“Things are way better this year without her, aren’t they? Before Layla came back to the Xander family, this is exactly how we used to celebrate.”In Shane’s mind, Layla had always been a bug in the system—a glitch in the Xander family. Now that the bug was finally “fixed,” everything felt back to how it was supposed to be.Feeling good, he knocked back three more drinks in a row.The alcohol made him even more fired up.“I hope she never comes back! She’s seriously ill anyway, probably won’t make it much longer...”“That’s enough,” Mrs. Xander cut in, frowning. “Don’t say such unlucky things on a holiday.”“Come on, Mom, drop the act. We all should. Who at this table actually wants Layla to survive?”Shane let out a loud belch. “Sure, we’re related by blood, but she’s never truly been one of us—not once.“If she dies, it’ll be just like it was fourteen years ago. Back when Xena was twelve. We were doing just fine.”“You’re drunk.”Chris snapped, clearly annoyed, and shot
Read more