No Way Out ➵ John Murphy

10 //

TEN.
❝you're the bad boy I always dreamed of. you're the king, and, baby, i'm the queen of disaster.❞

"You're planning on taking it aren't you?"

Murphy stood in front of her, the chip Layla had shoved in her pocket was between his two fingers as he held it out for her to see.

His were brows knotted together and his eyes were narrowed in her direction, as if he knew his accusation was true and he was only asking as a confirmation.

"No, Murphy," Layla reached out to swipe the chip back but Murphy swiftly moved it out of her reach. "Jaha gave it to me. I kept it just in case..."

"In case what, Layla?" Murphy gritted out and Layla was taken aback by his tone. "You were planning on taking it."

"Only if I knew for sure it was safe," Layla defended herself and admitted Murphy was right at the same time. "If I knew it was safe, why shouldn't I take it? Is it wrong to want to feel happy? And secure?"

"No," he said. "It's not wrong to want those things. But it's stupid of you to think you're going to find them in a piece of silicone from a bitch who single-handedly ended the world."

"Oh, so you're calling me stupid now?" Layla eyed him, warningly, tempting him to say more.

He didn't. Murphy shook his head and threw the chip at her. Her reflexes didn't act fast enough to catch it. The bounced off her chest and hit the carpet at her feet.

"Grow up," he said finally. "I didn't call you stupid. I said taking the chip is stupid. Don't pick fights just because you know you're dead wrong."

She wanted to tell him that she didn't pick a fight - that in all actuality, he was the one who started getting angry with her. The chip had fallen out of her pocket as she had changed her clothes. Murphy had walked into the room and saw it in plain sight on the floor because Layla had forgotten all about it. It didn't take long for Murphy to realize what it was and decide to lecture her like a child. But, he did have a slight point, Layla had hid from him that she had kept the chip. She didn't know why, she just felt as if it should be kept a secret from him in fear of how he would react. Which turned out to be a pretty good hunch, since he had just stormed off.

Layla picked the chip off the floor and shoved it into her pocket, this time into the pocket of her flight jacket where it would be secure. She then followed after Murphy who was headed out the front door of the mansion. Layla had the privilege of seeing him slam the door before he disappeared.

Layla sighed at his dramatics but tossed on her jacket and tried to join him outside.

She was stopped by Jaha, who grabbed her arm loosely, but tight enough to keep her put. She turned to him questioningly.

"Its best to leave John to cool off on his own first," Jaha told her. "He needs space, it's just who he is. He'll get over anything with time."

Layla yanked her arm roughly from his grip, and stared up at him, offended. "I think I might know Murphy a little better than you do," she snapped. "I shared a camp with him. I was locked in a bunker with him for eighty-odd days. I can handle Murphy."

She gave Jaha one more condescending glance before stepping outdoors. Jaha wasn't fazed, he simply had the familiar calm expression on his face he wore constantly these days. Layla let the door slam behind her, too.

Layla wasn't sure where Murphy had gone, she just trudged along the grassy field by instinct, hoping she would find him eventually. It was quite possible that Jaha was right and Layla should have left Murphy to stew on his own for awhile before going to find him. Murphy had a hothead and during their bunker days, he often had grown more irritable the more she picked at him. But that's how they were - they picked at each other until everything was okay again or one of them was so exhausted that they just gave in and surrendered.