by Solveig Yrsa
“Layla?”
She jumped as she heard Spencer’s groggy voice from her bed.
“What are you doing? It’s five in the morning.”
“I…I was going to run… Spencer, something’s wrong, I can’t breathe.” Layla fell to her knees and grabbed her chest. Spencer sprung out of bed and turned on the lights. He kneeled in front of her and grabbed her wrist, she noticed he was quiet for a minute before he looked at her.
“Your pulse is a little high, but it’s nothing serious. What’s wrong?”
She looked at him in shock, what’s wrong? Was he serious? “I’m not breathing! That’s what’s wrong!”
Spencer furrowed his brows together. “Lay, you are breathing. Listen, I think you’re just having a panic attack, alright, it won’t hurt you. I promise you will not die. Now come back to bed and I’ll try to help you through it.”
She glared at him. “I’m dying and you want me to go back to sleep?”
Spencer sighed, “Layla, I have a panic disorder, I know what you’re going through, you are not dying, just come lay down, if you still want to go to the hospital in ten minutes, I’ll take you.” She nodded and laid in bed as he sat beside her. “I want you to close your eyes and count from one to twenty, and I want you to picture each number in your mind, when you see that number, make it a certain color. So like one is red and two is white. Make sure you are taking deep, even breaths.”
Layla, though skeptical, closed her eyes and did as she was told. It took about three attempts, but she finally started feeling a little calmer.
“Better?” he asked as he yawned.
“It’s still there, but not as bad,” she whispered.
He laid back in bed. “Good, now go to sleep. You’re having a panic attack because no one in their right mind gets up at five in the goddamn morning to do something as asinine as run.”
She chuckled and looked over at him. “I’ve been doing it for months.”
“I know,” he said with half his face buried in the pillow. “I hear you every damn morning running past my window twelve damn times.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was waking you up.”
Spencer shrugged. “You can make it up to me by going back to sleep now.”
Layla looked at him. He was already back asleep, laid on his side with his arm stretched out on top of hers. She smiled softly before closing her eyes and going back to sleep.
***
Spencer groaned and stretched as he woke up. He looked at the empty bed and frowned, wondering when Layla got up and where she was. He sighed and sat up while looking at the clock, it read 10:45 am. He cursed as he brushed his messy hair out of his way and stood up, heading out of the room and downstairs. He walked in and saw Catherine, Samantha, and Layla sitting at the breakfast counter.
“Sorry Mom, did you get your medicine alright?”
Catherine smiled at her son while sipping her coffee. “Yes, love, Layla actually gave me my injection this morning, she said you were still sleeping.” Spencer nodded and poured some coffee in cup.
“So,” Samantha smiled at Layla. “Are you excited for your birthday getaway?”
Spencer raised a brow. “Birthday getaway?”
Samantha nodded. “Aunt Cat and I are taking Layla on a Spa retreat tonight, we will be back for her party Sunday.”
“You’re leaving for four days?” Spencer felt crushed. He had just gotten her back into his good graces and she was leaving. He looked at how excited she was.
“Yeah, I mean… I don’t know what half the stuff is that they are going to do to me, but I’m excited to go somewhere new with Sam and Catherine.”
He gave her a forced smile. “Well, I hope you have fun.” As he turned to leave the kitchen, Catherine got up and followed him.
“Are you mad?” she asked while following her son up the stairs.
He stopped and thought for a second. “No, I’m not. All three of you deserve a little vacation.”
Catherine gave her son a small smile. “Darling, I just thought we’d go away so that the planners could take care of the party, John could escort Landon in here to get his things, and most importantly, give you some time to yourself. When was the last time you had some quiet time? When was the last time you wrote anything? You need to take care of yourself, love.” She kissed her son’s forehead before walking the rest of the way up the stairs and heading to her room.
Spencer walked into his room and closed the door. He sat his coffee cup on his nightstand and looked over at his desk with his laptop. He hadn’t opened that laptop since before he started dating Rachel. He ran his hands over the mac book; it was an older model, so it was big and bulky. He could obviously go get a new one, but as with most writers, they all have their little superstitions. He’d written his first published short story on that computer. He then wrote seven more that were all published, as well as a best-selling four-part series, so he couldn’t part with it.
He went to his closet and grabbed a pair of jeans, a black shirt, and a gray and white button up plaid shirt. As he got dressed, his eyes kept going back to the computer. “It’s not that easy,” he muttered to no one as he rolled his sleeves up. “I haven’t had a single idea hit me in over a year. Not even a short story… maybe I’m just done.” He hated to think that way. He had always thought that, after his mother was better, he would return to writing. He shook his head and ripped open the door to leave, but ran into Layla.
“Oh god, sorry!” he said after Layla screamed and jumped back.
“It’s okay,” she breathed while placing a hand over her heart. “I was um… wondering if you wanted to maybe go out today? Since I’m leaving tonight and everything.”
Yes, that’s all he wanted to say. But he couldn’t. He had to go get her birthday gift, and he had to make a very important phone call.
“I would love to, but I was actually about to go out, I have to run some errands.” He hated seeing her rejected face. “But I’ll be home before you leave and we can hang out then!”
She gave him a forced smile. “Sure, well, have a good day.” Of course he had things he’d rather do. She sighed as she watched him run down the steps and out the door. When would she just give up? Why would he want to be with her anyway? She glared at his bedroom before shrugging and walking in there. She had been in his room countless times, but never unsupervised. She looked at his wall of trophies and medals and smiled as she looked over the photos of him when he was younger. She stopped for a moment and thought how she would like a picture of them, before walking over to the other side of the room to his bookcase, and ran her fingers over the spines of a couple books that he had laying on the shelves. Layla wasn’t great at reading yet, it took her a while, and she often had to use her phone to help with definitions and pronunciation, but she did enjoy it. She picked up the book, “Awakened,” she mumbled, and then turned the cover over and gasped as she saw a picture of Spencer staring back at her. “He actually wrote a book?” She looked at the other three books laying there and saw his name on the spine. I wonder if he would care if I took one.
“There you are!”
Layla screamed and jumped at Samantha’s voice. “You people are going to kill me I swear,” she panted.
Samantha laughed and walked into Spencer’s room. “What are you snooping for?”
Layla blushed. “I…I wasn’t snooping, I just… I didn’t know Spencer wrote books?” She held the book in her hand up to show Samantha.
“Oh sure, Spence was actually very popular a few years ago. His books and short stories made him a lot of money. The one in your hands, Awakened, is the first book in his series. It’s kind of supernatural like, but you may like it.”
Layla looked down at the book and smiled. “Do you, think he will care if I take it?”
Samantha shrugged. “I doubt it.”
Layla opened the book to the first page, “For my mother, Catherine, thank you for believing in me.”
Sam smiled as
they walked out of the room. “Yeah, he has dedicated all of his books to Aunt Cat. Alright, I’m going to pack for our trip.”
Layla waved her off and headed to her room, sitting on her bed as she opened the book to the first chapter.
***
Spencer walked into the house and looked around. Once he saw that the coast was clear, he ran up the steps and made a beeline for his mother’s room. He walked in, startling Samantha and Catherine.
“Spencer,” Catherine breathed. “What are you doing?”
“Sorry, I wanted to hide Layla’s birthday present.” He held up the large, rich brown designer shopping bag.
“Louis Vuitton?” Catherine raised a brow and Samantha smacked her head.
“Yeah, I got her a purse and wallet, it’s from their new line.”
Catherine sighed and sat down on the bed. “Darling, Layla has no idea what that is.”
“She also has no use for a wallet or purse,” Samantha muttered while scrolling through her phone.
Spencer rolled his eyes. “Look, I didn’t know what to get her. She doesn’t ask for anything and I’ve never had a girl complain about a designer purse.”
“Yeah, but Layla isn’t like your ex-girlfriends. All I’m saying is, you’re going to end up butt hurt because she will not show the proper amount of appreciation you are expecting.”
Spencer glared at his cousin. “Well, maybe if her best friend would help me out, I would get her what she wants.”
Samantha shook her head. “I think she’s made it pretty freaking obvious.”
“Spencer,” Catherine touched her son’s shoulder. “You know that Layla will love and adore anything you give her, including the purse. But I think what Samantha is hinting at is, Layla is all about the emotions behind the gift versus what the gift actually is.” Samantha tapped the side of her nose to signify that Catherine was correct.
“Think about what you’ve given her,” his mother continued. “The little stuffed cat that she loves, and the necklace. You got her those things simply because you thought of her and that is why she loves them. So do something special for her.”
Spencer sighed. “Yeah, well I can’t think of anything.”
“You got four days without her, figure it out.” Samantha smirked.
Rolling his eyes, he walked out of the room. He went to his own room before stopping, where was Layla? He hadn’t seen her when he walked in and she wasn’t with Sam. He raised a brow and walked to her room. He tapped on the door before opening it. “Lay?” He noticed the empty bed. He looked around before hearing a small cough. He turned his head to the closed closet door and walked over to it. He opened it slowly and found Layla in a corner reading a book.
“What in the hell are you doing?”
She looked up at him. “I felt safer in here. I was reading and then I got scared so I hid.”
He crouched down. “Why didn’t you text me? Or Sam?”
She shrugged. “I don’t want Catherine and Sammy to know I’m scared, and I knew you were busy.”
Spencer sat down on the floor next to her. “What are you reading?” He picked up the book and his eyes widened when he saw the cover. “Oh, you found my books.”
Layla stared at him and rubbed her arm nervously. “Yeah, Sam said it was okay, but if you want me to put it back, I will.”
He shook his head. “No, I want you to read it, if you want to.”
She smiled brightly, causing his heart to flutter. “Yeah! It’s really good! I mean, I’m not far into it and I’m having to look up a lot of the words, but I like it!” Spencer smiled at her, she was taking the time to not only read his books, but she was looking up the words she didn’t know.
“Layla, what do you want for your birthday?”
She blinked and shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean, I don’t want anything.”
Spencer sighed, he should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. “I meant, everyone is getting you something for your birthday, what can I get you?”
She looked away for a moment as she thought. “Can I take this book with me to the spa?”
He raised a brow. “Yeah sure.”
Smiling, she hugged him. “Thank you!”
He looked confused before rolling his eyes. “No, Layla, that’s not a birthday present. A birthday present is something you go and buy.”
She furrowed her dark brows together. “Like when you bought that watch for Rachel?”
“Eh… I mean yeah…” He didn’t like comparing Layla to Rachel, and he didn’t want Layla to think of it that way.
She smiled again. “I want a picture.”
Spencer raised a brow. “Of what?”
“Of me and you!”
He felt the heat rush to his cheeks. “Umm… sure, but again, that doesn’t cost anything.”
Layla cocked her head to the side. “Why does it have to cost something? I don’t want your money, I just want you. I want to spend time with you, I want to know more about the stuff you write, I don’t want anything else.”
Spencer blinked, he was speechless, he had never met anyone like her before. “Layla…” he whispered, and touched the side of her face. She flinched and backed up causing him to snap back to reality. He gave her a small smile. “Sorry.” He hated that she was like this, he knew it was because of Landon. He looked over at his book in her hands. “I’m glad you like my book,” he said while scratching the back of his head.
She smiled. “I really do. I’ll be sad when I’ve read them all, Samantha says you don’t write anymore.”
Spencer nodded. “She would be right, I haven’t written in… years. After I published the last book of that series, I kind of took a break to because Mom got bad again. After I had to leave college, writing was all I had. I would sit there while Mom would get chemo telling her parts of the stories, and then I would write it while she slept and read it to her later on. Matthew hated that I was writing, but honestly I did it to entertain Mom, I never expected people to actually like it.”
“Samantha said you were really popular.”
He nodded. “Yeah, my series has a bit of a cult following.” Looking at his watch, he smiled as an idea popped into his head. “Come with me.” Layla looked hesitant, but she got up and followed him down the stairs and outside to the water fountain.
“What are we doing?” she asked while looking around.
Spencer smiled and took out his phone. “You said you wanted a picture of us.” He opened the camera app on his phone and stood next to her. Layla grinned as she inched closer to him. Tapping the button, he took the photo. He looked at it for a second. “Let’s take another one,” he said.
Layla smiled again and looked at the camera. She noticed his fingers going up behind her head; so she started laughing and stuck her tongue out, causing Spencer to laugh. “Okay okay, seriously,” he laughed. “One more photo, I’ll hold down the button to get a bunch of photos and we can pick the best one.” Spencer wrapped his arm around her waist and held the camera out.
Layla thought for a second and then grabbed his face before pressing her lips to his. Spencer’s eyes became twice their size before closing them. He dropped his phone and was about to put his hand on her face when a voice caused Layla to break the kiss.
“LAY! Where are you? We’ve got to get ready to leave!” Layla jumped back at Samantha’s voice. She looked at Spencer with wide eyes before turning and running up the steps to go inside.
“No no… shit.” Spencer groaned as he watched her go. Was he ever going to be able to tell her? He ran his hands through his hair and bent down to pick up his cellphone.
Layla ran past Samantha and up the stairs to her bedroom, where she dove onto the bed and covered her face. What was she thinking? She heard a tap on the door and she sighed in relief when it was Sam, not Spencer, that walked through the door.
“Why did you sprint by me like someone was after you?” she asked walking in and grabbing Layla’s overnight bags.
Layla
groaned and covered her face with a pillow. “I kissed Spencer.”
Samantha dropped the bags in shock and ripped the pillow off her friend’s face. “Shut up! You didn’t! I thought you weren’t going to go after him anymore?”
Layla groaned again. “I know but, Samantha, I don’t know what to do. I just… he’s all I think about.”
Samantha patted her friend’s shoulder. “Was it good?”
Layla rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t our best kiss, but that’s probably because I kissed him.”
“If you like him, I say go for it. You were worried before about how things would be awkward if you two didn’t work out, but you went all summer without speaking to each other.”
Layla nodded. “Yeah, that was horrible though, but I don’t foresee me getting out of this without him wanting to talk.” Samantha stood up and helped her friend grab her luggage before motioning for her to follow her out the door.
***
“She kissed me,” Spencer said over the phone while pacing in the living room. “I need to tell her.”
“No,” Jensen said over the phone. “Talking to her and telling her how you feel while she is on her way out of the house for a vacation is the dumbest thing you could do. You need to wait until she gets back.”
Spencer sighed. “What if she decides while she’s gone that she doesn’t want to talk about it.” He didn’t have time to hear Jensen’s response. The girls were coming down the stairs to leave. Spencer said a quick goodbye to Jensen before walking to the entryway. “You ladies heading off?” He smiled as he opened the door for them.
Catherine thanked her son. “Yes, we have the limo all packed up. Now enjoy your time alone, relax, and don’t worry about us.” She kissed her son on the cheek.