limerence | COMPLETED

14

AT THE SOUND OF HER PHONE DINGING WITH A NEW MESSAGE, LAYLA PAUSES APPLYING HER makeup and reaches for the device to read the multiple texts from Mercy.

Do I wear the black dress or the white one I told you about for the party?

I'm so excited!

This is going to be so fun!

Layla checks the photos Mercy has sent her before quickly sending a reply.

The black dress for sure

I thought so!!

Shaking her head amusedly, Layla tosses her phone away onto her bed, the device bouncing off the edge of her mattress and onto the floor instead. She watches it fall and sighs. Whatever. Turning back to the makeup littered across her desk, she carefully starts drawing her usual kohl eyeliner along her upper and lower lash line with a light hand, followed by mascara and a deep red lipstick.

Honestly, she's still not sure if she's in the mood for a party. She spent most of the day with Warren working on the woodwork for the treehouse she designed, so now the muscles in her arms and legs are aching pretty damn painfully. She would likely give just about anything to climb into bed for a long nap.

Finishing with her makeup, Layla checks her work in the mirror and nods, satisfied, before reaching for her curling wand to quickly give her hair a little more volume. Lace-detailed tights highlight the lines of her legs beneath her black a-line skirt, while the white cami she'd chosen accentuates her waist and neckline.

Earlier, she'd hesitated for ages in front of the mirror, staring guiltily at her reflection and thinking about what her parents would say. And even now as she glances at her clothes again, she instinctively feels guilty. If her parents were here, they definitely wouldn't approve.

"But who cares what they think," she mutters frustratedly, switching off the curling wand and dropping it onto her vanity with a thud.

Once she's finally ready, Layla trails downstairs to the kitchen, checking her phone once again to respond to more texts from Mercy and Savannah while she waits for them to pick her up. She sits down on one of the kitchen chairs. Her social media is already filled with selfies and photos of everyone's outfits so it doesn't take long for her to click off the apps again. People really are too obsessed with parties in this town. Kai was right about that.

The sound of a lock unclicking disturbs her from the makeup tutorial video she started watching. She jumps and automatically faces the direction of the front door. Two pairs of feet scuff against the flooring and their distinct steps are all too familiar.

Her parents.

For a minute, she can hear them laughing and chattering about something funny they saw, neither of them aware that she's sitting just around the corner, and during this time, Layla considers several different ways she could quickly escape the kitchen or hide without being caught.

Would hiding under the table work? There's the back door she could attempt to leave from too, but would she get there in time? She's too late to test any of her theories out though because her parents are rounding the corner into the kitchen before she has the chance.

They both startle when they see her, as though they forgot they even have a child, but their faces quickly morph into carefully practised, even expressions. It's the type of look that makes her realise that they plan to hash out everything that happened with school right now.

Fucking God.

"Did you think about your attitude when we were gone?" her father asks, not even bothering to say hello or how are you as he places his keys down on the table. His voice is neutral as he speaks but Layla can practically feel the expectant tone beneath it.