A Kiss At Midnight (Delilah and Caelum) novel Chapter 99

10:12 Wed, Aug 12 1 J

A Kiss At Midnight

A GAME OF TWIST

“Okay, whose bright fucking idea was this?” I stared down at the Twister mat spread across Kaia’s living room floor.

Kaia raised her hand. “Mine.”

“Of course it was.”

She rolled her eyes, “You said you wanted something fun.

“I meant something fun that didn’t involve me dislocating my hip.”

Caelum stepped onto the mat, looking far too relaxed. “It’s Twister, Delilah.”

“Yeah, and my body wasn’t designed for this shit.”

Kaia laughed. “You’re the one who insisted we play.”

Scoffing at this, I say. “I didn’t insist, I just marely suggested it..maybe.”

“You practically dragged us to the floor, Di.”

“If I can’t remember, then it didn’t happen,” she shakes her head at this before grabbing the spinner and giving it a spin.

“Right hand, yellow,” she placed her hand on the yellow circle and I followed.

“Left foot, blue,” I stretched my leg across the mat and placed my foot on the blue as Caelum glanced at the spinner.

“Right foot, green,” he moves into position without so much as a wobble.

My gaze shifted to him, in disbelieve and amusment. “Why are you so damn stable?”

His lips raises up to the side, before shrugging, “I’m coordinated.”

“I hate how annoyingly true that is,” I sigh, he was so good at this, while I was on the verge of trying to keep my body still, without breaking anything..

Maybe I should work out more..ugh..fuck this.

Kaia snorted, “I smell jealousy,” she says in a sing song and I scoff at this while she smirks. It been nearly two hours since we made our way back to her place, and in that two hours, we’ve had diners, played other games and chatted about random things.

And now, we were playing Twisters, which was the absolute fun of them all..not.

Kaia spin again, “left hand, red,” I reached for the red circle, only to realise Caelum’s arm was already occupying the space beside it.

“Move,” I said a little sternly, giving a look that didn’t bite.

“I can’t,” he made no attempt to move.

“You’re in my way.”

Raising a brow as he stares at me, “You’re supposed to find another circle,” there was a hint of amusement in his tone.

I don’t want another circle..”

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A Kiss At Midnight

“That’s unfortunate,” then his lips raise up slightly to the side.

Narrowing my eyes. “Caelum.”

He looked at me innocently, “What?”

“Move your damn hand.”

“I literally can’t.”

Kaia burst out laughing at our banter. “You two sound like an old married couple.”

“Shut up,” I said immediately, then groan “I’m going to die, my spine is filing for divorce,” she laughed so hard she nearly lost her balance.

I tried reaching for the red circle without stepping off the mat, my body twisted awkwardly. “Fuck!”

Caelum caught my waist before I could fall and for a second, I froze as his hand remained steady at my side.

“You okay?” He asks, his brow hitched in concern.

Clearing my throat, I nod. “Um..Yeah.” I bite at my lower lips, ignoring Kaia’s gaze, knowing she was staring directly at me.

Caelum released me, and I immediately returned my attention to the game. “Spin.”

Kaia did, “left foot, blue.”

I stared at the remaining blue circles. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me”

“Come on, Delilah,” she said between laughs. “You’ve got this.”

“I absolutely do not,” I stretched anyway, my foot landed on the circle and for exactly three seconds, everything was fine, then Caelum shifted.

My balance disappeared as I grabbed his arm and he grabs mine, while Kaia tried to move out of the way. Instead, all three of us collapse onto the mat in a tangled heap.

There was a moment of silence, till Kaia burst into laughter and Caelum and I joined, not being able to hold back.

“This,” I said between breaths, “is the stupidest fucking game ever invented.”,

Kaia wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. “And we’re playing again.”

I groaned. “Absolutely not.”

“Okay, no more Twister. How about a movie instead.”

“Amen to that,” I said, getting to my feet, while others do the same, and Kaia drops onto the large couch, pulling a soft blanket over herself.

Following her, I curl up beside her, stealing half of the blanket and tucking myself against her side. She immediately adjusted it around both of us, and within minutes, we were comfortably buried beneath it with a movie playing across the television.

“This is much better,” I said and she hummed in agreement, her head resting against the cushion.

Caelum sat on the other side of the couch, looking far too comfortable for someone who had nearly watched us destroy ourselves minutes ago..

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A Kiss At Midnight

Stretching my legs out, I let them rest across the couch, then, because I couldn’t resist, I slowly placed my feer on his lap.

He looked down while I smiled innocently at the television, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting his reaction to be, but but a few seconds pass and then I felt his hands gently settle around my feet.

My smile immediately faded as I glanced down to see he wasn’t moving them away. Instead, his fingers began lightly caressing my foot, his touch slow and absent minded as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

A strange warmth spread through me as I gulped, knowing this had only been meant to tease him, now I wasn’t sure what I had been thinking.

I shifted slightly, suddenly aware of every point where his fingers touched my skin, his hands were warm, and the gentle movement of his thumb sent distracting little shivers through me.

My attention drifted back toward the television, atleast, I tried to. The movie continued playing, the characters talking and laughing across the screen, but I couldn’t tell you what any of them were saying, now when my thoughts had completely abandoned the movie.

Every time his fingers moved, my attention followed and I tried focusing on the dialogue, nothing. I has also lost the plot of what the movie was about.

Time slipped by without either of us noticing and the movie eventually ended, the final credits rolling across the screen while the room fell quiet except for the soft music playing in the background.

I was still staring at the screen when I heard it, a soft snore, causing my head to turn slightly toward Kaia. She was completely asleep, curled beneath the blanket with her head resting against the cushion.

A smile tugged at my lips and my lips, ready to call Caelum’s name for help. At the exact same moment, he turned toward me, cursing my breath to cease .

His gaze settled on mine, and for a second, neither of us moved, then his eyes dropped slowly to my lips. lingering there for a moment before slowly lifting back to mine.

Something shifted in his expression, there was unmistakable desire in his eyes, along with something else I couldn’t quite name, and my heart stumbled.

Clearing my throat softly, I carefully moved away from Kaia, “Can you help me with her?” I muttered, keeping my eyes lowered, suddenly far too aware of the heat spreading across my cheeks.

Caelum seemed to understand immediately. “Of course,” he gets up, then carefully lifts Kaia into his arms, and I quietly led him down the hallway toward her bedroom.

Once inside, he lowers her onto the mattress as gently as possible and I pulled the quilt over her, tucking it around her shoulders before giving her one last look.

Then Caelum and I quietly stepped back into the hallway as k closed the door behind us. “It’s been a long day,” I murmured.

“It has,” I glanced at him, “I get to see just good of a person you are today.”

I scoffed softly. “As much as I wish I could accept that, I’m really not,” he frowned as I continued, “Kaia would’ve done the same thing for me.”

“Maybe she would,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean you have to hide every emotion you feel,” my gaze drifted away from him. “You know, sometimes I think I’d like to crack even your toughest walls.”

Giving him a small laugh. “What walls are left to crack? you already know everything there is to know about me.” “That is not true,” his voice was quiet, “there is still so much to learn about you, Delilah. And I am open to learn, I want to

The parts you show people and..the ones you keep

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A Kiss At Midnight

hidden.”

My gaze met his, seeing just how fucking genuine his were, and I gulped. “Even if some of those parts turn out to be ugly?

His expression softened, “There isn’t an ugly part of you that could make me look away.”

I tried to laugh it off. “You will be surprised,” I say quietly, taking a step back. And before I could take another, his hand settled gently around my waist, drawing me closer, and my breath cease again.

“I’m serious,” he murmured, his fingers carefully brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear, “you could show me every scar, every flaw, every piece of yourself you’re afraid someone might judge, and you would still be Delilah Quinn. The same girl standing right here, in front of me.” His eyes held mine, “beautiful.”

At this point, I forgot how to respond. Heck, I forgot what it was like to breath. And before I could find the words, Caelum leaned closer and his lips met mine.

My breath caught against his lips, every thought disappearing in an instant

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10:12 Wed, Aug 12 01

A Kiss At Midnight

A TRIP OUTSIDE

Spinning around in my desk chair for what seem like the twentieth time, while staring at the ceiling blankly as I revolve slowly around..

I was bored, like, painfully bored.

It was Friday afternoon after school, which normally would’ve meant I had something to look forward to. But today? nothing

Today was Caelum’s break day, which also meant there was no tutoring. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, he wasn’t ever around. He had gone to his grandpa’s house for the weekend straight after school, which again..meant I wouldn’t see him again until Monday.

Monday

That was three whole days away, which sucked like hell.

I spin around again, letting my chair carry me toward the window before pushing myself off with one foot. Kaia was out too. She’d been busy with preparations for the fall festival and apparently had no intention of escaping until everything was ready.

Jace was spending some much needed time with his mother. And Elias?Elias was just..MIA, gone, vanished.

Probably somewhere doing whatever the hell Elias did when he disappeared off the face of the earth.

I sighed at how friend group was ridiculously small. Not that I minded, I would take the four people I actually liked over a hundred fake ass friends any day.

But right now? i was bored out of my fucking mind

There is always a party to go to, I supposed. There was probably something happening tonight. There always was, but even the thought of getting dressed up, and having to deal with loud music, drunk idiots, and people pretending to like each other sounded very much exhausting. I wasn’t just in the mood for that.

Spinning around again and again, when my phone rang, causing me to stopped mid spin.’

The sudden sound made me glance toward the desk, as my phone was vibrating beside my laptop. I looked down on it, to see it was from an inknown number and mg brows pulled together.

Who the hell was calling me?

I reached over and picked it up. “Hello?” for a second, there was silence, then a voice came through the other end,

monotone.

“Am I speaking with Delilah Quinn?”

My brows creased, “Yes..Who is this?”

There was another brief pause. “This is regarding an emergency,” something about the voice immediately made me sit straighter as the person continued, “We’re calling from Rosewood Hospice, you’re needed here immediately.”

I jumped out of my chair so quickly it nearly rolled backward. The hospice, I knew that name. It was the same hospice where Jace’s nother stayed and my stomach twisted.

How the hell had they even gotten my number? that wasn’t important right now.

“Is this about Jacquelin Moreno?” I asked, my voice suddenly tense.

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There was a pause on the other end. “You need to come here immediately, Miss Quinn.”

My brows pulled together. “Why? What happened? Is she..” the call ended and I stared at my phone.

“What the fuck?” I immediately tried calling back, but the number was already unavailable.

Whatever was happening, I wasn’t going to sit here waiting for answers, I had to get there, fast.

I rushed to my closet and changed into a hoodie and sweatpants, shoving my feet into my fluffy slippers, and twisted my hair into a messy bun before practically sprinting out of my room, racing down the stairs two at a time.

“Miss Delilah!” I heard the maid call after me, “where are you going? your parents are going to be back for dinner!” I didn’t stop as I hurried through the front door and straight toward my car.

The drive to the hospice was smooth, thankfully, but my mind was anything but.

Should I call Jace?

I reached for my phone before hesitating. What if everything was fine? What if the hospice had already contacted him? But what if they hadn’t?

My fingers tightens around the steering wheel, I needed to find out what was happening first, and then I can call Jace once I knew how serious the emergency actually was.

The thought of Jacquelin lying there while something was wrong made my chest tighten.

I drove faster, reaching the hospice and managing to find a parking space close to the entrance. I barely had the car in park before I was out, the area was quiet as usually with only a handful of people moving around outside, their footsteps echoing faintly against the pavement.

Hurrying toward the entrance, I already preparing myself to bombard whoever was behind the front desk with questions and had barely stepped through the doors when a hand suddenly grabbed mine.

“What the..” I was yanked toward the corner beside the entrance, stumbling as I tried to regain my balance.

My gaze resting on a very familiar boy standing in front of me, practically glowing with excitement.

“You came!” my brows furrowed as I stared at him then at his hand still holding mine before returning it back at his face.

Narrowing my eyes. “Romeo?” I said since I had absolutely no idea what his actual name was and his grin widened.

He gave me a sheepish smile. “Not Romeo,” he corrected, “It’s Leonardo.”

I stared at him for a second. “Leonardo?”

He nodded proudly before his grin returned. “Leo, if you want,” then reached up and adjusted the little dinosaur shaped zipper pull on his backpack, as if suddenly becoming very interested in it.

My brow furrowed, something about the whole situation wasn’t adding up. Then it hit me, the phone call. Narrowing my eyes at him, I wondered if he had been the one who called me.

But I could have sworn the voice on the other end had belonged to a woman. I tilted my head, my jaw tightening as I fought the urge to get pissed.

“Were you the one who called me about an emergency?”

His smile immediately disappeared when he noticed the look in my eyes and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I’m sorry.”

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A Kiss At Midnight

“That’s not an answer.”

He gulped, “I.. asked the nurse to call you. More like begged her to get you here,” he admitted, “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just..

“Well, you fucked up pretty badly if your plan was to not scare me,” his shoulders dropped, “you don’t call someone saying there’s an emergency and then hang up before explaining what the hell is happening!”

“I know.”

“I thought something had happened. Do you have any idea how fast my heart was beating?” he gave me an apologetic look, “don’t ever make a call like that again, seriously. You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack.”

He paused before giving me a tiny smile. “Well, at least now you know what it feels like to have a heart that refuses to cooperate.”

I stared at him for half a second, the joke landed differently because I knew about his heart condition and my expression softened, “That’s not funny.”

“I know,” he murmured, “Sorry,” he looked down at his shoes before continuing, “It had just been a while since I’d seen you and you’re the only person I could think of calling.”

Something about the way he said it made my concern return. “Why? Is something wrong?”

He quickly shook his head. “No, nothing’s wrong,” then his smile returned, brighter this time, “they’re letting me go outside today.”

My brow crease. “Outside?”

“Yeah. Just for a few hours,” he glanced toward the doors, looking almost giddy, “I get to leave this place for a little while. It’s not forever or anything, but..It’s exciting.” He took a deep breath, filling his lungs slowly, “It’s nice to breathe air that doesn’t smell like disinfectant.”

“Is it actually safe for you to leave without someone monitoring you?”

Lifting his wrist, tapping the screen of his watch. “Technology, remember? this thing is basically my personal babysitter,” I raised an eyebrow as he grinned, “If anything goes wrong with my heart, it detects it and sends an SOS straight to the hospice. They get notified immediately.”

“That sounds reassuring.”

“It is,” he lowered his wrist, “besides, I’m only out for a few hours.”

“Okay,” nodding slowly, before raising an eyebrow, “but why exactly am I here?”

Staring at me for a second before shaking his head. “I needed a friend,” his expression softened, “and I needed some company. Plus, I have a few things I need to get, and you look like someone who knows what she’s doing.”

Deciding to take that as a compliment and besides, it wasn’t like I had anything planned out for today, so..why not.

“Fine,” glancing toward the front desk, “don’t you have to sign out or something?”

“Already did,” he started walking toward the entrance. “Come on, I guess you came with your car?”clicking his tongue, he raised two fingers in a quick salute before pointing toward the doors.

I rolled my eyes at this but followed him anyway. And we both made our way outside as I led him toward my car. Once we were inside, we fastened our seat belts and I pulled out of the parking lot.

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beat.

his personal concert stage, singing along to whatever song came through the radio, occasionally bopping his head to the

Our first stop was the mall and as soon as we reached the entrance, he steps slowed, looking around, his eyes moving over the familiar surroundings.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here,” he says, smiling softly,

I didn’t comment on that and Instead, I asked, “So, what are we getting?”

He turned toward me. “A birthday gift for my brother,” my brows lifted slightly, It was the first time he had ever mentioned having one, or had he before mention he had a brother.

Before I could ask anything else, however, something across the mall caught his attention and he immediately started walking.

“Come on,” I followed him toward the boys’ section,, scanning the racks as we walked.

“So, what exactly am I looking for?” I asked.

He tilted his head to the side for a second as if he was deep in thoughts “A hoodie, maybe. Or a jacket. Anything that might be considered as a good gift for him, and on budget, since I have very little with me but worth giving.”

“That’s very very helpful,” I say in a sarcastic tone, making him scoff.

“I’m trying here?”

4

Picking up a black hoodie from the rack and held it up, “How about this ?”

He stares at it for a second before shaking his head., “Too plain.”

My gaze rested on him, “You just said he likes simple things.”

“Simple doesn’t mean boring,” narrowing my eyes at him.

“You’re making this unnecessarily difficult.”

“He likes things that look good without trying too hard.”

14

I looked down at the hoodie again. “Okay, so apparently your brother has standards.”

“Very high ones,” I snorted and continued looking.

11

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A Kiss At Midnight

SITUATIONSHIP

By the time we were done shopping, Leo had settled on getting his brother a watch instead, to which I agreed to,

It was a simple black watch with a dark leather strap, a clean silver face and a small white marking around the edge. Nothing too fancy or ridiculously expensive, but it looked polished enough to make a good birthday present.

Once we were done shopping, we decided to stop at one of the café inside the mall, joining the short line.

Turning slightly, “What do you want?” I asked.

Leo gaze drifted up to the menu, plastered on the screen, studying them for more than a couple second, that you would think he was making a life changing decision.

Then after a while he says. “Chicken sandwich, fries, and a chocolate milkshake.”

Raising a brow slightly at this. “You’re hungry.”

“I’ve been stuck eating hospital food,” he shakes his head, letting out a subtle groan.

”

“That explains everything,” fighting back the smile, I turner to the counter, ordering a chicken wrap with fries and an iced caramel latte for myself before we found an empty booth near the window.

On eve we found a booth, Leo picks up his cup, taking a long harsh sip from it, before setting it down with a sigh and I shake my head at this, finding his behavior slightly..just a tiny bit cute.

Then he grabs a fry from the basket the server had just placed on the table, popping it into his mouth. He leans back in his chair, as he casually says, “So, about the boy you came with the first time..”

I raised a brow at this as he continues. “You know the one that isn’t your boyfriend, but your boy friend,” he makes an exaggerated air quote in the air, getting an eyeroll from me.

“Don’t even start.”

A smirk tugged at his mouth. “What..I haven’t even said anything.”

“I think you have said enough,” he let’s out a small laugh before reaching for another fry.

For a moment, his expression remained playful, till it change. And his gaze drops toward the table. “I’ve seen him around a few times,” he said quietly, “Jace, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Leo picked at the edge of his napkin. “He’s been around the hospice a lot,” my smile faded as his voice became quieter, “She hasn’t been doing well and can barely lift herself up anymore. Most days, she needs help just to sit up.”

My chest tightened at this as he continues, gulping. “And the doctors think..” he hesitated, “It’s only a matter of days now,” the words settled heavily between us.

I know Jace had told us about what the doctor had said concerning his mother, but hearing it again from Leo, made my heartache. It was like a confirmation of something that was going to happen regardsless of what was done.

I looked down at my drink, feeling somewhat complete hopeless, knowing that there was nothing I could do. It was not like I had the ability to fix this for Jace, making his mother’s illness disappear.

All I could do was watch yet another person that I care about lose someone they loved.

My gaze drifted toward Leo, and suddenly, another thought crept in, out I didn’t want anywhere near my head.

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C

What if.. No. I immediately pushed it away, knowing I couldn’t think like that.

Not about him

Forcing my expression to remain neutral, I reach for my drink as though nothing had happened. But when I looked up at Leo again, he was already watching me, his eyes narrowed slightly. Enough reason to let me know that he had noticed, despite how hard I tried.

He stares at me for another second before his expression suddenly brightens. “I thought you weren’t going to be like everyone else.”

My brow crease together, “What does that mean?”

He tilted his head, mimicking an exaggeratedly sympathetic expression. “You know..the pity face.”

I scoffed as his lips stretches to a grin “Guess you do have a heart after all.”

Rolling my eyes, I take a sip of my drink. “What made you think I didn’t?”