing and wait for Delilah to catch up.

  “After I put him in bed, I’m going to go out back and talk to my dad. He and a few of December’s cousins are here trying to find the dog. Will you be okay?”

  She nods slowly, as if in a daze. I know they said they gave her some type of pain medicine that’s safe for the baby, but I’m not sure if it’s the meds, the situation, or what.

  I lay Beckham down and he doesn’t move a muscle, too exhausted from the night. Turning, I expect to find Delilah hot on my heels, wanting to tuck her boy in, but she’s standing at the door staring at me.

  Moving to her, I carefully take her hands in mine. “I’ll only be gone for a few minutes, but if you need anything you can call me.”

  “I don’t know where my phone is,” she says, almost robotically. Her gaze trained on her hands in mine.

  “I’ll find it and bring it up to you. Why don’t you take a nice hot bath while I’m gone?” I suggest.

  She finally looks at Beckham, and her eyes start to glisten in the moonlight. “Yeah,” she starts shakily. “Maybe I’ll do that.”

  “Just make sure to keep your stitches out of the water.” I give a little shake to her hand.

  “We’ve never had stitches before.” Her tone is without life until she looks at me. “Will he be able to play on Saturday? It will break his heart to miss a game.”

  I’m not sure since it’s my first-time coaching. It’s not like we have a doctor on the team to give the okay like in the major leagues. “I think we’ll just have to wait and see. The helmet might hurt on his—”

  She nods and looks back at her son. “That makes sense. He’s always loved dogs, but now… do you think he’ll be scared of them?”

  I want to tell her no, but who knows how he’ll respond to the trauma from today. “I don’t know, beauty, but we’ll do our best to make sure he’s not.” Her eyes flick up to mine at the endearment that slipped effortlessly off my lips, but that’s her only acknowledgment.

  “Now, go tuck your boy in, take a nice hot bath, and when you’re done, I’ll be downstairs waiting for you.” I want to be here for her, but I need to see if there’s been any sign of the dog.

  I leave Delilah tending to her sleeping boy and head out back.

  It takes me longer than I thought it would to find my dad and Asher.

  My dad claps me on the back and looks out to the forest. “You just missed Nico and Talon. We found the dog and they’re taking it to get looked at now by July.”

  “Now, I’m no vet, but it looked like the dog was shot,” Asher says while looking out into the woods like my dad did.

  “Never thought when I bought this place it would be dangerous. I liked the privacy and the views it has.” I only hope Delilah doesn’t blame me for what happened. What if she wants to go back to the shelter after tonight?

  “It’s not like it was a wolf. A dog can get shot in town as easily as out here. How’s your girl?” Asher asks, moving to look toward the house.

  “I think she’s in shock right now, but damn did she cry. I didn’t think she’d ever let them take her boy. I only hope that dog doesn’t have rabies. I can’t imagine them having to go through all those shots after today.”

  “You’ve already fallen,” my dad mutters.

  “I think I fell for her the second I met her. What I feel for her in such a short amount of time is unexplainable.”

  “You don’t need to explain,” Asher says. “It’s the boom, boy. While I don’t know much about her situation, I know she hasn’t had it easy as of late. She probably thinks it’s happening too fast, but give her time.”

  “There’s something she’s keeping from me and I have to believe it’s bad after everything else she’s told me. I want to protect her, but after today, what if she thinks it would be safer to be somewhere else?” I confess what’s been eating me up inside.

  “Do you want me to get Cobi to look into it?” Asher asks as we start to walk back to the house.

  “Do I want you to? Yes, but I’m not going to. Not right now, at least. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve got a bad feeling about it.”

  “Well, let me know if you want Cobi to see what he can find out. You’re certainly showing more restraint than most,” Asher chuckled.

  “Restraint is my middle name right now. I’m holding everything back until she’s ready.” We walk a couple of minutes in silence. “I want to thank you guys for keeping the women at home tonight. Delilah would have run for the hills with all of them smothering her.”

  Both my dad and Asher chuckle. Pulling me into a side hug, my dad pats me on the back. “They can be a bit much, but they mean well. It won’t take your girl long to figure that out.”

  “I’m coming to the game on Saturday to meet her and the boy,” Asher smirks at me. “And I’m bringing November, so you might want to warn her.”

  “Thanks for the heads up,” I laugh. Although I think on any other given day, Delilah would have welcomed them with open arms. “And thanks for coming out to help. I don’t know what I would have done without it.”

  “That’s what family’s for. Now, get inside and go tend to your woman. I think I saw her standing at the window looking out.”

  Fuck, I’d been gone much longer than I intended. She probably thinks the dog got me as well.

  I watch as my dad and his father-in-law walk around the side of my house and into the darkness. With Delilah and Beckham here, I need to have more security lights p
ut in place. After tonight, I’m not taking any more chances with their safety.

  Sure enough, Delilah is waiting for me in the kitchen when I walk inside, cradling a cup in her hands.

  “One of the worst things about being pregnant is not being able to drink. No alcohol and no caffeine. Two things that all moms need.” She leans back on the counter and takes a sip of what I’m not sure.

  Moving toward her, I ask. “If you can’t have alcohol or caffeine, what are you drinking?”

  “Hot chocolate. It reminds me of sitting out back with my parents when I was little before bed. It’s comforting.” She looks down at her bare feet and then back at me. “I hate that I have to call them with this news. It’s going to devastate them when they learn everything I’ve been keeping from them.”

  I pull her into a hug and feel her body relax against mine. It’s something we both need after the night we had. “At first, they’ll be disappointed, but if you explain yourself, they’ll understand. Do you want me to stay with you when you call, or do you want your privacy?”

  “Can you stay around? Don’t listen but be here if I need you.”

  She’s so damn cute. I keep it to myself though with only a twitch of my lips. “I’ll be wherever you need me. Now go call your parents before it gets too late,” I start to guide her to the couch. “You have to be exhausted.”

  “I am exhausted.” She sits down and folds her legs up under her. Pulling her phone out of the pocket of the sweatshirt she has on, she stares down at her phone for a long moment before she goes to her contact list and then places the phone to her ear.

  Biting her lip, Delilah looks to me as the phone rings. I know the moment someone answers because her eyes immediately well up with tears. “Hey, Mama,” she chokes out. “Is Dad there with you?”

  I start to move to give her the privacy she wanted when her hand darts out and captures mine.

  “Hey, Dad,” she says after a moment and then her chin starts to tremble. I give her hand a reassuring squeeze and then plant my ass on the couch next to her. “I have a couple of things I need to tell you both.”