Page 16 of Laila Manning
Chapter 5 – Laila
“Ineed a favor.” Carly clasped her hands together in front of her as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet at my door.
I'd never admit it, but I was slightly disappointed when I opened it to her instead of my mysterious neighbor from across the hall.
Four days ago, Zeke walked with me down the sidewalk while I did a therapy exercise, and it felt like something passed between us, yet I hadn’t seen or heard from him since.
Nothing. Not a casual smile, in passing down the hallway, or even the noise of him coming or going to his place late at night like usual.
Just silence.
So, when someone knocked on my door, my stupid heart sped up with excitement that it could be him coming to say hello.
“No.” I shook my head, forcing myself back to the present. “I mean, I can’t. I’m busy.”
She rolled her eyes and glared at me. “You don’t even know what I’m asking of you yet.”
“Doesn’t matter. I can’t.” I shook my head again.
“Elora and Ryker need a babysitter tonight. Their nanny has the flu, and they have plans.”
“No.” I shook my head, trying to shut my door as panic flushed through my body at the mere mention of watching Gavin alone. “You do it.”
“I can’t!” Carly cried, blocking my door with her foot and pushing it open, ignoring my attempts to run. “I must go, too. We have tickets to a concert, and I’m not missing it. They’re my favorite band.”
“There are no less than twenty staff and crew members on this estate at any given time. Make one of them do it.” I scoffed.
“Ellie doesn’t trust anyone else with Gavin, and you know that!”
“Not my problem!”
“Laila!” She sighed.
“Carly.” I mocked. “We talked about this. I can’t.”
“You can.” She challenged. “You just won’t try.”
“Rude.” I pursed my lips at her, and she smirked, tilting her head to the side.
“He goes to bed in two hours; we’re leaving in one. That’s just one hour of babysitting duties and then bedtime, and you can just hang out for a few more hours until we get back.”
“Carly.” I groaned. “I’m not comfortable—”
“You have to try new things, Laila.” Carly prodded, reminding me of my therapist’s orders at my last session. She called me sedentary and complacent about letting life pass me by.
While I first balked at her lack of tact, she wasn’t wrong.
“A baby is not an appropriate test subject.”
“He’ll be fine.” She reasoned. “We trust you, Laila. You have to trust yourself.”
I groaned, knowing she had me by the throat because I couldn’tactuallytell her no. Or Elora and Ryker, for that matter, after how much they’d done for me.
She smiled brightly before squealing and taking my hand in hers. “Yay!” She bounced around on her toes. “Come to the mansion in forty minutes and we’ll give you a quick recap of his routines and where to find stuff.” She excitedly turned down the hall and headed toward the exit but stopped and looked back at me. “I’m proud of you, Laila.” She smiled. “Thank you.”
In the deserted hallway after the exterior door swung shut, I stood silently, focusing on my breathing and heart rate to prevent a panic attack.
“I can do this,” I whispered to myself, tightening my hold on the doorknob of my apartment to ground me. “I can do this.”
