The day was almost coming to an end, rainfall hitting the ground to produce a lovely smell of Earth. It was raining, yet the air carried a certain heat. A nervous Riley stood at the door of Layla McKenzie's bedroom, her heart beating frantically. It had been over two minutes since she knocked on the door but no reply came. Taking in a deep breath, she let herself in.
Layla was on her bed, hidden beneath a blanket. She didn't move when the door open, or when Riley walked closer to her, closing the door behind her. Riley stood next to the bed, seeing how all of the latter's body was completely hidden under the blanket. She could see shivering and hear quiet sniffs, and her heart ached.
With a small sigh, she took off her dress shoes, leaving her socks on before slowly getting on the bed behind her girlfriend, who stiffened but only for a second.
She slowly pulls down the blanket, being cautious so as to not stuttle her lover. That's when she sees the tears. Layla sniffs, but keeps her eyes closed. Her arms hug her knees against her chest.
"Hey, can you look at me?" Riley whispers, and she really hopes it works. But Layla doesn't move.
"Please?"
A beat.
Slowly, Layla opens her eyes and turns around with a small sniff then pushes herself up to sit with her back against a pillow. She doesn't look at her lover though. She tugs her knees to her chest and hugs them close, her head resting on them.
A small frown forms on Riley's face.
"You're crying," she says, as if saying the words outloud will wipe away the offending tears staining her lover's beautiful face.
"Are you sad? Angry?" She asks, and really she has no idea how to get her girlfriend to talk to her. Or to atleast stop crying. Panic sets in and it makes her unable to think of ways to help.
Layla lets out a soft chuckle, moving her head from her knees to wipe her tears away, sniffing. She eyes her lover, a small smile on her lips.
"You're really getting bad at this," she comments in a low voice and Riley can't fight back her smile. Because it is not what she says that has her lover currently crawling into her arms, but the mere presence of her that came almost immediately after she walked out on them.
"How are you feeling mama?" Riley asks, this time her voice is low and calm as she holds her lover in her arms. Layla, with her head resting on the latter's chest and her body trapped between her legs, closes her eyes.
"Angry," she says quietly, and if Riley wasn't so close to, she might have missed it.
"At me?" She asks, a kind of sadness glassing her eyes. Because her girlfriend is crying again, and it makes her want to cry as well. Like two birds that fly together in a clear sky. When one goes left, the other must follow. Always. Because they are in sync. Connected.
"At your father," Layla says, and with the words comes her hand fisting on the side of Riley's shirt, holding it so tight that it wrinkles between her fingers. Riley doesn't mind though. Because the wheels of her mind are running but the darn thing refuses to work well.
"Baby, you've got me confused here. Think you could maybe explain this to me in simpler terms?" She asks slowly and quietly in a soothing voice, like one would do to an abused child to get them to say what has been done to them outloud.
Layla let's out an exaggerated breath then. As if it should be obvious to her lover why she's angry. Because the writing on the wall is not written in a foreign language that she should not understand, she believes. She considers moving away from the warm hold but Riley tightens the hold of her arms and rests her chin on her lover's head as if already suspecting what she is thinking. Because of course Riley can read her mind. But she cannot read the reason behind her anger and that sends a bad taste to her tongue.
"When you left, a lot of things went down Riley," Layla starts, and Riley wants to complain. Because she has never felt so offended for being called by her name like she currently is, but she bites her tongue and listens. Because her lover is opening up, that alone is enough. She will gladly take whatever her lover dishes for her if it means not being pushed away. Because Layla is not one to just talk, ever. Always needing to be forced which often leads to withdrawal. And Riley thinks it would suit her to be a forever ticking time bomb. A beautiful one, that is.
"And you come back and I think, 'hey, we'll be okay now'. I think, 'maybe now we'll be together'. Because we just work, you know."
She lets out a short soft laugh as her eyes meet Riley's own briefly, but it's enough to show the pain shining as tears.
"But what does he do? He arranges for you to marry that girl,"
Bitterness. So much bitterness. Molded into a bowl of heartbreak and pain.
"But baby, I'm with you now."
"That's the thing Riley!"
Riley blinks, because now Layla has pushed herself out of her hold and is screaming in anger as she kneels on the bed, and she's not sure if she should speak lest she angers her the more.
"You're here now. But you were so ready to marry her then. You chose her over me after everything we've been through. After every fucken thing you put me through!"
Riley's heart drops and breaks into tiny pieces that cut into her lungs, making her feel like an oxygen thief for breathing the same air as her lover. Her own eyes start to tear and she doesn't move them from her lover even though the sight of her, trapped in a past they have tried to escape, hurts more than anything she has ever experienced.
"If she hadn't ghosted you like she did, you would've married her right away. No questions asked."
Riley's chest rises and falls painfully, because she knows that her lover's words are true. And because same lover is currently looking at her with burning eyes. She lets out a breath and closes her eyes for only but a second before looking back up at her partner.
"You're right. I would've married her. I wanted to marry her, atleast I thought I did," she says, and Layla doesn't wait to let her continue as she chuckles bitterly and gets off the bed, shaking her head in disbelief. As if she had expected her lover to deny the claim. But Riley cannot lie to her, she refuses to.
"I love you, Layla!" Riley blurts out without any hesitation, her eyes on the back of her lover who now stands frozen at the door of her bedroom, hand on the handle. She gets off the bed but stands next to it, not attempting to take a step closer lest her lover chooses not to listen and walks out the room, leaving their unexpected dispute unresolved.
Slowly, Layla turns to look at her and she can see how conflicted she looks. Unsure. Confused. Frightened. Because why wouldn't she be? What's to say that if Jennie were to come back, or her father were to bring in another girl he wants her to marry, she will not abandon her?
But Riley's gaze is deep. She looks like a farmer upon seeing a beautiful flower after spending a whole season tending to its seed. Like how the poets look at their loyal muse. Admiration. Gratitude. Enchantment. Love. So much love, and it is brushing away her fears and uncertainty. So she doesn't move back as Riley takes slow calculated steps towards, her lips opening to talk once more.
"I loved you then. I love you now. And I will always love you. Because-"
She stops right infront of her, reaching down to take both her hands in hers. She lifts them up and places a lingering kiss on each of them, never breaking the eye contact even as she lowers their hands.
"You have what no other woman could ever have. You have my heart. You have all of me. It doesn't matter how long it has taken or how far we have had to go. We're here now. Together,"
Layla's eyes shine and this time it isn't because of the tears, because no matter how hard she may try to hide or ignore it, she loves Riley very much.
"And yes I am here now. It may not be earlier than you would've wanted it to be, I know, but it still doesn't change that I am here. I am going nowhere, I can promise you that."
She moves forward, placing one of her hands on her lover's cheek and letting a small smile grace her face when the latter learns into the touch. Slowly and carefully, she moves forward until her breath is fanning her lover's face and their lips are only but a few inches apart.
"I love you," she whispered, and Layla couldn't stop the small smile that tugged at the corners of her lips.
"I love you too."
Sparks. A million sparks as their lips met and their hearts moved as one, their pacing in sync. Layla felt her whole body light up like wood in a fire when Riley took hold of her waist, pulling her even closer to feel her body against hers.
Their kiss, slow and passionate, soon turned into something hungry and needy and Riley wasted no time. When their lips parted to catch some air, she bent down and picked her lover up by her thighs, the latter quickly wrapping her legs around her waist.
Their eyes met. Hunger. Thirst. Need. A burning need that made Riley's heart thump against her rib-cage because Layla hasn't looked at her in such a way in a very long time. Always trying to control herself, to abstain.
Taking a careful step back, she turned them around then walked them back to the bed. Their eyes never broke contact, not even as Riley placed Layla on the bed, settling in between her legs but still hovering above her.
"I love you," Riley repeated, searching her lover's eyes for any sign of uncertainty. Layla's smile widened then, her hands resting on her lover's shoulders. Her eyes moved down to stare at Riley's lips lustfully before moving back up to look into her eyes.
"I know," she said, and her heart almost burst with joy when Riley grinned at her. Because she really does love her girlfriend. Even if she had almost killed a man with her brutal fists and angry mind. Even if not so long ago, she had chosen a girl over her. Even if she has serious daddy issues and mommy issues that make it hard for her to trust. Even if the only way she can give herself to someone, fully, is by having some kind of control over them. An advantage that no one else has. It doesn't matter what she were to say, or what she may do, she would love her regardless of it all. Hopelessly. Foolishly. Selfishly. Possessively. Obsessively. Wholly.
Because she didn't care if it is considered unhealthy or dangerous. She couldn't care. Because she would gladly pull out her heart with her own hands if that is what Riley asked of her. She would kill for her over and over again until her conscience ran dry and she no longer grew nauseas at the sight of blood.
Her eyes close and she sighs through her nose when Riley starts kissing her neck. Sucking, biting, licking. It feels amazing. Heavenly, almost. But she knows that Riley is no Angel. If anything, she would be a demon because her soft heart would disqualify her as a devil.
She can feel the latter's naughty hands wandering around her body and she cannot help but pull her closer with a contented sigh. Whispers of "I love you" from Riley's lips that serve as a needle and thread, patching up every open wound on her heart.
Suddenly, like a messenger from the pit of hell sent to ruin the good currently happening to her as Riley's lips kiss all over her now exposed chest, save for the lace bra, loud knocks sound on the door.
"Layla! Are you okay? Layla?!"
Max. God Dammed Maxwell. Riley chuckles quietly, moving away from her lover so sit beside her.
"Layla?! I'm worried here!"
And the knocking persists, each sound making Layla want to claw the door out of the wall as if that will make Max leave them to their making out.
"She still won't talk to me Max. I don't know what to do," Riley said, breathing down a laugh at the menacing glare sent her way. Without wasting any more time, Layla grabs her top from the side of the bed where Riley had tossed it in the heat of the moment, and quickly puts it on.
"I'm coming in," Max says, and the panic that flashes in Layla's eyes makes her lover grin at her.
"It's okay bro. Just let me talk to her for now. We'll be down in a few minutes," Riley says, and Max is silent for a few seconds, thinking.
"Okay. But if after 10minutes she still refuses to talk then I'm coming in there and I'll sure as hell drag her downstairs." He says, and is stomping away like a soldier ready for war. Riley doesn't hold in her laugh, but she is careful to not be too loud incase Max hears her.
Layla jumps on her, making her fall back on the bed but she doesn't stop, not even as Layla sits on her stomach, straddling her. The vibrations of Riley's laughter hit at her center, making her frustration rise.
"You're an ass, you know that?" She asks, but her words are not mean and she moves down to plant a small kiss on her lover's forehead, stopping her laughter. Riley smiles then. Wide and bright like a little girl. Cute. Layla thinks as she smiles down at her. Adorable.
"But you love me, don't you?" She asks, her eyebrows rising and falling, a cheeky grin on her face.
"I do," Layla responds, and is moving down to plant one last kiss on her lover's lips.