AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Layla smirks as she picks up her guitar. “Want to hear it from the top?”
“Yes,” Mav says, eyes on her. He’s ignoring my shitty mood, and I’m honestly grateful for it. I can barely stand myself. “I want to hear some of the songs you sang at the bar too. Do you perform those at concerts?”
A shadow crosses over her eyes, and I realize she’s worried. I haven’t heard anything from Jordan, and this makes me think that she hasn’t either.
“I do,” she says with a nod. “We can work through those too, and create a set list. I don’t think I’ll be able to be spontaneous at a show until you know all my songs, huh?”
Layla doesn’t let him respond before she jumps into the song. Draven’s fingers twitch as he listens to her, as if he's itching to have his sticks. When we are in full on tour mode, he’ll typically play nonstop, but nothing about this tour is normal yet. We’re still getting our bearings with Layla and she with us.
Her voice washes over me and I sway with the sultry air of her words. The emotion is heady, filling the room with her words and music. The song is about never letting people make her feel small, or make decisions for her. There’s power in her voice as she sings, and Draven, Mav, and I hang onto each note until the very last one rings out.
“Can I join in this next round, Chick? Please?” Draven asks, his body leaning forward as if he’s just waiting for her word. My fingers are aching to hit the keyboard, and I can see Mav is hurting just as badly. When I tell Layla that music is everything, I am not lying to her.
“Of course,” she says with an open smile. The sad emotions of the song don’t seem to bring her down, while the blood is practically buzzing inside of me. Maybe it’s because she’s so used to singing these lyrics, but there’s magic that happens when you share your words with another person for the first time.
Mav, Draven, and I don’t need any encouragement after those sweet words. I’m a shit to Layla because my heart still feels a pull toward her. The sweet looks, the kisses five years ago, all of that was the rabbit hole connected to the first vestiges of love.
When Mav and I walked away from her, we were trying to kill off what we felt, but it clearly didn’t work.
Now I’m still fighting the same fight, but finding it may be useless.
Fuck.
Taking a breath as I stand in front of my keyboard, I look over at Draven and Mav. There’s an energy and spark in their eyes that I haven’t seen before. Not once did Lyrica’s songs make us feel this before.
Mav and I played for years with theDarkest Nightsand I don’t ever remember feeling as if I were standing on the edge of a cliff, being dared to fall.
“Again,” I say simply, and Layla inclines her head, taking a breath to sing. One song leads to another that she teaches us, and the hours roll effortlessly away. The Princess of the label doesn’t seem fatigued at all, simply giving us another chance to see her soul as she moves into the next song.
I’m seeing a new side of Layla, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to pretend to unsee it. Instead, it makes me want to peel back the secret parts she keeps hidden away, even if I know damn well I’m not good enough.
Do I want to try anyway, or do I want to make an effort to be worthy of her sharing more of her soul with me?
Thirteen
LAYLA
As Atlas and Mav leave, I sigh as a wave of exhaustion crashes over me. I’m not used to moving at this pace anymore. Jordan always spaced out my interviews and practices so they weren’t back to back, and I got so swept away playing that I forgot to eat again.
“Layla?” Draven looks at me funny, moving quickly to wrap his arm around my waist. “You just got really pale, Lovely.”
Lovely? That’s new. I thought I was the annoying baby chick.
Closing my eyes, I try to shake myself out of it. “I should have taken a break,” I tell him. “It’s been hours right?”
“Lay, there are granola bars on the counter, Baby,” Tyler calls out from the bedroom. I think there’s been a few hiccups as the Ahearn brothers are getting acquainted with the team, because he’s been in there most of the day taking calls.
This is his job, and I’m doing mine, so I haven’t paid it any mind.
“Thank you,” I tell him with a smile.
“Sit here, please,” Draven says with a scowl, pushing me onto a stool. Stalking to the counter, he grabs a bar before coming back to me.
“I’m fine,” I reassure him as he rips it open. I don’t understand why he seems upset. Most of the time he’s pissed at the world, and the other he can’t be bothered to be around me.
He confuses the hell out of me.
“Open,” he grunts. “Wrap those beautiful lips around the bar and take a bite.”
