Page 62 of Unsupervised
It’s a little odd that she didn’t say who, and I see why when I answer the door. “Kelly Bryant?” A young man holding a dozen roses stands in front of me.
“That’s me.”
Who would send me flowers? Is it a good luck gift from my brother? I bring them inside, and Serena returns with a vase while I read the card.
Good luck tonight, beautiful. Love, Layton.
“Who are they from?” Zara asks.
I’m not sure I can talk without my voice cracking, so I hand her the card. It gets passed from her to Serena to Remee. They’re all staring at me trying to gauge my reaction.
Swallowing the knot in my throat, I shake my head. “Why would he send these? We haven’t…I haven’t talked to him since that night.”
“Has he tried to get in touch?”
Serena hands me the vase, and I arrange the beautiful bouquet. “The first few weeks. I never replied.”
Zara’s voice is soft. “Do you want to talk to him?”
They follow me to my room, and I place the vase on my dresser. “Every day, but I don’t know what good it would do.”
“He might want to apologize and, you know, try again,” Remee says. “He’s obviously still thinking about you. Is that what you want? Or have you moved on?”
Sighing, I sit on my bed. “I’ve tried to move on, but I still care about him. I still want him, even if that’s pathetic, to want someone who left me.”
Love. He wroteLove Laytonon the card.
“It’s not pathetic,” Serena says. “It’s human.”
“And people make mistakes,” Remee adds. “It just comes down to whether you think it’s worth the risk to forgive them and give it another chance.”
“That’s your choice to make,” Zara says.
Serena nods and joins me on the bed. “That’s right. If you want to talk to him, we aren’t going to judge. Or if you want to take these flowers, grind them up and shove them up his exhaust pipe, that’s fine too.”
“We’ve got your back, no matter what,” Remee adds. “Except for the exhaust pipe thing. That might kill him.” She turns to Serena. “Unless you were using a euphemism to refer to his asshole.”
“I wasn’t, but I am now.”
God, I love these girls. I lean over to hug Serena and wave for the others to join in. “I love you bitches, you know that?” As the group hug breaks apart, I add, “It doesn’t matter whether I’d give him another chance. Even if I wanted to try again, it wouldn’t work. I’m still a virgin and that’s clearly a dealbreaker for him.”
“Men are such idiots,” Serena says with a sigh.
For a few minutes after they leave my room, I stare at my phone. Twice, I pick it up and set it back down, so tempted to call him. Finally, I send a text.
Me: Thank you for the flowers. They’re gorgeous.
The second I hit send I want to take it back. Nothing good can come of this, but I would’ve felt bad not at least acknowledging his gift.
Layton: You’re welcome. See you soon, Kelly.
The message is followed by a heart, but it feels a little like a threat to my rapidly beating heart. Because I know how hard it’ll be to see him again. Distance has helped me get over that initial twisting pain, but what I told the girls was true, if not a bit of an understatement. I’m still head over heels for this man and knowing I can’t have him is going to be a lot harder when we’re face to face.
What does soon mean? Is he coming to the concert tonight? Does he plan on getting in touch again later? Ugh! As much as I want to send him questions until he clarifies, I need to get ready. I’m meeting the others at the retirement home in less than an hour.
I don’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed when I pull into the parking lot of the retirement home and see that Layton’s truck isn’t there. My head has been all over the place since I read that card.
It’s good to see all the other students have showed up, and everyone is in the dining room, getting prepared. The show is taking place in the lounge, so the empty dining room has become a sort of green room for the ones waiting their turn. Not one trace of my anxiety has to do with tonight’s concert. After all, it’s just a few kids playing for a room of elderly people, not a Broadway show. As the minutes tick by, I keep glancing toward the door, waiting to see Layton come in. I guess some part of me did expect him to show up.