Layla

Chapter 2

Hamish expected the chilly October wind to hit his face as soon as he opened the front door. But what he didn't expect was to see a little girl sitting on his front porch.

Hamish froze. He didn't know what to say. He never had to converse with a child so young before. A few long seconds later, Hamish finally managed to say, "Uhhhh are you okay? Where are your parents?"

Layla looked up at Hamish with a tear-stricken face. "Are you Hamish?"

"Yes?" Hamish almost questioned.

"Mumma told me that if I knocked on your door, you would let me in. But I was too scared, so I just stayed here"

Hamish was beyond confused. What was he even supposed to do? Who is this girl?

"Can I please come in?" Layla asked, almost In a whisper.

"Okay, yeah sure," Hamish said, opening the door wider to let Layla come in. What could this little girl possibly do to him?

"So what's your name?" Hamish asked

"Layla"

"Well, I'm Hamish. But you already know that so..."

"Mumma told me to give this to you," Layla said, handing Hamish a perfectly folded letter.

Hello Hamish, this is mum. I know you probably hate me for leaving you and Nik behind, but I had to. I knew I wasn't in the right state to raise you boys, so I left it to you, my most responsible son.

I'm sure you've met Layla by now. She's your half-sister. She doesn't know who her father is and neither do i. I just can't take care of her anymore. I need to live my life. I never got to do that since I married your father so early.

I couldn't bring myself to give her up for adoption Hamish, and there's no one I trust more I the world than you to take care of my baby. If you cant take care of her, I completely understand. You can always give her up for adoption. It's your call.

Inside Layla's bag, you'll find her birth certificate, few clothes, and her inhaler. She gets asthma attacks if she's stressed or allergic to something. I trust you will make the right decision.

Love,

Mum

"Holy shit"

That's the only thing that came out of Hamish's mouth. Without thinking, he took his phone out of his back pocket and called his brother. 'Straight to voicemail. He must be driving'

He turned back to face his sister. "Can I see your bag please?"

Layla handed Hamish her worn-down pink bag. He didn't have to dig his way through the bag for too before he found Layla's birth certificate. Layla Campbell, February 9th, 2017. She's only four

Remorse filled his gut. How could his mother do this again? To him. To another child.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yeah, you're my big brother. You and Nicholas"

"Mum told you, huh? What else did your Mumma tell you?"

"Mumma tells me lots of things. Like bats can fly, but they're still mammals. Oh and elephants can-"

"No Layla. What did she tell you about us?"

"That you and Nicholas are my big brothers and that you will take care of me. Can I sit down now?"

Hamish didn't realize the poor girl had been standing all this while. "What? Oh yeah, you can sit. The couch is right over there"

"Thank you," Layla said, already on her way to the couch.

Hamish felt sorry for the little girl. She was left in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a fairly thin navy blue jacket to keep her warm. 'She must be cold. How long had she been waiting for me to come out? She must be hungry' Hamish thought to himself.

"Are you hungry? Can I get you anything to eat? Or are you thirsty? Would you like some water?" Hamish found himself worrying about Layla already

"No thank you" Layla was in fact very hungry, but she was too embarrassed to admit it.

"I got you tacos!" Nicholas boomed, barging into the house. Chaos and cheerfulness followed Nicholas everywhere he went.

He didn't notice the small human in the living room until he heard a soft voice say "hello"

"Hi?"

"I need to talk to you," Hamish said "Layla, wait here okay"

Nik followed his brother to the kitchen "Who's the kid?"

Hamish didn't know what to say, so he just handed Nik the letter Layla gave him "read it" he said and so Nik did.

"What the fuck?"

"I know"

"Does mum have something against me? 'My most responsible son.' Come on. Rude much?"

"Nicholas, are you forgetting the part where it says that we have a sister?"

"Oh kid in our house is our sister"

"Yeah"

"Oh shit. Kid in our house is our sister. How could mum do this again?  What are we going to do? Oh my god, I'm going to have a panic attack"

"We'll let her stay the night. Let's decide tomorrow."

"We can't give her up for adoption Hamish, she's our sister."

"I know Nik, let's wait till tomorrow"

Nicholas peaked into the living room to see Layla sleeping in a rather uncomfortable position, still sitting on the couch with her head tilted to the left, almost falling on her shoulder.

"She's sleeping." Nik said, "where is she even going to sleep?"

"She can sleep in my room. I'll sleep on the couch" Hamish said, making his way to his sleeping sister. He gingerly picked her up and placed her in his bed. As soon as Layla's body hit the bed, she curled up into a little ball. A small smile etched onto Hamish's face. 'She's cute.'

So this was the second chapter. I hope you guys liked it! Let me know what you think <3

-M