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She doesn’t want to fall in love. I’m already halfway there with her. She said no sex. She makes my cock hard every time she walks in the room. Somehow, someway, I’m going to have to power through this like a warrior. I’m just not sure if I’ll come out stronger or weaker on the other side when she’s gone.
Creeping up the stairs, I softly pad to Katy’s room and listen at the door. Voices. They’re awake, but it’s what they’re talking about that keeps me from opening the door and entering.
“Were you sad?” Katy asks, her voice scratchy with sleep.
“Yes. I was. Very sad,” Layla replies to whatever they’re talking about.
“I am too.”
“It’s okay to be sad, you know, and it’s okay if you want to talk about it, or if you’re not ready to. It’s okay to cry and shout or simply keep to yourself and your thoughts.”
“I want my mommy and daddy back, but they’re gone.”
My throat closes up on me as my chest squeezes impossibly tight. My hands meet the doorframe, and my head bows forward. My eyes close as I listen to them.
“I know you do. I’ll be honest with you, that won’t change. You’ll always want your mommy and daddy back.”
“Do you still?”
“Yes. I do. But I have my sister who took care of me the way your Uncle Callan is taking care of you, and I have my family and friends who help me feel better when I’m sad. I also go to where they’re buried and talk to them sometimes.”
“I don’t want to do that.” Katy sounds horrified.
Layla giggles lightly. “I don’t blame you. I didn’t do that for the first time until I was in high school. Crying helps me though.”
“Like you did when you held me in the hospital?”
I suck in a shuddering breath, rubbing my fist over my aching heart. I knew Layla was there and I knew she had been crying. I didn’t know she held my girl and cried with her.
“Like that,” Layla says. “But you’re lucky. You have so many people who love you, Katy. And their love is magic and will help you through this.”
I pace down the hall, needing to get away from the room. Away from what Layla is saying. I don’t know when or how it happened, but she blew into my life like the storm that initially brought us together and tore every piece of foundation I’m comprised of apart. If she doesn’t want me to fall in love with her then she needs to stop making it so effortless to do so. She’s going to steal Katy’s heart as well, and how will I explain any of this to her when Layla walks away from us for good?
Getting my shit back together, I head toward Katy’s room, tapping lightly on the wood and then opening the door. They’re in bed together, cuddled up and still talking.
“Hey,” I say, entering the room. “Morning, Ladybug. How’d you sleep?”
Katy sits up, all brown hair, blue eyes, and a freckled nose. She stretches her arms over her head, yawning as she does. “Good,” she says after she’s done with all that and then twists her head to glance down at Layla, who is still lying on her side beneath the covers, and then back to me. “Uncle Cal, are you going to marry Layla?”
Oomph. “Uh.” Fuck. What do I say? “Well…”
Layla sits up and gives me a look that tells me she’s at just as much of a loss on this as I am. “Uncle Cal and I are two people who care a lot about each other. But right now, your uncle is very focused on you and that’s how it should be.”
“Right.” Brilliant answer.
Katy shrugs. “Okay.” Her expression twists. “Oh, I have to pee!” She scrambles out of bed and then hops like a bunny toward her bathroom. “Can I go back to camp today?” she calls out just as she reaches the bathroom door.
“That’s why I came in to wake you. We have to get going if you want to make it.”
Layla jumps out of bed, running her fingers through her hair and wiping under her eyes. “Yes, and I have to get going to make class on time. I’ll see you later, Katy. I had fun snuggling with you.”
“Bye, Layla.”
Katy shuts the door to her bathroom, and I pull out a T-shirt and shorts for her to put on and set them on the bed before quickly making it.
“Brush your hair and teeth, bug. Your clothes are on your bed,” I yell through the door. “I’m going to take a quick shower and I’ll be downstairs to make you breakfast in a bit.”
“Okaaaay!”
