Ethan’s POV
I explained everything to Layla, and she called the strange line. We confirmed it was sedar, and I realised he knew everything that was going on. I rushed out of the house, scared of what sedar had done to Violet.
I ran to my car, and Layla followed me, insisting on going with me.
I got to Violet's house and saw the door open. I went into the house and saw Violet in blood. I rushed her out of the house and drove down to the hospital.
Violet was rushed into the emergency room, and I paced around, waiting for the doctor.
The doctor came and called me to the side, explaining the situation of things. I went back to Layla and explained that Violet was fine and recuperating.
We left the hospital, and I went back to check the house for anything that could serve as evidence against sedar but found none. Sedar did a
Layla’s POVEthan took the envelope from me and walked out. I burst into tears. According to the test results, Nicole was two weeks gone.It meant that it happened when I made out with Ethan. I was a fool to have allowed him access to my body.I picked up the remaining liquor and went into my room. I drank the whole bottle and slept off.I woke up the following day feeling dirty and with a headache. I saw Ethan’s calls that I missed the day before and didn’t bother to call back.I saw a text from sedar and opened it. Sedar sent me a location to come to the next day. I decided to keep it to myself. I didn’t need Ethan anyway, and I was not going to put my friends in danger.I decided to cook one last meal for my friends since I was not sure of the outcome of my going to sedar.I wen
Layla’s PovI excused myself from Drake’s ward and asked Ethan to take me to see Violet.We went into Violet’s ward, and I saw her unconscious. I was moved to tears at her condition. I grabbed her hands and told her I was sorry for everything.“Let’s go,” I said to Ethan Ethan nodded, and I went into the car. The drive home was silent, and Ethan parked in front of the house.“Thank you so much for everything, Ethan. I’m so grateful for your help”, I said “You are welcome, Layla. I would do much more for you”, Ethan said calmlyI nodded and came out of the car. I waved at him, and he drove away in defeat.A tear dropped from my eye. I wanted to hug Ethan and tell him how much I loved him, but I couldn’t do so because I was scared of what Sedar would do to Ethan.Entering into the house, I relayed Drake’s message to everyone. I bid everyone good night and went upstairs to sleep.Then made my way into my room and lay to sleep. I tossed around the bed for almost an hour before I finall
Layla’s POVI looked at Ethan as he drove and noticed he was bleeding. I was about to reach out when he parked the car.“We are home,” Ethan said as he exited the car.I was about to open the door when Ethan came and carried me out. I allowed myself to rest on his arms, careful not to make contact with the wound.Ethan carried me in, and Aria ran to me.“Mummy, you came back,” Aria said in tearsI started to cry uncontrollably and carried Aria up. I kissed her forehead and pecked her cheeks“Are you hurt, did anybody—“I’m fine, mummy. Nobody did anything to me; I told them you were going to come for me”, Aria said with a smile“Yes, mummy would never leave you,” I assured.Brid
Ethan’s POV Uncertain about what to do, I lay beside Violet and slept off. I felt a tap and woke up, shocked to see Violet awake. Seeing how pitiful I was, Violet stretched her hands over mine and held them tightly. “You can overcome anything, Ethan. I know you can.” Tears welled up in my eyes, and when I couldn’t hold it in any longer, I wailed like a baby. Violet didn’t let go of my hands and patted my back. “Is this about Layla?” Violet inquired I wiped off my tears and looked at Violet, nodding. “I just knew it, Ethan, you love this lady.” I nodded in response “Then why don’t you let her know?” Violet asked “I’m scared. What if Layla doesn’t feel the same way about me and pushes me away?” I replied “Ethan,” Violet began shaking her head. “Take a leap of faith” “Thank you so much, Violet,” I said and watched as she fell asleep almost instantly. Encouraged by Violet, I got up and headed home. On my way to the house, I tried to call Layla but got no response. As soo
Ethan’s POVNicole was growing wings, and I intended to cut it off.“Please leave the road and let me pass,” I retorted.“No, I won’t leave,” Nicole repliedI could tell that Nicole was adamant and held myself back from touching her.“What do you want?” I asked pissed“I want you to give me and your baby attention and stop acting like we don’t exist,” Nicole saidI almost let out a laugh at the statement. Nicole called the baby in her belly mine with so much confidence, and I shook my head for her.“What kind of attention do you want,” I asked, playing along.“I want a massage,” Nicole demanded “If you want a massage, go to where they offer such services,” I said, shoving her out of the way in a gentle manner.Nicole shrieked, and I could tell it was all fake. I looked back to see Nicole pretending to burst into tears and ignored.“What a scheming devil,” I muttered to myself.I knew if I spent another moment with Nicole, it wouldn’t cost her anything to plan something again. I had l
Layla’s POVEthan began to visit and take Aria to school every day, and I watched as they bonded and was grateful for the progress. Aria began to open up in school, and even her teachers acknowledged it.Drake was getting discharged from the hospital, and I requested that Drake come to my place so I could take proper care of him.Drake agreed to stay at my place, and Richard was happy with the development. I woke up very early the day Drake was getting discharged, and Ethan visited with Aria and Bridget while I went to the hospital with Annabeth and Richard.When I arrived at the hospital, I checked Violet in her ward, and the doctor explained that they couldn’t discharge her yet.“Violet, I can’t wait to see you out of here. Stay strong, okay?” I said, squeezing her handsViolet patted my hands and whispered, “Take good care of my brother; Ethan loves you.” “Yes, ma,” I said, saluting, and Violet laughed“I’ll see you later then,” I muttered, hugging her.I approached the other ward
Layla’s POVEthan agreed to follow me to the station, and I was happy.“Would I need to take anything along with me?” I asked Ethan on the morning of the visit.Cho returned from the field trip, and I took Aria to Annabeth’s house to spend the night.Richard and Bridget were with Drake, so I was comfortable leaving the house. Ethan stood by my side, and I wasn’t scared.“Ermm.. I’m not sure, but I doubt it,” Ethan replied“Okay, let’s go then,” I suggested“Wait, won’t you take your jacket? It’s cold outside,” Ethan saidEthan always looked out for me, and I couldn't help but smile.“Can you help me bring it?” I said poutingEthan chuckl
Layla’s POV“Layla”, Ethan said, shaking me and tapping me.I couldn’t control my body movement, engulfed with fear. “Calm down, Layla, look at me and breathe”, Ethan let out, tapping me gently.I tried to catch my breath and finally calmed down.“Why are you just telling me this?” I screamed, catching Ethan unaware.“I didn’t mean to hide it from you, Layla. I’ll keep you safe. I promise,” Ethan said in a low voice.On a typical day, I’d have felt bad for raising my voice at Ethan, but I was too angry to feel anything.“What about Aria?” I asked“How do you intend to keep her safe?” I continued, and Ethan looked down, playing with his fingers.“Oh my God”, I muttered, bursting into tears. I cried like a baby, and Ethan tried to console me.“When is all of this going to end?” I asked“I promise you that I’ll make sure Sedar gets caught and justice served”, Ethan muttered, pulling me towards him.I had an idea suddenly and grabbed Ethan’s hands.“What if we ask the officers to questi
Ethan's POV Layla held Aria's hand as they walked through the toys section of the mall, happily grabbing everything that caught Aria's eyes. It was good to be free again, to not be watching over our backs. It had been two months since Sedar was finally caught and even know it still felt unreal. He was such a nuisance for so long it was weird with him gone. All the drama we went through because of him. I remember Layla suggesting we go to Nicole out of desperation and frustration and to be honest I was about to give in but I knew good would come of exchanging oke devil for another. We decided to not go that far and I was grateful we didn't, unfortunately even if we wanted to it was too late. Layla got a call from a family about two weeks later that Nicole had ended her own life. The warden said she was constantly screaming to be let out and that someone should call me or Layla but they didn't because that was unreasonable. A while after she hung herself. Layla was frozen to t
Layal's POV"Okay." Annabeth's weak response came from the other side of the phone. Thank heavens maybe my little speech had knocked some sense into her."Okay? so you'll come stay here right?" "Not yet, I'll stay with a friend for a while. I want to stay with you guys but I can't risk messing up your lives even more." she sounded tired and I decided to let this matter rest for now. "Which friend?, where's Derek?", he had taken her home but he never called back so I guessed he was still with her."He left a while ago."He left?! Could he be any more of an asshole. He comes, drops a bomb like that leaves the two of us in a mess and then just drops her at home to be by herself. What was all the love talk about if this was all he could do. "He left you like this?" I was really starting to direct the anger i fel towards Derek, which obviously wouldn't end well. "It's not like that, i asked him to leave me alone. He kept apologizing when he wasn't at fault and I knew letting him see me
Layla's POV Watching Annabeth leave felt like my world came crashing down on me. I couldn't believe my eyes when Derek showed me that picture, immediately my mind clicked and made the connection it was like my brain just went into autopilot. It felt like the cinema all over again, realizing that Sedar had been so close to me again, I had been so close to death. I was thankful for Ethan who caught me before I fell, God knows him being there was what helped me calm myself down. Then Annabeth had started her meltdown, I had expected a shocked reaction but not something of that intensity, she looked like we just told her, her entire life was a lie. "Annabeth wait." When I had tried to grab her when she dashed upstairs she basically pushed me away and snatched Cho. My reaction to that was slow, what had I done wrong? I was in as much shock and disorientation she was feeling so why was I the one getting this reaction from her. To be honest I was disappointed that Ethan just stood ther
Ethan's POVI watched silent as Annabeth took a pause from her episode took a breathe and look at us, she seemed more composed but still rattled up. "I've got to leave." She said I shot off up the stairs"Why? Where are you going?" Layla called after her and follow her up.I turned to Derek, in less than a minute he'd wreak absolutely havoc on us all. This is why I didn't involve Layla in my conversation with Lucas, I didn't see her as weak, no but I also knew that certain matters are delicate so they should be handled delicately. "When did you figure it out?" "Last night. I was going to tell you guys first but..." I raised a hand to cut him off, it didn't matter if he wanted to tell us earlier or not what did matter was that we had found Sedar and he was awfully closer than we thought, this entire time."Wait, just wait." The sound of a door shutting and hurried steps called out attention. Annabeth was basically running down the steps with Cho is her arms, she was leaving with h
Ethan's POVI could hear the noise increasing slowly from downstairs, I had warned Layla this would happen. I tried to ignore it at first but then they had to be shouting for me to be hearing them this clearly. I put my laptop aside, stretched my limbs and walked downstairs. I got there to find Layla, Derek and Annabeth sitting round the dinner table, Layla's eyes were already in my direction by the time I reached them. She had most likely heard me coming. The discomfort they were putting her through was very evident on her face. I was already pretty much irritated, trying to work and being disturb by meaningless quarrel was very annoying. "I warned you." I said in my head as I looked at Layla, I was definitely going to rub this in her face later."You two know you're in another man's house right? A man who's trying to get work done and who has kids upstairs." They both shut and sat frozen with their eyes fixed on me. Personally I would have just kicked them out there and then. I
Layla's POV"It's nothing really, I just felt like maybe he was right" she waved her hand dismissively."Who?" "Derek", shit what had he said again"What did he say again?" I felt my fist instinctively clench, I was starting to feel like Annabeth was actually right in this. "Again, nah he said it when he brought you over to my place. That you had issues too and I was acting like my man drama was the center of the world." She looked to the side, it was obvious she was hurt by it.That was too much, this had gotten way too much. "Give me a second." I grabbed my phone and marched upstairs."Where are you going?" "I'll be right back." I barged into the room and Ethan looked at me confused."What's gotten into you?" "I'm going to interfere. I'm calling Derek to come over right now so I can settle whatever this is that they have going on." His eyes widened in shock and he shook his head, "Don't Layla. You sure you want to be in the cross hairs of whatever it is they have going on?"
Layla's POVThe house had been on lockdown for the past two days, yes, because of Sedar and also because Ethan was an overly protective person. Did I like being locked up in here all day? No. Could I do anything about it? Also no. All that could be done was wait it out and pray it needed soon. Ethan also worked from home to keep me company and lessen the agony of my situation. I told him numerous times that he could go to work and I'd just ask Annabeth to come over but I guess he saw through that lie. I was just looking for a way to get him out of the house so I could sneak out. His maid, America brought us all of the groceries and supplies we needed so there was no way to use needing to go shopping as an excuse. It was nice to be cared for but this was pretty much the same feeling that made me move out in the first place, unfortunately this time that wasn't an option."What is on your mind?" Ethan asked, this question snapped me back into the reality, I looked around, yep still stu
Ethan's POVI watched her step into Derek's car and drive off, I didn't exactly like the idea of her being out in the open after seeing Sedar stalking us but there was no winning an argument with Layla, the best I could do was give her a curfew to be back home. I called Lucas when she left, she was right about us needing to find the leak in our whereabouts that Sedar was tracking is with. "Didn't we just get off the phone?" He said sarcastically."I'm calling about Sedar. Again." "Did he show up again?" "No, but you remember how we talked about finding out how he knew where we were. Well Layla has a theory about it, she thinks it has something to do with Annabeth. Apparently all the times Sedar has showed up unexpectedly were when she went to places she'd already told Annabeth she was going to." "Was Annabeth the only one she told? That's a pretty wild assumption." He sounded skeptical, which was reasonable. Even I thought it was a shaky suspicion."No but she's the only common p
Layla's POV "What do you want me to say. Oh hey don't date whoever that creep is. I love you. Is that it?" I just stared at him, what the heck was that? So what he loved her now?. He stared back at me like a moron and then his expression softened and I took as a sign he realized he'd just lashed out at the wrong person."I am sorry." He did his puppy dog eyes look."I'd love to say it's fine but it's nothing, you two really need to take a minute and sit down to talk." The rest of the ride was absolutely silence, he walked me to the door and kept apologizing for the way he acted but all I did was nod. "What happened between you two?" Ethan saw the look on my face when I stepped in."More like what the heck is happening between two of them" I threw my bag on the couch and fell into his arms "Who are we talking about right now?" "Derek and Annabeth." "Oh, those two. Wait, they're still at it? I thought it would be over by now. Aren't they taken it a bit too far?" Even Ethan notice