Chapter Fourteen

Tyson

I had never been more attracted to a woman. It was like her body was made for my mine. Everything about her was perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing. She was curved into me again, like her body had been made to fit mine.

I didn’t realize how small she was without her heels on. Or how skinny she was as I pulled her back to my chest. She had slept on my arm and by my side all night. She didn’t push me away, and she didn’t even seem to care that I couldn’t keep my hands off her.

When it came to her, I couldn’t keep my hands off her. Even now my hand was under the t-shirt she had on and rested on her stomach.

I had never seen someone as beautiful as her. I pulled my arm out from her and leaned on my elbow, watching her sleep. I could watch her all day. In fact, I was planning on us not leaving this room today. If she had plans, she would be canceling them.

Then my door swung open.

“Tyson, Mum wants to know if you want breakfast and, because apparently I have nothing better to do, I’ve been sent to-” A smirk spread across Eve’s face when she spotted Layla and me.

They never fucking learned to knock!

Layla suddenly stirred, waking up. Great, now I couldn’t watch her sleep anymore.

I narrowed my eyes at my little sister. “Don’t say a word.”

Her smirk got bigger and she ignored me.. “Morning, Layla.”

Layla slowly woke up. “Morning, Eve.”

“You’re in my brother’s bed.” Eve kept smirking.

“Yep.” Layla didn’t lie or start making excuses or start gushing about how we didn’t have sex. She didn’t seem ashamed at all of being caught in my bed.

I liked her more for that.

“Tyson and Layla. Who would have thought?” Eve was not leaving, but instead she walked toward us. “So, does he live up to expectations? My friends always say he does.” Eve sat down on my bed and thought it was acceptable to talk about my sex life!

Just don’t kill her.

Layla sat up and glanced at me. “You have sex with her friends?”

Well, that was loaded question. I shot a glare at Eve. She always brought fucking trouble. Trouble just followed her around and somehow she always roped me into it.

“You’re the first, though,” Eve said, making no sense whatsoever. Was her brain not working right this morning? It would seem it was working well enough to cause trouble.

“I highly doubt I’m his first,” Layla grinned at her.

“You are. You are the first one he has let in this room. Normally he drags them to his sex room.”

“My dorm room is not my sex room!” I told her and I don’t know how many times I’ve had to remind her of that! “Can you fuck off now?”

“Nope. I want to talk to Layla.” Eve pulled her legs up on the bed and got comfortable.

I was going to start screaming at her. I swear she only understood anything when you yelled at her. Layla’s hand went to my arm, running up and down like she was trying to relax me.

“So, did you rope Hannah into doing those extra credits, Eve?” Layla didn’t seem to mind that my sister wanted to talk to her.

No woman I had ever been with had time for my sisters. They always saw them as a threat, because my sisters always came first, but Layla didn’t think that. I stared at her blankly. She was full of surprises. Why was she so different to every other woman I had been with? And why did it take me so long to find her?

“Yes,” Eve grinned. “Dad is going to be thrilled when he reads my excellent report. It’s going to be glowing, knowing Hannah’s work.”

“Hannah’s doing your homework?” I snapped at Eve. “Seriously, Eve!”

She shrugged. “She always does it.”

“That’s not true. You did the report on the civil war and got a C,” Layla corrected her. How did she know more about Eve’s grades than I did?

“Oh, I did too! I was wrong, I do some of it,” Eve smiled at me, knowing very well she was in trouble. “So, you two hungry? I bet after last night you would have to be.”

“EVE!” I yelled at her, while Layla laughed.

“God, Tyson. Loosen up. Eve is only joking. I think she knows what to say to get a rise out of you.” Layla’s hand went over mine which was on her stomach. “I’m sure Tyson is. But I need to get going.”

“But Mum will want to meet the first woman Tyson has brought home,” Eve said. She was right, too.

“I’m sure I will be one of the many.”

“You won’t be.” I pulled her back to me, causing her to fall into my side as I wrapped an arm around her. She didn’t fight me; instead, she curled into me, like she had been doing all night, her head on my chest. Now this would be perfect if my sister wasn’t in the room. “Eve, fuck off.”

“But I want to talk to Layla.” She started to whine, he voice going up a level, which normally gave me a headache so I’d give in to whatever she wanted.

But I wasn’t going to give in this time. She wasn’t the only one that wanted to talk to Layla. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to get her gasping again. I couldn’t do either with Eve in the room.

“I have to go, Eve. I’m sorry.” Layla went to pull away from me but I pulled her back.

“Nah, you are spending the day with me.” I kept my arm around her.

“I can’t. Dad will be thinking you kidnapped me or something.”

“Call him and tell him you are spending the day with me.”

“Yeah, cause me spending the day with the sergeant of arms for a mother charter doesn’t set off any warning bells.” She glanced up at me with a smile. “I have to go home.” She kissed my chest, right over my tattoo.

“Well, do you want to come back for family dinner?” Eve piped up. I liked that idea.

“Yeah, come back for tea,” I added.

She pushed herself away from me and sat up. “Isn’t a family dinner for, you know, family?” She looked between us.

“You are Tyson’s girlfriend. I would class you as family. Hell, you are the only girl that got him to open his room to them.” Eve started jumping to conclusions. Layla and I weren’t a couple. Only because I knew she didn’t want to be.

She said she didn’t do relationships or strings. I looked at her. I was going to let her correct Eve, because I sure as fuck didn’t want to. I wanted her to be my girlfriend. I’d never had a girlfriend before. Women, sure. I had women. Maybe even regulars but I never put a label on them.

“I don’t do relationships,” Layla shrugged. “You know that, Eve. Tatz is always bugging me about it.”

My head snapped at her. “Did you just say Tatz?”

She turned to look back at me, nodding her head. “Yeah, he is the reason I don’t do them.”

“So one guy fucks you over and wipes off the rest of us?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Sounds like that.” She didn’t do relationships because one man had treated her badly. Tatz was a dick of a person. No wonder she thought all blokes weren’t worth her time.

“I’ve never been hurt by Tatz. He just wants to be in a relationship with me. But as I told him, and you, I don’t do relationships.”

“Why?” Eve asked a very fucking good question. One I was going to ask. “Tyson isn’t like any other guy.” Thank you, Eve, for pointing that out.

“I don’t do relationships, I don’t do love and I don’t do strings. So far, no man has hurt me. So why would I risk that now?” Layla looked at Eve. “I’m around men every day that remind me what men are really like. Cheaters, wife beaters and alcoholics. Men are good for sex and that’s it.”

The saddest part of what she all said was I used to see women as only good for sex. Till I met her.

“Tyson is zero of those things.” Eve gave her a reassuring smile. “If you are going to take a risk, take a risk on him. Now, I’m going to get breakfast.” Eve glanced at me. “I’ll tell Mum you’re busy.”

After what Layla had just said, I was going to be busy. Busy proving to her and reminding her I wasn’t any of those things.

Eve closed the door after her.

“You really think I’ll hurt you?” I asked, my eyes on her back.

She looked over her shoulder. “I’m not going to give you the opportunity to.”

That was a punch to my guts. What did I have to say to prove to her she needed to take a risk on me?

“I won’t hurt you, Layla.” My hand ran up her back and I didn’t know why but what I had just said made her go stiff.

“Dad used to say the same thing.” She ripped her eyes off me and threw the blankets back, getting up.

“Cyrus hurt you?”

She shook her head, keeping her mouth clamped shut.

Why did I have a strong feeling her whole ‘no relationship’ thing came directly from her father. Suddenly I hated Cyrus for a new reason.

I got up, just before she ripped my top off her. “Can you at least stay?” I put my hands on her hips and pulled her in. “Just one day out of your life, spend it with me?” I wanted her to feel comfortable with me. Relaxed. That was only going to happen if she was around me and learned to trust me. “Watch bad movies with me and stay in bed?”

“You want to stay in bed all day?”

“With you, yes.”

She was thinking about it.

“Come on, it’s the weather for it.” I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to me. I saw her glance out the window. It was one of those rare summer days where it was raining. Most likely it was still hanging around from the storm last night. “Come on, Layla. One day. Just with me.”

She sighed, debating. I kissed her cheek, then the corner of her mouth, and then, when I wanted her lips, she pulled away.

“You sure your parents won’t mind?”

I grinned. She was totally going to agree. “Believe it or not, I’m allowed to have girls over.”

“Then if that is the case, why don’t you?” She tilted her head back, looking up at me.

I couldn’t really answer that without freaking her out. I couldn’t tell her the truth that she was the first female I’d trusted and liked enough to bring home. I trusted her to be near Hannah and Eve. I knew she wasn’t going to freak out with my parents being who they were. And most of all, I liked her. Really liked her.

I always knew whatever girl I brought home I would have to be serious about.

“You’re just special.” And that was summing up what she meant to me lightly. There was something about her. I didn’t know what but maybe it was because she was the whole package. Anyway, I was addicted to her. I had been since I first laid eyes on her.

It wasn’t just her body; it was all sides to her. Her friendship with Hannah, her loyalty to her club, her love for her family. And I knew she had given me one shot and I blew it. So now I had to prove to her I was worth a second shot.

I ran my hands down to her sides and, as if she knew how much it pleased me when she came to me, she slowly curved into me.

If she was staying, that meant I could repeat last night. I dipped my head. Yeah we were repeating last night. I wanted to see that expression on her face again and I wanted to hear her again.

Then my door flung open and I groaned.

“Why the fuck don’t you knock?!” I yelled, and Layla jumped at my sudden outburst.

Mum frowned. “You’ve got someone with you.”

“Yes. Didn’t Eve tell you that?”

“Eve said you weren’t hungry.” Mum crossed her arms. “I was coming to give you a lecture about how alcohol is not a food group.” Mum walked into the room and Layla turned, backing into me as Mum approached.

Meeting the parents was usually a big step, right? Well, in this case, I wanted her to meet Mum. I planted my hands on her hips.

“Mum, this is Layla and Layla this is my Mum, Abby.”

“I believe Hannah has relocated to your house, right?” Mum smiled at her and was her normal carefree self. Mum would know exactly what to say to make sure Layla didn’t bolt. Mum always read people well. She was the best judge of character.

“Yes, her and I have an unhealthy relationship for Netflix.” Layla smiled and didn’t seem nervous. “Total polar opposites with everything else, though, especially when it comes to exercise. Your daughter hates exercise.”

“Hannah is allergic to anything involving exercise.”

“I know. I made her walk the block and I regretted it by the time we got to the corner. But I will have her running by the end of the month.” Layla’s hands went over mine. “I’m forcing exercise and eating on her right now.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed she’s lost weight.” Mum’s concern for Hannah was coming out. Something was wrong with Hannah, just no one knew what. “Has she explained to you why she isn’t eating?”

If anyone was going to have an idea what was wrong with Hannah, it would be Layla. Layla and her were glued together at school and after school and every weekend. In fact, it was a rare occurrence that they’d been apart last night.

I felt Layla go slightly stiff. Like she was keeping something to herself.

“She’s under a lot of pressure at school with being captain and taking on those extra units. I think it’s just stress. But don’t worry, Mrs. Wilson. I’m making sure she does look after herself.”

“Call me Abby. When I hear Mrs. Wilson, I think of the dragon known as my mother-in-law.” Mum glanced at my hands on Layla. She knew I was making a claim in front of her. Layla was important. Important to me.

Mum also wasn’t used to me having anyone at the house, let alone having someone here that was a girl.

“Well, do you two want to come down for breakfast?” Mum took her eyes off my hands and looked at us. “If you’ve been here since last night, then I know for a fact you didn’t get tea because Tyson is allergic to the kitchen.”

I scoffed. Of course Mum would bring that up.

“Up to Tyson.” Layla turned. “Are you hungry?”

I would rather spend my time with her in bed. But we did need food.

“Yeah, we will come down.” I made the decision. If I forced her to eat now it meant she could be locked in my room for longer.

“I’ll, um, get dressed,” Layla said, taking my hands off her.

“Don’t bother. No one is going to be home. I’m about to head out. Reaper is at the clubhouse and Eve’s already left to go shopping with friends. And I don’t know where Hannah is.”

House alone with Layla. Fucking perfect.

“Thanks, Mum.” I couldn’t be more thankful. No one was going to be home. Which meant I could do whatever I wanted with Layla.

“Breakfast is on the kitchen bench. Make sure you get him to eat, Layla. He’s been drinking his weight in liquor.” Mum’s hand fell on the door handle. “If you are still around, Layla, we do family dinner on Sundays and you’re welcome to join us.”

I grinned. I was really going to have to thank Mum later. Now, thanks to her, I was going to make sure Layla stayed for tea. Which meant she would be here all day. Mum closed the door.

Layla and I were by ourselves again.

“So, you’re staying then?” I kept my hands on her as she turned around, looking up at me.

“You know how I wasn’t going to let you get to know me?” Layla spoke up to me.

I nodded my head. Was she going to let me get to know her?

“Well, I was given this advice and I sort of live by it: it is to judge a person’s actions and not their image. For once, when it came to you, your actions and image said the same thing. That being ‘fuck off’.”

Great, I really knew how to make an impression.

“So, what’s stopping you from taking that advice now?” I took my hands off her. I had a feeling she didn’t want me touching her, especially if she thought I thought I wanted her to fuck off.

“You gave me a new set of actions to judge.” She crossed her arms. “Don’t make me regret giving you a second shot.”

I couldn’t stop the grin on my face. I had a strong feeling she never gave anyone a second shot.

She went to pick up her phone. “I have to check in with Dad and then I’m all yours.”

I liked the sound of that. My phone buzzed next to hers. I saw her frown. Then I heard her sigh.

“What is it?” I asked, my hands going to her hips and pulling her back.

“I think someone is waiting for you.”

I reached around her and picked up my phone. My expression dropped immediately when I saw the picture and text.

“Layla, that isn’t what it looks like it.” I needed to quickly start explaining myself. Of course Carrie would pick this moment to send a naked photo and a message saying she was waiting for me. We had a regular thing on Sunday. But I had forgotten about that as soon as I woke up with Layla this morning.

“Looks like a naked girl waiting for you.” Layla turned around with an understanding smile on her face. “You should go.”

“No.”

Her hand went to the hem of the t-shirt and she pulled it off, handing it to me. She wasn’t mad at me; if anything, she was calm.

“You shouldn’t cancel plans for me.”

“I’m not canceling anything.” I took the top but my eyes were running up and down her body as she stood there in her underwear.

“Tyson, you have a girl who is naked and waiting for you. You should go.” Layla smiled at me again. She wasn’t mad. And I didn’t get it. Any other girl would be cursing, yelling and screaming at me that I was using her. Instead, Layla just had a smile on her face and then it hit me. This wasn’t the first time she had been put in this position.

“So, who was he?” I couldn’t stop myself from snapping at her.

“Who was who?” she frowned. “And what’s with the attitude?”

“The guy whose shit you normally put up with. That makes you think that me leaving you is acceptable.”

Her expression hardened. “I don’t do relationships and I don’t do strings. So I have no problem with you blowing me off to go get laid.”

“Can you hear yourself?!”

“What? You’ve made no promises to me.” Layla picked up her dress from the floor and gave me another polite smile. It frustrated me so much to see it! “I’ll get going.”

“Fucking stop it, Layla!”

“Don’t yell at me!”

“Well, stop being so fucking…” Was there a word to describe what she was being? “Understanding? Just because other men blew you off doesn’t mean I will.”

“Tyson.” She looked at me, annoyed. “You’ve made no promises to me. We were hanging out if you didn’t have plans. You have plans. That girl just reminded you of them. So I’m going to do the mature thing and leave.”

“Carrie can fuck off. I want to spend the day with you! And I’m pissed off with you that you think I’d just blow you off to have sex with some woman!”

She looked me in the eye, her expression guarded. She didn’t say anything. Instead, she kept holding her dress and it was killing me not to take in her body which was on display in her underwear. Instead I kept my eyes locked with hers.

“I don’t want to go anywhere. I’ll cancel Carrie,” I said. What else should I say? I didn’t care about canceling on Carrie. I’d rather spend the day with Layla and get to know her. If she just gave me a little, I could get a lot and then, when I knew her well enough, I’d know how to get around the whole ‘no relationship’ thing.

Then she frowned. “Why would you do that?”

Because you are more important. “I want to spend time with you.”

Her expression went blank. I saw her swallow sharply. Why did she look like what I’d said was causing her to panic?

I needed to add something to what I’d said that would stop her panicking. What could I say to put her at ease? I was trying to find the words. She looked frightened. But the more I thought about it, the harder it was to think of something to say. Then it occurred to me.

“You said your own advice is to judge the actions, not the image, right?” I repeated the one fact she had told me about herself.

She nodded her head, still with a guarded expression.

“Well, my action is canceling Carrie. My image might be telling you I’d put sex before you, but you’re wrong. Just because you are used to that doesn’t mean I’ll treat you like that.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it, just staring at me. How could she be that surprised that I wanted to spend time with her?

“I, um…” She paused and her expression hardened. “You shouldn’t cancel your plans for me. We can hang out another time.”

Was she going to come up with excuse after excuse on why she should leave? I looked at her harder. Yeah, she was going to come up with an excuse about why she shouldn’t stay.

So what should I say? I needed to come up with another angle to try on her. I didn’t want her leaving and thinking I was the type of guy that would blow her off for sex. I valued her friendship more than that. I knew we weren’t technically friends. And I didn’t look at her as a friend—I wanted something more with her.

She sighed and then stepped into her dress, pulling it up. I wanted to groan; that was a sign she was leaving and she hadn’t listened to a word I had said. She said she judged actions; well, weren’t my actions telling her what type of man I was and what type of friend I would be?

“You asked who it was,” she said while pulling her zipper up. “You asked who was the guy I was used to being blown off by.”

I frowned. She had remembered my question. I knew there had to be a reason why she thought it was acceptable I’d blew her off. So there was a guy whose fault it was she was like this.

I nodded my head.

“Well, I’ve learned that men have needs and if you don’t meet their needs, they find it elsewhere. I don’t get hurt by it. I don’t get mad by it. Because I don’t do strings. I don’t give any man more than sex.” She pulled her hair up into a bun. “In your case, I’m not even giving you that. So you should really go and fulfill a need.”

She tightened the bun and then looked at me with the most accepting smile on her face. Once again she was proving to me how she wasn’t like the normal women I was used to. She was proving to me just how mature she was, and how she might be eighteen but she sounded like she was in her twenties with a load of experience behind her.

I crossed my arms, not sure what to say. I could see by her guarded expression she was really letting me off the hook.

Her phone vibrated on the bedside table and she didn’t turn to check it; instead, her chocolate brown eyes were locked with mine and I could see the acceptance in them.

“So, I’ll, um, see you tomorrow at school?” she said, I think that was her way of saying goodbye.

Her phone vibrated again, but again she ignored it. Whether she left or not, I wasn’t going to have sex with Carrie. But I didn’t know how to tell her that—or better yet, get her to believe me.

“Layla, will you stay? Please?” I asked and I reached out for her but she took a step back. I wanted to groan; I thought we had passed this.

“Last night was fun, Tyson, but I don’t want you to get the wrong impression of me. I’m sorry, but I’m not capable of more.” She looked at me, torn, like if she could give me more she would. “I think it’s best if I treat you like any other guy. If I start to make exceptions for you then I’ll end up getting attached.”

Was that what was really scaring her away? That I might be able to break down her walls? That I might be the guy to get her to give more than just sex? My hopes went up. If she was scared of that happening and considering that it could happen then my chances were high of that happening.

“You really want to go?” I asked, hoping she would give in and stay. “Whether you go now or not, I’m still not going to see Carrie.” I felt like I had to tell her that—like it would make a difference.

She smiled. “You don’t have to do that for me.” Her phone started ringing and this time she turned around and answered it. Her phone didn’t make a normal ringing tone; it was personalized so she would know who was calling.

“Hey, Dad,” she said into the phone. She sounded somewhat guarded. “Yeah, like I messaged you, it all went to plan.”

I watched her go tense. “What do you mean early release! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU CALL ME AND TELL ME THAT!” she screamed into the phone. “Cyrus, you know what that means. How the hell could you tell me this over the phone like it isn’t a big deal?!”

Whatever her dad told her had really upset her. I frowned slightly. She had called him Cyrus again. I never called Dad ‘Reaper’. But that was the second time she had done it.

She scoffed loudly. “No fucking joking! I can’t believe you would put me in this position.”

I didn’t know if it would be okay, but I stepped toward her and planted my hands on her hips. She seemed really upset and I wanted to calm her down. Would she mind if I touched her?

“Does he know? Like, does he know our address?” She sounded so panicked. Like her dad had just confirmed her worst nightmare. “God, Cyrus if he knows where I am…” She ran a hand over her cheek, sounding panicked.

Who was she talking about? An ex-boyfriend maybe? Though she said she didn’t do relationships. Who could cause Layla to react like this?

“You going there won’t solve my problems. You know him. You read what he keeps sending me! He won’t stop till he sees me!”

My expression hardened when I heard that. I didn’t understand.

“You can say that over and over. But it isn’t true and you know that.” Layla started to nervously move her weight from foot to foot. “He doesn’t follow the rules!” For the first time ever, I heard fear in Layla’s voice. “I think it’s best if I leave. Like we planned if this day came. We can talk about it when I get home.”

I turned her around, needing to see her expression, because she sounded like she was a second from crying.

It shocked me to see the fear in her eyes and the tears building up. She was so scared of whatever Cyrus had told her it was bringing tears to her eyes.

“I’m heading home. We can talk about where I’m going or what we do soon.” She pulled the phone from her ear and hung up. She didn’t even say goodbye. I watched her pick up her heels.

“What was that about?” I asked her, knowing very well that she had just had a serious conversation with her dad and it was serious enough to bring out the emotions that she normally kept hidden.

I’d never seen her scared. I’d never seen her upset. I know I hadn’t known her for long but the impression she gave the world was she didn’t let others see her emotions. Well, she didn’t let anyone see her fear or tears. She did show happiness—it was the only emotion I had seen her express.

“Nothing.” She gave me a one-word answer. “I have to go, Tyson. Can you show me the way out?”

“You’re panicked, you’re scared, you’re close to tears and you expect me to let you go?” I said. She didn’t actually think I’d let that happen, did she? That I would let her leave when her emotions were out of control?

“I just need to get home and talk to Dad.” She put her heels on. “There is nothing you can do for me right now.”

I arched my eyebrows at her. “We could talk about it. Whatever has you this upset.”

She shook her head and a tear fell from the corner of her eye. “Nope. Like I said, nothing you can do. But you can show me the way out.”

I didn’t want her leaving like this, but it looked like I wasn’t going to be able to stop her.

“Well, can I have your number before you disappear and that way I can check on you tonight?” I asked, trying to sound casual and not let desperation seep into my voice.

Her head snapped up. “You actually want to check on me? To see if I’m alright?” She sounded stunned and the fear that had covered her face a minute ago was replaced with shock.

“Yeah.” I put my hands in pockets. “If that is okay?”

She looked at me like I was puzzle she couldn’t put together. I watched her have a debate over it as she summed up the pro and cons.

I reached around her and picked up my phone and handed it to her, hoping she would take it.

I smiled when she sighed and did take it.

“This does not mean I’m expecting you to check up on me.” She finished putting her number in my phone and handed it back to me. Layla was the type of girl that didn’t count on anyone, so I knew she meant it when she wasn’t expecting me to check up on her.

“I’ll show you the way out.” As much as I didn’t want to, I could see the panic on her face telling me she had to get home and sort out whatever was happening. I opened my bedroom door and she followed. I glanced over my shoulder. “You can still come back for tea if you want.”

I hoping there was a chance she would come back.

We came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and she hadn’t given me an indication if she was going to come back for tea or not. I knew my chances were low, but there was still a chance, wasn’t there?

She turned around, her back to the front door, and gave me a smile, even though you could tell with one look at her it looked like her world was falling to pieces.

“You’re actually an alright type of guy, Tyson. You have a great family.” She was saying that like she was saying a final goodbye to me or something.

I frowned at her words, and took a step closer to her even though I knew she wanted distance. “Is everything alright, Layla?” I saw a sad smile appear on her face.

“Yeah…” she forced out, lying to me. “I’ll be okay.” Her hand landed on the doorknob. “Can I give you some advice?”

I arched my eyebrows at that. “You actually want to share something with me?” She hadn’t exactly shared much with me, she was too guarded. “Well, go on then.” I nodded for her to continue.

“If you find a girl that you really like, don’t change your life for her. Get her to fit into the life you have. She has to accept what you stand for and who you are. If you change for her, it won’t last.” The sweetest smile crept across her lips. “You deserve a woman that will stand beside you, not hold you back.”

There was no normal woman on this planet that would accept my lifestyle. I knew that. But she was talking like there was a normal woman out there for me who would be all the things I needed. She was wrong though. The woman that would stand beside me, that I would protect with my life, well, she had to special. She’d have to have a heart of gold, but the armor of a warrior. I think Layla was right. There was a woman out there that would accept me, and I was looking directly at her.

Layla stepped outside and started walking to her car. Why did I get a feeling like those were her last words to me?

I quickly pushed the door open wider and took off after her. Something was off, I could feel it.

“Layla?”

She had just opened her car door and she turned back to look at me.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow, won’t I?” I had a feeling like I wouldn’t for some reason. Like she was about to disappear.

She smiled. “Yeah, of course.” And with that said she got in the car. She closed the door and wouldn’t look at me.

I had one question going through my head: had she just lied to me?