Page 19 of Light in Your Eyes (Romero Brothers #1)

Kellan

My eyelids flicker as a ray of morning sun hits my face. I open my eyes and sit up on my bed. A scent strikes my nostrils, and I sniff.

It’s Layla’s scent.

Yet, I can’t feel her presence.

I sigh, leaning back against my headboard. Layla must have left my room early in the morning.

I frown, trying to smell her scent again. I sniff the bedsheets on my left, where she slept. Indeed, it’s irritating, but at the same time, addicting. I close my eyes, allowing myself to be overwhelmed by it.

Now, it actually smells rather calming. How strange.

My eyes snap open as I realize what I just thought. I must be crazy.

I groan, getting off my bed. The fact that Layla’s presence still lingers around me although she’s not even here makes me angry.

I walk toward my bathroom and close the door behind me. Then I take my clothes off and step into the shower .

After heaving a long sigh, I turn on the water in maximum capacity. It then pours down harshly onto my body.

While I’m still fuming, I quickly wash my hair with my shampoo to forget Layla’s scent. I feel better after I do that.

I don’t know how long I have to stay with this girl, but I’m starting to wonder whether I can survive it or not. Jaxon is really getting on my nerves.

I don’t like to hear Layla’s voice.

I don’t like to smell her scent.

I hate her presence.

Goddammit , I can’t stand her.

I hate it when she asked to help me.

I hate her softness.

In short, I just hate Layla Hayes.

After I finish taking a shower, I wear my clothes and get ready for breakfast. Thankfully, this morning, Layla didn’t ask me what I wanted to eat or how I would like to have my breakfast. I can finally breathe.

I exit my room and head to the kitchen. The sound of people talking and chatting intensifies, but they stop short as soon as they see me.

I rarely go to the kitchen because I usually have my meal brought to my room, but when I do, I have a spot at a table no one dares to use.

I take a seat and wait. Regular Black Wings member won’t dare help me get my food because I won’t let anybody I don’t trust touch my food. Usually, someone will just go tell Stas to assist me.

Now, with Layla around, things have changed. She’s supposed to be the one taking care of me. But since she’s nowhere to be found today, I expect Stas to come over.

“Kellan,” a familiar voice calls me.

My heart thuds. It’s Layla’s.

I thought that I escaped her, but it’s apparently not that easy.

“I was just about to bring you breakfast—”

“How’s it going, slave?” a voice suddenly echoes.

I frown, hearing footsteps coming into the kitchen. From the sound of it, three or four people are walking together.

Their footsteps abruptly halt, and my frown grows deeper. Anger strikes me because I know what kind of people were about to approach Layla. I bet it’s Luca. I remember his voice.

They must have noticed my existence here, and that was why they stopped coming toward Layla.

I glare in their direction, and from the sound of their footsteps, they begin to walk off.

I say to Layla, “Follow me. Now.”

Without waiting for her response, I walk off from the kitchen. Everyone around us has become silent, and I can sense that they’re all staring at us.

Layla’s footsteps follow behind me, and I lead her back to my bedroom. She comes in after me and closes the door behind her.

I turn around to face her. “Why the fuck it took so long for you to prepare my breakfast?” I snap.

I hear her small gasp. I’m being mean again, and it’s frustrating that I’m doing this to hide the fact that I’m actually worried about her.

I hear Layla put the tray of food on my desk .

“What is wrong with you?” she asks, sounding hurt. “You were asleep not long ago, and I didn’t take that long to prepare your breakfast.”

I swallow, knowing that she’s right. It would be different if I woke up long before her and had been hungry for quite a while.

Since I can’t answer her, I take a seat on the chair near the window instead, clenching my fist. “Just give me the food.”

Layla’s sigh is audible as she approaches me to assist me. She puts the tray of food on the table next to me, and by the smell of it, I know that my breakfast is a grilled meat and fries.

From the sound of her movement, I figure out that she steps away and sits on my bed.

“Are you not eating?” I ask.

Layla doesn’t answer me right away, but then she says, “I don’t have any appetite anymore.”

It’s clear that she’s offended by my attitude. My lips form into a thin line.

Just when I’m about to eat my food, I hear her move from the bed.

“Where the hell are you going?” I ask, my heart becoming restless again.

“Out,” Layla says flatly. “Far away from the person who hates everything I do.”

Right . She’s talking about me.

“Stay here,” I command.

“Excuse me?”

“Stay here while I eat,” I say firmly, leaving her no room to argue .

Little does she know that I’m doing this because I don’t want her to encounter Luca again if she gets out of my room.

Layla stays silent for a while, but then she scoffs and flops herself into my bed, knowing that she has to stay in my room as I told her to.