Page 85 of Light in Your Eyes

You can't protect her.

She's too good for you.

You can't make her happy.

Layla places her hands over mine circling her waist and grips them like I'm her everything.

"It's okay to let it go," I say. "Cry, Layla, as much as you want. I'll be here."

Her sobs break even more as I say that. I hold her even tighter.

I'm sorry.

I'm so fucking sorry.

I keep echoing those words in my heart over and over again. I can't say them out loud. It's useless. My apologies can't be compared to the tears running down her face.

Nothing is worth her tears.

Nothing.

Chapter 32

Layla

A tear falls from my eye as I wash my face. I sniffle, still thinking about how Marco died. I pat my face with a towel and stare at the mirror, finding my eyes puffy because of crying.

Even though Kellan held me all night long, it still didn't erase the pain in my heart.

It's devastating enough to find out that someone I know committed suicide, and it feels even more horrible that I had a part in that.

I didn't mean to make Marco feel like he lost the only person who understood what it was like to be put in a place where we felt we didn't belong, where everyone else but us would kill to be a part of it.

I brush my teeth, trying to distract my mind with something else, but it's no use.

After finishing my morning routine, I step out of the bathroom. My legs stop short as I find Kellan already waiting for me.

The serious look on his hardened face makes me takenaback. He looks like he has something important to tell me. Dead important.

My heart beats faster. I don't think that I can take another bad news.

"Boxing ring," he says.

I'm at a loss for words.

"Let's go there." The way he says it leaves no room to argue, like he will carry me there if I refuse to go with him.

"The ring?" I echo.

Kellan turns around, expecting me to follow suit, and I do.

"Why?" I ask again, trying to catch up with his long strides.

I can only see his back, but I can imagine the deadly look crossing his expression while we're walking down the hallway. It's still very early in the morning, so it's quite deserted.

"Do you think that I will just let it go after hearing what his brother said to you last night?" he speaks through gritted teeth.

My heart sinks as I remember how Marco's brother threatened me—he told me that I should pay for his brother's death. Chills run through my skin as I think about what he will do to me.