C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - T W O
Back And Forth
A few days later Delia found herself standing on the vast farmed land. Her hands were covered in bug bites and soot. Her hair was done up so it wouldn't get dirty, though she was sure she could see the ends of her hair a dirty brown colour. She was wearing overalls that she burrowed from the farm.
If she had a few drinks she could possibly find herself appealing to the eye but she was sombre and completely sober.
Delia found herself always wiping the sweat from her hands onto her overalls, causing brown spots and damp marks to gradually appear on her clothes.
That day she was assigned to dig holes for fruit seeds to go in. She had a lot of lands and not a lot of time to complete her job. Though luckily for her, she was paid hourly and not based off of how amazing her work was.
She had already worked numerous hours before she was let go by her boss. She had about two more hours until she was finished work.
"You're free to go, Acker." Her boss had said, pointing for her to get the hell out.
Without uttering another word, she took off her overalls and put on her spring coat. Washing her hands gently before heading off to the road.
Still confused, Delia furrowed her eyebrows, curious as to who had tipped her boss to let her go early. It seemed to be a simple answer in her mind, Laurie.
"Theodore Laurence... who gave you permission to pick me up early?" She questioned, standing with her legs a shoulders length apart and hands crossed.
"I did, m'lady. Now, if you wouldn't mind..." Laurie took Delia's hand and guided her up into the carriage.
"What's the meaning of this? You don't do this on a normal occasion." Delia inquired, crossing her arms and eyeing Laurie with suspicion.
"I thought I'd bring you to a favourite spot of mine. It has colourful leaves, beautiful skies and everything." Laurie explained, making Jazz hand gestures at Delia who scrunched up her nose as a response.
She had a gut feeling something was going to happen that day.
"My grandsire told me about the trail, I thought he was over exaggerating when he started grumbling about how beautiful the scene was. After our conversation, I decided I'd go there to settle it for myself..." Laurie had continued on explaining how he was led to the sight, Delia just kept nodding and nodding, what a strange day it was?
"I'm surprised you haven't asked me whether you should change your clothes or not." Laurie chuckled, knowing that what he said wasn't very funny.
"There's no point, is there? You'll just go on to say that I look perfect just the way I am and I don't need to change."
"You know me too well... um, I'll stop boring you with my words now then," Laurie mumbled, hesitatingly looking away from her and out the carriage window.
"I hope you're not bringing me to a graveyard of some sort." Delia joked which made Laurie grin while shaking his head.
"That would be quite the sight, wouldn't it?"
"Indeed, it would."
* * * * *
Laurie and Delia had to walk quite a bit to get to where Laurie was talking about. The carriage could only bring them so far to a place without roads.
Delia had to admit, she felt hesitant to follow Laurie into the bunches of trees. Maybe she hadn't gotten over what had happened.
"This is how murders happen..." Delia muttered, walking innocently alongside Laurie, who looked at her with sparkling eyes.
"I can't say I disagree but... I couldn't bring myself to hurt you, even if it depended on my life." Laurie stopped, there was a pause of silence that encouraged Delia to shake her head in disbelief.
"You couldn't mean that." Delia bit her lip.
"...Come along now, it's not far from here." He took her by the hand, dragging her to an opening in the thick trees. There stood a large lake.
The water reflected a beautiful image as it rippled. The leaves of the trees turning a sunny yellow colour. The weather starting to get colder by the by until eventually the water of the lake would be frozen solid. The grass was a pear green colour with tips of brown or yellow.
Delia could hear the birds chirping, nestled on their tree branch. The feathers of the flying creatures a vast range of rainbow to dark shades like black or grey.
"Be careful, I hear it's steep near the edge," Laurie warned, pulling Delia closer to him, securing his hand round her waist. They both peered cautiously into the water, seeing their reflection stare back at them.
Delia could feel Laurie's warm breath cool as it hit her exposed skin near her shoulder. She took one step towards the lake before she could feel her feet give up on her, starting to slip on the wet ground, losing grip on the solid ground.
"Delia!" Laurie yelled one panic, grasping onto Delia's upper arms, digging his fingernails into her skin as he secured her away from the lake.
"I warned you, didn't I?" Laurie frowned, realizing he was causing her pain in her arms and taking his hands completely off of her.
"It's beautiful from here too," Delia stated, staring off into the distance with her starry-eyed gaze.
"It's lovely..." he mumbled, feeling his eyes slowly turn back onto Delia.
His eyes were bright with hope, he could see Delia's blue eyes as bright and vibrant as anything. The colour of the ocean, or the light blue sky depending on the lighting. Her hair flowed in the wind infested weather like wisps of clouds. He wanted to touch her, to place his hands on her shoulders to give her reassurance.
"I must say, if I weren't as beautiful as you claim me to be, you wouldn't be staring so intensely at me right now." Delia could see the blush in Laurie's cheeks as she looked at him from the side.
His cheeks were burning a flush of pink and red. As though someone was mixing paints together, adding more and more red every few seconds.
Leaning closer and closer to red as her words settled in. He chuckled anxiously, grinning from cheek to cheek as he gazed deep into Delia's pupils.
"Beautiful women don't see their beauty..." Laurie remarked, shakily placing his hand on Delia's cheek.
"What is it, dear Theo? You have a question to ask me." Delia somehow read his mind, turning her head swiftly to face him. He felt intimidated by her confidence at that moment. It seemed as though she had studied him enough to know what he was thinking.
"It isn't the right time," Laurie whispered shyly, stroking Delia's cheek with his thumb just once.
"It's the right time, what better time is there? It's you and I standing here, in a beautifully reserved forest by the lake. What do I have to do to make you open up to me?"
"I've already opened up to you, Delia," Laurie replied, talking in a whisper-like voice, he seemed uneasy about the matter.
"I'm sure you have, but you've been hiding this thing for the past few days now." Delia started walking around the border of the lake, placing her feet delicately into the ground, making sure she had a good grip on the floor.
"How do you know?" Laurie questioned, following her unsteadily.
"It's something about our relationship, isn't it?" She grinned, sensing that Laurie's silence was a way of saying yes.
"Well, if you want to know so badly... I've following my emotions once and... it worked out just fine, so..." Laurie grabbed Delia's arm, pulling her in close to him. She had to adjust to just how close Laurie was to her. Their faces were just a few inches apart. Her mouth agape just ajar from the suddenness of Laurie's actions.
"Will you marry me, Delia Acker?" The question slipped from his deep pink lips. Inhaling sharply and holding his breath, Laurie awaited Delia's answer with no patience.
There was a moment of silence that Delia made to make time to think of her answer, the whole time Laurie was trying to search for some sort of answer in her eyes but she didn't give him anything but worry.
"Was that why you wanted to ask me about my opinion on marriage the other day, d-during the picnic?" She questioned, still holding the gaze between her and him.
Laurie nodded profusely, somehow still holding his breath in, he didn't dare blink a wink or breath out. He was hoping for relief when she said yes but the word never seemed to come.
"Laurie... I'm scared, I'm a madwoman, a liar. Who would want to marry such a disgusting person as I? How could you tell me you love me at night?" There was that answer. Laurie's mind flashed back to Jo's response to his confession of emotions.
How were they so similar yet so different?
"Is that a yes or a no, Delia?"
"I don't know." She answered with no further words, she thought all she had to say was said.
What else was there to say?
"That doesn't give me closure." Laurie stifled a cry. Not again, it's happening all over again.
"I'm conflicted, Laurie."
"What is there to be conflicted about...? Do you love me, Lia? Do you want me for all eternity?" Laurie inquired, demanding answers.
It wasn't that hard to love someone like him, was it?
"Laurie... you have to understand that after everything that's happened, I still need time to recover. I'm still recovering, I... I love you, Laurie. I do, I'm certain of only that, but farther than that, I have no answers for. It would depend on the day you'd ask me." Delia responded, leaving Laurie lost for words.
"What about today?"
"I'd say yes... but then when tomorrow rolls around inevitably, w-who knows how I'd feel about this. I want to be a hundred percent, Laurie. And right now, I... I'm not." Delia gulped, her throat dried of any liquid, she wanted to scramble for water.
The biggest wave of guilt was soon to wash over her. It's shadow approaching her slowly but predictably. Her hands reached up to cover a portion of her face, not wanting Laurie to see the pain she was feeling.
Why was she like this?
All that was in Laurie's mind was settling panic that was sinking in, sitting like a crown on his head.
What a loser he was? By the by, eventually, he'd get an answer, right?
He just wanted a yes or no, instead, he got a jumble of words he couldn't even process.
Was he that messed up? Was he a horrible human being no person could stand being around?
Delia's eyes faltered, fluttering from the building feelings of guilt, confusion and sadness.
"I'll get home on my own, Laurie. I'll see you another time." What a bitch she was...? She couldn't lure Laurie into a life of misery and anxiety, she couldn't do it to him.
A U T H O R ' S N O T E
Ah... Uhm, so any thoughts on this chapter...? It happened and... there's only a few more
chapters of this story. :)
love you guys so much!!
Stay safe and healthy! <3
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