Page 88 of Light in Your Eyes

His eyes are filled with guilt and sorrow. The sight breaks me. I want to see the light in them again.

"Just rest," he says. "I'm going to take care of you."

I sigh, feeling him tighten his hold on me.

Before I know it, I'm drifting off.

Chapter 33

Kellan

I sit on my bed, caressing Layla's hair. She hasn't woken up yet. She only stirs against my touch.

It's still too early in the morning, so I'm not planning to wake her up soon. She still needs to rest.

Yesterday, I drilled her in the boxing ring, and it was too much. I knew that I was being too hard on her, but I was fucking scared. All I could think about was losing her.

When I first met her, I already knew that this place might only bring her danger, and after what happened recently, my fear heightened even more.

If I can't protect her...

My eyes squeeze shut the moment the thought crosses my mind. It's my biggest fear, and it's eating me because I know that it's very possible to happen.

I stand up, preparing to go for my morning jog. I want to spend every second with her because it's the only way for me to ensure that she's safe, but with what I did to her yesterday, I need to think clearly.

I don't want today to end like yesterday. I don't want topush her too hard to the point that I hurt her again. I need this morning jog to clear my mind and let out all this restlessness inside my body.

I kiss Layla's hair and sigh. As I pull away, I remember how I tried to ease her pain yesterday and how much she liked it.

Last night, I let her rest on the bed and gave her a little massage on the legs and arms. I knew that she was hurting, so I did my best to make it better.

The smell of the aromatherapy oil is still filling the room, and I'm glad that it can continue to help her relax for a little more. I will only wake her up when it's time for breakfast.

Layla

My eyelids flicker as I feel the rays of the sun tickling the skin of my face. I slowly open my eyes, stretching my arms.

God,my body feels sore because of too much practice yesterday.

I roll onto my side, expecting to see Kellan still lying beside me. But to my disappointment, he's already gone.

I sit up on the bed, hugging my knees as I think about what we're going to do today. A smile curves at the corner of my mouth as my gaze darts to the aromatherapy candles sitting on the nightstand. I appreciate the little things he did for me to make me feel better. It's funny to witness someone who can be so grumpy and intimidating suddenly flipping to doing sweet things like that.

I lean back against the headboard and grab my phone from the other nightstand. One voice message greets me, and I smile again as I see the sender's name. It's Kellan.

I press the message to hear his voice, wondering about what he wanted to say earlier when I was still asleep.

"Hey, I'm taking a jog for a while. I didn't want to wake you up. I locked the door when I left the room because I wanted you to be safe. Wait for me until I come back. In case of emergency, I put the spare keys on the desk."

He's being extra careful, but I understand why he's doing all of this.

Lazily, I get up from the bed and walk into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. As usual, I hum and sing while doing this morning routine. I wonder if Kellan has ever felt annoyed by this.

When I walk out of the bathroom, I hear a knock on the door. A grin immediately creeps onto my lips. I'm glad that Kellan has finished his morning jog because I'm already hungry. I can't wait to have breakfast with him.

"Coming." I grab the keys while passing the desk and rush toward the door.

When I open it, I see no one.