Page 63 of Light in Your Eyes

For a few moments, none of us says anything. It’s just comfortable silence between us.

“What about your family?” Kellan suddenly asks.

I glance at him and smile sadly, reminded of Nana and Archer. “I told you about my Nana and Archer. I miss them so much.”

Kellan nods, taking another gulp of his water. I wait for him to say more. Will he be willing to ask more questions about me and my family?

When I first met Kellan, I never thought that I would have this kind of conversation with him. Although this is a normal conversation with anybody, Kellan Romero has such a distant personality that having this conversation with him feels like an achievement.

“What about your parents?” Kellan asks.

Another sad smile touches my lips. I look down. “They’re gone.”

“Gone?”

“Yeah,” I say. “My father went away from our home when I was only six years old. He spent too much money on gambling, and he left with debts.”

I turn my head toward Kellan again and find a frown on his face. He doesn’t look at me, but I know that he’slistening intently.

“That was why my parents fought a lot,” I continue. “The debt collector came to our house a few times, but thank God they were gone after a while. My mother fell sick, and she died a year after that because of lung cancer.”

Kellan turns his head in my direction. Although he doesn’t say anything, I know from his expression that he’s concerned about me.

“I’m okay now,” I say softly. “We’re okay. Archer and I have Nana. She raised us, and we love her very much.”

My heart warms as I remember Nana. She was devastated too after the loss of her daughter, but raising her grandchildren—me and Archer—had kept her going.

“Nana has glaucoma, which caused the loss of her vision because of her age and diabetes. It started two years ago,” I say. “That’s why I’m used to taking care of blind people.”

Kellan nods, and a soft smile touches my lips. I really like it when Kellan shows this side of him. His caring side. Even if he doesn’t speak and only listens to my talking.

I sigh, resting my head on his shoulder. Kellan doesn’t make any move, so we stay like this for a while in another comfortable silence.

Chapter 24

Layla

I stare at myself in the mirror, combing my hair. My mind wanders to Jaxon. There’s still no news about him, Cole, and Levi. I just hope that nothing bad happened to them. Kellan would be devastated if something horrible happened to them.

The door opens as Kellan steps into the room. He just finished his morning jog.

I watch as he takes off his shirt and tosses it onto the floor. He then searches for another one in his closet, and I walk toward him to help him. I hand him a new shirt for him to change.

“I’m going to train some newcomers,” he says.

I nod, appreciating him letting me know about his schedule without me having to ask him in advance. A smile forms on my lips. We’ve come a long way, and I’m glad about where I stand in my relationship with Kellan now.

“Can I come with you?” I ask, hoping that he will say yes.

Kellan shakes his head in disagreement. “No, thebasement will be full of our members. And they won’t take the flight lightly. It may lead to some chaos.”

I open my mouth to protest, but I know that it would be useless. Once Kellan made a decision, there’s no way for me to change his mind.

Somehow, his words warm my heart because it means that he doesn’t want me to encounter any danger.

“Okay, then.” I sigh. “I think I’m just going to drop by Zoe’s place.”

Kellan nods, agreeing with me. Then he heads to the door and exits the room.