Bryce kept his sigh to himself. He didn’t need to remind Layla that she had ended things between them. “We were.”
She sat back. “So this didn’t start—”
“No,” he said. “After. It was after.”
“Okay.” She let out a breath. “People keep asking me like I have answers, and I don’t. I said we’re not together, and they should ask you.”
“That’s fair.”
“Do you want me to tell them anything else?”
“No.” Bryce shook his head. “You don’t have to say anything. If they want to know anything, they can come and ask me or Sage.”
Layla’s mouth twitched. “I’ve done that enough already.”
He huffed a small laugh. “True.”
“Are you happy?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Bryce said. “I am.”
She looked at him and then nodded. “Good.”
A pair of students pushed through the door, shaking snow off their hats, laughing as they walked inside. Layla lifted her mugand took a sip before placing it back on the table. “You were distant before we broke up,” she murmured. “I thought it was school.”
“It was school.” Bryce shrugged. “And me. I didn’t know what to do with myself. That wasn’t on you.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I needed to hear that it wasn’t about me doing something wrong.”
“It wasn’t. You did nothing wrong.”
She nodded. “So I just tell people to come to you if they want to know anything.”
“Yeah,” he said. “If people ask you stuff, tell them to speak to me.”
“Okay.”
He rubbed his thumb along the edge of the table, then looked outside, watching the snow fall. “I’m sorry about the part where I went quiet at the end. I had stuff going on.”
“I’m sorry about the part where I pretended I didn’t notice,” she said. “I should have said something sooner.”
“I had no idea I was doing it until you said something. Like I said, I had stuff going on.”
“Okay,” she said and put the mug down after taking another sip. “I think that’s all I wanted.”
“Thanks for asking in person.”
“I didn’t want to be a headline in Dan’s group chat.” Layla rolled her eyes. “Also, tell him if he says anything about my name again, I will key his bike.”
Bryce chuckled. “I’ll pass it on, but with the way Dan is going, you might have to wait in line.”
They talked for a few more minutes, and when Layla finished her drink, they both stood. Bryce stood awkwardly for a few seconds until Layla stepped in and gave him a quick hug. “Be nice to each other,” she said into his shoulder.
“We will.”
Layla let go. “Okay. Go do your… figuring it out.”
“I’m on it.”
