Layla

Chapter 10

It was a slow Sunday afternoon for the Campbell household. The clouds were starting to overcast. Hamish Campbell felt the cool monsoon breeze make its way through the open balcony door and into the sitting room.

Layla Campbell was happily reading a children's book she had previously borrowed from her school.

Nicholas Campbell was deep cleaning the kitchen at the moment.

Little did the content family know that this was when catastrophe would strike.

During this deep cleaning session, Nicholas Campbell noticed a certain pesky little creature crawling out of a cabinet.

He didn't think too much of it, other than the ordinary 'these goddamned spiders!'

His go-to spider relief solution was murder. He said out loud, "the monsoon always brings them in" and then proceeded to kill the spider with the back end of a broom. This was a mistake. Big mistake.

Layla Campbell's head shot up. The Campbell brothers were certainly not aware of Layla's take on insects and other tiny creatures.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, walking up to the scene of the crime. Her suspicions turned out to be true. Her own brother had killed a poor little thing.

"Why did you do that?" She asked again, tears pooling in her eyes. This caught her oldest brother's attention.

"What's wrong Layla? It was only a spider. Why the long face?" Nicholas asked, genuinely confused.

Layla burst into tears and ran up to the couch on which Hamish was sitting, not knowing what else to do.

She buried her head into his bent knee, her tears staining his pants. Hamish picked her up and placed her on his lap.

"Are you upset because Nik killed the spider?"

Layla nodded against his chest, still sobbing, a fist full of Hamish's black
T-shirt.

A wave of guilt washed over Nicholas. He walked over to the devastated little girl.
"I'm so sorry Layla. I didn't know you felt so strongly about this. I promise it won't happen again, okay?"

Layla trusted her brother but at this very moment, she wanted nothing to do with him.

Nicholas locked eyes with his brother and shared a look of 'not knowing what to do'

"Come on now darling. What will it take for you to forgive him? He said he wouldn't do it again."

All Layla could do at this point was bury her head deeper into Hamish's chest.

***

As the day went on, Layla's mood got better and better. Although, she was still giving Nicholas the cold shoulder.

Melanie even came over later that day. Nicholas even managed to receive dirty looks from her after being told about the day's previous events.

Layla was tucked snug into bed that night by Hamish. Her brothers made her feel safe. As if she could rest easy if her brothers were around.

It was sometime around midnight. The rain never failed to ease Nik's nerves and lift his mood. He loved listening to the pitter-patter of the rain against the cobblestones. He loved the earthy smell of wet mud that engulfed the space.

Layla was startled awake by the monstrous rumbling of the thunder. She couldn't stay alone in her dark room. She wearily opened her bedroom door to see Nicholas sitting on the balcony floor.

Nicholas heard the bedroom door open. "What're you doing up so late Layla? Come here" he motioned for his sister to come out to the balcony.

Another loud rumble!

Layla jumped and shook her head.

Nik walked up to Layla and knelt to be at her eye level. "Did the rain frighten you a bit?

Layla stood still and said nothing. Only her eyes turned glassy.

"Let me show you something," he said and picked his little sister up. He took her to the balcony and stood next to the tall railing, holding her close.

He held her tiny palm out to the sky. "Do you feel that?" he asked, looking at his sister's palm, getting soaked by large droplets of rain.

She nodded, looking at her own palm in awe.

Seconds later she saw the lightning. And then the thunder. She tightened her grip on Nik's bare neck.

"It's alright, bug. The sound can be a little scary, but the rain can't hurt you. It's pretty cool if you think about it. Drops of the sky falling."

Layla was awestruck, to say the least.

"Have you forgiven me yet by the way? For my heinous crime?

"Do you really really promise you will never do it again?"

"I really really promise I will never do it again. Next time, I will politely ask the spider to leave or I'll take it outside myself."

"Okay, I forgive you"

Hiii! Thanks for reading!

Sidenote: I can't stop reading Steven Hyde fanfics (That 70s Show)

Thanks for listening.

-M