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Seeing her cry felt like getting slammed in the chest over and over again with a sledgehammer. I’d seen Layla strong, bold, sexy, and so many other things that reflected her power, but I’d never seen her cry. I could see her heart breaking all over her face and there was nothing I could do. There was no one I could punch or scream at.
“Y’all came.” She pressed her face to my chest and sobbed again. Her hands fisted in my shirt and she clung to me like she was in physical pain. Her body shook in my arms as she cried.
“Of course, we came, Firecracker.” Jones sounded as panicked as I felt about her tears. “You couldn’t keep us away if you tried.”
I stroked her back and held my lips to the top of her head, just breathing her in and out. “We should’ve been paying more attention right away and we could’ve been here with you last night. I’m sorry.”
“You paused the tour, too?” Her voice gave away how surprised she was. It showed how little her ex had done for her that she would be surprised that we’d come running to be with her.
“Yeah, sweetheart, we did. We’re here with you. Nothing else matters.” Xavier tapped Jones on the arm and pointed at the pizza place coming up.
Jones turned into the lot and parked. “Do you want anything besides your favorite pizza, Firecracker?”
“I’m not hungry.” Layla lifted her head and saw where we were. “Oh, god. Don’t go in there.”
“I’m getting you your favorite pizza and you’re going to eat it. We’re not letting you waste away.” Jones stepped out and smiled in at Layla. “I won’t make a scene. Promise.”
I hummed the chords to a new, different song we’d been working on and gently rocked Layla. Her exhaustion was evident in how quickly her body went limp in my arms. I held her head to my chest and didn’t dare budge. Even after Jones came back with a stack of pizzas, I barely breathed, not wanting to disturb her.
When Jones followed the directions Gran had given us to her house and then parked in front of a small farmhouse, I felt like we’d stepped back in time. The deep front porch held a couple of rocking chairs and I could see from where we’d parked that the front door was open, just a screen door separating the outside world from what would be Layla’s home for a little while. I made a note to install a security system for Gran.
“Do you have her?” Xavier looked like he was dying to take Layla from me, but I wasn’t ready to let her go.
“I’ve got her.” I met his eyes. “I’m just not sure how I’m ever supposed to let go.”
Jones went into the house first and held the door open for us. Pointing to a floral patterned couch in the living room just to the right of the entrance, he watched as I tried to ease Layla down on the couch, but she whimpered and clung to me. “Just sit with her. I can’t handle that sound again. I feel like I should be fighting someone to make her feel better, but there’s no one to fight.”
I settled on the couch and held her tight. “I’m seconds from allowing you to knock me out. I need a break from all these fucking feelings.”
Xavier came into the living room with plates and bottles of beer. He handed out pizza and gave me an extra slice for Layla. We ate in complete silence, devouring more pizza than we’d ever admit to Gran after everything she’d said about Joe.
I held a slice out and lightly pressed the tip against Layla’s lips. “Open up, baby. It’s your favorite pizza.”
She turned her head and groaned. “Not hungry.”
“That’s fine, but you need to eat something.” I brushed it against her mouth again and when she opened her mouth to complain, I pushed it inside.
Her eyes flew open and she frowned up at me as she chewed. “I don’t want it.”
I forced her through eating the slice and then put my plate aside. “Good job, baby. I have to make sure you’re okay and that means you eat. Plus, Joe made it special, just for you.”
She grunted. “Shut up. I haven’t spoken to Joe in four years. I doubt he even remembers my name, much less how I like my pizza.”
Jones sat forward on his floral printed chair. “Joe almost lost every tooth in his mouth because of how he remembers you.”
Her cheeks flushed. “That’s embarrassing.”
“For him.” Finishing the last of his beer, Jones rubbed his jaw. “When he found out he was talking to your man, he turned bright red and tripped over himself apologizing.”
Shifting so she was fully embraced in my arms again, she rested her hands over mine. “My man?”
“Well, we’re not boys.” Xavier reached over and stroked her cheek. “But we are yours.”
She sniffed and the three of us froze in fear of there being more tears that we couldn’t fix. “I’m just so tired. The last time I saw y’all, I was accusing you of cheating and now we’re here. I don’t know why y’all came. I’m not sure I deserve it.”
I tugged her around so she was facing me. “You deserve it. You deserve the world, baby, and we’re far from that.”
“What happened because of O’Brian wasn’t your fault, or our fault. He messed with your head and had Miriam walk us into a situation that made us look bad. That doesn’t change how we feel about you, though. You’re family, Firecracker. When you go through something, we all do.”
