Now that they were out, I felt exposed, and I hated that even more than being used. It made me feel like I’d lost the only ounce of control I had left in my life and that drained all the strength I had left.
I sunk to the kitchen floor, staring at my stupid boot through blurry vision. I wiped at my eyes, surprised to find tears—though I shouldn’t be. The moment Layne had walked out my door I knew she’d taken a part of me with her. Apparently, it was a vital part, because it wasn’t just my ankle that felt useless anymore.
I was breaking apart inside, but I couldn’t even bring myself to care. What was the point when this vicious cycle kept repeating?
A moment later I heard footsteps in the kitchen. My mother seemed at a loss when she found me slumped on the floor. She slowly approached and knelt down next to me, running a hand over my cheek. “Darling, are you hurt?”
How did I answer that? I was pretty sure I was broken, but she wouldn’t understand, so I shook my head.
“Bradford,” she called, and my father walked into the room. “I need your help.”
But the last thing I wanted was his help. He was a major part of the problem. Why was he even home, anyway? If he’d just stayed away, I could’ve gone on pretending Layne was the angel I thought she was. But now I had to face reality.
I waved off my mother’s help and quickly pulled myself to my feet. She handed me my crutches and I started to make my escape. I just wanted to go to my room and forget this day ever happened but of course my father couldn’t even give me that.
“Wyatt?” he cautioned, moving into my path.
“What?” I muttered.
He cleared his throat, looking strangely uncomfortable. “After speaking to your friend, it seems we need to have a discussion.”
“Don’t worry, Dad, she won’t be back to fangirl over you. I learned my lesson.”
“Fangirl?” his eyes searched mine. “Is that what you think she was doing?”
“Isn’t that why anyone bothers hanging out with me?”
My father chuckled and I fought the urge to hit him. Did he think this was funny?
“Son, I can safely say that girl is the furthest thing from a fangirl of mine that I’ve ever encountered. Quite the opposite, really. She even called me out for my,” he cleared his throat again, “Well, my absence in your life, really.”
My heart stopped. “What?”
“If she’s a fangirl of anyone, it’s you, son. She couldn’t say enough about your talents and how musically gifted you are. She actually made me feel quite the fool for not knowing anything about this competition you’ve entered. That’s what I was hoping to talk to you about,” he said, looking a bit regretful. “I’m sorry I’ve been a bit too preoccupied lately, but that’s no excuse. Your mother just told me about your ankle. It seems we have a lot to catch up on if you have the time.”
I blinked in total shock. I couldn’t be hearing him right. And it wasn’t the part about him finally wanting to spend time with me. That wasn’t important right now. What was important was Layne. Because if what my father was saying was true, then . . . then that meant I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life.
But I had to be sure. “So, she wasn’t trying to get her music on your label?”
My father shook his head. “She seemed quite offended when I made that assumption.”
My heart burst into a gallop, my mind racing through the horrible things I’d said to her. I smacked my hand against my forehead. Oh, please let there be a way to fix this!
There wasn’t a minute to spare. I tossed my crutches aside and hobbled quickly toward the door, swiping my keys from the hook as I went.
But my mother’s voice stopped me. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To make things right with Layne.”
“Not tonight, you’re not.”
“Mum!”
“Wyatt, you’re not to leave this house! Doctor’s orders.”
“I’m not running a marathon! I’m driving a few miles away to go talk to my girlfriend.” At least I hoped she’d be my girlfriend after she heard what I had to say.
“You can talk to her on the phone, but you’re not going over there.”
My father walked over and took the keys from my hand. Then, thinking better of it, he took all the keys off the hooks removing temptation.
Seriously? They were choosing now to be parental?
I clenched my jaw and sucked in a breath through my nose, praying for a way to make them understand. “I need to speak with Layne in person,” I said calmly. “It’s important.”
“So is your health,” my mother argued.
I threw my hands up and stubbornly walked out the door even though I didn’t have my keys. I didn’t know where I was going, but I just needed to get out of my house so I could think clearly for a moment.
I’d only made it three steps outside when I stumbled to a standstill. There, laying in a heap in my driveway, was my jacket. The one I’d given Layne.
My heart tore from my chest.
I limped over to pick it up. That’s when I knew how royally I’d screwed up.
I walked back inside, my pulse pounding in my temples as I wracked my brain for a solution. There had to be a way to fix this. Layne was the first good thing to ever happen to me. I would not ruin it. She was right. I was the problem. And if I wanted to stop my past from ruining my future, I knew where I needed to start.
I walked into my father’s study, finding him sitting in his favorite chair staring into a glass of Scotch. I wanted to blame him for this, but Layne’s words haunted me. ‘Maybe your dad’s not the problem here. Maybe it’s you.’ I hated that it had taken me hurting her to learn this lesson, but it made me realize that the only person I could fix in my relationship with my father was me.
“Can I talk to you?” I asked.
“If it’s about taking that car—” he started.
“It’s not.”
My father relaxed and nodded to the chair next to him. I took a seat and drew in a long breath. This conversation was way overdue. And as much as I wanted to rush through it to get to making things right with Layne, I knew if I was ever going to have a shot with someone as incredible as her, I was going to have to start doing things right.
So, I started from the beginning. I told my dad everything. How I resented having to move to Northwood, how I never got to see him, how I didn’t feel like my voice was valued in our family, and how the last few weeks with Layne had changed everything for me.
When we were done talking, I felt like I’d shed a thousand-pound weight from my chest.
My father drew in a breath, his eyes sincere as he spoke. “I’m glad you told me how you feel. It takes a man to speak up for himself. And it takes an even bigger man to apologize for his mistakes. I know I’ve made a lot of them with you, son. And I should’ve apologized to you a long time ago.”
I hadn’t been expecting him to agree with me. But just hearing him say those few words meant the world. “Thanks.”
“Let’s keep working on talking like this. My eyes have been opened tonight. And I’d like to keep them that way.”
“Me too.”
My father smiled. “That girl of yours is right. You are a pretty incredible person. I’ve always known that, Wyatt. And I’m sorry if I haven’t done a very good job of showing you.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. His words didn’t make everything right, but it was a step in right direction and it made me want to keep the momentum going with Layne.
“Did she really say that?” I asked. “That I’m an incredible person?”
He nodded.
“Dad, I need to see her so I can fix this.”
“I know you’ve already learned a lot of lessons tonight, but here’s one more. Do not cross your mother. That’s a mistake I’ve learned enough times.”
“But I need to talk to Layne.”
“You’ll have to do it from here.”
I let my head fa
ll back against the couch as I surveyed my options. I really didn’t want to apologize over the phone, but I didn’t have a lot of choices without a car. I couldn’t walk the twenty-some miles to her house thanks to Franken-boot.
I stood up, deciding to go to my room. It’s where I did my best plotting. I said a quick goodnight to my dad and headed out of the study.
I was almost to the door when my father’s voice called me back. I turned to face him, reminding myself to be patient. We’d made big strides today.
He raised his glass of Scotch. “I hope you work it out. I have a feeling that girl could be good for this family.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
Layne
The next morning, I was startled awake by my alarm clock. I dragged myself out of bed and took in my puffy-faced reflection. I guess I couldn’t pretend last night was just a dream.
Even if my eyes didn’t look like I’d just binge-watched Nicholas Sparks movies all night, there was no denying the empty feeling in my chest. It felt like someone had punched a hole through my ribs and ripped my heart out.
That someone was Wyatt Nash.
I powered on my phone and groaned. Last night I’d turned it off because Wyatt had been incessantly calling and texting. Apparently, turning it off hadn’t given him a hint that I didn’t want to talk to him because I now had forty-two text messages and sixteen missed calls from him. I didn’t even look at the number of voicemails. I wasn’t in the mood to listen to them. In fact, I wasn’t in the mood for school. Not when I knew it would mean facing Wyatt.
I knew I still had to get Robby ready, but after that I’d decided I was going back to bed. I was in no shape to go anywhere else today. Maybe I’d call Lola and we could FaceTime movies together. That sounded like the perfect way to avoid reality, that is if she would still talk to me after I told her how stupid I’d been.
There was no way she wouldn’t know I’d just had my heart broken. I looked like I’d faced a steamroller and lost. That’s certainly how I felt, anyway.
I wasn’t looking forward to spilling all the gory details of last night to Lola, because it meant I’d definitely have to tell her what led to it, including letting her prom secret slip. But at this point, I didn’t think I could feel any worse. Plus, I really needed my best friend right now, even if she was going to say, ‘I told you so’.
She’d been right. And if I’d listened to her, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now, staring at my reflection, wondering how on earth I’d been so blind when my eyes seemed to work perfectly. Wyatt Nash was the heartbreaker everyone said he was. I guess that just made me a fool for wanting him to prove the world wrong.
After I got Robby off to school, I called my mom at work and told her I thought I was coming down with the flu. She promised to call the school for me and told me to stay in bed. She even offered to bring home my favorite soup, only adding to my guilt. I didn’t want her to have to drive across town to get me a pint of soup, which I didn’t really need.
More proof that I had no business messing with things like hearts and love. All it did was make me feel worse.
I hadn’t even spent two full weeks with Wyatt and I was lying to my mom, my best friend and skipping school. All things I never would’ve considered doing before he was in my life.
But he’s not part of it anymore, I reminded myself.
So, I guess now was as good a time as any to start rectifying all the mistakes I’d made.
I grabbed my laptop, climbed back into bed and opened up a video chat with Lola.
Her bright face took up the screen a moment later. “Layne! How’s my favorite diva?”
“Not good,” I whispered, trying to hold my emotions in, but failing miserably.
“Oh, Layne. What happened?”
I had no idea how my tear ducts had replenished over night, but I was crying so hard now I could barely get the words out. “You were right, Lo.” I sniffled. “You were right about everything.”
An hour later we were still talking. I was physically and emotionally drained from recounting the entirety of my Wyatt-drama, but I actually felt better.
I was so happy that I’d finally told Lola everything. I really don’t know why I’d been so scared. She was seriously the world’s best friend. She didn’t even get mad when I told her how I’d blurted out her secret. And she still hadn’t said, ‘I told you so’, even though she had every right to.
Honestly, she’d been surprisingly reserved during our entire conversation.
Normally, Lola had strong opinions about everything, and she always spoke her mind. It was one of the things I respected about her. I must’ve really made a mess of things if my gabby best friend was at a loss for words. It was starting to make me anxious.
“So how bad is it?” I asked. “Should I transfer to Lakeview for the rest of the year or do you know some secret way to help me face that jerk without turning into a sobbing mess?”
“You’re not transferring. You two just need to talk and clear the air.”
“Clear the air? Lola, have you been listening to me? You were totally right. Wyatt is a jerk. He made me think he liked me and then he threw me away like I meant nothing last night.” I sucked in a painful breath, the wounds to my heart still raw. “I’m just sorry I told him about prom. I didn’t mean to drag you into this with me.”
“Yeah . . .” Lola drawled. “About that. I think I was actually the one who was wrong.”
“What?”
“Wyatt actually texted me last night apologizing for the whole thing. We ended up talking it out and it was just a misunderstanding.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You talked to Wyatt last night?”
“I was going to tell you when you called but you were so upset, and I wasn’t sure if I should bring it up.” She sighed. “Honestly, Layne, I know you’re mad and you have every right to be, but he sounded really broken up last night. Maybe you should give him another chance.”
I laughed. The sound came out a bit maniacal, but that was fitting since I felt like I might be going crazy. “So, now you’re Team Wyatt?”
“I’m Team Layne, always,” Lola said. “I’m just saying everyone makes mistakes. I made a mistake thinking Wyatt purposely ruined my prom last year. Maybe you’re making a mistake giving up on him too quickly.”
“Lola, there was no mistaking the things Wyatt said to me last night.”
“Okay, maybe not. I’m just saying don’t discount what he’s saying now.”
“I don’t know what he’s saying now!” I practically shouted.
She frowned. “You haven’t talked to him?”
“No.”
“He told me he was going to call you last night.”
“He did, like a million times, but I turned my phone off.”
Lola gave me a sympathetic look. “I know you don’t want to right now but listen to his messages after you cool off a bit.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll think about it,” I muttered. It wasn’t really a lie. I probably would listen to them—when I was twenty-five! Because that’s how long it was going to take me to cool off about this.
"Can we just watch a movie and forget about this for a little while?” I asked.
Lola grinned. “Sure! Wanna make popcorn and watch Say Anything? That movie always cheers you up.”
I grimaced.
“What?”
“Lo, never watch your favorite movie with your crush.”
“No! You didn’t!”
“I did, and now it’s ruined for all time.”
“Aw, Layne. That’s like dating 101! Everyone knows not to watch your favorite movie with a guy until you’ve been together at least a year.”
“I didn’t know that!”
“This is why you need me in your life.”
“Please never get mono again,” I begged.
She giggled. “I can try, but it is the kissing virus. And I do like to kiss.”
I rolled my eyes but laughed for the fi
rst time since yesterday. “I miss you,” I whispered.
“Me too.”
We spent the rest of the lazy afternoon chatting on and off while watching all the Pitch Perfect movies. It was definitely lifting my spirits, but I still felt hollow inside. And as much as I didn’t want to think about him, my mind kept drifting back to Wyatt.
The irony of my situation wasn’t lost on me. Now that I wanted nothing to do with the bad boy who’d broken my bestie’s heart, she’d stopped hating him. The trouble was, now I did.
My heart lurched, protesting the word.
I didn’t hate him. And that was the problem. I should, but I just couldn’t and maybe that’s the thing that hurt most of all.
I couldn’t help wondering how long this feeling was going to last, and how I was supposed to keep living my life. I could barely handle a day in bed binging movies with my best friend. How was I supposed to go to school or worse, go to the competition?
“Lo,” I asked during a lull in our binging. “What am I going to do about the competition?”
She looked at me fiercely. “You’re going to get up on that stage and show the world exactly who Layne Hall is and that she doesn’t need anyone else. Especially not a boy.”
I laughed, thinking maybe we’d watched one too many cheesy movies. But Lola’s confidence in me was appreciated anyway. “Thanks, Lo.”
“You’ve got this, Layne. You always have.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Wyatt
When I found out Layne skipped school, my heart finally hit rock bottom. I knew for a fact that she’d never missed a day before. She was proud of her perfect attendance in that nerdy way of hers that I now found irresistibly adorable. But a lot of good that would do me if I couldn’t find a way to win her back.
How was I supposed to fix things if she kept avoiding me?
I’d called and texted countless times last night. I’d even debated stopping by this morning, hat in hand. But we needed to have a serious conversation, something that was impossible if Robby was in the room.
Kissing The Hero (The Dangers of Dating a Diva Book 2) Page 21