Page 121 of Beautiful Thing

Something isoff.

Normally, Layla and I have a good time working together at the hardware store. Heck, it hardly even feels like work, being able to spend the day together side by side. It’s just me, getting to hang out with the person I care about most, while getting a thing or two accomplished in between. It’s pretty awesome.

Well, that’s how it usually feels.

Today? Not so much.

I keep trying to be playful with Layla any chance we get alone. I sneak up behind her and tickle her sides when she reaches up to grab something off of a tall shelf.I make jokes, ones she normally laughs at, but now, they all fall flat. I even swat her on the ass when she bends over right in front of me to grab a shopping bag from under the counter, but I hardly get a reaction.

Layla’s just beendistant. All day long.And it’s driving me crazy.

All I get from her are short answers and weak smiles. Ones that don’t reach her big brown eyes.

I’ve been racking my brain, trying to figure out what’s bothering her. I’m reliving yesterday. I’m replaying conversations. I’m overthinking the whole day. But I’ve got nothing.

And to be honest, it’s kind of freaking me out.

Fortunately, tonight’s Layla’s night to work late with me, so as soon as I’ve locked up the store, I go in search of her. I find her in the brightly-lit storage room.

She doesn’t look up when I enter, and it just confirms my suspicion that something is on her mind. I want to touch her but I decide against it. Instead, I lean against the doorway. “Okay. What’s going on? Are you upset?”

She frowns, pressing her lips together.

“Come on. Talk to me,” I push.Why does she look like she’s about to run?“Did I do something wrong?”

“No. But…well…” Her words linger in the air, as a worried look crosses her face.

“But, what?” I question.

“I…This is going to sound dumb,” Layla hedges, letting out a long exhale. “It’s just that Sky is getting really attached to you.”

I lift a shoulder. “Skyisattached to me. I think that’s a good thing.”

She sighs. “No, it’s not, Archer.”

I shake my head in confusion. “I’m not following.”

“Well, you and I? We know that this is all fake and that soon, it’s going to end and we’ll go our separate ways. But Sky doesn’t know that,” she whispers, her voice shaking. “He doesn’t know what’s happening here, and well, I can’t let my little boy get hurt.”

I fold my arms across my chest when it starts to ache.Fuck.What is she suggesting? I can’t love her less. I can’t love Sky less. They already have my heart.What is she trying to do here?

“So, I’ve been thinking,” she carries on. “I know we agreed on three months, but I think we’ll go stay with one of my friends for a while. It’s best that Sky and I move out next week, as soon as the wedding is over. Before this gets more confusing for him.”

My chest cracks. The very idea of them leaving pains me. “What if I don’t want you to leave?”

I’m supposed to have 44 days left with her, dammit. Forty-four more days to convince her to give me forever.

Layla sighs, and I know she’s so exhausted from carrying the world around on her shoulders. “You don’t have to say that. I know you do nice things for me because you feel sorry for me and the mess I’m in. But it’s a bit much. I’ve saved up a bit of money and it’s time for me to get serious about looking for rentals and figuring out how to get back on my feet.”

The fuck?“Feel sorry for you? You don’t get it at all, do you?”

I’m in love with her, dammit. And I can’t stand to hear her talking like this.

Tell her that, the voice in my head says.Tell her you love her and Sky. Make it clear that you can’t see your life without her.

I think I’ve done a pretty good job of showing her how I feel about her. But being direct about my feelings is like putting my heart on the butcher’s block. It makes me want to run, too.

I push off from the doorway, stalking toward Layla where she’s standing in the middle of the storage room. “You think I invited you to live with me because I feel sorry for you?”

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