After a few minutes, Lucas and Layla were into one of the hotel's suites. Layla spent time admiring the luxurious surroundings until she noticed the doors leading to the large balcony. She went straight outside, letting her eyes travel around to take in the breathtaking view. It was a while before she heard Lucas's footsteps approaching her.
"Nice view, hah?"
"Yeah..." she responded, still not looking at him. She saw him with the corner of her eye leaning his back on the ledge, taking out his cigarettes from his pocket. For someone so persistent to talk to her, today of all days, he was really taking his time.
"I did love you, you know." The confession escaped his mouth so unexpectedly, she felt her heart stopped beating. She could not find a single thing to say to that. How many times she had wished to hear these words from him! But now, it was neither the place nor the time. Now, it was too late.
Lucas took a drag from his cigarette. "But we didn't belong together. I belong with Sofia, I always did. You belonged with someone else."
Layla was stunned. Just when she thought that maybe he had the decency to offer her a closure. An admission of love that would heal the feelings of betrayal and deception which tortured her for years. No. He resorted to bullshit once again.
She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples to calm herself. She didn't want another epic fight with him. Not here. Not now. Not ever again.
"Okay, Lucas." She exhaled loudly. "Let's see if I understand this correctly. Is this some... weird way of apologizing for the way you treated me?" Layla moved to face him straight on. "Because I have to be honest with you, I don't believe in such nonsense, of people belonging together, soulmates, and stuff like that." She took a few steps closer to him, their bodies only inches away. "I believe in people determined to make a relationship work. And you never gave ours a chance."
Furious, she turned her back on him, wanting to leave. She had no interest whatsoever in listening to anything else he had to say, when he uttered the only word that had the power to make her stop.
"Alex-"
"Don't you dare" -Layla snapped, pointing her finger at him- "don't you dare bring him into this!" She glared at him, her breathing becoming heavy.
"Layla, please listen to me!" His angry tone startled her. He shook his head in resignation and crushed the butt into the ashtray before speaking again, keeping his voice soft and calm. "Please let me finish."
He took two cigarettes from the pack, offering the one to her. They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds before she accepted it. After he lit them both, he gestured for them to sit on the outdoor sofa.
"You and I were both devastated after his death. We found comfort in each other, being his two closest friends. We were trying to find him, to keep a piece of him."
Layla's resolve started abandoning her. "Why are you telling me these things?" she asked, her voice sounding like the whisper of a ghost. And like a ghost she was feeling. The ghost of nightmares past. The ghost of nightmares present. But what she was supposed to learn from all this, she really had no idea.
Lucas looked at her, and his eyes were the saddest she had ever seen. "Because you were meant to be with him. He was in love with you, I know it. Always has been. He had told me so himself!"
The cigarette dropped from her fingers. Total silence fell, and all the lights went out. That was what it felt like to Layla as if someone had thrown her in deep, dark waters. She could see herself submerging all the way to the bottom, suffocating. Someone had taken all the air, sound, and light out of the room.
Lucas's voice brought her back.
"Layla!" He was now kneeling in front of her, staring with a worried expression on his handsome face. She sensed moisture on her cheeks. Tears.
Lucas didn't look so well himself. "I didn't mean to upset you." He stood up and raked his fingers through his hair. "But you should know. Sofia and I got married. You have to move on too. And to do that, you should know what really happened."
This conversation was proving to be an emotional and mental roller-coaster. Every time Layla thought she understood where Lucas was getting at, the discussion took a different turn. She looked up, her eyes pleading to him.
"What do you mean by that? For heaven's sake, just say what it is you want to say!"
He sat again on the sofa next to her, taking her hands gently into his. A shade of anger and determination clouded his dark eyes.
"I want to tell you about that snake you call your best friend."
***
One, two, three, four, and one, two, three, and four, and one, two, three, four...
She was going up the stairs, counting. It helped to keep her focused. To keep her sane.
One, two, three, four, and one, two- She was right outside the roof garden. Heart about to burst out of her chest, hands trembling. She took a few steps and stood just right after the entrance. Her eyes searched the place in a frenzy. She spotted her in the middle of the dance floor, doing her best to attract attention.
She marched towards her, like an army going to war.
"Liv."
Hearing her name, Liv turned around with a grin, but the smile on her lips died almost instantly. "Layla? What the hell happened? You look-"
"We are leaving. Grab your things." Layla's intense glare was not leaving much room for debate, but apparently, Liv was having way too much fun to go down without a fight.
"But why? I am-"
"You. Me. Out. Now!" Despite the loud music, a few heads turned to the sound of that otherworldly voice, coming from the depths of an unknown Underground. Liv blinked a few times as if to make sure she was seeing correctly, that in fact, it was Layla who had spoken. With suspicion written all over her face, she picked her purse and followed Layla outside without further objections.
They were silent all the way down. When finally out on the street, Liv turned around towards Layla and raised her eyebrows in question. "Well?"
At first, Layla didn't answer, would not even look at her. Eventually, she turned to face her.
"Is it true that you knew Alex was in love with me?"
Liv became pale as death. "Who-"
"Is it true that you knew he was planning on telling me at Sofia's graduation party?"
Layla watched Liv gawking at her, eyes widened, mouth agape, the smugness wiped from her face. She wished that she would deny everything, that she would laugh and call it all nonsense. Or be mad, and threaten to kill the bastard who uttered such lies. But her best friend's beautiful lips didn't form a single word, didn't make a single sound.
Silence. Nothing but silence.
"Is it true that you purposely sent people to keep him away from me, faking every excuse possible?"
Silence. Nothing but silence.
Layla burst into hysterical laughter, pacing up and down the pavement. "And I was wondering when did he become so popular!"
"I can explain..." Liv dared to whisper. Layla's head snapped to her direction.
"Explain? So you don't deny it?"
"The timing was bad! You still had feelings for Lucas! I was trying to protect you!"
For a few miserable minutes, Layla stared at her in disbelief. Then, an overwhelming fury started running up her spine, finally exploding inside her head. It must have looked quite odd, that such a small framed person could find the strength to shove a well-build woman like Liv, but still, Layla cornered her and rendered her unable to move.
"So it's true then..." she said while holding her firmly against the wall. Her eyes caught the shadow of a passerby who stopped for a second, probably alarmed from the violent interaction but changed his mind and left.
"It's true that you stopped him on his way to come and talk to me..."
Torment. Nothing but torment.
"It's true that you faked nausea to drag him into the bathroom with you..."
Betrayal. Nothing but betrayal.
"It's true that you deliberately made me believe you were making out into that fucking bathroom!"
Rage. Nothing but rage.
Layla released Liv abruptly and took a few steps backwards. She grabbed her head and kneeled on the dirty road, unable to keep the pain inside anymore. She started sobbing violently. Liv was still leaning onto the wall, looking more like a statue than a living human being, a dark shadow covering her face.
After what seemed like an eternity, Layla stopped crying, but something between a soft sob and a breath escaped her from time to time. She stared at the dark's nothingness, searching for something that couldn't be found until finally, she turned, looking up at Liv from the road she was lying on like a broken tree.
"And all this time, you let me believe his death was my fault."
With that, she jumped up and started running.