Page 25 of The Life Experiment

‘I smell a little boy… Where is he… Where could my yummy snack be?’

Jayden’s muffled giggles rang out as Layla crawled across the floor of her parents’ living room, sniffing the air as if she were a dinosaur on the prowl. Grunting, she banged into her dad’s empty armchair.

‘I’ll find him soon and when I do, I’ll gobble him up,’ she added for good measure.

Layla could spy the top of Jayden’s back poking out from behind a sofa cushion but pretended otherwise. Even if she was new to the whole ‘being a present aunt’ thing, Layla knew that games had to last longer than thirty seconds.

As she sniffed under the sofa, Jayden’s giggles became hysterical.

‘My lovely lunch, come out, come out, wherever you are,’ she growled.

‘I don’t know where your lovely lunch is, but I know where my son’s is,’ Maya said, sweeping into the room with a swish of her colourful skirt. She set a plate containing a ham sandwich on the coffee table, then pried the sofa cushion from Jayden.

‘Mum, you’re ruining the game,’ Jayden protested. ‘Auntie Layla will eat me now she’s seen me!’

‘No, she won’t. Not now a bigger, tastier snack has entered the forest,’ Layla replied, pretending to bite Maya’s leg to prove her point.

Roaring with laughter, Jayden slid from the sofa. ‘Gobble her up so you’ve no room left for me,’ he instructed before tucking into his sandwich.

Pulling herself up from the floor, Layla flopped onto the sofa beside her sister. ‘I don’t know how you do it, Maya. Keeping up with a four-year-old is intense. I’m sweating harder than after any workout.’

Maya plucked at Layla’s arm. ‘Since when do you work out?’

‘You know what I mean. Raising Jayden and working at the salon? You’re a hero.’

‘I don’t know about that.’

Layla nudged her sister. ‘Take the compliment.’

‘Fine, but I’ll let you in on my secret. Don’t let anyone who says they never let their child have screen time fool you. This is my motherhood hack.’ With that, Maya flicked on the TV. A riot of colour and puppets filled the screen, entrancing Jayden straightaway.

Layla laughed. ‘It’s that easy?’

‘Well, it works for a while. Long enough to give you a moment of peace, at least.’

‘Maybe I need to distract you with the TV. You talk more than anyone I know,’ Layla teased.

‘Someone’s got to be the social sibling.’

Just then, Layla’s phone buzzed on the coffee table. She reached for it, but Maya got there first.

‘Although I hear you’re being uncharacteristically sociable these days.’ Maya smirked when she saw who was contacting her sister. ‘Angus, huh? That’s, what, the millionth text today?’

‘Very funny.’ Layla reached for her phone, but Maya continued to hold it hostage.

‘Is he funny? A funny man, is that the kind of guy you’re after?’

‘Behave, Maya. We’re just talking.’

‘Just talking? Is that what they call it down in London? Around here we call it falling in love.’

‘Shut up,’ Layla said, shoving her sister, but she couldn’t fight her smile.

While Maya’s description of their exchange wasn’t quite accurate – this wasn’t Angus’s millionth text, not yet – the latest message wasn’t their first of the day, and Layla knew it wouldn’t be their last. Talking to Angus had become as much a part of her life as breathing.

In fact, talking to Angus felt like the only time Layla could breathe.

Trust you to find someone who makes you feel alive, just as you’re about to die .

As soon as the thought appeared, Layla reminded herself of her vow. Angus would be her friend, no more, no less. It was all they ever could be.

But as Maya handed over Layla’s phone and she opened their exchange, Layla suddenly hated the ‘friend’ label she had insisted on.

How is today going? Are you still a dinosaur? x

I am. *roars* I think I have bitten everything in sight… x

Hey, no judgement here. I don’t kink shame x

As Layla giggled, Maya rolled her eyes. ‘My God, this is sickening. It’s like living with a lovestruck teenager,’ she teased. ‘Who is he, anyway?’

Ducking behind a curtain of her hair, Layla shrugged. ‘Just a guy.’

‘That’s it? “A guy”, that’s all you’re going to tell me?’

‘There’s not much more to say. He’s someone I met a few weeks ago, that’s all.’

‘But you’re Layla. You don’t meet guys.’

Layla tried not to be hurt, but Maya’s honesty highlighted how much of life she had missed out on over the years, and it stung.

‘Where did you meet him, anyway?’ Maya asked, trying to peek at Layla’s messages.

‘At a coffee shop.’

‘Nice. A real meet-cute.’

‘If you want it to be, yeah.’

Maya shot her sister a sideways glance. ‘That’s really all I get? Angus is a guy from a coffee shop. A guy you talk to all the time, giggling and keeping Mum and Dad up all night.’

Layla’s cheeks flamed. ‘I do not!’

‘Say that to Dad’s eyebags. The poor man looks more exhausted than ever.’

‘Maybe Dad should think about working less if he’s tired.’

A bellow of a laugh burst from Maya. ‘That’s rich, coming from you,’ she replied, throwing her arm over Layla’s shoulders before she could be offended. ‘I’m happy for you, Layls. We all need a bit of romance every now and then.’

‘Maya, stop! We’re just friends.’ Layla squirmed in her sister’s embrace, but Maya held tighter.

‘I’m telling you I’m happy for you! Take the well wishes like a normal person!’

‘You’re so happy you’re putting me in a headlock?’ Layla said, wriggling free then biting her lip. ‘Thanks, though. I guess I am happy. The happiest I’ve been in a while, at least.’

That truth struck Layla somewhere deep inside.

Despite everything, even the aching sadness that clawed at her whenever she thought of her short life, in the bubble of her parents’ house, Layla was happy.

She was happier still, now that Angus was on the other end of the phone.

Waking up to him asking how she slept and ending her day with him wishing her sweet dreams were the greatest bookends to a day.

‘I’m glad,’ Maya said. ‘You had us worried, you know. When you rocked up out of the blue, Mum thought you’d had a breakdown.’

Both sisters paused as the words hung in the air.

‘Have you?’ Maya asked.

‘Have I what?’

‘Had a breakdown?’

Layla laughed, even though there was nothing funny about the question.

Had she had a breakdown? On the one hand, it certainly felt like it.

She’d cried for days after learning of her death date, and now she was sleeping in a room barely big enough for a four-year-old.

The career she prided herself on was hanging in the balance and she’d left a full fridge in London, the contents of which would surely be rotten by now if Rhi hadn’t sorted it. That list screamed ‘breakdown’.

But on the other hand…

On the other hand, Layla now knew how magical it felt to hold Jayden’s hand while they snuggled on the sofa. She was eating home-cooked meals for the first time in forever. Her dad doted on her with tea and hugs and, thanks to Angus, Layla was daydreaming for the first time since being a teenager.

‘I don’t think so,’ Layla replied eventually. ‘A breakdown sounds like a bad thing. This feels positive.’

‘Staying in your nephew’s bedroom and borrowing my clothes is positive, is it?’

‘No, but gaining a fresh perspective on life is.’

‘Does this mean you’re going back to work soon?’

Layla met Maya’s gaze. ‘Is that what you want? Am I in the way here?’

‘Relax, no one’s saying that. Mum would have you home forever if she could, you know that. I’m just asking. No one goes from Miss Corporate to Miss Sweatpants overnight.’

‘What if that’s what I want to do?’

‘Well, you can’t.’

Layla blinked at Maya’s bluntness until her sister nudged her.

‘Come on, Layls. You know as well as I do that you have to go back at some point. If not for yourself, for the colleagues you’ve left high and dry.’

Anxiety churned in Layla’s stomach at the thought of the work she had abandoned. Mayweather & Halliwell, the big, suited elephant in the room.

‘Layls, whatever you’re running from, you have to face it at some point,’ Maya said.

The statement made Layla pull away. ‘Who says I’m running from anything?’

‘Why else are you here, crawling on the floor like a dinosaur?’

‘So much for enjoying spending time with Jayden,’ Layla huffed.

Sensing she’d touched a nerve, Maya reached for her sister. ‘You know we love having you here, but this sleepover at Mum and Dad’s can’t last forever. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to get moving again.’

Layla’s chin dimpled. ‘What if I don’t want to?’

‘I’m afraid you don’t have a choice. Jayden and I can’t share a room forever.

Besides, you’re Layla! Where most people see the impossible, you see a challenge.

No one ever expects a kid from an estate to amount to much but look at you!

Look at all you’ve achieved. That only happened because of your stubbornness and this mega-brain.

’ Tapping gently on Layla’s forehead, Maya grinned.

‘Whatever is causing you this much pain, you can fix it.’

Layla burned at Maya’s naivety. You can fix it … like it was that simple. Like having two years left to live was something a person could accept.

But there was something about Maya’s words that shone like a beacon of hope.

Layla couldn’t help wondering what would happen if she changed her attitude towards work.

Her results said her cause of death was likely to be a stroke induced by stress.

What if she removed that? What if she learned how to balance her life?

Without that stress, without that tunnel-vision, would those two years become ten, twenty or more?

If Layla put herself first, instead of her clients, could she be saved?

Jayden chose that moment to tire of the television. Turning, he caught Layla’s eye and smiled at her like she was the best thing he’d ever seen. Layla smiled back at him, but her happiness froze when the worst thought came to her mind.

You’ll only live to see Jayden turn six.

The realisation pummelled Layla’s stomach, but the questions that followed hurt even more. Would Jayden remember Layla when he grew up? Had she wasted precious years of bonding time?

But as Jaydan reached for Layla to play dinosaurs once more, she pushed her pain aside. Two years , she thought, as Jayden pulled her to her feet. You’ve got two years to make every second count.

Layla knew she wouldn’t waste a single one.