Page 31 of The Life Experiment
‘Aunt Layla,’ Jayden said, beaming his gap-toothed smile as soon as their eyes met. ‘You’re awake!’
‘I didn’t have much choice with you in the room,’ Layla grumbled, trying to roll onto her side, but Jayden grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
‘No! Grandma said no more sleep. She sent me to wake you up.’
‘I don’t have a choice in this, do I?’
Jayden’s giggle told Layla all she needed to know.
With a sigh, she rubbed her bleary eyes and hauled herself to a sitting position. ‘Thanks for waking me, I guess. I’d have slept all day otherwise.’
‘That’s what Grandma said, but you need to come downstairs.’
Layla’s forehead creased. ‘Why?’
‘Because breakfast’s ready. Grandma made pancakes for a Sunday treat!’
With that joyous shout, Jayden scampered out of the room. Layla watched him go, wondering when she last had that amount of enthusiasm for anything in life, never mind breakfast. When no such memory came to mind, she sighed and reached for her phone.
No matter how often wellness influencers despaired over the habit, Layla couldn’t help herself. Every morning, the first thing she did was check her phone. Usually for work emails, but today it was for a different reason.
Today it was to see if Angus had replied to her message.
When the screen lit up, Layla grinned. Waiting was a wellness check from Saira. Beneath that were two messages from Angus. Wishing Layla sweet dreams, they were sent after another night of deep, and perhaps flirty, conversation. In their chat, Layla had touched upon howlost she felt. She hadn’t intended to, but there was something about Angus that made doing so seem easy.
‘Things are just hard at the moment,’ she had confessed in a wave of vulnerability. ‘Ever since that day in Birmingham…’
The news The Life Experiment had delivered bubbled on the tip of Layla’s tongue. Sense forced her to swallow it away, but not without her heart putting up a fight first. The experiment had exploded any certainty Layla had in life, and at every opportunity, her body willed her to share her burden.
But instead, Layla stayed quiet long enough for Angus to ask, ‘Why were you there that day?’
‘Um. I had a work meeting,’ she replied, heat burning her cheeks. ‘You?’
‘Same,’ Angus replied. ‘Is it work that’s getting you so down?’
‘Partly,’ Layla admitted, calmer now she was less perilously close to revealing the real reason she had been in Birmingham. ‘I feel like I’ve been so focused on following one path that I’ve blinked and life has passed me by. I don’t know if my job is the right fit. I miss my family. I wish I had more friends. I’m just… I’m lost, Angus. Lonely, too, I suppose.’
Angus hadn’t shied away from Layla’s vulnerability, or mocked or belittled her feelings. Instead, he had listened. He had understood. ‘Loneliness is the worst,’ he replied. ‘It’s all-consuming, but there’s a stigma around it, like it’s embarrassing to talk about.’
‘That’s why I never do, but I don’t feel exposed when I talk to you. I like being so… naked.’
‘Careful, Cannon,’ Angus teased. ‘That sounded a lot like flirting.’
The laugh that burst from Layla felt freeing. It was the strangest thing. Despite everything, Angus always found a way to make her laugh.
He was just so… kind. Considerate. Attentive. His gentle nature made it easy for Layla to open up. Aside from hiding her death date, she didn’t edit herself when they spoke. She was silly and honest andbrave. The mix made Layla feel more alive than she’d felt in a long time, an irony that wasn’t lost on her, given her circumstances.
And when Angus called Layla ‘Cannon’, her stomach flipped. It felt like an in-joke. A nickname that indicated a kind of intimacy.
Giddily, Layla’s thumb moved to reply to Angus, but at the last second, she stopped herself.What’s the point?she wondered.Seriously, what’s the point?
If Layla only had two years left to live, she didn’t want to waste time on meaningless flirting. She didn’t want a fling, not even with someone as great as Angus. Besides, something about their interactions told Layla that if anything happened between them, it would not be a fling.
It was selfish to reply quickly and let Angus believe that they could have a future, Layla decided. Cruel, even. Almost as cruel as fate showing Layla a life she could have had if it weren’t for her impending death. The injustice of that thought bit hard.
Resting her phone on the bedside table, Layla dragged her body from the safety of bed and plunged her feet into Maya’s spare pair of fluffy slippers. Reaching for a bra, Layla began to dress, cursing herself as her mind wandered to thoughts of Angus once more.
Maybe we can be friends, she reasoned. Friends was better than nothing. It meant she could have Angus in her life in a way that didn’t end in heartbreak. Maybe theirs didn’t need to be an epic love story. Maybe friendship was enough.
