Chapter 3: Layla

Disbelief weighs so heavily on my heart that I’m looking for a sign that he isn’t Jared. His eyes flash with a warning that is soaked with recognition before they flare up. The hate burns the light away, and I’m left staring at a stranger.

A girl’s laughter draws my attention to the group, and they’re watching me as I stare at Jared. The coach has his back to us as he gathers up a net of balls.

The blonde girl’s laughter dies, and she steps closer to Jared. He doesn’t seem to notice the motion as he narrows his gaze, and his jaw tightens.

"What are you looking at?"

Oh God, his voice…

The tone is deeper, but I know that voice. The hairs rise on the back of my neck as I continue to stare at his broad chest. I try to comprehend his question, which is stuffed to the gills with bitterness.

The blonde clears her throat, and her small hand brushes against Jared’s shoulder. He noticeably tenses under her touch, but I see what she’s doing. She’s claiming him.

I can’t breathe.

My mind can’t accept what I’m seeing—his face, a face I looked at every day. One I loved seeing. One I feared I would never see again. Yet here he is, against all odds. His features are the same, but stronger and manly. He’s harshly beautiful.

My bag slips off my shoulder, and I can’t stop the motion as it hits the ground. This can’t be real. His jaw is stronger, his dark eyes deeper, his lips fuller. He’s so much bigger, so much angrier. But this is Jared.

I always knew that when he grew up, he would be something amazing to look at. I was right.

My heart tries to burst from my chest as his lip curls into a sneer like the edges of burning paper. I’m trying to stay still as he drags his gaze across my body, even as my skin feels like it’s on fire.

He doesn’t recognize me.

He steps forward, detangling himself from the girl, and slowly starts walking toward me. The rise and fall of his shoulders remind me of a lion. I should run. I hold still, reminding myself that I have nothing to fear from him.

"I asked you a question. What are you looking at?" The cruel sneer remains on his fiercely handsome face. The closer he comes, the more my certainty of who he is wavers. He’s so much bigger than I am. His width seems to block out the world behind him, and it’s like a dark veil falls over me.

"Jared." I say his name as my throat burns.

His jaw tightens, pain twists his features, and soon it’s all swallowed with a hate I don’t understand.

"Ms. Masters, why are you still standing here?"

The world snaps back into focus. The coach approaches me.

"Get changed now," he barks, and he blows his whistle, which pierces the space. "Everyone, let’s go." He claps his hands, and Jared jogs backward away from me. He spins when he reaches his group of friends, who all glare at me.

"Ms. Masters!" The shout from the coach has the heat across my cheeks flaring up as I gather my bag off the floor and turn to find a door with a sign for the locker rooms above it.

I’m trying to get my breathing under control as I open the green locker to find a stack of sport uniforms. I don’t find my size until I’m halfway down the pile. I take off my shirt and slip on the baby blue T-shirt.

The longer I’m away from Jared, the more I question if that’s really him. If that’s really the boy who protected me and saved me. My stomach twists, and my hands tighten on the gray skirt. I take a few more deep breaths and strip off my trousers to put on the skirt. My scarred leg has me sitting on the cold bench as a memory assaults me.

I take tiny baby steps, clutching the pink plastic basin in my hands. The sudsy water splashes from side to side, threatening to spill over. When I reach Bert, I’m proud that I haven’t spilled a drop. After placing the basin to my left, I take the towel off my shoulder and spread it between Bert’s feet. His laces are always covered in dust and dirt from his workdays in construction. Pulling off his large size-twelve boots nearly sends me falling back, but I keep my balance.

I take off his sweaty, smelly socks on autopilot. He stretches his toes like a cat stretching itself while I put the basin in its place. Bert rolls up his jeans to his knees. I don’t move. I wait until his feet are in the basin. He dips his toes, barely breaking the surface of the water. Bert lifts his legs quickly, his eyes growing round and wide. My heart stills.

"You tried to burn me," Bert accuses.

I shake my head in denial, unable to speak, and he plants his feet on either side of the basin. I fall back at his sudden movement.

"You little bitch."

I shake my head again, words refusing to come to me.

Scrambling back, I try to avoid the flying basin as Bert kicks it in a rage. Water sloshes across my legs and onto the wooden floor. I cower, trying to disappear as the basin collides with my side. Keeping my eyes closed tightly, I tuck my head into my chest as my heart beats wildly. The ground disappears beneath me, and I’m airborne. My back roars at the abuse as Bert smashes me against the wall. His large hand encircles my throat, and my small feet dangle near his knees. I claw at his hands, terrified for the first time that I might die. It isn’t just his grip around my throat, but the violence in his eyes. My nails sink into his large hands, which tighten at a neck-breaking strength.

I kick and claw as light and strength start to disappear.

As Jared pounds his fists into Bert’s head, trying to make him release me, I still can’t breathe. Bert’s grip leaves my throat, and I hit the ground; the impact sends pain into my hip, but it’s nothing like the pain in my throat.

Jared.

I get up off the bench and finish getting ready. I take a pair of gray sneakers that are too big and slip them on. I’m searching for a moment in the mirror where I tell myself how strong I am and that I’ve got this, but words cower deep in my belly, just like always.

"Ms. Masters, do you need assistance?" a voice calls in.

I scurry away from the mirror, and as I leave the locker room, I meet the coach, who hands me a ball. Everyone is passing them back and forth to each other.

"Alex, you’re with Layla."