Delilah Green Doesn't Care(Bright Falls #1)(81)

“Holy shit, he said that?” Claire asked.

“He said that. I’m just glad Grant had to work today and wasn’t around to hear it.” Iris’s shoulders slumped, all her breath leaving her lungs as she rubbed her forehead.

Delilah felt as though she was missing something here, something important and best-friend-shaped, but she didn’t know how to ask.

“Honey, I’m so sorry,” Claire said, stepping close to Iris and rubbing her arms. “Josh and I fought and I just—”

“I get it,” Iris said, her voice soft now. “But our plan, I fear, has gone to shit.”

“I don’t know,” Delilah said. “Astrid didn’t look happy.”

“Yeah,” Iris said. “With me.”

Delilah tilted her head. “Maybe a little. But it sounds like Spencer was a real jackass. Maybe she’s partly frustrated with him too.”

Iris looped her arm through Claire’s and rested her head on her friend’s shoulder, her anger clearly forgotten. “Maybe. I did find out that she didn’t ask him to come on the trip.”

“She didn’t?” Claire asked.

“Nope. When we got lost, they started arguing because Astrid wanted to turn back and he thought we should keep going. He snapped at her that the trip was her idea, and she snapped back that she hadn’t asked him to come in the first place. That he just had to tag along because he didn’t think she could brave the woods by herself.”

“Oh my god,” Claire said. “He actually said that to her?”

“Well, Astrid isn’t exactly a wilderness girl,” Delilah said.

Iris glare at her. “Not the point. The point is he thinks she’s totally incompetent, and she knows it.”

“Poor Astrid,” Claire said. “What do we do?”

“We just need to talk to her, Claire,” Iris said. “Enough is enough. You and me. Tonight.”

Claire nodded, grabbing onto Iris’s hand. Neither woman looked at Delilah or tried to include her in their BFF plan. And that was just fine with Delilah. Totally and absolutely fine.

She turned away and left them alone to plan out what they’d say to Astrid, and she sat back down next to Ruby to see what beauty the girl had created.



* * *





EVERYONE HAD CALMED down by the time they all sat around the fire to eat. Delilah sat with Ruby, who had taken a few more pictures with Delilah’s phone and wanted to show her what she did with them. Delilah was more than happy to disappear into the world of color and angles and tone for a little while. These last few days had been a lot with Claire, and honestly, she could use a break from all the thinking and feeling. Josh sat on Ruby’s other side, listening to his daughter tell Delilah all about her vision for an image of the evergreens against the sky. Delilah kept shooting glances at him, watching him for signs of boredom or disdain—or for signs that he couldn’t keep his eyes off his ex—but he didn’t rise to the occasion. Instead he oohed and aahed over his daughter’s photographs, asking her questions here and there. Mostly, though, he shut up and let Ruby talk, let her have her moment. Delilah would say she was impressed, but she didn’t feel like being so charitable toward him quite yet.

Claire was busy with Iris. They sat close together on a log, talking and laughing, but constantly looking over at Astrid, who was pressed against Spencer’s side at the picnic table while he rambled on and on about all the bug bites he’d incurred on the hike.

Astrid barely responded, her eyes glazed over while she ate.

They’d all been eating for about ten minutes when Delilah noticed a sudden quiet. Spencer had finally shut his mouth, and a frown puckered his golden brows. She watched him shift on the bench as though trying to get comfortable . . . then shift again.

She cleared her throat, trying to get Claire’s attention, but her face was turned away as she and Iris talked in low voices.

She cleared her throat again, then coughed.

“Do you need some water, Delilah?” Astrid asked, her tone already annoyed.

“Yes, thank you so much,” Delilah said, then sipped from her water bottle. Astrid rolled her eyes and went back to staring at her food, while Spencer was most decidedly starting to sweat next to her. He couldn’t sit still, and Delilah watched as he tried to adjust his crotch as surreptitiously as possible.

She coughed again. “Phew, this chili is spicy,” she said loudly.

This, finally, got Claire’s attention. She glanced at Delilah, who widened her eyes meaningfully and ticked her head toward Spencer.

“Really?” Josh said, frowning at his bowl. “I barely added any cayenne to it. Turns out, I didn’t bring as much as I thought I did.”

Delilah choked on a laugh, something giddy and girlish and just plain fun rising up in her chest. Claire covered her mouth with her hand, and Iris watched Spencer with a maniacal sort of glee sparkling in her eyes. Claire had clearly told Iris how she and Delilah had borrowed Josh’s cayenne pepper and sprinkled a generous amount in all four pairs of Spencer’s black Ralph Lauren boxer briefs, and now the three women watched as Spencer squirmed and sweated, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.

“Are you all right?” Astrid asked, finally noticing her fiancé’s discomfort.