Stray

by Solveig Yrsa

  “Hey, give me a smile, let me see.” Layla looked at him and, for the first time that he could remember, she gave him a smile that was not covered by her hand. Spencer felt his heart skip a beat, but he tried to ignore it. “They look amazing, especially for being temporary,” he said, smiling back. “Do you like them?”

  Layla opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Rachel’s shrill voice, yelling from across the pool.

  “Spencer! NOW!” Layla looked over at the woman standing on the other side of the pool. Her long hair was damp and clung to her oiled, bronzed skin. She wore a pink monokini that wrapped around her breasts and left everything else bare, her bottoms weren’t much better. Layla cocked her head to one side, trying to figure out what the point was to that swimsuit.

  “I guess we can talk later,” he whispered before swimming off. Layla watched him go, then noticed a figure under the water swimming towards her.

  “Hey pretty girl, how are you doing?” Landon ran his fingers through his hair and smiled at her.

  She smiled back and playfully splashed him with her small feet. “I’m alright. My mouth is a little sore and I’m kind of feeling out of place since I can’t swim.”

  Landon pulled himself out of the water to sit next to her. She couldn’t help but stare. His muscles weren’t as defined as Spencer’s, but they were still noticeable. She looked at his chest hair that went down his torso. His wet skin was so tan, she blushed as she wondered if he was tan everywhere.

  “Layla? Laaayyyla?” She jumped out of her trance when she heard her name being called. Her blush spread down her neck and chest as she saw the huge grin on Landon’s face. Oh no! How long was I staring!?

  “Do you like what you see?” Landon winked and smiled seductively.

  “Huh?” she squeaked and stood up. “I… um… no! I mean it was… I got to go!” She quickly ran away from the pool and towards the house. She wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, and she accidentally ran into Rachel, causing them both to fall down.

  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Layla quickly got up and offered Rachel a hand.

  Rachel smacked it away and stood up herself. “Who the hell are you?” she snapped, glaring at the brunette.

  “Rach,” Spencer said, walking over with the group. “That’s Layla.”

  Rachel took off her Louis Vuitton sunglasses and stared at the girl. “Layla, who? Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”

  Spencer rolled his eyes. He knew what Rachel was doing. Rachel always pretended to know everyone for fear of insulting someone important, which meant if she was acting this way, she knew exactly who Layla was.

  Layla looked at the blonde. “I’m the homeless girl you used to like to throw your coffee cups at when you were by yourself.” Rachel’s scowl deepened.

  Samantha gasped. “Really, Rachel? Isn’t that a little low, even for you?”

  “Stay out of this, pork chop,” Rachel snapped.

  “Hey!” Liam barked, storming over. “Talk about my sister like that one more time and see what happens.”

  Rachel rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m real scared, rainbow. Now get out of my way, street trash.” She pushed Layla, causing her to stumble over a sun chair.

  “That was rude!” Layla yelled, rubbing her sore ankle as she stood up. “I apologized for falling into you, it was an accident!”

  Rachel walked up to Layla; Layla only met the bottom of the blonde’s chin. Rachel bent down and got in her face. “If you ever touch me again, I will end you, do you understand?”

  “Rachel, enough,” Spencer warned.

  Rachel rolled her eyes. “She started it! She ran into me!”

  “Are you deaf as well as dumb? I said it was an accident! Do I need to write it out with crayon?” Layla’s eyes went wide, and the group became deadly silent. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud! She was only supposed to think that. Suddenly there was cackling in the background that broke the silence. Samantha was doubled over, holding her sides, laughing so hard she was crying.

  Rachel stared hard at the brunette for a minute before drawing her hand back and slapping her across the face.

  “Enough!” Landon and Spencer yelled as they ran to the girls. Layla was now on top of Rachel, getting ready to hit her. Landon wrapped his arms around Layla’s waist and pulled her off as she continued to try to fight. Spencer held Rachel, who was trying to take this opportunity to go after Layla, around her waist and pulled her to him.

  “Landon, take Layla inside!” Spencer grunted while fighting with the blonde.

  Samantha and Landon took Layla inside, and once they were in the kitchen, Layla calmed down enough for Landon to let her go. She sighed angrily as she sat on a barstool.

  Samantha got in the freezer and pulled out a bag of frozen vegetables, wrapping it in a towel before handing it to Layla. “Put it where she hit you. Are your teeth okay?” Layla nodded and grabbed the bag, placing it on her face.

  Landon chuckled as he sat next to Layla. “Girl, you have an enormous pair. When you said that to Rachel, I nearly died then and there.”

  ***

  “I cannot believe her!” Rachel shrieked as Spencer escorted her to her ride.

  “Rachel that’s enough, just go home.” Spencer was completely embarrassed by how Rachel acted. How could she go off and smack Layla like that?

  Rachel glared at him from the backseat of the town car. “I cannot believe you are siding with her! You’re such a jerk!” Rachel slammed the car door closed, and Spencer watched as the car drove off.

  “These women will be the death of me,” he muttered before walking inside.

  Spencer walked upstairs and peered into Layla’s room. He saw her on her bed, twirling her stuffed cat around. He tapped on the door before walking in.

  “Hey,” he said softly, Layla looked over and flashed him a smile that made his heart skip a beat. “Uh… sorry about earlier.”

  Layla sat up and sighed. “I’m sorry too, I didn’t mean to say what I did about Rachel. I just got upset, and then when she hit me…”

  He patted her shoulder. “You shouldn’t apologize, it wasn’t your fault. You’re freezing, why don’t you get out of that swimsuit,” he said before standing up and leaving the room to give her privacy.

  Layla disrobed once Spencer shut her door. She walked over to the full-length mirror and frowned. She wanted nothing more than to look like Samantha, or even Rachel. She poked her hip bones that protruded, and sighed. Walking over to her dresser, she pulled out a pair of purple leggings and a black hoodie.

  She looked at herself again once she was dressed. At least with the baggy hoodie she looked a lot less sickly. “I wish I looked like them, maybe then Spencer would…” She blushed and shook her head. What on earth was she thinking?! She couldn’t like Spencer that way!

  She went to open the door to allow Spencer back in, but found he wasn’t there.

  “Layla?”

  She snapped her head to the side and saw Catherine standing in the hallway. She motioned for the girl to follow her. Layla followed her downstairs and into the lounge area. Catherine let out a grunt as she sat on the couch. “Take care of yourself, darling, you’ll regret not doing so when you get older.”

  Layla gave her a small smile before sitting next to her on the couch. “Did you want to talk to me?” she asked while bringing her knees to her chest.

  Catherine nodded. “Yes, Layla, I want to help you.”

  Layla cocked her head to one side. “With what? I mean, you’ve already helped me with so much!”

  Catherine smiled. “What do you want to do?”

  “Do with what?”

  “What are your hopes, dreams, plans for the future? This is, of course your home, you are welcome to stay here forever if you would like, but, isn’t there anything you’ve ever wanted to do? Like Spencer, he wanted to be a professional football player and author. What about you?”

  Layla thought for a moment. “I… I don’t kno
w. I never really thought about it. When I was homeless, I just wanted to have food and be safe.”

  Catherine nodded. “Well, you’re still young, maybe something will spark your interest in time. When was the last time you were in school?”

  Layla blushed and looked down at her dark purple toenails. “I’ve never been to school. I’ve been homeless since my dad died when I was five.”

  Catherine gasped, she had no idea that Layla had been out on the streets for so long. “You poor thing, that is absolutely horrible.”

  Layla shrugged. “As a kid, I didn’t really notice how long we were out there. It wasn’t until after my mother died that things got really hard, and time seemed to slow down. I guess having to take care of her, it helped keep me busy.”

  “May I ask, what happened to your parents?” Catherine asked cautiously, not wanting to overstep. Layla didn’t seem too upset with talking about it though.

  “My father died when I was five, I don’t really remember too much about him besides that he was a teacher, and we both had the same color eyes. His death is really foggy in my mind, but my mother said he died in a car crash. It was like, one day he was there, the next we were packing up and leaving and he was gone. We lived in a really nice hotel for a while. Our room was really nice, not that my mom was ever there. I spent most of the time alone in bed while my mom was downstairs. She’d always say she was off winning us big money, but she never did. Then, one day, we had to leave the hotel. Mom wouldn’t say why, but we had to go quickly. We got on a bus, and I just remember being on the bus forever. I remember Mom just kept saying that once we got to California, we would go see Uncle John and he would take care of us.” Layla took a small breath; her eyes were off in the distance, like she was watching her memories play in front of her. Catherine, on the other hand, was hooked on her every word. Her face rested on her hands as she listened intently.

  “I never met Uncle John. Knowing what I know now, it was probably just a lie to keep me quiet. My mom always said I asked too many questions and that it would get me into trouble one day. When we got to into the city, I remember Mom pulling me into a bathroom in a bus station and that’s where we slept. It took a long time, years actually, but Mom found some people that said we could stay with them, and it was an actual house. Mom said no one wanted to take her in because I was there. I think I was… around ten, maybe. Anyway, Mom used to send me out to ask for money back then, which honestly, you see a dirty kid on the street alone, you give them money, so it was easy. But one day, I came back and found my mom lying on the dirty floor of the house. She was naked and just… covered in cuts and bruises. I remember I cleaned her up, and she said we had to leave before they came back. We went to a shelter for a couple of nights before we found the man that ran the nest I was in when Spencer saved me.”

  Layla looked over, expecting to see Catherine bored, she was shocked to see she was sitting there, engrossed in her story, so she continued. “The rest is pretty dark. My mom was never right after my dad died, but after the attack she turned into a different person altogether. She would beat me, drink horribly, use drugs. It was a nightmare. One day I found her asleep, and I tried to wake her up, and she didn’t. I was about twelve then I think… the years are kind of screwed up because I never knew what day it was, I usually just knew it was a different year when the Christmas trees and lights went up, and I remember they were up when she died.”

  Catherine choked back a sob. She wanted to comfort the poor girl, but that’s when she noticed Layla wasn’t upset. She was telling this story as if she was talking about the weather. There was absolutely no emotion at all.

  “Layla, would you like to go to school?” Catherine offered.

  Layla blinked, coming out of her trance. “Oh! No, no thank you. It is a nice thought but, I can’t go to school, I can’t read or write.”

  Catherine waved her hand. “Oh, that’s nonsense, if you want to learn, I’ll have a tutor come and teach you anything you want.”

  Layla’s eyes became wide. “R… really? Anything? They can teach me to read anything?” Layla almost sounded skeptical.

  Catherine chuckled. “Absolutely! I’ll make some calls on Monday!”

  Layla smiled widely as she leaned over and gave Catherine a quick hug. “Thank you so much. I’ll never be able to repay you!”

  ***

  Spencer sighed as he pulled back into the driveway. After leaving Layla’s room, Rachel called in tears, saying that he had chosen Layla over her. He was reluctant, but after her begging, he drove to his penthouse where Rachel was currently living. He sighed as he looked at the clock on the car before he shut it down.

  1:30am

  After he had gotten to the penthouse, Rachel and he talked for an impressive five minutes before they carried on to the bedroom. He was planning on staying, but she was insistent that he go back home. It irritated the hell out of him; he was literally sex and dollar bills to her. So why did he put up with it? Why didn’t he just break up with her and move on?

  He walked into the house and turned his head as he heard the television in the lounge on. He figured his mother fell asleep in there. He headed over to the room and smiled at the sight. His mother was curled up on the couch watching the television, while Layla was curled up next to her with her head in Catherine’s lap.

  Catherine looked at her son and smiled. “She tried to stay up for you.”

  Spencer chuckled and walked over to the girl. He bent down and with ease, and picked her up. She groaned and shifted in his arms before laying her head on his chest. “I’ll take her to bed. Goodnight Mom,” he whispered.

  Once he made it to her room, Spencer laid Layla down on the bed and covered her up. Layla stirred slightly. She opened one eye and saw Spencer. “Don’t leave,” she said half asleep.

  Spencer sighed. “Fine, let me shower.” She nodded as she rolled onto her side, grabbing her stuffed cat and bringing it to her chest.

  Spencer walked out of the bedroom and down to the bathroom. He turned the hot water on and disrobed. Rubbing his stiff neck, he stepped into the shower. He didn’t know why, but he felt as though he needed to be clean before sleeping in the same room as Layla, as if she was too pure to be around a man that just had sex and hadn’t showered. He didn’t know why he felt guilty whenever he was with Layla after being with Rachel. Well, he knew why he should feel guilty, but the problem was he didn’t feel bad about being with Layla. Maybe it was because she was so sweet and honest. He knew that nothing would ever happen. He groaned as he thought about Rachel’s birthday party that he agreed to throw at the house on Sunday. Why on earth he had agreed to that, he will never know. He stepped out of the shower and got dressed.

  I wonder if I could send Layla off on Sunday. Maybe a shopping day or something. He winced at his own thoughts, Layla wasn’t an idiot, and he knew that would hurt her feelings if he tried to get rid of her. Not that he didn’t want her there, he just didn’t want Rachel to try to embarrass her again. The rich, the famous, and the snobby would be at this party, and Rachel would definitely try to seize the opportunity to humiliate the poor girl.

  He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn’t pay attention when walking into Layla’s dark room. He went to grab a pillow he had seen at the foot of her bed before he left for the shower, but ended up tripping and falling over something.

  “Ow!” Layla cried as she felt a large weight land on top of her. A couple minutes after Spencer had left to shower, she had got up, turned the lights off, and moved to the floor so Spencer could have the bed. She now wished she had waited.

  “Shit! Layla! I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” Spencer pushed himself off of the girl and turned on the lights. He looked down at her and she gave him a small smile.

  “Fine, you’re just… heavier than I expected.” She winced, rubbing her side.

  He helped her on the bed. “Are you sure? I may’ve hurt one of your healing ribs! I should call your doctor.” He went to lift her hoodie, mak
ing her gasp as she moved away while turning ten shades of red.

  “I’m fine!” she managed to get out.

  He blinked for a moment before he realized. “Oh no, Layla, I meant nothing, I wasn’t going to look… I mean I just want to check…” He took a breath before continuing. “Okay, nothing good is going to come from continuing this conversation, so, if you say you’re okay, I’ll believe you.”

  She nodded and relaxed. “I’m fine, it was more startling than anything, you didn’t hurt me that bad.” She laughed lightly. “And sorry about… that, I just—”

  Spencer held up his hand to stop her. “We aren’t talking about that anymore. No man has any right to lift your shirt without your consent. I guess, I just sometimes forget that you’re a gi… well, I guess you’re actually a woman.”

  Layla blinked and thought for a minute. “H… How do you forget that I’m a girl?”

  He felt a chill run down his spine. He shouldn’t have said that. “Well…” His voice cracked as he tried to backpedal. “It’s just, you’re different from the women I’m usually around.”

  “Yeah, I noticed, I guess I was hoping that it wasn’t that obvious.” She bit her lip and curled her knees to her chest.

  He furrowed his brows. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah right, like you can't tell the difference between Sam, Rachel, and me. I mean, they’re beautiful! They’re tall, and shiny, and they have nice smiles and curves and boobs and are all smooth and silky looking.”

  Spencer blushed. “You know that Sam is my cousin, right? I don’t look at her boobs. I don’t really think of her as a woman either. That was where I was going with the statement. Sam and my mom are both very attractive women, but I’m not attracted to them because they are my family. I guess, I just see you as family too.”

  Layla looked at him. Part of her was happy by his words, she had always wanted a family, but another part of her… his words broke that part.

  She decided to let it go, and smiled at Spencer instead. “Do you, really think of me like family?”