Chapter twenty four | Layla
Melissa has been a sobbing mess since the moment we stepped a foot in here, neither me nor Adrian understand a single word she said.
"You need to calm down." He says, his voice carrying an edge it doesn't normally carry, she rubs her hand together as I hand her a mug, "thank you." She whispers and I smile,
After a moment passes, "what's wrong, Melissa?" I ask as softly as I can, I feel it as Adrian's hand caresses mine, it spreads a warm tingling throughout my whole arm, "Damien—he's been different, so so different." She whispers, her hands shaking again.
My brows furrow and Adrian cocks his head, "well, I'm sure you know how he is, you've been with him for about—7 months now?" Adrian states and her gaze turns to the floor, looking down as if she's ashamed that he just called her out.
As much as it pained me to find out that Damien has been cheating on me, I can't deny that there is a good side too, it made me become closer to him, and as much as I'd like to deny it but I've never been happier than right now.
He makes me feel like I'm...more than enough, and the more time I spend with him, the more I hate myself for allowing someone to treat me so shitty before, but it's in the past, and I can't change it, however, no one is going to walk over me in the future, that's a promise I made to myself.
She clears her throat a couple of times, "I'm sorry.." it comes out as a broken whisper, I'm not really mad at her, I should be, but I should be way madder at Damien, I didn't even know her back then, "that's not the case right now." I say not liking how this is taking a turn.
I can feel Adrian stiffening beside me but I continue "just tell us what happened." I say again and she swallows hard before nodding, a tight smile spreading on her face, "but I have to say everything from the beginning so you understand." She says and I crack my knuckles, not sure if I'm ready for that but I nod either way.
"You know it all started when I saw him at a bar back then, and—you weren't with him I swear, it-it just happened and it was a one night stand, I thought I'd never see him again...but he kept showing up, and it became uncomfortable when he once tried to you know kind of—blackmail me into sleeping with him." She says, looking pained as she says the words, my chest tightens and my breaths get heavier.
Adrian gives me a reassuring squeeze and I smile a little, "I'm so sorry." I whisper and her gorgeous eyes meet mine, they're the lightest shade of blue, and they widen for a moment as if she's surprised, my brows furrow right when she speaks "no I'm the one who's sorry, I know I never said it before today but I really am I swear, I didn'- I didn't mean for all this to happen." She sighs heavily and something tells me that this story is about to get much worse.
"When I told him that I didn't want it, he kept digging into my background until—one day he finally caught something that I could never win against." She says, tears forming in her eyes, she brushes them away, as my heart clenches for her, "my mother—she's sick, and he'll ruin everything." She says and my brows furrow.
Confusion crowds my mind when she stays silent for a moment but I don't protest letting her take her time, "she's very very sick and he—he knows every nurse that works at that hospital, for context, she's always there, it's like her home now, and I barely have the money to treat her anyway, he said that if I slept with him he'd give me money, and well he did, he still does." Her sentence ends on a broken whisper as if she's ashamed of her confession.
"The night turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, until—until I finally found out about you, me and my friend were working late that night and he came striding into the bar, I didn't bother talking to him until later that night, but the moment my friend saw him it was like she saw a ghost—and well she told me everything, and about you too, the same thing that's happening to me now happened to her right before me," she says letting out a breath before her expression changes into a sympathetic one.
So he has been cheating on me since—well forever I have no idea, Adrian's hand on my shoulder turns my attention to him, his gaze is soft yet so hard, his eyes are sharp, the intensity of the emotion in them so strong, and the softening of his gaze the moment his eyes meet mine makes my heart pounds painfully in my chest, maybe I should stop studying every single detail about him.
"I'm so so sorry." Melissa's voice pulls me back to reality, I smile tightly at her, "it's okay, go on." I say softly, she smiles and nods, "so um—I confronted him, and he didn't even look bothered! It pissed me off and when I told him that I don't care about his money anymore he said that he'll pay everyone in that hospital to discharge her from the machines if I leave him—and I'm not that selfish to let my mother die because I hate this...I would never risk it." She cries, her tears cascading down her cheeks.
"Oh baby, I'm sorry." I whisper as I take her in my arms, her sobs rising, when we pull back she sniffs "you shouldn't be nice to me, Layla, you're making this more painful." She says and I grimace, "I don't mean it like that it's just—" she sighs frustrated by herself, "I get it." I reply and she gives me a watery smile.
"Why don't you just transfer her to another hospital?" Adrian asks, his brows furrowed, but his voice gentler than before and I let out a relieved breath, she shakes her head, "I did once and he knew immediately, he said that if I was wishing she'd die earlier then I should do this again." She says.
"I don't know if it's true, that he's actually going to do what he's saying But I can't risk that, I-I can't." She shakes her head rapidly, "but actually, that's not why I asked you to come." She says and my brows furrow as Adrian raises a brow, "what I meant by he's been different is that he's angrier than before." She says and I share a look with Adrian.
I think we both see it coming but that doesn't stop the hurricane of fire that spreads through my veins when she speaks, "he's been—violent, he hit me once, last week and I thought it'd just happen one time but it's been happening for the last three days, nonstop." She says, tears forming again in her eyes as she wipes them away angrily.
Adrian's fist clenches beside me and I swallow hard, as my chest rises with fast breaths, bringing back memories I'd rather have unlocked forever, my hands are drenched with sweat and I feel the moment they start shaking, I close my eyes for a beat, focusing on anything, the tick of the clock, the sound of the rain hitting the glass, anything.
"You okay?" Her soft voice forces me to open my eyes, I swallow hard, Adrian puts a hand on mine, "you're cold." He says, "it's fine." I say, "no." He deadpans, his concerned gaze finding mine, as he takes off his jacket and wraps it around my arms, Melissa gets up, her footsteps drifting away down the stairs, and a moment later she comes in with a small blanket and wraps it around my shoulders.
"Here." She says smiling at me, I give her a weak smile as I motion for her to sit down, "it's fine, I'm finished anyway." She says but something in her eyes tells me that she isn't, "go ahead please, I'm fine now I swear." I say and Adrian pulls me closer, his arm around my shoulders.
I snuggle a little enjoying the way he's so close to me, I can smell his cologne, but that's not what makes heat spread through my veins, it's his scent, it's a mix of whiskey and cigarettes,
"I- I genuinely have no idea why I called you, it's not like you'll save me but...I just needed to let it out." She whispers and I nod in understanding, I'm not an easy person to open up but I know exactly when I can't take it anymore, when it gets too much, I end up crying all night.
But it's comforting, Adrian's jaw ticks, "we actually can help you—for a while anyway," He says and I raise a brow, my eyes meet his for a brief second before I turn away, "in two days, we already had an event at Costa Rica, but judging by this I'm sure he didn't tell you about it, he won't be with you all the day, we'll stay together most of the time, it'll be kind of a distraction until you find a way to figure it out," Adrian says, and her eyes lighten up.
"it's temporary, but I'm sure it'll get some pressure off your chest." Adrian says, his tone surprisingly soft, I smile a little, "it'll be fun I promise." I tell her when I see the hesitation clear in her eyes, she smiles then nods, "thank you so much, I'm sure it'll help until I figure out a better solution." She says sincerely and I can't help the smile that spreads on my face.
✿ ✿ ✿
"Ugh, I'm so hungry!" I say, or more like yell, Ezekiel gives me a weird look and raises a brow, then his face contours as if he's realizing something, "Layla, that's—that's really good." He says gently and my brows furrow, "that I'm hungry?" I ask confused.
His brows furrow in return, "um—no?" He says, "why was that a question?" I throw back, "I have no idea." He shrugs and I almost laugh at his failed attempt but a smile immediately spreads on my face when I realize what he meant.
Because it really is good, the fact that I'm actually willing to eat because I'm hungry, because if I wasn't I would've never said those words out loud, "I'm going to get a snack." I say standing up before I change my mind, he nods "don't take too long, the show is about to begin." He says and I roll my eyes as I walk toward the kitchen.
It takes a couple of tries until I finally reach the snacks cupboard, I open it and smile when I see every single snack I love in there, I have no idea how Adrian knew that but it's not a coincidence because he told me before that he hated chocolate, and this shelf is full of them,
Of course, the Maltesers are on the top but I consider trying something new today, I grab a pack of chips, it's been a long time since I ate them so I really can't help it when I turn the packet around ready to scan the calories, but my jaw drops when I see what is in front of me.
They are crossed, the calories, the amount of sugar, everything, it's like someone kept drawing on them with a pen, a sigh of relief leaves me, but then my brows furrow when I see some words written on them, I read it carefully, since the handwriting isn't very clear.
You deserve to eat, darling
It's not the words that give him away, it's the darling, no one calls me that except him, Adrian crossed every single packet here, for me.
This man will have my standards at the sky
It was also a bit long but I hope you enjoyed it, a vote is really appreciated.