Ilay there a long time, awake, somewhat shaken about what path this all could have taken if I didn’t find Layton. My mom used to make me laugh with her advice and antics, but she’d gone too far this time.
Why?
And why was Layton so forgiving?
Everything was why, why, why.
My nervous bladder refused to let me rest, and I pried out from underneath him and padded to the bathroom. When I came back out, something by the TV caught my eye. There, halfway underneath the remote and casting a hypnotic prism around the room, sat an engagement ring. I picked it up with shaking fingers and turned it in my hand, hazily remembering him snagging his pants and rummaging through the pockets after he set me in bed.
I guessed he came to say more thanI love you.
Well, my mom ruined that.
No, I did.
It was time I accepted responsibility for my actions. I went along with Mom’s plan, didn’t push back. And I’d allowed Janie to bully me when my mom wasn’t. I had to accept it all.
“Hey,” came from the bed.
Quickly, I set the ring down and turned. I’d been caught.
“I bought that for you.”
I stared at the floor, the floral pattern on the rug making faces at me. If I looked hard enough, I could see it sticking its tongue out at me.
Layton stood and walked toward me, pulling me against his chest when he got close. “I’m going to give you a ring, Charli. Just not this one, not today.”
“I ruined all this too,” I whined, nuzzling my face in his neck.
“You didn’t ruin anything. It just wasn’t the right time.”
His hand ran the length of my back. I was naked, and the warmth of his hand mixed with the cool air caused little goose bumps to raise up all over my skin.
He spoke softly, his breath warming my scalp through my hair. “I really wanted to tell you I didn’t want to live apart anymore. I hate the distance between us, and I was thinking I’d move here.”
Startled, I glanced up. “What? No, you need to live in LA.”
“But you’re here.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to be.”
“Listen, let’s go back to bed and discuss this in the morning when we’ve both had a full night’s sleep.”
“Okay,” I said.
Before I could overthink it, I rejoined him in bed, where he took his time allowing me to fall asleep.
“Mom!” I screamed loud enough to wake the whole building. “What the hell are you still doing here?”
She sat up on the couch, blinking owlishly. “You never came back last night, and your phone was off. I was worried.”
“Be quiet. No, you weren’t, you’re just ...” I waved a hand in the air, exhausted. All the fight had been fucked out of me. “God, I don’t even know what. Can you please leave?”
“Where were you?”
“I went to find Layton, who showed up here when I was walking out with Garrett.”
“He called me. Garrett, I mean. Not your freeloader,” she said, tossing her tangled brown hair over her shoulder.
