Stripped

Chapter 9

Kara found me later after I hadn't returned when she expected me. "Layla? What are you doing down here? Are you crying?" She looked panicked as she wrapped her arms around me.

I couldn't form words. I only let her help me up and sob uncontrollably into her shoulder. I drenched her sweatshirt with my tears within seconds. "Kara, I can't do this. I can't see him, knowing he's ended up with someone else."

"Shh,  let's get you upstairs, you're soaked to the bone." Kara lead me to our apartment in my tear filled haze. I could still feel his hand holding mine, his scent was all over me. 

Kara sat me down on the toilet and ran a hot shower for me, all while I sat silently staring straight ahead. The black hole in my heart seemed to grow even larger than it had been before. "He's getting married Kara. Why can't I just let him go?" I asked through my sniffles. 

"Because you love him Layla." Kara replied simply, "and as much as you don't want to see it. He loves you too."

"Then why did he get engaged?" I asked, "If he loves me so much why didn't he try to find me? Why didn't he care then?"

Kara stood me up and hugged me tight, "I don't know. But if you want to find out. You need to ask." She left me to shower and to my thoughts.

My shower was not  a peaceful one as I battled my feelings for Mark and for Jake. They were both incredible guys and they both were so good to me. But the bottom line was, Jake wasn't available. Mark was. If I told him about what happened with Jake today I was pretty sure that any trust he said he had in me would be shattered. Maybe it was something that didn't need to be addressed. By the time I was towel drying myself I had decided that I would call Mark and invite him to the barbecue at Jake's parent's house this weekend. Maybe if I met his fiance and he actually got to properly meet Mark we could finally get over each other.

I disappeared into my room for the evening, Kara didn't follow. I dialed Mark's number as I told him I would after practice. It only rang once before he picked up, "Hello?" He sounded groggy.

"Did I wake you up?" 

"Yes but that's okay. I wanted to talk to you about band practice. How did it go?" 

Guilt washed over me, I hated lying. "It went really well. I learned an entire song and I already knew the covers they did.  Jake gave me recordings for their originals so I should be prepared for their next gig."

"That's great," Mark said, "Do you think you'll be ready by then?"

"Definitely, I pick up music easily. I also wanted to ask you a question."

"What's up?" 

"Jake's parents invited me to a barbecue at their house this weekend and they said I could bring someone. Do  you want to come?" 

A very long, very agonizing pause was the immediate response, but I waited patiently. "I don't know. Wouldn't that be weird?"

"It could be, but I haven't seen his parents in ten years and... they were like my surrogate parents. I really want to see them. But I can go alone if you don't want to." Either decision Mark made I was still going to go because I wanted to see them. He wasn't my boss after all.

"Well, if you're going anyway I might as well tag along. Besides I could learn some interesting facts about the mysterious girl they helped raise." 

I smiled at that, he really was so sweet to me, "Great! It's on Saturday and I'll message Jake for any other information. I'll talk to you later?" We said our goodbyes and I hung up feeling a little better than I had before. Still, my stomach was tied up in knots about the barbecue. Things could go horribly awry there, especially with the way I left things with Jake. Clearly we both were harboring old feelings and we needed to get over them. It just wasn't going to be as easy as I thought.
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