Layne's POV
I'm falling through the Earth. The air smells damp and I can feel the moisture of the clay in my bones.
And I'm not afraid.
My body slams down and I'm in my room from my childhood home, my body jarred from slamming into my cheap mattress. I launch up, surprised at my survival.
"Miss me?"
My eyes adjust to the dark and I see Kaylie Jane standing at the end of my bed, dressed causally in a long tunic teen and ripped jeans. I freeze at the sight of her, not knowing how to react. How did she get in here?
"I missed you," she crawls towards me on the bed, until we're face to face. Her eyes scan my face, lingering on my lips, "Can I kiss you?"
I nod and her lips land on mine. There's no way I should be letting this happen, but it's like it's not even me. Like I've been possessed by a super hoe and am now just along for the ride.
I close my eyes, falling into the kiss. Her hands find mine and our fingers intertwine. She smells like fire, like she just crawled from the pits of hell.
"I don't like the silent treatment..." she mumbles against my skin.
I remain quiet.
"Hm..." she smirks, "If it's gonna be like that... I'll just have to make you scream."
Even without doing anything more than kissing me I start to feel the pressure building in my loins.
"KJ!"
***
"Fuck!" I'm thrown from my dream realm back into reality just as dream me was about to get her happy ending. My skin feels unbearably hot and I struggle to catch my breath. Fuck. I can't be that depraved as to have wet dreams about her. I groan and slide out of bed, trying to ignore the ache between my legs.
Kaylie Jane wasn't even in the city and was somehow fucking with me still.
I find Wren in her office, already dressed. She detects my presence and turns to me, "If your wanna shower there's towels in the bathroom closet."
I nod and strip out of my borrowed pajamas, the tile cool under my feet. I consider masturbating, but don't want to give dream KJ the satisfaction.
After my shower Wren and I go out for breakfast before work. As we eat, my phone vibrates. MY HEART. My favorite picture of us, the one from when we were kids, lights up my screen and my heart aches. This was the fifth call since yesterday. I flip my phone over, letting it go to voicemail.
Wren watches with me as my phone stop vibrating, then immediately starts up again. "You know she's gonna come back right?" Wren asks, "She's like a case of herpes."
"I know," I exhale, "I just..."
"You don't have to explain it to me," she says, "Just know you're gonna have to explain to her when she comes back."
"I know," I nod, "I need time though."
My phone lights up again. "You should tell her that," Wren smirks.
I turn my phone of do not disturb, setting it so that only her number is blocked.
"She's not going to keep calling forever," I shrug, "She'll get tired."
"She will," she agrees, "But that's when she'll show up in person."
***
KJ's POV
Dru finds us the next morning, still holding onto each other.
"KJ have you been here all night?" I yawn and nod. "Go get some rest. Like real rest." He hands me a card, "I have a room at a hotel not far from here. At least shower or whatever."
I accept his room key and leave the hospital, plugging the hotel address into my phone GPS. I find Dru's room and head for the shower immediately. I turn it on, waiting for the water to heat up. As I strip, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My hand, which was still yet to be properly treated, had turned an ugly purple. When I try to rotate my wrist too much shocks of pain race up my arm.
If it's not broken, it's sprained.
I shower and drive myself back to the hospital, this time as a patient for my hand.
It's broken and since I'd waited forever to do anything about it, they're forced to re-break it so that I can heal properly in its new found cast.
I head back up to Vin's room after, on my way back calling her.
"Layne I know you're listening to these..." I exhale. This was my fifth voicemail to her, "I'm gonna keep calling you until you tell me not to. I love you."
I hang up as I reach the room. A tall woman, who I assume is his doctor.
"Good morning," I offer her my hand, "KJ."
"Ah," she smirks, "The 'wife'." They share a look and I shrug.
"We might as well be married," I joke, earning a look from Vin. It hits me what's going on and I change the subject, "Is he almost ready to go home?"
"We're gonna hold him for observation one more night," she explains, "Then he'll be free to go."
After she leaves the room I turn to Vin. "So the doctor is in huh?"
"Shut up," his face turns red and he turns away.
"I mean... She's cute," I tease him.
"Gorgeous," he replies before he can stop himself.
"Ahhh!" I scream, "The Kid has a crush!"
"KJ! Stop!" He grabs me, "Pulling me onto the bed and shoving my face into the pillow.
We both laugh, as I tickle him, the small bed leaving little room for his escape, "You like her!"
"Okay!" He submits, "I think she's cute! Christ."
"Actually you think she's gorgeous." He hits me playfully.
"Get off of me," he mock pushes me. I climb off of him and take a seat in the chair next to him. He lowers his voice, "Do you know how hard it is to have a hot doctor?" He motions to the heart rate monitor attached to him, "This thing is a snitch."
He diverts his attention to my hand, "When did that happen?"
I look down, "When I jumped out of my girlfriend's window."
He chuckles, "God you're still a mess aren't you?"
I nod, "As always."
As predicted, they release Vin the next day, and I help him settle back into his apartment. I help him into the elevator, his side still sore from being shot. "Sorry about the mess," he apologizes.
As he stumbles his way to the couch, I hit the lights, illuminating the messy space.
"Damn, son," I look around the space, which he'd been subleasing since our move to St. Louis. "This isn't mess. It's disgusting."
"It's not that bad," he brushes off my complaints as I start to pick up the pieces of furniture seemingly thrown everywhere.
I stay in Colorado for a week, much to Vin's dismay. Although he insisted that he was fine, I didn't want to leave him. Plus, so much had transpired in my life recently, the new surroundings were nice. Or at least that's what I told myself.
"You need to go back," he turns to me on the fourth day, "Stop avoiding her."
"I'm giving her time," I exhale, "I fucked up. Bad."
"You're known for that," he tells me, "But you're also know for your even bigger recoveries."
I don't respond.
"Do you think you guys are over?" He questions.
"I don't know what to think. She doesn't answer my calls or texts. We never were really together either. It's just ambiguous."
"You and your not labeling things," he rolls his eyes, "You realize you've done this before?"
I do realize that. There wasn't a relationship where I hadn't.
"KJ you're getting old," he says, "We aren't in college anymore. You aren't living with your dad anymore. Literally the only thing fucking up your relationships is you. So stop it."
"That's not---"
"Fair?" He scoffs, "Actually it's completely fair. If you want her, take your sorry ass home and go get her. And you better hope and pray to God she forgives you again because do hear me when I say this she doesn't owe you shit and there's probably a line of bitches that would love Layne better than you could even try to."
I absorb his harsh, but accurate words.
"Fine," I relent, "I'll leave---"
"Now," a plane ticket materializes in his hand, "Like actually."
"Vin---" I start to protest but he stops me.
"Shut up!" he says sharply, "I'm right," he concludes, "Also I essentially got shot for this relationship to happen so you owe me."
I accept the ticket, "I guess I'll go pack."
He smirks and I gather my things up. Vin drives me to airport and walks me to my terminal, stopping at security.
"This is where we part," he says. He hands me my bag, which he'd insisted on carrying, even in his condition. I take him in, noticing he's leaning a little to alleviate the pain.
I take him in, the brightly lit terminal illuminating his normally shadowed features. His dark hair, which I now know to be dyed, is starting to fade back into a brown, as the color wears. His typical buzz had also grown out, revealing a natural wave to his hair, which I assumed turned into curls if it got long enough. I blink and see a flash of the Vin I knew from college, so long ago.
He pulls me into a hug and I inhale his scent for the last time. "I love you," I murmur into his shirt.
He pulls away, "I love you too." He stoops and kisses me for what will probably be the last time.
"I'll see you, Baby girl."
"I'll see you."
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Author's Note
This chapter kind of short but it's also a little bit of a filler chapter anyway so it's fine.
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-Peace