chapter 82

The thought of Xavier being home made my heart pound. Now it was exactly the scenario I was dreading. As far as I'm concerned, he would have liked to have stayed away longer. I would have had absolutely no problem with that.

I couldn't react and was frozen. How should we solve this? No, I didn't know.

Melody tried to smile and said, "It's all right, Layla. We'll work it out." She pointed to the carpet beater and said, "We're armed."

I couldn't contain it in my panic and snapped at her: "How much does a bloody carpet beater help us?! For Xavier, that's like hitting him with a handkerchief!" I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

Melody stifled a laugh, so I ducked. Perhaps the cold water would calm me down. I had to get back on the ground. I had enough to deal with the heat and the pain.

When I came up and looked at Melody, she had composed herself. Either I had been under water for so long or she had caught herself quickly. Maybe it was both.

She cleared her throat and said, "I'