Smoke Screen

Chapter 33

    When school was finally over, Layla slowly made her way home. She still had a warm feeling in her chest from talking with Tony, but it immediately sank when she made it back to her house. Her dad's car was there, but so were several others. That meant he had friends over and that was never good.
    As she walked inside, she was met with blasting music and the somewhat-familiar faces of her dad's drunk friends. She tried to sneak off to her room without being seen, but her dad's voice stopped her. "Hey, little criminal!" He called with a slurred voice. "Get over here!"
She reluctantly complied and walked into the living room where she found him chugging liquor from a red cup while barely being able to stay on his wobbly feet. She cringed when she saw how drunk he was. He always acted the worse when he was this wasted.
When he saw her, his eyebrows furrowed. "That's for being late!" He said as he threw his cup at her. The lingering liquor in the base of the cup spilled on her, making her shirt slightly wet and sticky.
"But I came right home directly after school." She argued. His eye twitched. Before she had time to move, she was met with a stinging slap across her face.
"That's for talking back!" He slurred as his friends laughed.
Clutching the red mark that felt like fire on her cheek, she quickly darted out of the living room, doing her best to avoid all the drunks that kept bumping into her. Before she could step inside the safety of her room, she was stopped by an arm pinning her against the wall. She looked up to be met with the overbearing stench of alcohol along with the face of a man she did not recognize.
"That your room?" He gestured to the door she was about to go through. Layla was silent. "Why don't you give me a tour?"
He leaned closer as he smiled. The stench of alcohol was so overwhelming that it almost made her eyes water.
Before he could get too much closer, Layla quickly kneed him and ran out the front door. She was not sure where to go, but she knew she could not stay there. Not until her dad and his friends were gone.
An idea popped into Layla's mind. Though she did not want to bother him, she knew it was her only option. And luckily it was not that far of a walk.
    When Layla arrived at Tony's house, she knocked on the door and he answered it. "Layla!" He said in surprise. As he looked at her, several different emotions flashed across his face. First surprise, then happiness, then concern. "Are you okay?"
    "Yeah." She said. "But I don't really have anywhere to go tonight, so I was wondering..." She trailed off awkwardly.
    "Of course you can stay here!" He said as he stepped aside, allowing her to come in.
As they walked into the living room, Layla noticed the absence of any family members. "Where's your parents?" She asked.
"They're on a business trip, so I've got the house all to myself for a while." He said.
"You don't get scared staying here all by yourself?" She teased him.
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever." His eyes narrowed when he noticed the fresh red mark on her face. "Hey, is that new?"
Her fingers instinctively went to touch the mark. "Yeah." She admitted.
He stepped closer to get a better look at it. "What happened?" He asked as he brushed a few loose hairs behind her ear and gently touched her cheek.
Layla gazed into his eyes, deciding whether or not to tell him the truth. She let out a sigh. She could trust him.
"My dad hit me." She said, her eyes glancing down from his as she spoke.
"What?!" Tony yelled, his fists clenching as he looked just about ready to charge out the door. Layla grabbed his hand in an attempt to calm him down.
"It's okay." She said, giving him the best smile she could muster.
"The other marks, was that him too?" Tony asked.
She nodded. "For the most part."
Tony's fists clenched even harder. His entire body was tense. Layla could tell he was angry and was sure that he must have hated her too for not telling him sooner.
"I'm sorry." She whispered under her breath. "I don't want you to hate me." Her voice was quiet, but he still heard her clearly.
His tense figure softened at her words. Before she knew what was happening, he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. "I would never hate you, Layla." He whispered into her ear. His hot breath against her skin sent a shiver down her spine.
Not sure how to respond, Layla let her body relax and hugged him back. The warmth of his embrace made her heart flutter. She felt safe and comfortable in his arms.
"Just know, I'm always here for you no matter what. If you need anything, if you ever want to talk, I'm always here." He said.
Layla smiled. "Thanks, Toretto." They stayed like that for a few minutes before pulling away.
"Now let's take care of that." Tony said, pointing at the red mark on her face. He led her into the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer. She flinched as he pressed it against her cheek but did not pull away.
"That's cold." She said.
Tony smiled. "Yeah, but it'll help." He said.
"I know." She rolled her eyes.
When he was done icing her face, he noticed the stain on her shirt. "My dad spilled his drink on me." She explained.
"You probably want to take a shower." He said.
"Yeah." She nodded.
    "Here, let me get you a change of clothes first." He said before running off to his room. He returned a few minutes later with a hoodie and sweatpants.
    "Uh, thanks." She awkwardly took the clothes before heading into the bathroom. Stripping out of her sticky clothes, she stepped into the shower and turned it on. The hot water soothed her skin and relaxed her body.
    After her shower, she dried off and put Tony's clothes on, feeling clean and refreshed. She felt a little weird wearing his clothes, but could not deny that it was comfortable. It also smelled like him, which made her feel warm and safe.
    She stepped back into the living room and found that Tony had ordered a pizza. When he looked up at her, he felt his heart skip a beat. He could not help but think about how cute she looked in his clothes.
    Layla cleared her throat, making Tony realize that he had been staring. "Oh, uh, I ordered pizza. You hungry?" He asked.
    "Starving." She said as she sat down on the couch. He sat down next to her, placing the box of pizza on the coffee table beside the couch.
    They put on a movie as they ate and continued watching whatever they felt like late into the night. After their fourth movie they fell asleep nuzzled up against each other on the couch. And it was the best sleep Layla had in a long time.