Chapter Twenty-Nine
Layla
Practice was, well, strange. First, I got a lecture from my coach whom I had to inform of my reason of being late. She stormed off to find Coach Black to confirm my story.
A few minutes later she looked paler, and she mumbled instructions to us. After practice, she pulled me aside and made me promise to tell her right away if something like this happens again. Something like what, exactly? Adam demanding I speak to him? Some ex-boyfriend begging for my forgiveness? Some douche cheating on me?
It weirded me out. I nod though, and then walk toward the parking lot searching for my car. Then it dawns on me I didn’t drive here. Shoot. Now what was I supposed to do?
“Come on Princess, I got you covered,” Tyler’s voice sounds off behind me.
I turn and smile. “Um … you don’t have to.”
He shrugs. “I know. But seeing as most of the girls left and I doubt you want to hop in a car with Rachel or the psycho twins over there, I’m your best bet.” He opens the door for me.
“I can call Juliet.”
“And wait while she drives all the way out here? Seems pretty silly.”
It was silly. But I can’t get into a car with him again. People will see and draw conclusions. They’ll begin a rumor that we’re dating now. It’s hard to refute such claims when he’s pulling stunts like opening doors for me.
“Layla, come on. I’m not going to kidnap you. Just driving you back to your car. Then taking Jared home.”
Jared walks up to us and smiles. “Are we waiting for someone else?” Jared asks.
“Nope. Just waiting for Layla here to hop in.”
“Oh,” he opens the back door and slides in. I sigh and take a seat up front. Tyler smirks at me as he shuts my door then gets in the driver’s seat.
Ten minutes later we’re at the school and I stare in shock at my car: it’s covered in rose petals. Tyler swears next to me. “Wow, he’s officially gone off the rails.”
I grumble, “I’m going to be here forever cleaning that up.”
“No you aren’t. You can’t clean it up. This has gone far enough. This is proof he needs help,” Tyler says. “Stay here.”
He gets out of the car the same time Jared does. Jared pulls out his phone and snaps some pictures.
Tyler hops back in and says, “There are photos of you two glued all over it. Plus those petals. It’s like he made your car into a trip down memory lane float. Do you have any clue what that idiot wrote?”
I shake my head. I can’t spend the rest of the evening scraping this crap off. I have homework to do, and that’s already going to take up most of my night as it is.
Hot tears well up and gathers at my lashes. “I can’t.” I stare at my car.
Tyler’s arms wrap around me and suddenly he pulls me into a hug. I shift and sob against his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay Layla. I promise. I’ll take you home and if you want I’ll tell your mom why. Everything is going to be okay. We’ll clean this up tomorrow.”
“People will see it.”
“Yeah. They’ll see how completely screwed up Adam is.”
“My mom is going to kill me. She doesn’t even know about this. If she finds out … ” I start to tremble as the fear and panic race through my body. She’ll blow up at the school for not informing her of this sort of problem. She’ll be furious with me for not telling her what’s been really going on with Adam. All she knows is we broke up because he cheated, not that he’s been stalking and harassing me, plus has now gone completely crazy.
I pull back and watch his gaze drop to my lips. Is he going to kiss me? My heart slams against my chest, and tingles fill my stomach and zip through my body. Do I want Tyler to kiss me? Yes. As the excitement of the possibility of his lips pressing to mine courses through my body a door opens and Jared says, “Sent all that to my dad.”
I return all the way to my seat and glance over at Tyler. He runs his hand through his hair and puffs. “Awesome.”
“Did I miss something?” Jared asks.
Tyler smiles. “Nope, not a thing. All right; let’s get out of here.”
What? Wasn’t he just about to kiss me? Whatever. Calm down. It’s just Tyler for goodness’s sake. He usually gets under your skin and makes dumb comments that make you want to slap him. It’s Tyler Richardson. You don’t want to kiss Tyler. So why do I feel like my whole world just crumbled in an instant?
Once he pulls up to my house I hop out, say thanks, and run inside. I quickly notice my mom isn’t home. This only darkens my mood. I storm past her stacks of pamphlets scattered on the entryway table and spot one I’ve never noticed before: Getting to know the real you.
I leaf through the pages and some of the advice is so obvious it’s truly laughable. No wonder Juliet says these pamphlets are loaded with gullible garbage. “You have to be honest?” I can’t believe people read this crap.
I’m half tempted to throw out the stupid paper when the last section jumps out at me.
Hiding from your true inner self makes it hard for another person to fully open up to you. If you can’t be honest with yourself, how can you expect another person to fully accept you for who you truly are? Opening up and showing all of your good, bad, and ugly will not only help your future relationships, but help you learn what you truly want and not what you think you want.
Is that what is happening with me? I certainly was delusional enough to think Adam was perfect when if I really look back at things he was an asshole. The boy never opened doors. He always made fun of me. Is that even how I ended up in a relationship with Adam? Was I looking for something that I really didn’t want? No. That’s ridiculous. No one knows what they really want besides the basics. Like, hey world, I don’t want a cheater, a douche, or some kind of creepy stalker. I want someone kind, sweet, and who has a sense of humor. If he looks great too, hey, that’s a bonus. I thought Adam was all that, but I was wrong.
The side door leading to the garage swings open and my mom walks in carrying some grocery bags. “Hi Mom. Need some help?”
“Hey honey. Where is your car? I didn’t see it when I pulled in.”
I walk past her and out to her car. I busy myself grabbing some bags then head inside. “Oh, um … I left it at school.”
“Why? Did you forget to put gas in it again?”
Do something one time and I swear it’s the first thing that’s always on her list. I roll my eyes and groan. “No, Mom.”
“Well, then why is it at school?”
I need to come clean. I take a deep breath. “Someone glued crap all over it. I would have been there all night trying to get it off.”
“What?” she loses her grip on some of the bags. I dive toward her and snatch them up before everything falls to the ground. “Is it some crazed fan?” She examines me from head to toe then asks, “Do you know who would do such a thing? Is there something you’ve been keeping from me?”
“No, Mom. Don’t freak out.”
“That’s a little difficult, considering.” She enters the kitchen and places the bags on the floor. “Layla, what’s going on?”
I pull out some bananas from a bag and hang them on the fruit basket. I stare at the countertop instead of looking at my mom. “You know Adam and I broke up. What you don’t know is he’s been trying to get me to go back out with him ever since. He stalks me at my locker, he blows up my phone with texts and calls, and now he’s glued memorabilia of some sort on my car.”
“I thought you told me he cheated on you? Why would he turn your car into a love float?”
“He did cheat on me. I don’t know why he did it. He probably thought I couldn’t exactly ignore him. I’d have no choice but to respond to him.”
“Well, you aren’t. In fact, we’re going to change your phone number. I don’t want you near someone so completely off balance.”
I don’t exactly want to change my number; it took me forever to remember the one I have.
“Don’t change my number. I blocked his calls.”
She huffs. “Fine. I’m calling the school. I don’t want him in any classes with you.”
I nod. I don’t really want her calling the school either, but I have to give in to something. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to handle this on my own. For the most part I thought I did.”
“I understand your need to be independent. I also get coming to me is an out-of-the-world concept. But sometimes, Layla, I need to know things like this. We’ll figure out how to collect your car from school. Get it checked out.”
“Thanks Mom.”
“I’ll call uncle Harvey. He might be able to tow it here. I want him to look it over, make sure Adam didn’t do anything else to your car.”
“Pretty sure it’s just the gigantic scrapbook display all over my car.”
She frowns. “I swear the world is a crazier place than it was when I was your age.”
I nod because I really don’t want to relive her high school days with her. She picks up her phone and calls my uncle. While she’s doing that I make my way to my room.
My bed seems to call to my tired muscles. I slump down on the mattress and then lie back. A deep sigh leaves me. I pick up my phone and text R.
Me: How was your day?
R: It was interesting.
Me: How so?
R: Apparently I’m going 2 b a DD at some party this weekend. But I never said I was going.
Me: Wow. Who offered you to be a DD?
R: My 1 friend.
Me: So if you don’t go?
R: His butt won’t have a ride 2 or from. How was ur day?
Me: Sucked.
R: Want 2 talk about it?
Me: Not really.
R: I’m sry u had a crappy day. Anything I can do 2 cheer u up?
Me: Just keep talking to me.
My phone rings. It’s him.
“Hi.”
“Hey,” his sexy voice rumbles.
“What are you up to right now?” I ask.
“Well, I’m currently talking to this pretty cool person and heading to my house.”
“Oh. You text and drive?” I will never speak to him again using text messages if he does. That’s my biggest pet peeve ever.
“Nope. I just hopped in my vehicle and called you. I hung out with my teammate for a little bit.”
“Good. I can’t stand people who text and drive.”
He laughs. “Me neither.”
“How was practice?”
“Uneventful, I guess. Just a whole lot of running and reviewing plays.” It sounds like he’s completely bored with this conversation. To be honest I’m bored with it myself.
“I’ll, um … let you go,” I say.
“What? Why?”
“Oh, uh … I have homework to start on. So … I’ll just talk to you later.”
“Hey, wait. I … I thought you wanted cheering up?”
I sigh. “It’s okay. I feel better. Really. I’ll talk to you later.” I hang up the phone and set it aside. I don’t know what is wrong with me. Adam’s words pollute my thoughts. No one will want you. You’re boring. You don’t do anything.
Sure, he said it in the hallway right before I slapped him, but still. Did he have a point? Could anyone really want me for me? Is my personality boring? I can feel the words cutting deeper.
A knock pulls me out of my daze. “Hey honey. Someone is downstairs for you,” my mom says.
I get off my bed and head down. As I reach the bottom step Tyler smirks at me. “Hey.”
“Hi. Um … what are you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
I raise a brow. “Okay, about what?”
“Look, I know Adam has been giving you crap lately and acting like a major tool. So, I wanted to let you know that if you need someone in your corner, feel free to let me know.”
I laugh and bob my head. “Right. Cause we’re best friends.”
Tyler frowns and takes a seat on our living room sofa. “No, but I think we should try.”
“Try being friends? I don’t know. We’re usually at each other’s throats.” My mind wanders back to that almost-kiss. Did he want to kiss me?
“I think it’s because we don’t really know each other,” I states.
“Is that it? Or is it because you tend to make everything into a joke?” I don’t want to feel rejection again, so yeah, I’m deflecting and putting up walls.
Tyler smiles. “Look, it’s true. Here’s the thing, though: I really like seeing the bright side in everything. The world is pretty grim without laughter. So I crack a few jokes, play a couple of pranks, turn serious things into something to laugh at. It doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
I fold my arms. “Doesn’t it? I appreciate the rides and the notes. I also appreciate you jumping in to help control the Adam situation. I don’t need a hero, though. And this whole nice act you got going on is just that: an act.”
“It’s not, though. I’m a good guy, Layla. I’m a great friend. So, what do you say. Friends?” He sticks his hand out.
I clasp his hand and a spark runs through me. I quickly withdraw mine and nervously lift the corners of my mouth in a smile. His blue-gray eyes bore into me as if he can read all my unspoken thoughts. I clear my throat and move toward the bookshelf on the opposite side of the room.
“So … I think I’m going to head home,” he says. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Unless you want my help with something before I go?”
Do I want his help with math again? I sort of do, but it feels a little wrong to rely on it. He’s already helped me with Adam; that should be enough for one day.
“No. I got it.”
He gives me a look that says, “I don’t believe you try again.” I smile again and he says, “All right. You know, agreeing to be friends means you have to be honest with me. Looks like I’m just going to have to offer my services in your mom’s kitchen again.” He slowly stands and I glare at him.
“Don’t do that. Ugh. Fine. You can help.”
He beams a smile like he just won the lotto. “Lead the way, then.”