Conflicting Hearts

Chapter 17

William's POV
I watched Laila get into the car and I felt my chest tightening. Laila had a way with words, she failed to realize that I knew her better than most people did. I wasn't like Asher, I knew when she was acting a bit different.

That word 'likewise' played in my head repeatedly. She hadn't told me she missed me rather she said likewise, that was Laila trying to put up a barrier between us. I felt deeply and differently for her, I wasn't going to lose her to Lucia. I was driving myself slightly mad thinking about how she may be blaming herself for what happened or that she may have listened to Lucia. Lucia is still her mother regardless of what has happened between them but I don't see Laila accepting that fact anymore. She's beginning to believe a lie that is being spun right in front of her, nothing hurts more than watching her fall into that trap.

"William!" A voice screeched from above me and I recognized it to be my sister's.

"What do you want,Wren?"

"Is that how you greet the sister you hardly see these days?"

"No no,I'm coming up to meet you now" I said and walked into the house leaving my bag in front of my room before going to meet Wren.

"Are you okay?" Wren asked scrutinizing me with her eyes

"Not really"

"Let me rephrase my question, is Laila okay?"

"I don't know the answer to that question"

"How don't you know?"

"I haven't spent up to ten minutes with her since yesterday evening"

"You guys spend as much time as possible together"

"She wasn't in school because it seems she was indisposed"

"That explains a little bit of your sadness"

"Laila and I are the couple who find words necessary in certain moments, they serve as reassurance and bring about a new hope to the person who hears them"

"Explain"

"I told her I missed her and she replied with the word likewise. Laila would always tell me she missed me too even when we weren't dating"

"What's wrong with the word likewise?"

"She said likewise instead of I missed you too, does it ring a bell now?" I spelled it out for her and her expression crumbled when she finally got the message.

"What do you think she's trying to do?"

"She's trying to distance herself from me"

"Why would she distance herself from one of the people she cares about?"

"She cares about her mother too but doesn't talk to her"

"Point proven but why?"

"I don't know"

"You look troubled baby brother. You should pray about it"

"I will pray about it, the same way I pray about all my other problems and my family and my loved ones et cetera"

"You should shower too, it'll help you clear your head a bit"