Chapter 7
COSTI
A sh was in a mood. Hell, I was in a mood. But Ash was usually the responsible one who would keep me from doing things like crashing the harvest party so I could stalk a pretty spell caster. Tonight, Ash had been all too supportive of sneaking out of the barracks.
We weren’t adjusting well to our new Circle.
I’d dragged one of the standing tables over into the shadows to hold our drinks. Hard liquor and leaning against the wall in the dark didn’t seem to be helping much.
“I hate it here already,” Ash said over the music. They’d put their hair up, but neither of us had bothered to change out of our uniforms. Black was great for sneaking around.
Ash had just arrived at the Mountain Circle after making it through the battle that three of our fellow guardians didn’t. To top it off, their new assignment—one of the Mountain Circle casters—had already been giving them trouble.
I made a noise of agreement, but my mind was elsewhere. I should never have agreed to transport Layla here. I had been doing so well, staying the fuck away from her. A year of convincing myself ruined by the feeling of her in my arms.
I’d tried my best to avoid her, dreading when the time came to talk about the plan for me to be her guardian. That was a conversation that would never happen now, but the problem remained. I wanted her. Couldn’t have her. Didn’t trust anyone else to defend her.
I had to get it through my head—not becoming her guardian was a good thing.
I needed to focus on the problems at hand. What exactly are the angels up to?
And what was wrong with Layla’s magic? That, I was allowed to think about. Having functional spell casters was more important than ever.
A third witch sauntered over to us. Holly. I was sick of her antics lately. She was dressed for the holiday in a harvest-gold number that showed off her long legs. She’d let her dark hair grow out longer in the past year, and whatever she’d done to style it tonight had fluffed it up like she was trying to look more like Layla. I hated it.
She smiled teasingly, propping her hand on a hip. “Are you two allowed to be here?”
I grunted. “Probably not. There’s a bunch of guidelines.”
Holly raised her eyebrows at me. “And you’re supposed to follow the guidelines.” She turned to Ash with a smirk. “And I can’t believe you of all witches would condone this scandalous behavior.”
Ash’s eyes glinted. “What do you want, Holly?”
She stepped back. “Fate, the two of you are a real treat tonight. Sneaking out, drinking alone, being grumpy in the corner.” Her calculating gaze slid back to me. “I was hoping we could talk.”
Frustration boiled through me, and I clamped it down. I breathed in, then out. I didn’t need to take my feelings out on her. “All right.”
Holly turned a pleading look on Ash. “Give us a minute?”
Their nostrils flared, and they waved a hand in her direction. “Oh, by all means, just pretend I’m not here.” Ash moved about five paces down, just barely out of hearing distance. They threw themself against the wall and crossed their arms with a glare.
Dark amusement trickled through me. Ash was vicious when they were pissed. We were both Troubled, after all.
“Does Ash hate me or something?” Holly asked, trying to pull me farther away.
Ash thought Holly was only in it for herself. That she used people. Thing was, they were right. I shook my head. “You’ll have to ask them,” I said, waiting for her to get to whatever point she had.
We’d been friends growing up, but it was Layla who kept us together. Without her in the middle to keep us nice, we battered our strong wills against each other. I was more than over it.
She was quiet a moment before her shoulders rose and fell with a deep sigh. “Costi, I know I messed up. But I want to try again. With us.”
Surprise jolted me, chased by hot anger. Like Hell. Like Hell . “Yeah? After you said you didn’t wanna be seen with me?”
“You’re still mad about that? You know why. I wouldn’t have been able to get where I am if everyone knew I was dating… someone like you. If you’d just waited —”
“What, I was just supposed to be grateful you’d slum it with me?”
Holly sighed. “Things are different now. I think I’ll be able to get a position with the Arcaenum. I’ve been talking to some of the administration there. I can teach you how to make witches respect you. We can convince them you’re no longer Troubled—”
“You want me to pretend. Be someone I’m not.” She was living in a fantasy world anyway. There was no way to recover from being Troubled. Once you had a label like that, it stuck.
“Don’t be naive. You’re a bad day away from getting thrown out of the Circle. I’m trying to help you.” She rested her hand on my chest. “You can get past this if you try.”
“You’re right about one thing. Things are different now.”
Holly turned behind her to see where I was looking. Who I was looking at. Layla was a vision in black and crimson, swaying to the bright music, laughing with one of the Mountain Circle spell casters. Brilliant, kind, and passionate beneath her shy exterior. Guileless. Everything I’d ever wanted.
Holly whipped her head back to me. “You can’t, Costi. She’s a spell caster.”
I had nothing to say. I knew I couldn’t.
She made a disgusted noise. “ For fate’s sake. You’ve always been obsessed with her,” she hissed. “It’s weird . It’s not healthy to be fixated like this. You have to stop. She’ll never return your feelings, and if she did, she’d doom you. She’s keeping you from being happy.”
Nothing could have been further from the truth. Whether she returned my feelings or not, Layla was the one thing keeping me tethered to this world.
I scrubbed a hand through my hair. This was getting old fast. “Why are you bringing this up again, Holly? We didn’t work .”
“That’s not true.” She slid her hand to my shoulder. “We could work.”
I dislodged her with my good arm. “If the Circle decides I’m not Troubled, you mean.”
Even in the dim light I could see her cheeks flush with anger. “Damn it, Costi, that’s for you . Don’t you want to get better?”
“There’s nothing wrong with me.”
“Besides lusting after a barely grown spell caster?”
Rage boiled through me so hard, the music washed out as my ears rang. How dare she go there. Layla was twenty years old. She wasn’t a child. “So this is about her. That why you’ve been ignoring her? Breaking her heart? You think she’s in your way?”
“You’re such a hypocrite! You’re so tied up about me not wanting to tell anyone. It would be ten thousand times worse with her.”
I didn’t respond. The way I saw it, there was a huge difference between won’t and can’t .
“Costi, just leave her alone already. Someone who cares about you is right in front of you.” She reached out to caress my jaw.
I threw her hand off me again . “You care about me? You got a fucking messed-up way of showing it.” I grabbed my whiskey from the bar table, downing it in one swallow and slamming the tumbler back down.
I looked again. I couldn’t help myself. My body was a compass that always pointed to her. I stared through the crowd, and Layla’s blue eyes latched on to mine.
***
LAYLA
The harvest party was already humming when we arrived at a large community house with a wraparound porch, witches spilling out of the building into the warm twilight.
The house backed into the side of a hill, the front lifted up on stilts, accessed by a tall staircase that seemed like it would be a hazard after a few drinks. Glowing witch lights had been strung across the porch and inside, where partygoers talked and laughed above the thumping music.
The Mountain Circle, pieced together with the remnants of Northern Sea, had collectively decided we were not afraid tonight. We were celebrating Lughnasadh.
Sativa, Oliver, and Datura were dressed to the nines in coordinating black outfits. Sativa’s short dress showed off her golden legs, her long, straight hair gleaming. Oliver’s crop top showed a strip of toned stomach above his fitted pants, his hair styled artfully to look messy. Datura wore a flare-legged bodysuit that clung to her curves and had pinned her wild curls up around her head, garlanded with a woven crown of her namesake flower.
In keeping with our unofficial coven theme, I had also picked a black dress from the selection I had borrowed earlier in the day. The sleeves were short, with a sweetheart neck. The skirt flared out into an A-line, and black ribbon laced over panels of crimson on either side. I had left my hair down in its natural waves and made up my eyes with liner and mascara. A pair of black sandals that tied up my calves completed the look.
I was so ready for dancing and fun.
“Florin!” Sativa shrieked as soon as we walked in the door.
“Sa-ti-va! Happy harvest!” Florin, I presumed, twirled around and raised his glass at us, nearly spilling some of whatever was in it. One of his companions laughed and helped him hold it upright as they waved us inside.
“Hey, Mountain Thunder, looking good !” someone in the crowd boomed, causing whistles and cheers. “Layla Rosen, you’re a badass angel cooker!”
A stunned laugh bubbled out of me. Fate, everyone did know who I was. That was so weird. At least I felt… a little more welcome.
A mix of young witches filled the house, caught in the glow of dozens of sparkling witch lights dangling from the ceiling. There would have been a more solemn ritual for the holiday going on, but we would let the older witches enjoy that without us tonight.
“Come dance with us, Newbie,” Datura demanded.
Oliver twirled me around, and I grinned. “I’ve graduated from Screwup!”
“We have to celebrate by dancing!” Oliver declared.
“Wait, I have to find something first,” I told them as Oliver pulled Datura to the dance floor.
Sativa was occupied by Florin, who was gesturing his way through a story that had everyone around him howling.
I scanned the room with intent and saw exactly what I was looking for. At last! An entire sideboard filled with desserts. I snatched up a cookie in each hand. If we were about to get fried by angels, I wanted to eat sugar first.
There was a bar stocked with liquor bottles—some locally made and some popular outside brands. Beer, soda, and mixers were stuffed into a huge tub of ice next to a drink cooler labeled Harvest Punch that looked promising.
Stuffing the last of my baked goods—the first round, anyway—into my mouth, I filled a tall glass of ice with bubbly punch. Sweet fruit and alcohol fizzed on my tongue. Perfection.
I noticed Juni sitting nearby with a group of friends in a huddle of chairs and couches.
“Hey!” I waved, heading over. “You look amazing.” Juni was decked out in an adorable purple-sequined bodysuit that dipped under one arm and flared jeans.
“Hey, Layla! Love the dress. Thanks for finishing the weeding. This is my coven.” They gestured at the tangle of witches sprawled over the furniture, drinking away.
“Dark!” one of them cheered. Juni and the rest responded with “Water!” lifting their drinks in the air.
I laughed. “How’s it going?” I said, perching on the edge of an unused chair.
“It was going awesome, until Zac killed the vibe.” Juni leveled a not-entirely-serious glare at their covenmate, a lanky witch in black cargo pants with a silver chain.
“I did not!” Zac protested. “I’m just saying if the angels have weapons, something’s going on.”
Juni pointed at him. “And I’m just saying we came to this party to not think about that.”
“What if they do have weapons, though? Are they… are they organizing or something?” Another of the Dark Water casters spoke up.
Juni groaned. “Here we go again.”
“They don’t think. They’re just creatures,” said a witch with spiked hair that had been tipped with green.
“All the old stories have angels talking and waging war like people,” Zac pointed out.
“Yeah, you just said it— stories . It’s all mythology,” Juni countered.
“I just think we should be ready. Something’s different.” Zac crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back.
My stomach twisted. It was the same fear I’d had.
“You were there,” Zac said, and the entire coven suddenly focused their attention on me. “Did they have weapons? Did it seem… organized?”
“I… didn’t see most of it. I cast too much and passed out.” I fidgeted, not sure if I should share the rest. “But I heard they had staffs that could shoot burning light.”
The Dark Water casters looked at each other uncertainly.
“That’s it,” Juni declared, poking a finger into Zac’s chest. “It’s not enough for you to murder the vibe in cold blood, you have to piss on its grave too? Layla, let’s go. I have an urgent need to dance!”
I laughed, breaking the tension.
Juni led me to an open spot on the dance floor. The flashing lights, moving bodies, deep beat, and Juni’s horrible dancing soon had me smiling and thinking of nothing as I swayed to the music.
Song after song unwound the deep tension I had been carrying.
“Can I cut in?” a large, grinning witch with a bushy beard yelled, clearly not dressed for the party in a dusty T-shirt with “LAKESIDE POTTERY: WE DO IT WITH CLAY” emblazoned on it.
Juni threw their arms around him with a scream, and the pair sealed their lips together, not even bothering to pretend to dance anymore.
I chuckled at Juni, who gave me a wave without coming up for air.
My throat tightened unexpectedly as I twirled off by myself. Longing and envy seared through me. I wanted that kind of freedom. Juni wouldn’t be able to keep their lover, but that didn’t seem to be stopping them.
Spell casters had to marry spell casters and have baby spell casters. I’d never once questioned that. My parents had broken that rule, and my mother made damn sure I knew it was the source of all her misery. It had never even crossed my mind to make out with a handsome potter on a dance floor.
Or a guardian . The thought bubbled up out of nowhere, lodged itself in my mind, and then wouldn’t leave. A guardian who would kiss me like he did everything: aggressively and on his own terms, with his entire heart.
I wasn’t sure what made me look up. Through the crowd, I locked eyes with Costi. How long has he been watching?
He was leaning with his boot propped up behind him against the far wall. Beside him was another Northern Sea guardian I had seen around—Costi’s friend Ash, I thought.
Holly was with them, I realized with a jolt.
She whirled and glared at me as Costi stepped past her. I couldn’t see her expression, but I suddenly felt small and awkward, standing in the middle of the dance floor alone. Ash clamped a hand over Holly’s bicep, stopping her from following.
With almost frightening intensity, Costi stalked toward me like a storm rolling in off the ocean.
My body reacted instinctively, warring with itself. Freeze. No, go to him. No, run.
I made a panicked dash toward the nearest exit, which turned out to be one of the wooden porches. It was unlit. The breezy night air cooled my heated skin as I sucked in a shaky breath full of the taste of the forest.
Of course Costi followed me. He slid the door closed. The sound of the party muffled, leaving only the droning of night insects.
I swallowed heavily, backing up against the railing.
“I just wanted to talk to you.” He prowled nearer. He was in all black as usual, his tight-fitting uniform that showed off his strong arms, the edges of his tattoos splashed near his collarbone. He had pushed his hands through his already messy hair. I liked it way too much.
“You look… so good,” he said, running his eyes over my body.
I shivered despite being overheated. “You look pretty good too.” I tried for nonchalance, but I couldn’t catch my breath.
What am I doing? This wasn’t good.
“You think so?” His lips tilted up on one side in a teasing smirk.
“Maybe a bit.” I bit my lip against a loopy grin.
“Just a bit?”
I rolled my eyes. “You don’t need me to tell you you’re hot.”
He chuckled darkly. “Yeah, I think I do.” He moved closer to me, trapping me against the wooden railing with a hand on either side. “You gonna tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“Tell me you think I’m hot. I wanna hear it.”
My mind sped out of control, barreling past flashing red warning signs. “I think you’re hot.”
He gave me a wicked half grin that stopped my breath. A final step swallowed up the space between us until he was pushing me against the railing, pressing our bodies together. He smelled delicious, like salt water and alcohol. My body thrilled.
“What’s that?” he murmured in my ear. My heart careened helplessly as this turned into way more than I bargained for.
“I said you’re hot,” I whispered.
“Hmm?” He ran his nose along my cheek.
“You’re hot , Costi. You’re so —”
I gasped out loud as his lips landed behind my ear—
He whipped his head around when the door slid open and a partygoer popped their head through as music spilled from inside. “Hey, is Florin out here? Oh… sorry.”
We jumped away from each other, awkwardly pulling tangled arms and legs back into their own spaces. I glanced at Costi in the warm light from the open door—his face mirrored the exact kind of stunned that I was feeling.
What in the sacred name of fate were we just doing? This was bad, bad, bad. My heart pounded in my chest. No one could see who we were in the dark, right?
“I should take you home,” he said, then coughed. “To… to your apartment. To bed. By yourself.”
I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle a hysterical laugh. I’d known Costi my whole life, and I couldn’t ever remember him being flustered.
We slipped back through the party, not touching. Outside, a row of solar lights led from the community house to the main walkway. It was a bit of a walk, but Costi seemed to know the way. We were quiet. He seemed lost in thought.
When we got close, I showed him where my coven lived. We stopped at the door, standing in the porch light.
“We need to talk,” he said. His face was carefully blank.
“Yes.” I worried my lip between my teeth.
“Tomorrow?”
I nodded.
He exhaled a breath and leaned into me. He ran both hands up my bare arms, curling them around my biceps, holding me in place. I shivered. He dipped his head and I tilted mine up, lining up my parted lips with his but not quite touching.
A door banged shut somewhere nearby. We startled backward.
“I… Good night, Layla,” he breathed, rubbing his hand behind his neck.
I stood with a hand over my burning face as he disappeared into the darkness.
***
Inside, the apartment was dark and still. I mechanically got ready for bed, my mind whirling.
Went home early , I texted Sativa. Thanks for the invite. Happy harvest!
I was screwed. So, so screwed. Our childhood friendship had drifted into something else entirely, and I hadn’t even noticed. But it was so obvious—the way I never got crushes on anyone. Even after he graduated and went off to training, I’d never even really considered dating. I always wanted to run all my thoughts by him. Fate, I’d followed him around for years —
I buried my face in my pillow and let loose a strangled sound of frustration.
How long? It might explain a lot. Why he’d been distant this last year.
Fate, fate, fate, this was so bad.
Or is it?
No, of course it was bad. Costi was the exact opposite of who I was supposed to like. Something was going on with the angels, and I just knew it was worse than anyone was letting on. Costi needed to concentrate on his job, and I needed to figure out where my familiar was, quickly . I couldn’t tell anyone about this; they’d throw him out of the Circle for less than what he’d done tonight. And my mother… I didn’t want to think about what she would do.
Late into the night, I heard Datura and Oliver come home, whispering and laughing in that way they had.
I forced myself to stop thinking and try to sleep. Eventually, it worked.
***
I dreamed of Costi pinning me with his hard body against the railing, eagerly trailing his lips down my neck in the dark.
I squirmed against him with delicious friction, chasing the sensation building in my core.
It felt like the buildup of magic. It was a buildup of magic. I pulled more while pain and pleasure battled to destroy me.
“Help me,” I begged.
“I got what you need, Layla,” he growled, his face tucked into my shoulder.
“ Please .”
With the logic of dreams, he sang harshly into my ear in Greek, such a beautiful voice.
My whole body became liquid fire, boiling, burning—
***
COSTI
It was still dark out, but I needed to clear my goddamn head. I was starkly sober now, and I didn’t appreciate it one bit.
The room in the barracks I shared with a dozen guardians was stifling and full of obnoxious snorers. It would serve them right if I woke them all up, but I tried to be quiet as I slipped on a shirt and my boots. I didn’t want to talk.
Outside, a hint of dawn was just starting to brighten the sky, and a cool breeze ruffled my hair. There was a hiking trail on the north side of the Circle, and I made my way there. I missed the ocean. This place had too many damn trees.
What in the name of Hell was I thinking?
The guardians had a point. We were supposed to protect the spell casters in battle. Catching feelings made people do reckless things—like putting your whole team in danger to save your lover. Not to mention the shredded mess she’d make of my heart. They’d been working on her for years, convincing her to be a good girl and marry a caster.
It didn’t matter how good she looked in a dress, how sweet she was to me, or how she parted her mouth—Layla Rosen was not for me , and I needed to stay the fuck away from her. Not chase her through a crowd and put my lips all over her.
Holly was right about that too. I had always been obsessed with Layla.
She seemed to attract bullies for no good reason, and someone had to look out for her. Holly and I both clung to her, a North Star in the night.
As I got older, I half-heartedly pursued romances that didn’t go anywhere. Thought maybe I wasn’t into that sort of thing. I was focused on becoming a guardian and proving I wasn’t a waste of space.
Then Layla grew up.
A year ago, I saw her across the commons at the Northern Sea Circle, walking two paces behind her classmates as they laughed and talked without her. She was wearing this short skirt that swayed around her thighs, and just like that, I was a hundred percent gone. All the fond, protective feelings I had for her flipped to something potent and dangerous.
After that, I tried to stay away from her. I knew I couldn’t have her. But she kept coming to me. And I kept fanning that flame. Holly had her head stuck up her own ass and was making Layla miserable. I couldn’t leave her alone and friendless.
Even if I was the worst sort of friend.
The hiking path was barely visible, and I somehow veered off into the woods. I didn’t care—I had a good sense of direction, and I’d just go back the way I came later. This part of the woods was open enough to walk through easily, tall trees shading out the underbrush.
I hadn’t gone far when I hit the creek. It was obstructed by rocks, and water had backed up, forming some kind of natural pool. Ferns and vines drooped over the banks. Something about the place felt magical, almost sacred.
Layla would love it here.
I groaned out loud, dropping my head into my hands and scrubbing at my face. I had to stop thinking about her. When I’d told her we needed to talk after the party, I’d fully intended to make her mine , and damn the consequences. The worst, most reckless idea I’d ever had, and I’d had plenty.
She didn’t need some Troubled fuckup blowing up her life. What she needed was a friend to help her figure out this stuff with her familiar. I’d already interrogated Grey about his demon but hadn’t learned anything useful.
I scowled, thinking of the caster who’d taken Layla’s place. He’d spent the evening at the library , looking up shit for her. I hated him, but that was the least of my problems.
I scanned the lightening sky above the trees for the hundredth time. There was no way the angels didn’t know exactly where this Circle was. They’d been scouting. They probably knew where all the Circles were.
What are they waiting for?
***
LAYLA
I was already scrambling to the bathroom before I realized I was awake. I threw open the toilet lid and vomited up the meager contents of my stomach.
Oliver looked me over from the doorway, taking in my unchanged party clothes and what was probably a raccoonish smear of eye makeup.
He pointed at me. “Too much harvest punch.”
I slammed the door in his face and heard him laughing in the hall.
It wasn’t the harvest punch , I thought as I scrubbed my face and brushed my teeth in miserable slowness. I had pulled magic in my sleep while dreaming of… of…
I was in way over my head. My heart twisted painfully as I wished I could talk to Holly. She used to be the one to help me work through my problems. But my old friend was gone, replaced by someone grown-up who looked like her, someone who touched Costi casually in dark rooms and had no time for me.
Much later in the evening, I still hadn’t emerged from my room except to crawl to the bathroom and back. I slept away my raging headache and choked down one of the fruit bars I’d picked up the day before. I had told Costi I’d talk to him today, but I definitely couldn’t face him right now. Not after realizing I’d had a crush on him for half my life. Not after that dream . I needed to retreat into the forest immediately and become a patch of moss.
There was movement outside from my covenmates, but no one had bothered me. I supposed Oliver would run with the harvest punch hypothesis, and I was fine with that explanation.
A text pinged.
Holly: Can you come outside?
My breath caught. Fate, I had conjured her by thinking about her. Talking to her was a terrible idea. After seeing her last night, I had a suspicion about what had come between us. I wasn’t sure I wanted to confirm it.
With sinking dread, I pushed my feet into a pair of sandals and stepped out.
Holly, sitting on the bench in the garden, stood up when she saw me. She was wearing a yellow sundress that emphasized her curves, her dark hair done up in waves and pulled back into a ponytail, achieving a sophisticated look I could never hope to match. The garden lights cast a warm glow over my former friend, fireflies blinking among the plants.
My heart squeezed. I shouldn’t have come out. This wasn’t going to be an apology.
She smiled at me faintly. “Hey, Layla. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah,” I said, wary.
“I see you joined a coven. That’s great.”
“Did… did you need something?”
She pressed her lips together before continuing. “We need to talk about Costi.”
I knew it. “Yeah, no. I really don’t think we do.” I turned to go.
“Whatever this thing you’re doing is, you need to stop,” she called out, arresting me.
I whirled back around. “I’m not doing anything—”
“Layla, you’re being defensive. Listen to me. He worked very hard to become a guardian, and he has to work hard to stay there. You can’t get in the way of that.”
“I would never —”
“You already have,” Holly said with exaggerated patience. “You made him wait around for months after his training while you dithered about your summoning circle. You made him drive you here while he was injured . Every time you have any little problem, you make him drop whatever he’s doing and come fix it for you.”
Her words were like blades to my gut. Tears streaked from my eyes, and I scrubbed them away angrily.
“This is exactly what I’m talking about.” She gestured to my face. “Your constant breakdowns are distracting him. I don’t think you understand how serious this is. Joining the guardians is the last chance for witches like him. The Arcaenum won’t hesitate to remove him from the Circle if he can’t cut it. Layla, you’re not good for him.”
“Oh, and you are?” I said bitterly, finally catching on to what this was really about.
“Yes,” she said frankly, widening her eyes. “He needs someone to stabilize him, not drag him under with them.”
“It isn’t like that,” I insisted, wrapping my arms around myself.
Holly sighed. “I’m not trying to hurt your feelings. I love Costi, and I want him to be happy. He’s in turmoil because of you. Can’t you understand? You need to let him go.”
I said nothing, looking away. Telling me to let Costi go was like telling me to remove the blood from my body.
“Guardians agree not to form attachments with spell casters when they join. It’s better for everyone that way. Think about it. You’ll eventually have to marry another caster. How will that affect him?”
“I don’t… I don’t want to…”
“He’s not allowed to be with you, Layla,” she said bluntly. “Tell him you don’t want him so he can move on with his life.”
“With you.”
“You have to, Layla,” Holly demanded. “This isn’t good for either of you.”
I stared into the shadowy garden trees. The lights of the Mountain Circle flickered in the dark hills above. My heart ached. Holly was right. Costi and I were forbidden to be more than colleagues. We were pushing it with our friendship. Now that I had realized what he meant to me, it wouldn’t be enough. I would always want more.
“I… I’ll talk to him.”
Holly frowned. “Layla—”
“I said I’ll talk to him!” I wrenched the door open and slammed it shut, leaving Holly outside.