Family Styles - Sequel to the Baby Styles series

10

Layla's point of view

I was now outside the hospital waiting for Ben's mom to pick up the phone. I was worried she wasn't gonna answer, but I finally heard her cheerful voice speak.

"Layla, darling! I haven't heard from you in so long! How are you?" She said.

"I'm good, thanks. How are you?"

"I'm very good, too." She said.

"Listen, there's something I gotta tell you. My brother, Ed, beat up your son and he's in the hospital. He could barely even remember his own name when we got here." I said.

"Oh my god, is he okay?" She asked.

"He's got a big hole on the back of his head and he might have a concussion. I'm not sure how much of what happened he's going to remember." I said.

"We're coming down there right now. We'll be there soon." She said.

"Okay, drive safe, Mrs. Remington." I said before hanging up. I stayed outside while waiting for them. I hate hospitals. Nothing good happens in there, except for childbirth. But, even childbirth hurts. Hospitals are nothing else than buildings filled with sadness.

While at the hospital, I kept receiving texts from Jacob, Noah, Erica and Sarah. They had all noticed Ben and I weren't there, but I was guessing Ed hadn't told them what he did to Ben.

"Layla!" I heard the voice of Ben's mom. I turned around and saw her, Mr. Remington and Sofia running towards me.

Mrs. Remington immediately hugged me when she approached me.

"Thank you for taking care of him." She said.

"I couldn't just leave him there after what my brother had done. He was barely conscious earlier, but he's fully awake now." I said.

"Where is he now?" Mr. Remington asked.

"He's getting checked by a doctor. They wouldn't let me in because I'm not family. If you wanna see him, you can probably just talk to the receptionist." I said.

"Sofia, can you stay here with Layla while we go and check on your brother?" Mrs. Remington asked her daughter, who nodded and smiled to me. "We'll hopefully be back soon."

Mr and Mrs Remington headed inside the hospital while Sofia and I decided to go to the playground behind it. We sat down on the swingset.

"Mummy thinks Ben is depressed." Sofia said. "He almost never eats and he never sleeps at night, only after school."

I didn't know how to reply. Things were just getting even more complicated.

"He cries a lot too. He doesn't know I can hear him. I miss when he was happy, like he was when you were his girlfriend." She said.

"Things are just a little complicated between me and Ben right now, but I can promise you that he'll be happy. I at least hope he will." I said. "Do you wanna go inside? It's getting a little cold, don't you think?"

"Yeah." She agreed with me and she held my hand as we walked inside. We sat down and I let her play games on my phone.

After a while, Ben and his parents came out. Sofia gave me my phone back and hugged her brother. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back.

"Um, I think I'm just gonna go home. My parents are probably wondering where I am." I said when I realized I had been here for 2 hours already. I told my parents I wasn't gonna be out for long.

"Layla, can I talk to you before you go?" Ben asked and I nodded.

His family walked to their car while Ben and I stood right outside the building.

"What exactly happened tonight? I don't remember a lot." He said.

"It was Ed's fault. He was mad at you for the plan you and Jack had, so he punched you and you fell. He then punched you again, and I tried to get him off you, but I couldn't. I'm sorry." I said.

"It's not your fault." He said. "But thank you for bringing me here. They told me I have a concussion and have to stay home for a while and relax, so you don't have to worry about having to see me at school. I'll be away until Wednesday." He said.

"I wish all of this wasn't so complicated." I said.  I sighed before I decided I had to ask him. "Ben, are you depressed?"

"I-I don't know..." He said.

"Your sister said your mom thinks you are. She said you don't eat enough or sleep at the right times. I've also noticed some other symptoms, like skipping classes and even whole school days." I said. "But you should get home now and relax."

I gave him a quick hug before whispering 'bye' and heading home. When I came home, I broke down. As soon as I was inside, I had tears falling down my cheeks. I sat down on the floor, leaning on the front door.

"Layla, honey, is that you?" I heard dad ask. Before I got the chance to reply, he was standing right in front of me. "What happened?" He asked and sat down next to me.

"Is Ed home?" I asked.

"No, not yet." He replied.

"Okay good." I said, and then I began explaining the whole situation to him, from beginning to end. I was unsure at first if I was gonna tell him what Ed did, but I had to.

"Well, at least I know now what I'm doing tomorrow." Dad said when I was finished telling him.

"Which is?"

"Your mother and I need to have a talk with Ed. Is it okay if you stay home with Chris and Jennie for a while tomorrow?" He asked and I nodded. "Now go to bed, alright? It sounds like you've had a rough day."

I nodded and we got up from the floor.

"Good night, dad." I said and hugged him.

"Good night, sweetie."

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double update!!

- m i a h xx