Page 28 of Unraveled

“I feel the same. Stay in touch, okay?”

She seemed impossibly sad as she touched my face and gave me one more peck. “Bye.”

Watching her pull away from the curb, I felt as though a part of me was driving off with her. It was crazy. I’d known her for six days. But it felt as if I’d been searching my entire life for her. Our connection had been real.

As I walked back into my house, I realized how empty it was. I went through the motions of getting ready for work, wishing I at least knew where she was going and what she’d be doing. I found it strange she’d automatically dismissed the idea she might meet someone else while we were apart. Indeed, she’d insisted I not wait for her. Added to that was her apparent reluctance to leave. Not just to leave me, but to leave in general, like she was dreading wherever she was going. As if she wished any of the scenarios I’d joked about had been true. Something was off.

The question was what?

Although I hated to put my friend on the spot, I also couldn’t ignore this instinct that she might be in trouble. So, I called her brother, Russell. The moment he picked up, I realized he was driving. Probably on the way to take his sister to the airport.

“Hey, man,” he answered.

“Hey. Sorry to call this early, but I figured you might be in the car?”

“Yep. I am. Seattle traffic is shit.”

“It definitely is. You on the way to take Layla to the airport?”

“Uh, yeah.”

His hesitation didn’t sit well. “Look, I’m laying this out because there isn’t a lot of time. I spent the entire week with your sister.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. We hit it off starting the night of the draft. And although I’ll spare you the details, I’ll simply say she just left here this morning. And she was sad. I respect that she can’t tell me or won’t tell me where she’s going for a year, but I can’t shake the feeling she’s in trouble.”

“Kellan, I can appreciate you being concerned over her, but—”

“Tell me there’s nothing to be concerned or worried about, and I’ll hang up now. Tell me honestly that this is about some dream she’s pursuing or some goal she can’t wait to accomplish, and I’ll be content with that.”

He muttered a curse, which implied that I was onto something.

“I apologize for putting you in the middle, but I want to help. Is it money she needs? Is she in some sort of trouble? All sorts of scenarios from her needing rehab to serving a prison sentence have floated through my mind.”

“If she didn’t tell you, I really can’t.”

“I know. I’m crazy about her. And not in a way that makes sense considering we’ve only known each another less than a week. All the same, I believe she could be the one.”

Now that I’d spoken the words out loud, it reaffirmed the idea. I’d never felt this way about a woman.

He was quiet for a few seconds and then asked, “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Very. And all I want to do is be there for her.”

He sighed heavily. “She’s going to kill me. You know that, right?”

Hope spread through my chest. “I promise she’ll probably attempt to kill me first, allowing you time to escape.”

He chuckled before expelling an uneven breath. “I’m not sure what to do.”

“I wouldn’t put you in this position if I wasn’t invested. Whatever her secret is, I just want to be there for her.”

I only hoped I was prepared to hear what he was about to tell me.

Chapter Eight

Layla