Page 66 of For the Love of Layla

I know logically he’s not leaving. That Brandon wouldn’t leave me like this, but the second he jogs from the room, my gut twists. I hold my breath until he re-emerges, “I didn’t know, I mean I knew he was fucking with you. God, this is fucked. I should’ve stopped him. I didn’t realize he would dothis.” He mumbles, looking moments away from his own meltdown. A pair of large bolt cutters in his hand.

“Look, we can go over that later. We need to find Liam. He got mad, said he was going toprovehis love for me. I don’t know what that meant.”

“You need to call Ava. She’s freaking the fuck out. She showed up to Curran Enterprises screaming in the lobby, demanding to see Liam. That’s when I realized he was gone as soon as she left, I got an email from his lawyers…”

My heart stills in my chest, the chain falling from my ankle clattering to the floor loudly announcing my newfound freedom, but I don’t move. My hand absent-mindedly wrapped around the cuff still attached to me. The sick look on Brandon’s face keeping me rooted to the spot.

“What?”

He swallows hard, looking like he’s about to vomit. The effect is quickly wearing off on me, “It was an advanced directive, Layla. Something is wrong.”

My stomach drops alongside my heart as I scramble to my feet, dashing over to the closet. I don’t bother closing the door as I rip the snot covered t-shirt I was wearing from my body, jerking a few strands of hair with it. I jerk on a clean jacket and pants all the while Brandon’s eyes are glued to the piled chain on the floor, “What did he say? Anything that would give you an idea of where he was heading?”

I wet my dry cracked lips jerking shoes on as I hop awkwardly from the closet, “I don’t know, this all went to shit when I asked about his au pair. It led me to figuring out the rest. We fought and then I ended up,” I gesture towards the bed, “like this.”

His head snaps towards me, “How?”

“How what?”

“How did you figure it out?!” He raises his voice, making me flinch, though I know he’s not mad at me. It’s clear in his eyes how scared he is, how scared we both are.

“I... received a case file from a private investig-”

“Fuck!” He yells again, making Peaches jump to her feet. “Halt.” I command, holding my hand out to stop her.

“He told him to give that to you, Layla. Liam wanted you to find out. Grace all but ordered him outright to fucking kill you when the PI told her you were asking around. Come on.” I don’t ask questions as he grips my wrist, pulling me outside with him until the cold air slams into me. His hold on my wrists only barely keeps me upright as I stumble behind him. “What is going on, Brandon?!”

“We need to get to Curran Manor, I think he’s there for her. The crazy fuck…”

His mom…

I slam the truck door behind me only seconds before he peels out of Liam’s driveway leaving black tire marks behind us, “He wouldn’t hurt her, would he?” I grip the handle as he races down the long drive. My heart beating wildly. He doesn’t look at me as he scoffs, “I’m surprised she isn’t already dead. Would’ve happily killed her years ago myself. She wasn’t a great mom, Layla. Used to dye Liam’s hair, bleach his skin since he was a toddler cause he looked like his dad. Drove her fucking crazy, she never loved him. I don’t think Grace Curran ever loved anyone, not even herself.” A light sob leaves my throat.

I’m so scared. So fucking sorry.

“He never told me.”

He gives me a half-hearted smile, “Of course not. He didn’t want you to think he was weak. He loves you more than anything, he really does. Sorry it comes out likethis. I never really held him accountable for being… crazy. He was just, hell I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I was stupid. Fuck, I should’ve known, especially after we split up. I just didn’t want to see it. I… I love him, Brandon. I want to be with him, for him to be okay. Guess that makes me crazy too.”

“Yeah, probably.” He deadpans before gripping the steering wheel tighter. Our shared anxiety is damn near palatable as we race down the road, weaving between cars.

Please be okay.

Almost Easy by Avenged Sevenfold

“Fuck me.” Brandon mumbles as we pull into the long driveway leading up to what was formerly Curran Manor. The night sky and perfectly manicured trees lit with lapping flame.

Oh god no.

A strange sob leaves my throat as I jerk open the truck door, not waiting for it to stop completely. Uncoordinatedly spilling from the cab, closely followed by Brandon. His frantic footsteps feel too loud crunching through the gravel. The sound of the house crumbling, branches falling from trees that got caught up in the flame. It’s too much. This is all too much. He comes up in front of me, hands pulling at his long hair. Tears fill his eyes, “Can you see him? I can’t fucking see him.”

“It’s okay! He’s there, he’s right there!” My chest heaves as smoke billows from the manor, the outline of Liam’s tall form standing in front of the building as his memories and heartache burn before him. Every second he spent alone, every tear the little boy shed reducing themselves to ash.

Crash!

I flinch as the windows blow out from the upper floor, everyone in there is dead. I know that, I know what he’s done. The awful cruel things he’s done, but I… don’t care. Tears stream down my face for the broken little boy standing in front of us. I cry staring at him, everything else blurs. Everything that isn’t him. That final part of me cracking, that very last part I held together.

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