Running Away

Delphine stood frozen, a gasp escaping her lips as she witnessed Ethan's sudden reaction and his subsequent flight.

She was overwhelmed by the recent events and her mind raced, leaving her at a loss for words or coherent thoughts.

The weight of confusion and concern settled heavily upon her.

In an instinctual response, Delphine's trembling hands reached for her phone, desperately searching for Ethan's contact.

She scrolled through her last conversations to find his messages.

Questions flooded her mind, begging to be asked and answered:

Did something suddenly happen?

Did Ethan forgot an important meeting?

Did she unknowingly say or do something that had driven him away?

As Delphine's gaze fixed upon the screen, her heart wavered between hope and trepidation.

With trembling fingers, she hovered over the call button, contemplating whether to reach out to Ethan and discover the mystery behind his sudden disappearance.

She needed an explanation and he owed her one.

However, before Delphine could summon the courage to call Ethan's number, the voices of boisterous boys pierced through her tumultuous thoughts.

Turning her attention to the unexpected interruption, she noticed a group of young students, drenched and laughing, making their way home from school.

Their sight momentarily distracted Delphine from her worries and she changed her mind.

Eventually, she decided to go home and think about it later and decide what to do.

She gathered her composure and made her way to the bus stop.

The bus ride home on the last day of school had always been a familiar routine, but this time, it felt anything but ordinary.

The bus was full of other students, some even wetter than her.

Luckily, the heat and the sun had already partially dried her clothes along the way.

Finding an empty seat, Delphine sank into it, her thoughts a turbulent whirlwind.

As the bus rolled forward, Delphine gazed out the window, watching the familiar cityscape blur by, its colors muted by her preoccupied mind.

The rhythmic hum of the bus's engine mingled with the close chatter of her school mates, who were now laughing and talking about the school year and their incoming holidays.

Emotions tugged at Delphine's heart.

She wrestled with feelings of confusion, guilt, and an insatiable yearning to understand what had transpired with Ethan.

The bus journey seemed interminable, each passing minute a torturous reminder of the uncertainty that awaited her at home.

The once-familiar route felt alien, as if the world itself had shifted under her feet.

Yet, amid the disarray of her thoughts, a flicker of determination ignited within Delphine's heart.

She decided that she would uncover the truth, in one way or another.

The bus eventually halted at Delphine's stop, and with a sigh, she stepped off onto the sidewalk, the weight of her soaked clothes reminding her of the last day of school that had just terminated.

The journey home seemed to stretch infinitely, each step echoing with uncertainty and a sense of urgency.

As Delphine pushed open the door to her house, the familiar scents of home enveloped her.

She wasted no time in shedding her wet clothes.

Hastily, she made her way to her bedroom, where she rummaged through her drawers to find a fresh set of clothes.

She decided to wear a summery pajamas, since she knew that she would not go out again that day.

Next, Delphine attended to her damp hair.

She fetched a towel and gently wrapped it around her locks, gently patting and squeezing to absorb the moisture.

As she rubbed the towel against her hair, her mind lingered on the day's events, her heart heavy with unanswered questions and a lingering worry for Ethan's well-being.

With her hair somewhat drier, Delphine ventured into the kitchen, where the inviting aroma of lunch filled the air.

Her mother, who had been busy in the kitchen, turned towards her with a warm smile.

Of course, she was unaware of the inner turmoil that consumed her daughter.

"Hey, sweetheart" her mother greeted, setting a plate of steaming food on the table. "How was your last day of school?"

Delphine's gaze met her mother's, a mixture of weariness and uncertainty reflecting in her eyes.

She took a seat at the table, her hands fidgeting as she tried to find the right words to convey the storm of emotions swirling within her.

As they savored the first few bites, Delphine's mother looked at her with a gentle gaze, her eyes filled with both curiosity and a mother's intuition.

Suddenly Delphine stopped eating, her mind grappling with the decision of whether to tell her mother about the mysterious boy and what had just happened or not.

She knew that she could trust her mother and maybe one of her advices would have helped her.

In that moment, a spark of mischief flickered within her, and she decided to pretend that everything was fine and don't tell anything about that.

"Well, mom" Delphine replied, a playful glint in her eyes.

"Everything was just fine. Our teacher wished us a good summer and recommended that students don't make the usual water battles after the bell rings, but you know..."

Her mother's brow furrowed slightly, her curiosity piqued by Delphine's response.

She leaned forward, encouraging her daughter to continue.

Delphine took a sip of her drink, savoring the flavor, before elaborating, her voice filled with excitement.

"But as usual, the students decided to have a water battle as a fun way to celebrate the end of the school year" Delphine exclaimed, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips.

"They armed themselves with water bottles and even water balloons. It was an all-out war!"

Her mother's face broke into a warm grin, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"I can only imagine the chaos" her mother chuckled, playing along.

They continued their meal, their conversation filled with animated accounts of Delphine's "water battle" episodes.

Her mother listened to her carefully and laughed with her.

Out of the blue, her mother brought up another topic, saying "I've noticed something."

Curiously, Delphine paused mid-bite and inquired "What is it, Mom?"

She actually had no idea about what she was talking about.

With concern in her voice, her mother continued "Well, you haven't been talking much about Dorian lately. Is everything okay between you two?"

Delphine quickly reassured her, saying "Oh, don't worry, mom, everything's fine. I've been so busy with homework and that's all we did and talked about even when he hanged out together."

Accepting her response, her mother nodded and replied "Alright, if that's what you say" suggesting that she might have sensed more beneath the surface.

She knew that something was different.

Contrary to Delphine's denial, there was indeed a recent incident between her and Dorian.

However, it wasn't something that destroyed their friendship.

Dorian had acknowledged his mistake, apologized sincerely, and Delphine, being understanding, had forgiven him.

Nonetheless, something changed, quietly altering the dynamics between them, even though they both chose to carry on as if nothing had happened.

At school, they acted as if nothing had happened at the party and maintained their laughter and playful banter, attempting to preserve the facade of normalcy.

It was an unconscious behaviour, at least for Delphine.

As usual, right after lunch she went to her room.

She needed a momentary escape.

She stretched out on her bed, the post-lunch fatigue seeping into her bones.

Then, Delphine reached for her phone and with a playful grin spreading across her face, she typed out a teasing message to Dorian, her thumbs dancing across the screen.

"I bet you ran straight to the dock" she wrote, embellishing her playful jab with a sly wink emoji.

Even though they still acted as best friends, there was an underlying fear that during those summer holidays they would talk less.

It was what had happened during that final week of school, but their chats, jokes and laughters in class compensated the silence between them during the afternoon and the evening.D

elphine placed her phone gently on the bedside table and anxiously awaited Dorian's response.

The weight of her expectations and fears lingered in the air as she turned sideways on the bed, settling into a comfortable position.

Surrendering herself to the solace of a rejuvenating nap, she closed her eyes, hoping that the dreamscape would offer a momentary respite from the swirling thoughts and emotions within her.

In the hazy state between sleep and wakefulness, Delphine's ears perked up as the sound of her phone vibrating pierced through the air.

Still feeling drowsy, she instinctively knew that it must be Dorian's response.

Hastily, she rubbed her eyes, attempting to clear away the remnants of slumber, and reached for her phone.

However, as she glanced at the screen, her expectation transformed into astonishment.

It wasn't Dorian's name that graced the display. Instead, it was a message from Ethan, a name that brought forth a mix of confusion and unsettled emotions.

He was reaching out to her once again, a couple of hours after he had run away during their meeting.

"Sorry about how I left, can we talk?" his message read, leaving Delphine puzzled and frustrated.

The lack of clarity in Ethan's message only added to Delphine's confusion.