A Kiss At Midnight (Delilah and Caelum) novel Chapter 62

Chapter 62

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I left school after cheer practice, still a little tired from the session but glad I had managed to shower before heading out, the girls locker room had been nearly empty, and I had quickly changed into clean clothes I’d brought from home.

My phone was already in my hand as I walked across the parking lot

Me: Heading out first, got tutoring session. Chat you up when I get home

I added Kaia’s name at the top and hit send before slipping the phone back into my pocket, only got my step to halt in place.

Something felt off

With a small frown on my face, I walked the last few steps to my car, then slowing completely when I saw it, one of the tires looked wrong, flat, not fully collapsed, but noticeably deflated.

My brow furrowed when I looked at the other side, finding it in the same condition as the first, bith on the same side were low.

That hadn’t been like that this morning, that much I was certain of.

A small uneasy feeling settled in my stomach as I stepped closer, crouching slightly as I tried to make sense of it. Maybe I had just missed it earlier..maybe..

My gaze caught something small and bright near the wheel, a flash of silver, causing me to lean in and reached for it, fingers brushing cold metal.

A bracelet

Scratch that, this wasn’t just any bracelet, this was the same bracelet that I had gotten from the store, the same one that Sophie had taken from me weeks ago.

My grip tightened slightly as I stood back up, eyes scanning the lot and as if in cue, my eyes rested on her. she walked out of the school building with Lindsey beside her, along with a few other girls from the cheer squad, they were laughing about something, moving slowly across the pavement like they had nowhere urgent to be.

I frowned slightly, she wasn’t even on the team, so why was she now hanging around them?

Her eyes lifted, meeting mine almost instantly and then they dropped to the tires before returning back to me. A small, knowing look settled on her face..almost smug and I could tell she was waiting for me to react.

Storm over, yell and make a scene, that was what she expected. Instead, I just lifted a hand and waved calm at her, my lips stretched in a smile.

This makes her expression shifts, her brows pulling together slightly, like she hadn’t expected that at all. I didn’t wait for her reaction before turning away, pulling my phone back out of my pocket and opened my messages, my fingers moved 1 quickly.

Me: I’m going to be late.

The sun was already lowering by the time I reached Caelum’s house, the sky now washed in what seemed to be muted gold that made everything feel quieter than it should’ve been.

I stood at the same spot much longer than necessary, my hand hovering near the door before I finally knocked,, and the door opened almost immediately.

17:53 Thu, Jul 23

Chapter 62

And just like that, every sense of reasoning vanished almost instantly.

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Caelum was there with nothing on except a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, his chest chest was still dampp, like he had just stepped out of a shower.

Well, yeah, duh

Ofcourse he had just stepped out of the shower

His hair was pushed back, slightly messy, and once again their was no glasses on his face, just him, unfiltered and very much real.

My mind still remained completely blank

“Delilah,” he said, startled, stepping back quickly as he realised what state he was in, “I didn’t think you were coming.”

That hit wrong immediately, and I wondered if there was still a part of him that doubted my commitment, or any words say in general

“I said I would.” I replied, sharper than I intended.

“I know, I just..it was getting late and I thought maybe..”

“That I wouldn’t show.” I cut in, and his mouth opened, just to close again, nothing came out. I didn’t wait for an answer and stepped past him into the warmth of the house, needing space from the awkwardness I suddenly didn’t know what to do with.

“When I say I’m coming.” I muttered out quietly, “I come,” he didn’t argue, instead just shut the door and went upstairs to get dressed, the silence he left behind felt too noticeable.

I stood in his living room, suddenly aware of my own breathing, of how loud everything felt when nothing was being said and I pressed my fingers lightly against my sleeve and tried to steady myself.

By the time he came back down, he looked like himself again, grey sweatpant, white t-shirt with some ridiculous science joke printed across it, with his hair still slightly damp, glasses back on.

Dang it

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said too quickly, after a beat, “yeah.”

He didn’t press it again and Instead placed a stack of worksheets on the table, along with neatly arranged flashcards. “I made these,” he said, “breaking things into steps might help, smaller sections are easier to remember.”

I stared at them longer than I meant to. “They’re just flashcards,” I muttered.

“They’re structured,” he said simply, “I thought you’d prefer that.”

Of course he did

I picked up my pencil and tried to focus, but I was aware of him in a way that made concentrating feel like something I had to physically fight for, and he wasn’t even doing anything, just sitting there, watching, quietly present, like he was giving me space without actually leaving it.

After a while he spoke again. “Can I ask you something?”

Looking up to meet his gaze “Sure.”

17:53 Thu, Jul 23

Chapter 62

He hesitated briefly. “Why didn’t you like the textbook? The seventh grade one.”

Ugh..that stupid book.

My grip tightened slightly on the pencil. “It’s complicated,” I said, already looking back down.

“I don’t think I understand complicated,” he replied, “try me.”

A quiet breath left me

Try me

I stared at my hands for a moment. “When I look at it.” I said finally, “it makes me feel stupid.”

Silence followed immediately. “Why?” he asked, softer now.

That word again. Why.

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As if there was a simple explanation for something that had built up over years, I gulped. “I don’t like feeling weak,” I admitted quietly, “and this whole tutoring thing makes me feel exactly that, weak, small, like everything I’ve worked so hard to build just… falls apart.”

I laughed bitterly under my breath. “It doesn’t really help that I grew up being compared to my sister,” he stayed quiet, letting me continue. “She’s three years older than me,” my fingers tightened together in my lap, “the kind of person who collected academic awards without even trying, highest marks, scholarships, debate competitions, science fairs. Every time she achieved something..which was all the time..my mother somehow found a way to ask why I couldn’t be more like her.”

Swallowing around the tightness in my throat. “She wasn’t the one doing the comparing, she never made me feel like 1 wasn’t enough.” a small smile tugged at my lips before disappearing, “but after hearing it for years.. eventually you start believing you’re always going to come second.”

4

I looked away. “So when you hand me a seventh-grade textbook..” I let out a quiet, humourless laugh. “It feels like every comparison I’ve ever heard all over again.”

The room stayed quiet after I finished and I kept my eyes down, not wanting to see his reaction, then I felt movement.

Caelum had gotten up and come closer, lowering himself so he was at my level, his presence softened the space between us instead of crowding it, his hand found mine.

Then, gently, his other hand came up and cupped the side of my face, steady but not forcing.

“That sounds exhausting,” he said softly.

I let out a small, humourless laugh, “You have no idea.”

“No,” he admitted, “I probably don’t,” there was no false sympathy, no pretending he understood a life he had never lived. “But I do know this.”

He shifted closer, resting his forearms on his knees as he looked at me, “growing up beside someone exceptional doesn’t make you ordinary,” my brows furrowed, “It just means people stop seeing you as your own person.”

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