sweet nothing [demi lovato]

fifteen

Demi's POV

I waited for a for few minutes until I was sure that Layla had definitely gone before I threw on some old sweatpants and an old grey sweatshirt, grabbing my phone from the bedside table and making my way out of the room.  I had a vague idea of where her deranged mother lived, and so I began the long, slow and painful walk.  I knew what Jess was capable of, and I knew exactly how she felt about Layla...this whole situation was a recipe for disaster.  As I hobbled down the sidewalk, I had a gut feeling that this 'talk' wasn't going to be a quiet affair.

As I turned the corner, I felt my body shudder as the apartment loomed into view.  I paused, staring on at the little building that I had spent most of the day in yesterday.  A dark cloud was now beginning to cast a dark and gloomy shadow over the street, intensifying the eeriness that surrounded me.  I took a slow step forward, and another, and continued carefully towards the front door.

I peeked through the glass, but there was no sign of any movement from within the building.  Through the frosted glass, I could just make out the shapes and silhouettes of the furniture, but no people.  I pressed my ear up against the door, and listened. 

"I said get out!" I heard Jess' muffled scream, before a loud smash caused me to jump, stumbling backwards.  As I did so, I noticed the door was slightly ajar, and without any further encouragement needed, I allowed myself inside. 

As I tiptoed closer to the kitchen, I listened intently at the conversation that was occurring within.

"I'm not going anywhere." Demi's voice was flat, and absent of any emotion.  I felt a smile smile creep on my face as I realised how strong and empowered she sounded.  Here she was, standing up to her own mother for my sake.  She was putting herself at risk for me, and my admiration for her grew even stronger. 

"That's a shame..I thought I raised you to follow instructions".  

"Raised me? Next joke". Layla's voice was smothered with sarcasm.

There was a silent pause, before a sudden scuffle and a crash of bodies against the wall and as I listened I suddenly found myself rushing to the doorway, staring into the kitchen at the two women before me.  Jess had Layla pinned up against the wall, her hands gripping tightly on Layla's wrists.  Both of them were too engrossed in the affair to notice my presence and so I continued to watch in horror, frozen to the spot.  Part of me felt compelled to leap forward and push them off of each other, but another part of me felt like they had to sort this out between them.  Their relationship was built on a foundation of lies and untold truths, and they had to fight this one out..literally.

But as I watched, the whole situation escalated. 

"Don't underestimate me, Layla, because I will destroy every little thing you've ever loved, including that precious girlfriend of yours". I felt my heart sink at her twisted words.  She was doing this to tear us both apart..she was jealous that I had a strong bond with Layla that she would never ever get the chance to recreate.  She wasn't doing this because she hated the fact that her daughter was gay - she was doing it out of spite because she couldn't stand the idea of her daughter being happy. 

"Everything I've ever loved has already been destroyed. You did a pretty good job at that already".  The tears were now pricking at my eyes, and my vision became a watery blur as I realised just how much of a difficult upbringing Layla had had to endure.  I quickly wiped my eyes, and noticed Layla turning her head slightly to look at her left arm.  I followed her gaze, and noticed the blood trickling down in little red beads as her mother's grip tightened on her wrists. 

"Don't fucking test my patience Layla because I don't have much left" Jess replied flatly.

"What did you do to Demi?" My eyes widened at the mention of my name, and the events of yesterday began to flood into my head.  I felt a sick feeling penetrate my stomach as I caught a glimpse of my battered arms.

Jess leant even closer to Layla's face, and whispered something into her ear.  Her face narrowed as she listened, and then her eyes grew wide.  Without warning, she pulled herself free of her mother's grasp, before pushing her hard across the room.  Jess went flying backwards, crashing against the surface of the kitchen counter, before slipping to the floor.  As she did so, the green flower vase that had previously been sat on the side came toppling down also, disintegrating as it hit the ground.  Layla walked over, the blood now dripping off her arms as she stood over her mother.  She grabbed her throat, causing Jess to cough and splutter as she gasped for air. 

"You're dead to me" She spat.  After a few seconds of watching her mother thrash around for oxygen, Layla let go.

"You are dead to me".

She stood up slowly, the digust evident on her face as she looked down at her mother.  Suddenly, her eyes caught mine. 

She stepped towards me, reaching her hand out as her face turned into a small smile.  She looked relieved that it was finally over, but as she edged closer, I saw the dark figure of Jess loom behind, the light reflecting off the silver surface of the item in her hand.  Her eyes glinted with evil, yet her face was cold as she approached Layla from behind.  She caught my gaze, smirking slightly as she raised her spare hand up towards her face, putting her index finger to her pursed lips and motioning ‘shh’, and I felt my stomach turn as her next plan of action dawned on me.

I leapt forward, attempting to grab Layla’s shoulders and pull her away, unable to take my eyes off of Jess.

“Layla watch out!” I screamed.   

Layla’s eyes flashed with fear as she spun on her heels to face her mother.  I took a few steps backward, closing my eyes as I heard another loud crash, before the thump of two bodies to the floor caused me to reopen them.  

The dread consumed me as I looked at the scene before me.  Blood was splattered up the walls and across the floor, and as I hurried over, I saw the knife..the tip now covered in blood.

I grabbed hold of Layla's hand and dragged her out from underneath her mother and away from the entanglement she was in on the floor.  I couldn't tell what had happened, and I didn't know who had taken the impact of the knife, but I knew it was serious. 

As I collapsed down on the floor beside Layla,  I cupped her cheeks and felt the tears stream down my face.  

"Layla" I searched her face for any sign of life, but there was nothing.  "Layla, please wake up!".  I nuzzled my face into her chest, letting the tears flow, too weak to do anything. "Please" I whispered.  I snuggled up to her, not caring that the puddle of the blood on the floor was now beginning to saturate my sweatshirt - I just wanted to stay close to her; to never let her go.  She was my best friend and I couldn't loose her.  She meant too much to me and without her in my life, I wouldn't have a purpose anymore.  Yeah sure, I had a promising future ahead in music but I couldn't be myself without her.  She was everything to me.  

I reached my arm out and grabbed her hand, interlocking her fingers with mine.  I squeezed her hand tightly, and felt even more tears release from my eyes.  I didn't feel anything; I felt numb.  The tears were uncontrollable but I didn't feel sad.  I felt emotionless.

Suddenly,  a hand cupped the back of my head, and as I looked up, I met her big eyes.  She looked so hurt and drained, but she managed to smile that typical goofy smile that made my heart swell and caused the butterflies to scatter inside my stomach and I felt the relief wash over me as I realised she wasn't hurt.  She took a deep breath,  resting her head back down gently on the floor.

"It's ok, I'm here".