by Solveig Yrsa
“I spoke with Uncle Matthew today, he has offered me a long-term temporary job as a program director in London. I will be leaving in about two weeks and the job is for… a year.”
Everyone was silent, finally Catherine spoke up. “Oh darling, that is wonderful!” She stood up and hugged the girl. “Congratulations! Boys, isn’t that amazing!” she said, looking at the three men.
Spencer was the first of the trio to snap out of it. “Yeah! That’s awesome, Sammy! I’m so happy for you.”
Liam stared at his sister in shock. Was she kidding? London? A year? She decided this without even talking to him?
“Liam, say something.” Jensen nudged him, Liam looked up and saw that the group was looking at him.
“Lee…” Samantha didn’t get anything else out as Liam stood up and left the room. Jensen sighed and ran after him.
Liam got outside to the water fountain before Jensen grabbed him. “Liam, stop, what are you doing?”
“What am I doing? What is she doing!? Jensen, my sister just decides to go off to a different country in two weeks, for an entire year! She doesn’t even discuss it with her family? Especially me!”
Jensen held his hands up. “Babe, you need to calm down. Listen, I know you’re upset but you cannot do this to Sammy, she deserves this if this is what she wants. Think of everything she has sacrificed to make sure you could have the good school, the title of doctor; she gave up everything for you. This is her chance, and who knows when or if she will get another. But I will tell you this, you and I both know that she won’t go if you don’t get back in there and tell her it’s okay.”
“I don’t think it’s okay,” Liam muttered while looking away. “You don’t understand, she’s my twin.”
“You’re right, I don’t understand the bond, but I do understand Sammy. And before she is Samantha Williams, she is Mama Sam, and she will forever do everything to make sure everyone else is taken care of, even if that means she has to do without. You’re her brother, don’t let her do that to herself.”
Liam sighed and brushed away a tear that had fallen. “Okay, you’re right.” He walked with Jensen back into the house to find his sister in Layla’s arms, crying. He cleared his throat to get her attention.
Sammy looked at her brother, and without saying a word, ran over and hugged him tightly as she burst into and sob.
“Shhhh… Sammy it will be okay. You are going to be so amazing over there,” Liam cooed, as tears ran down his cheeks and he held his sister tightly in his arms.
“I won’t go, Lee… not if you need me here,” Samantha choked out between sobs.
Liam grabbed his sister’s face and looked her in the eyes. “Sam, I will always need you, but this is your time. You are going. I may only be eight minutes older than you, but that still makes me your big brother, and I am telling you, you are going to London.”
Samantha let out another cry and hugged her brother. “I love you, Lee.”
“I love you too, Sammy.”
***
Spencer rubbed his eyes as he looked away from his glowing laptop screen and over to the slumbering girl that was curled up next to him on the couch. He smiled softly as he ran his hand through her long hair, causing her to stir. Layla groaned and jerked up, looking around the room in a daze. “What’s going on?” she whispered.
“Sorry, sweetheart, I forget how light of a sleeper you are. Why don’t you go up to bed? It’s really late.”
Layla yawned and stretched her stiff arms before looking back at Spencer, she noticed the laptop in his hands. “Working on the book?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I pitched the idea to my agent and they’re pretty excited, what’s with the face?”
Layla sighed and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Okay, so… I just…” How was she supposed to tell him she didn’t want to be in his book? “Spence, I just don’t want people to… see me and…”
Spencer raised a brow as he watched Layla fidget and struggle to get the words out. Talking is not an issue for her. That girl is quick with her silver tongue, if she’s struggling…
“Layla, I’m a grown man, I don’t need you to beat around the bush, just spit it out.”
She took a breath. “Okay, I don’t want to be the focus of your book. I don’t want people to know about me. That I’m this gross, dumb charity case that you and your family adopted.”
Spencer chuckled and shook his head. “Layla, are you insane? Do you really think that way? And more importantly, do you really think that I would write about you in that light? Layla, sweetheart, this story is based off of you yes. The character is homeless, and it’s about their struggles, but this isn’t about how uneducated they are, how they were somehow ‘saved’ or ‘adopted’. This is about how the main character…” Spencer stopped and thought for a moment before handing her the laptop. “Read it, I gave you the rough outline and I know you didn’t read that. So I want you to read the chapters I have so far, if by the end of the chapters you still feel uncomfortable, I will delete the entire thing.”
Layla raised a brow. “You would delete your whole book? What about your agent?”
He waved his hand. “Do you think I really care what they think? If they get mad, they get mad. I’m not going to go through with something you’re not comfortable with, Layla. Your opinion is the only one I care about.”
She bit her lip as she held back her tears. “I really appreciate you doing this. I was so scared to talk to you about your book.”
“I don’t know why, I’m more than willing to listen to opinions.”
Layla shrugged. “Because I didn’t want to make you mad or overstep my bounds. You’ve done so much for me, I feel like I owe it to you to let you write a book about me if that’s what you want.”
“You’re my girlfriend, you don’t owe me a single thing, Layla. I care about you; if after reading the manuscript, you’re not happy with it, I will delete it. It’s as simple as that.”
Layla placed his laptop on the couch beside her and snuggled into his warm chest and smiled. “I love you, Spencer,” she whispered.
Spencer couldn’t breathe, had he heard her correctly? Did she mean it? Should he say it back?
“What?” was all he managed to get out.
Layla looked up at him, her big blue eyes stared into his green ones. “I said I love you, Spencer.”
How on Earth did she say that so casually? He ran his tongue over his dry lips to try to wet them, but his mouth was suddenly drier than a desert. “Ummm… thank you, that means a lot.”
Layla furrowed her brows and looked away in confusion. Was it wrong of her to say that? He was acting so awkward and uncomfortable. I thought he was supposed to say it back like in those stupid movies Sammy watches. She sat there in silence for another moment before she started feeling uncomfortable.
“Well, I’m going to go read the chapters you have, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She grabbed the laptop and stood up.
Spencer broke out of his daze and stood up. “Lay, wait! Um… do you…I mean, you can read it in my room if you want.”
She scrunched her nose and shook her head. “I’m fine. I’ll sleep in my bed. Goodnight, Spencer,” she said before walking away.
“Goodnight, Layla.”
You fucking idiot. I love you too. Why? Why is that so hard to say to her? Spencer groaned as he headed towards his room, stopping when he heard movement in the kitchen. He walked in to find Samantha sitting on the counter, eating raw cookie dough from the tube.
“You know that isn’t good for you,” he smirked as he went to the fridge and grabbed a beer.
“Yeah, that isn’t either. I thought you quit.”
Spencer shrugged as he took a swig from the bottle. “I cut back, Layla isn’t a fan but she’s in her room and I’m in a fucking mess so…”
Samantha snorted as she squeezed the tube into her mouth. “Yeah, join the club.”
Spencer jumped on the counter across from her. “Talk to me, Mama
.”
Samantha rolled her eyes at her nickname but sighed. “I’m terrified to go by myself.”
He nodded. “Understood, but you are strong and smart and you’ll kill it over there.”
“Uncle Matthew wanted Layla to go to.” Samantha watched as Spencer spit out his beer. “Charming,” she muttered as she wiped the liquid off of her face.
“The fuck, Sam? What did you tell him? Does Layla know?”
Samantha held her hand up to silence his frantic line of questions. “I told him that I didn’t foresee her leaving, and yes I did tell her about it.”
He took a chug of his beer. “And?”
She rolled her eyes. “And what, Spence? She obviously isn’t going to leave you.”
Spencer sat there and stared at his bottle before setting it on the counter. “She said she loved me.” Samantha looked at him with wide eyes. “I mean, she didn’t say she was in love with me. She said ‘I love you, Spencer.’ But still… she said it.”
“And let me guess, you didn’t say it back.” Samantha smacked her head when Spencer nodded. “You’re an idiot.”
“Yeah, I know. I just, I don’t want to fuck anything up. I don’t know what to say or do here. I want to keep her safe, but she gets mad so I have to let her go. She says she loves me, but I don’t know what she means, and what if I am taking it the wrong way? She has zero experience with this and my experience is… well, strictly materialistic and physical. I don’t want to come off too strong.”
“No, you’d rather come off as uncaring and possessive, makes perfect sense.”
“Look, I get you’re stressed out, but could you cut the dick act. I need help here and you’re going to be leaving soon so—”
“Right, so you better knock this shit off, Spencer, or she won't be around! Look, I love you, but, dude, I am not going to side with you or coddle you. You want my advice? You go and tell her you are in fucking love with her, you tell her why you are, and you let that girl do whatever she wants, because in the almost year she’s been in our lives, I have yet to see her choose to do one thing that wasn’t for someone else. Layla is kind, caring, smart, and compassionate. She is beautiful and she deserves someone that is going to see that and appreciate that. Like she does with you. She always supports you, takes care of you, of Catherine, anything and everything she can do, she is there to do it, before you even have to ask.”
“If I didn’t know better, I would think you were in love with her.”
Samantha flinched and looked away. “I need to go back, just do what I said.”
Spencer looked at his cousin and grabbed her wrist. “Wait, are you in love with my girlfriend?”
Samantha rolled her eyes. “Spencer, knock it off,” she growled, and jerked her arm away. “Look, I love her, yes. Am I in love with her… no. I have feelings for her that are more than a friend would, but you had better never tell her that, and you had better wipe that stupid jealous ass look off of your face, because you and I both know I would never do that to you.”
Spencer stopped glaring at her and looked away. “I just feel like, everywhere I turn, someone wants to take her from me.”
“And yet, she is still here, in your house, telling you that she loves you. So again, stop being a fucking idiot. Now, I have to get ready for bed.” Samantha didn’t wait for a response; instead, she turned and left the kitchen.
Spencer ran his hands through his messy hair before shaking his head as he walked to the stairs. He tapped on Layla’s door, when he didn’t get a response; he peeked in and saw she had her large, over the ear headphones on and his laptop open. He noticed her phone was next to her with her pronunciation app opened. He smiled softly and shut the door. Samantha was right; Layla could have her pick of anyone, yet she was here, picking him, which should be enough to ease his mind. So, why wasn’t it?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Layla growled in frustration and shoved her sketch-pad off of her lap. “This is freaking pointless!” she yelled to her empty bedroom. She had started the art class nearly two weeks ago and her first assignment was to sketch inner pain. She didn’t understand what that meant or how to sketch something that wasn’t a physical object. She stormed out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen, where she found Spencer sitting at the counter while drinking a cup of coffee. She looked over at him. He had on blue flannel pajama pants and a white under shirt. His hair was messy as usual, but this morning she noticed something obviously different about him.
“I didn’t know you wore glasses.” She cocked her head to one side while looking at the black-rimmed frames.
Spencer rolled his eyes. “That’s because I rarely do, but I’ve been up all night doing the final editing on my book and my contacts felt like sandpaper.”
Layla nodded. “Oh good, so your agent liked the first draft?” Spencer nodded. After Layla had read the first half of the manuscript, she’d given Spencer the ‘okay’ to continue the story of Emily, and how she went from living on the streets to helping a broken family mend their relationships and eventually founded her own organization to help women and children who were homeless. Layla enjoyed the story, she saw the character of Emily as a very strong person and she also appreciated that he’d changed her name and the characteristics so that she couldn’t be matched to the story.
Spencer took a sip of his coffee and looked at Layla, her hair was in a messy bun that looked like it had fallen down hours ago, her hands were covered in graphite residue from her pencils, and it looked like she had been stress rubbing her face because it was also covered.
He chuckled behind his cup. “Rough morning drawing?”
Layla slammed the refrigerator door and glared at him. “I have to sketch my inner pain, and it’s due Friday. What in the hell is my inner pain?” Spencer chuckled again. “IT’S NOT FUNNY, I’M GOING TO FAIL!”
“Okay, sweetheart, just calm down.” He motioned for her to come sit by him. “Layla, you’re overthinking it. Here is what you do. Pick one event in your life that caused you pain, fear, sadness, something that still haunts you to this day, then think about how you felt in that moment that the event was happening, and draw that.”
She looked at him hard for a solid minute before sighing. “I’m going to fail.”
“Oh, Layla, come on.”
“No!” she said standing up. “I don’t know what physical thing I’m supposed to draw!”
“Baby, it’s whatever you see when you close your eyes and you feel that pain again.”
Layla sighed, “I don’t even know what memory to go off of.”
Spencer shrugged. “No offense, but you have plenty to choose from. I think if you step away from the sketchbook for a bit and then go back to it, something will come to you. It happens to me all of the time when I’m writing, and I’m telling you, it helps.”
She sighed again and nodded. “Maybe I’ll go for a walk.”
Spencer nodded. “I wish I could go with you but my editor and agent want this in their hands by Monday.”
She smiled and gave him a kiss. “It’s alright, I think I should be alone on this one anyways.”
Layla walked out of the door and looked at the gloomy morning. She loved gray weather, she found it way more calming and peaceful than the sun, though it was rare to get much gloomy, rainy weather in California. She zipped up her dark red jacket and started down the steps. She had thought about walking outside of the grounds, but once she got to the gate, she stopped. What if she couldn’t make it back? She sighed and ran back to the house and opened the door, jumping as she was greeted by Spencer standing there holding her black backpack in his hand.
“Your inhaler and phone are in it now.”
Layla gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry,” she laughed.
He rolled his eyes as he handed her the bag. “Please be careful.”
She smiled softly and reached up on her tip toes to kiss him before turning and leaving. The last couple weeks had been amazing between them. Spencer had st
arted to let her go out on her own and go to classes, she knew how hard it was for him because he constantly worried, so she tried to stay in contact with him.
She hadn’t said that she loved him since the night Samantha had called everyone over for dinner to announce her new job. It wasn’t that they fought about it, hell, it was never mentioned, and that was part of the problem. Spencer never said it back and then the next day, things just continued like nothing had ever happened. She had wanted to discuss it with Samantha or even Catherine, but Samantha was so stressed and busy getting ready for her move that was in a few days, and then Catherine…
Catherine had her check up done about a week and a half ago and the results were not great, but that was all they knew. Even Spencer had been shoved in the dark. Catherine said that she wanted Spencer to focus on finishing his book, so she and her team of doctors decided that it would be in her best interest to go to London to take part in an experimental procedure that they were having some success in. Spencer of course, didn’t want Catherine to go alone, but his mother insisted he stayed home and worked on his book and his new relationship.
Layla shoved her hands in her pockets as she made her way out of the posh neighborhood and into the outer banks of the city. Her mind wandered back to her art assignment. How could she draw her inner pain? Was she to draw an event? She thought about when Jackson attacked her, when Old Man Marcus beat her. She felt pain with all of those, but is that what her instructor wanted? A sketch of a person on the floor getting the life beaten out of them?
She adjusted the straps on her shoulder as she looked around the busy streets. She saw a young girl make eye contact with her in an alley between two tall buildings, so she stopped and began to walk over to the young redhead. The girl looked to be in her early teens. Layla noticed the tattered clothes and filthy face.
“Are you hungry?” Layla asked while cocking her head to one side. She raised a brow when she noticed how jittery the girl was and how her brown eyes kept darting around. Layla knew what was happening. Without blinking, she swiftly reached behind her and grabbed the wrist of another young girl who was trying to unzip Layla’s backpack. The girls screamed and tried to run, but Layla held the black-haired girl firmly while the redhead ran off.