Page 31 of I Still Love You

Without warning, Layla twists and shoves her brownie in my face, smearing the icing along my eyes and nose.

“What the fuck?” I stumble back and try to feel for the table, but I can’t fucking see, and I’m snorting icing up through my nose.

Commotion sounds next to me, and I know it’s because Layla likely stomped off and just made me the center of attention. By the time I wipe the icing away and get a good look at my surroundings, that same voice from earlier yells, “No! Grab his leash!”

Something twists around my ankles, and I tilt to the side. I try to catch my balance, but there’s incessant barking, and it’s closer this time. It clicks that the dog’s leash is what’s slowly dragging me to my death, and as I fall onto my ass, I decide I’m never getting a fucking animal for as long as I live.

Nor am I eating brownies.

Nor am I ever attending another fucking picnic for as long as I live.

14

Layla

“You did what?” Britney shrieks and I reach across the table and lower the volume on my phone. I don’t exactly want people to hear our conversation because my sisters don’t know how to quiet down.

I shove a forkful of lettuce in my mouth and grumble, “Please don’t make me say it again.”

“Just when I thought Layla Robinson was boring, she comes out and announces she’s dating the one person she supposedly hates,” Claire says with a sly grin.

“Correction,” I say. “I don’t hate him. He hates me.” Though the longer he keeps spitting insults at me, the higher the chances are that I will despise him for all of eternity.

Claire deadpans while Britney remains slack-jawed. “Do you still love him?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“Well, there’s a fine line between love and hate,” Claire explains as if I’m a child. “Sometimes you don’t know which side a person is on.”

I roll my eyes. “Okay, Einstein. What other theories are you collecting over there?”

Claire smirks. “I think that’s about all you can handle currently, you know, since you’re busy getting yourself in fake relationships with exes.”

“Shhhh,” I hush, looking around the back corner of the cafeteria. I don’t normally come here for lunch, but it’s better I have a three-way video chat with my sisters here than in the nurse’s break room, where my coworkers also eat, especially since I smashed a brownie in his face over the weekend. Thankfully, no one questioned me about it, but I think everyone was too preoccupied that day.

Claire digs into her lunch, allowing Britney to pick up the conversation. “What are you going to do? You’re not going to continue like this, are you? I mean, what even is the purpose of pretending?”

My gaze averts to my container of salad. “I told you already.”

“Because that Andrew guy was harassing you?”

I wouldn’t call it harassing exactly. “Yes. I blurted it out in a moment of weakness because I didn’t want to deal with Andrew’s shit.”

“Wait a second,” Claire interjects. “Is this the same Andrew that tried getting you to date him when you first started at Regional years ago?”

I purse my lips and lick excess dressing from my lip. “Bingo.”

“I don’t know why I didn’t realize that before. That clears everything up,” Claire says honestly. “I would’ve claimed Luke as mine in front of him, too.”

Britney snaps her gaze to Claire’s screen. “What? No, it doesn’t. That’s the worst possible thing she could’ve done.” She directs her attention back to me. “Layla, if that guy is giving you problems, then you should report him to human resources. He shouldn’t get away with it.”

I shake my head. “It’s not like that.” Andrew isn’t a threat. He’s just…condescending. “He asked me to go out with him years ago, but he wasn’t pushy about it. He let it go. It’s just that sometimes he gets under my skin.”

Britney makes a face. “He sounds like a bully.”

She’s not exactly wrong there.

“Outside of his inappropriate remarks, there’s nothing to report.” I take the last bite of my salad and snap the lid back on. I grab my orange and peel it.

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