A Kiss At Midnight (Delilah and Caelum) novel Chapter 47

Chapter 47

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The door at the back of the library gave a soft, reluctant creak as I pushed it open, the sound didn’t match the silence waiting inside.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but the air felt still in a way that didn’t sit right, even as my fingers tightened slightly on the edge of the door, pushing it open, and then I find myself freezing in place when I take in the sight in front of me.

Caelum was sitting in one of the chairs facing a blank canvas, he had his head bent backward against the seat, with one arin that hung loosely at his side while the other covered his face.

The canvas in front of him was completely empty, with a single brushstroke or sketch.

Nothing

And for a a moment, I simply stood there, the uneasiness once again settled in my chest

He didn’t make any attempt to move or acknowledge me, didn’t even react to the sound of the door opening, and my lips parted, ready to speak, to ask him what the hell was going on.

But stoped when my eyes landed on something lying on the couch beside him, and every thought in my head dropped straight into my stomach.

A test sheet

One that looked very fucking familiar, with my name was written at the top

Delilah Quinn

My stomach twisted as I turned back to look at him, “what are you doing with that?” my voice came out sharper than intended and he slowly removed his hands from his face.

His head turned toward me, locking his gaze onto mine, cold and unwavering. I noticed instantly something was different,, how his eyes looked exhausted as if he had spent hours fighting a war inside his own head, with a hundred things bothering

him at once.

Somehow that scared me more than if he’d been yelling

“did you perhaps check what your score on the assessment is?” his voice was flat, emotionless.

My eyes flickered from him back to the paper, then down to the giant red mark covering the page and my breath caught.

F

A giant fucking F

“What,” I rushed forward and snatched the paper off the couch as I scanned the page again and again.

Wait..what the hell

Every answer, every freaking single answer, and not one correct.

My lips parted, “I.” I looked at him, then back at the test, “I.. I don’t understand.”

He hummed, the sound was completely devoid of sympathy. “I’m not surprised,” his words hit harder than they should have as my eyes snapped toward him.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

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Chapter 47

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He leaned back in his chair, “You generally seem to lack the basic concept of understanding things,” the jab landed squarely in my chest as I stared at the paper still completely thrown off.

For the first time in forever, I remembered sitting in my room, going through notes and reading until my head hurt. I had been absolutely certain I knew the answers, absolutely certain.

So how the fuck had I gotten an F

How

Slowly, I looked up again to see Caelum wasn’t even looking at me anymore, instead his eyes were fixed on the blank canvas almost as if he couldn’t stand the sight of me.

A painful knot formed in my throat, “Caelum..” my voice came out softer than intended, weaker I hated sounding weak.

“Mrs. Hudge pulled me aside after AP class this afternoon.” He cut me off, his voice remained calm, “and guess my surprise when she showed me your test score,” he turned toward me, the look on his face nearly made me look away, one that was filled with anger, disappointment.

The disappointment hurting even more, and God, did I hate that look. I hated it so fucking much. My lips parted, but no words came out.

Speak, say something..anything.

Why in the hell are you standing there like a mutt

He scoffs again when I unable to say anything, as he carried on. “I mean, what exactly was I expecting,” the disappointment in his eyes hardened, “It’s not like you have any logical explanation for failure. He stood, grabbing his backpack from beside

the chair.

My panic immediately spiked realizing he was about leaving. I couldn’t let him leave like that.

No

So I did the only thing I could think of, stepping directly into his path before he could reach the door.

“Wait,” his eyes met mine, “I don’t know what happened,” I said quickly, “but trust me when I say I actually put in my best

this time.”

His gaze dropped to the paper clutched in my hand before returning back to me, and I knew instantly that he didn’t believe. me, not even a little.

The realization felt like a punch to the ribs as I took a small step backward, “you don’t believe me,” It wasn’t a question.

Caelum stared at me, blankly and cold. “What exactly am I supposed to believe.”

My grip tightened around the paper. “Caelum..”

“That this is your best?” his voice sharpened, “You put your absolute best effort into getting every single question wrong?” he lets out an humorless laugh, “that’s one hell of a best effort,” the sarcasm dripped from every word.

I stared at him stunned by his words. I had never seen him like this before, never seen him look this furious, and very much intimidating. His voice had dropped lower, rougher, every word carried weight.

His stare felt like it was stripping away every layer of confidence I had spent years building around myself, and his jaw tightened as he looked away briefly, then back at me.

“I had a job,” his voice was quiet, “a job to tutor, a responsibility. Something you clearly know nothing about.” My jaw clenched. Okay now he was just being an asshole.

Chapter 47

Jul

“That’s fucking unfair,” my fingers crumpled the test paper.

“Is it?”

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“It’s one test,” I say as my voice rises. “One fucking test.” I pointed at the paper, “I’ll do better on the next one.” He stared, unimpressed, but I don’t back down as I carried on, saying. This isn’t the end of the world,” the words slipped out before I could stop them. “And honestly? You’re overreacting.”

Silence stretches between us for a second to long, then he laughs again. One that was short, cold, and very much so, mocking.

“Of course,” his head shook. “I forgot what kind of person you are.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

His eyes met mine and whatever restraint he had been holding onto finally snapped. “It means you’re an egocentric, stubborn, mean, bratty little princess,” I froze as his words hit one after another.

Brutal

Merciless

“It means you sit around waiting for mommy and daddy to throw money into your bank account, so you can waste your life shopping and blowing cash because you’re desperate for attention.”

Each sentence felt like a slap. “Popularity.” Another slap. “Validation. You don’t think about your future and you clearly do not think about the people you hurt.”

Another blow

“You don’t think about anyone but yourself,” I moved and couldn’t believe he was saying this, “you go around ruining people’s lives as long as things go your way.” His eyes hardened. “And when you’re not causing problems, you’re being a

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