"Broken" and The Cyclist Crossover

1. Distracted (Finn)

The car windows were splattered with raindrops. Layla sat beside me in the back of mum's car; she wasn't paying much attention to me, instead she was staring at the map lying on the floor. Thunder crashed through the air; Layla surprisingly didn't flinch. I could see how distracted she was and I had no idea why.

"Layla? Are you okay?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. She looked up, her dark brown hair tangled with knots; her pale green headband had slid down in front of her eyes.

"Huh - what? yes-" she quickly said, distractedly. She turned away again, still staring at the map. She'd circled a location in thick red marker; I noticed it was one of Riya's many building.

I cleared my throat, "Riya's gone, y'know? She won't be coming back!" Or...at least I hoped. Leora, Layla's mum, never had been caught and I was fearing she was going to come for us.

Layla wiped her brow, which was thickly coated with sweat. She seemed to be stressed out about something and I wasn't sure why. "Leora - my mum - as you know - mentioned this girl to me."

"When? And...who?" I glanced at Layla in confusion. She bit her lip, sliding her headband upwards.

"I - I should've told you but she asked to meet me last week, I...well I took up her offer; I wanted to know what was so important that she had to directly tell me. She spoke about this girl called Cara; apparently Leora is on a mission to hire this 'Cara'-" Layla trailed off, tapping her feet restlessly against the floor. We both ignored the next crash of thunder, both preoccupied by what she had just mentioned.

"Cara?" I stared forwards; the name rang a bell and I wasn't entirely sure why... "I've - heard the name before."

"You - have?" Layla queried, looking at me with pure confusion. I nodded silently, trying to process everything that Layla had mentioned about her meet with Leora. I still wasn't sure why Layla had agree to me her - I wouldn't.

I sighed, "Do you - do you really think that Riya will strike back? She said she was going to bring revenge and she said that I'd regret ever meeting you."

"Maybe...you don't do you?"

I shook my head vigorously. Of course I'd never ever regret meeting Layla! She'd turned my life from upside down to the right way round; I'd never want to go back in time and prevent myself from meeting Layla! "No, of course not! I even told her that I'd NEVER regret anything! Riya's words may hurt but I'm not giving her the satisfaction and there's no way I'm abiding by her rules!"

"Thank goodness for that," Layla let out a sort of petrified sigh of relief.

"What - you don't trust me?" I raised both eyebrows at her; she playfully glared at me.

She opened her mouth to speak, "Don't be silly! Of course I do! I was just making sure - Riya's words won't get to us - any of us."

"That's what you think, but Leora is obviously planning something; we HAVE to be on our guard!" I said this loudly, raising my voice a little. I knew that Leora was going to make her best efforts to destroy me, Layla and everyone we loved, but I was certainly wasn't going to let that happen. "I stood up to Riya though, so I can stand up to Leora too."

Layla laughed, "Why are you always so brave Finn?" She tossed her matted hair back, placing the map back into the pouch attached to the rear of the front seat.

"I've learnt to be brave and I'd do anything for the people I care about," I smiled. Mum pulled up to the house. "Come on, let's go into the garden and roast marshmallows!"

"Gladly!" Layla beamed at me, almost like she was fighting the urge to wrap her arms around me.

"Riya, Leora or anyone else who crosses our path doesn't stand a chance."