20. Layla

The night settles around me like a comforting blanket as I step onto the front porch, a glass of wine cradled in my hands. Breckin is asleep inside, his soft snores drifting through the stillness of the house. The cold air bites at my cheeks, but I welcome its sharpness, hoping it will help clear my mind.

As I settle into the rocking chair, a sense of solitude washes over me, the quiet of the night broken only by the distant sound of crickets chirping in the darkness. I wrap myself in my heated blanket and close my eyes.

I need to clear out all the negativity and all of the distractions. The silence of the night, the brightness of the moon, and the chill in the air is the only cure.

But before I can fully lose myself in the tranquility, I hear a car pull into the driveway. I open my eyes and see Randy jumping out of his car with a bouquet of roses and a bottle of wine. He's grinning from ear to ear when he sees me.

If I wrap myself in the blanket, will he still see me?

Invisibility cloak?

"Layla," he says softly, his voice tinged with sincerity.

"Randy, what are you doing here?" I ask, my voice tinged with confusion.

"I heard about what happened, and I wanted to be here for you."

"I don't need you to be here for me."

He steps closer, offering me the bouquet of roses with a sympathetic smile. "I"m sorry that it happened," he says earnestly, his gaze never wavering from mine. "But I always knew that Brock Bowen was no good for you. You deserve better, Layla."

I feel a surge of frustration bubbling within me, the weight of his words feeling like a heavy burden on my shoulders. I want to scream at him right now.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I"m really not in the mood to deal with this tonight," I reply, my voice tinged with exhaustion. "I just need some time alone."

But he doesn"t seem deterred by my words. Instead, he takes a step closer, his expression pleading. "Layla, please," he says softly, his voice laced with desperation. "Let me take you back. You don"t have to look so pathetic to everyone in town."

I feel a surge of anger rising within me, the frustration of the past few days boiling over like a volcano ready to erupt. "I don"t need your pity," I say firmly, my voice tinged with steel. "And I certainly don"t need you to rescue me. Now please, leave."

"Don't be ridiculous," he laughs. "Your business is going to tank with as much negativity that's all over social media about you. You're going to start losing clients."

"I will be fine."

"No, there's no coming back from this. That asshole made you a laughingstock of the entire world. You're public enemy number one and for what? He used you in some power play to get that woman back. You look like a fool."

"Randy," I sigh.

I'm seriously not in the mood for this man.

"We can be together again. You, Breckin, and I, one big happy family. The way that it's supposed to be."

I see movement behind Randy and realize that Eric is walking up the sidewalk. I was annoyed at first when my brother bought a house a block away, irritated with how overprotective he is. However, right now I'm extremely grateful for it.

"No, Randy. I meant what I said. I don't want to be with you. I know that's hard to hear and understand and I'm sorry. I can't be with you any longer. This drama changes nothing."

"You're making a mistake," he says in a low hiss.

"Randy, why don't you give it up?" Eric interjects.

"Can you for once, mind your own business?" Randy snaps.

"Leave or I'll call the cops," my brother sighs.

"Just go, Randy, please?"

He lets out a huff and storms back to his car.

I wish he would have left the wine at least.

I glance back at Eric.

"What are you doing here at this hour?"

"It's not that late," he laughs. "But I wanted to check on you. You've been kind of distant lately."

"Can you blame me?"

"Nope."

"I just want to hide in the house until it all blows over. And then today, Breck tells me that Brock has been at hockey practice every day this week. It's like he won't go away."

"About that."

"What?" I sigh as I lean back into the rocking chair and close my eyes again.

"Brock didn't propose to Tierney."

"It's all over social media."

"Because she made it up. That's what she wants. She wants to play the victim. She wants to make Brock look like the asshole so that you or no one else will ever want him. So he'll choose her."

"That's ridiculous."

"Agreed, but she doesn't see it that way."

"Why are you saying this?"

"Brock and I have been hanging out after practice every night. He lost his contract with the Bruins and the Predators are threatening to cut him too. He's more upset that you're getting the flack from all of this chaos."

How does he know about the Bruins? Brock told me that he couldn't tell anyone else and Eric knows? Just another lie he's told me.

Here I thought I was special for knowing a secret and he's telling everyone.

"He brought me into it."

"Not on purpose. Listen, I've known Brock for a very long time. I have never known him to lie or to cheat on any woman. He's very loyal to whoever he's with. He wouldn't have asked you to do this hair-brained scheme of a fake engagement in order to win Tierney back like we originally thought. That's not him. The last thing he would do is involve you and Breckin and risk you two getting hurt."

"It's too much."

"Didn't Tierney tell you she's pregnant?"

"Yeah."

"She's at the country club with the Bowen's right now throwing back liquor like it's water. She's not pregnant. She lied thinking that you'd dump Brock. When you didn't, she went to more drastic measures."

"How can you be sure?"

"She's not going to drink while pregnant. She"s crazy, but I don't think that crazy."

"It's not enough. I don't know what to believe. I've gotten hurt so bad because of this mess."

"I get it, sis. If you don't trust Brock right now, that's okay. Will you trust me?"

"No," I laugh as I blow out a long breath. "I'm trusting myself right now though and in this moment, I'm keeping space."

"That's understandable. I'm just glad you continue to tell Randy to kick rocks."

I laugh and roll my eyes. Eric and I sit out on the porch for another hour talking about anything and everything, but there's no more talk about Brock.

***

The air is thick with the scent of margaritas and laughter as I step into Lula's cozy living room. The sound of glasses clinking and excited chatter fills the space, instantly lifting my spirits. It's a relief to escape the weight of my thoughts, if only for a few hours.

Eric and Breckin are enjoying their Friday night ‘guys' night.

Lula greets me with a warm hug, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Layla, I'm so glad you came. We've already started margs."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," I reply, letting her lead me towards the makeshift bar.

"Layla," Bridget gushes. "We are dying to know what's happening between you and Brock. Have you talked to him?"

I shake my head. "Nor do I want to."

"That's understandable. I don't think that woman's telling you the truth though. She's come into the shop a few times. She's always on the phone with someone badmouthing Mrs. Bowen or Stetson Falls."

"I don't like her, but I could be biased."

"Could be?" Lula laughs. "I don't like her either though."

"I saw Randy talking to her in the coffee shop," Bridget says.

"What do you mean? How does he know her?"

"He didn't. He saw her sitting at a table and introduced himself. I overheard him say they shared a mutual interest."

"What?" I gasp.

"I saw them at the diner the other day eating lunch," Sadie adds.

"Maybe they'll get together and leave me alone," I sigh.

"They seem like a match made in heaven. They're both delusional," Lula giggles.

I don't disagree.

"I did a little social media stalking, and guess what I found out? Brock and Tierney broke up months ago."

"He said that, but…"

"It seems like her normal go-to. She doesn't like being broke up with so she goes psycho until they take her back and then she dumps them."

"What do you mean?"

"Patterns, my dear," she laughs as she takes a long drink for her margarita. "Bear with me and my obsessiveness. Five years ago she was with a guy for a few months, they were all over each other's socials and both just love bombing the crap out of each other. Then it stopped on his part and she posted, get this, that they were engaged. He publicly posted that he had to file a restraining order."

"Ooh, I didn't think to look up her criminal record," Lula says.

"She dated another guy for a short time, claimed she was pregnant and that they were so in love. Same things. It's a pattern. When her and Brock got together she was constantly love bombing him right off the bat. But wait, there's a dude that keeps tagging her in stuff and according to his social media, it seems like they're a couple."

"I appreciate that attention to detail and the research, Sadie, but… it doesn't change anything for me."

"You deserve to be happy, Layla. You shouldn't lose that because of some psycho woman," Bridget says as she walks over to me.

Lula, always the voice of reason, chimes in from across the room. "I don't buy it. Dalton says he's a good guy, Layla. He's known him for years. Something doesn't add up."

"I want to believe that. But with everything that's been happening…"

Sadie reaches out to squeeze my hand, offering a sympathetic smile. "Hey, we're here for you, okay? Whatever you decide, we've got your back."

"I just don't know if I can trust him right now," I admit, the words heavy on my tongue. "I need some space to figure things out. Ultimately, I don't know if I can trust myself right now with it."

"I get it," Lula smiles. "We all do. Don't hide from something because you're scared of what bad thing could happen, okay?"

I nod. "Can we now talk about anything but Brock Bowen? Like maybe, I can do my sisterly duty and tell Sadie that my brother thinks you're gorgeous."

"Lula may have told me that."

"What do you think?"

"I think he's hot, but I don't want a man that doesn't speak to me and take initiative."

"Give him time, he only just learned that you were single," I tease.

"I'm patient," she smiles back at me. "Especially for that man. I know he's your twin brother and all, but damn."

"Gross."

"The way he is with Breckin, I don't know how every single hockey mom in this town isn't jumping into his DM's."

"Oh they are, some of them aren't single too," I roll my eyes. "Literally, some of the messages he gets are so thirsty. He never engages with them though."

"He's a good dude."

"He is, sometimes," I laugh.

I glance around the room and make eye contact with Lula.

"Thank you," I mouth.

She nods and smiles. If she hadn't have repeatedly asked me to come I'd still be at home feeling sorry for myself and that's not where I want to be.