The Lake (The Lake Trilogy, Book 1) (18 page)

“I think it’ll be ok. We just can’t have any of
this
out in the open.” he says, giving my waist a little squeeze. “You’re still new enough here to pass our little tour off as an act of good will on my part. We’ll have some time together and then we’ll get Tyler, Chris and the girls. Sound nice?”

“It sounds better than nice,” I say. A grin emerges and covers what I feel is the entirety of my face.

Without releasing my eyes, Will reaches one hand over to open the door for me before letting me go. I take one step toward the door when he stops me. “Thank you, Layla. You have no idea how you’ve changed my life.” He kisses me sweetly on the cheek and walks back to his car. I stand in the doorway and watch him drive away. I miss him already.

I lock the door behind me and close my eyes, doing my best to relive the last few hours, but more importantly, the last ten minutes. I reluctantly come back to reality and decide I should make sure the back door is locked, too. Luke may have thought we’d come back through the kitchen. I pus
h open the swinging door and startle Luke. We both jump at the sight of each other.

Luke has the freezer drawer open. Seeing it’s me, he holds up two cartons of ice cream and bribes me. “I’ll give you a scoop if you don’t tell Claire!”

I walk over to a cabinet and reach down two bowls. “Deal.”

In my weeks of knowing Luke and Claire, I’ve watched them closely. They make a great team, like
Mom and Dad, and, if I’m honest, Gram and Gramps. Despite Gram’s propensity for highlighting my eternal punishment, she and Gramps were good together. They adored each other. It was me Gram hated. I see the way Luke looks at Claire, like the way Dad looked at Mom, and Gramps looked at Gram. It makes me wonder if the problem was that the Weston men were too much alike. Whatever the reasons, I don’t need to know them. All that is in the past and Luke has earned my trust. I’m moving forward.

“How’s your bribery ice cream?” Luke asks.

“It’s great. Although I might need some chocolate syrup if I’m going to keep this totally ‘hush-hush’,” I say with a smirk.

Luke drizzles my ice cream with syrup and sits back down. “How was your night?”

“It was…great. Will told me he filled you in on his plan.”

“Yeah, Will…he’s a nice kid.” He pauses, choosing his words. Am I about to get the ‘birds and the bees’ talk?
Oh, no!
I try to think of something to say to change the subject but I’m too late and Luke continues. “Did you know his father has been an attorney for 35 years, and in that time, he has
never
lost a case?”

“Impressive.” Random, but at least it isn’t the sex talk.

“Yes, it is. Do you know
why
he’s never lost a case?” I shake my head. “He’s never lost a case because Gregory Meyer
always
wins. He’s an aggressively powerful man who does whatever, and I do mean
whatever,
it takes to get what he wants.” Luke’s face is serious and his eyes work hard to pierce mine.

My brow furrows. “Why are you telling me what I already know?” I ask.

“Apples and trees, Layla,” he says.

“You know Will isn’t like that, Luke,” my jaw is set. I am immediately angry. “Is there something you’re trying to tell me about Will?”

“No, but I’ve worked for Gregory Meyer for a long time and I want you to be really clear about the kind of family Will comes from. What Gregory did to Holly’s family is just the tip of the iceberg of what that man is capable of doing. Don’t get me wrong, Layla, I
like
Will. You wouldn’t be seeing him if I didn’t. I just want you to be careful. It might be more than you’re emotionally ready to handle right now. That’s all I’m saying.”

My mind races back to the images of the man having his lunch involuntarily removed via a swift beating outside the law firm. I remember how Mr. Meyer stood there as
, what I can only assume was his directive, was carried out in front of him. From that, I know that Luke and Will aren’t sugarcoating it in what they’re telling me about Mr. Meyer. Yes, they have all done a thorough job at making sure I’m completely terrified of this man. I
know
that Will isn’t like that. He does everything to keep himself from being like his father in any way, shape, and form. Luke has spent all this time with Will and somehow doesn’t know that? I’m furious and at a loss for words.

“Yeah, well…you don’t know anything about Will
, and you don’t know anything about me,” I toss my bowl of unfinished ice cream in the sink and am afraid for a split second that it may have been hard enough to break the bowl. When I’m confident that it’s still in one piece I go upstairs, straight to my room.

I throw myself on my bed, fuming.
Why? Why is he doing this to me?
I chant in my head. They’ve already given us their support. Haven’t I suffered enough? Don’t I deserve
one
good thing in my life? Will is the happiness I’ve been waiting for; the happiness I paid for. He is the only thing that has brought me pure joy since before Mom and Dad died.

I begin to wish that
my parents were here so I could ask them what to do. Then I experience the most horrid thought I’ve ever had in my life: I
don’t
really wish they were here. If they weren’t dead, I wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t have Will. Then the most disgusting part emerges. I’m glad they’re all gone because I want Will more than anything else in the world.

I think I’m going to throw up so I run to the bathroom. I try to heave it out, to get the ugliness of my inner most thoughts out of me, but nothing happens. I take off my clothes in a furious rage and turn on the shower as hot as I can stand it, and then some. I get in and just stand there, letting the steaming hot water rush over my body. Maybe it will cleanse me somehow. I try to tell myself that it isn’t true; that I would take my parents back in a heartbeat, even if it meant losing Will. But it isn’t true. I want Will and I wouldn’t trade anything that brought me to him. I feel repulsive, like a monster. Maybe my penance hasn’t really been paid. Perhaps this is an extension of my hell. I get to be with Will, but have to live with the knowledge that the ones I loved had to die in order for me to have him.

The heat begins to dissipate from the water. My skin is red and my fingers are wrinkled. I turn the water off before it becomes too cold and wrap a towel around me. I shake my head to its senses.
I am not a monster,
I tell myself. I don’t know yet how I will reconcile these feelings, but I am sure of that one thing. I have to believe that my parents would want me to move on. It’s still a revolting thought that I wish I could scrub from my brain. Then I remember what Will said to me just a few short hours ago on the dock.
I’m sorry it took a tragedy to get you here, but I’m so glad you’re here.

What do I do about Luke? I was terrible to him. He’s
only trying to protect me. I’m just not used to being protected. Being protected means someone giving you the God’s honest truth because they care more about what happens to you in the long run than what happens in that moment; even if in that moment you are among those most hated in the world. Gram gave me the God’s honest truth, but that was because she wanted me to pay. If there’s one thing I’m clear on, it’s that Luke is not trying to make me pay.

Luke made it clear he was nervous about me seeing Will, so why did his caution set me off the way it did? He didn’t go back on his support; he just tried to give a clearer picture to what they’ve already been telling me. If Will is working hard to not be like his father, having a better understanding of Gregory Meyer will be important.
Right?

I feel so foolish. I wish I hadn’t responded so emotionally. This is such a strange place for me. I’ve never been able to be so free with my feelings. I can’t begin to imagine the fall-out if I had ever yelled at Gram that way. There were so many times I just wanted to scream,
I said I was sorry!
But I didn’t…couldn’t. Now I’ve emotionally vomited all over Luke. I took out the aggression I pent up for Gram and covered him in it like a bucket of mud.

I decide the best thing for me to do right now is go to bed. Things will look clearer in the morning.
 

*****
 

I wake up and stretch, having gotten my first solid night of sleep since moving here. My head is clearer and as I lay in bed my mind filters through the events of the past few weeks. It’s hard to believe I’ve been here as long as I have. What’s harder to believe is that I’m really and truly happy here. What started out as a destination to pass the time until college has grown into a place that holds more love
than I thought possible.

I think about my new friends whom I am already closer to than anyone I knew in Florida. I already see that our closeness will be long lasting, especially with Caroline. I hope to spend more time with them and learn to trust them as deeply as Will does. The very thought of them brings a smile to my face and a joy I can feel deep within.

I hesitate, but ponder my conversations with Marcus, too. He may be a good ally…if I ever tell him about my relationship with Will. If he sees how Will is fighting for us to be together, he’ll know that Will isn’t like his father. He’d see what Holly saw in him. Aside from his current contempt for the one who holds my heart, I think Marcus and I could be good friends.

I feel shaky as I recall the moment Mr. Meyer found Will and me on the dock
, and am even more creeped out recalling the stare down I got from him on the Green. I’m nervous at the thought that he may have caught Will in the lie, so I quickly turn my thoughts to something more pleasant. I feel my face blush and my heart flutter the instant I focus my feelings on Will. I close my eyes and try to recall everything from last night. The heat from his body as he sat close to me on the dock, the way his skin felt as he slipped his hand into mine. Mostly I remember the way his lips felt pressed against mine. I smile with anticipation as I remember that I will see him again today, and hope for a repeat of last night’s goodbye kiss.

Determined to stay in my current frame of mind I stop my thoughts before I recall my conversation with Luke. I treated him so terribly; I have to make amends. There’s no reason to stay mad a
t Luke. In fact, I really should thank him. He and Claire have done more for me in the time I’ve been here than I ever thought possible. They’ve proven their commitment to me, and a simple
I’m sorry
won’t suffice. I need to
thank
them. I think about it for a few moments and then it occurs to me. I’ll give him the one thing I’ve held back.

I think through what I’m going to say to him and wonder if he’s told Claire about our exchange last night. While I hope what I have to say to
him this morning will change our relationship forever, I feel a twinge of fear that he and Claire may have changed their minds about how supportive they’re willing to be. Even though I’m confident in their acceptance of me, I have to entertain the possibility that I may have destroyed any support of my relationship with Will in one silly, childlike fit. I take a quick shower – last night’s doesn’t count – and get dressed. I leave my hair damp so I can get downstairs faster. As I approach the kitchen I hear Luke and Claire talking. Recalling the last time I eavesdropped, I really should back away…but I don’t. I step forward gingerly and slow my breathing so I can hear them.

“Well someone had to warn her! You know how he is, Claire!” Luke says with a strong passion in his voice I hadn’t yet heard from him. Even in last night’s warning his tone was tender.

Claire seems to be the gentle voice of reason. “We’ve already been through this with them, Luke. They care about each other. You can’t change that with threatening stories about his father. The best we can do is to be there for them, and protect them from Greg.”

“What if she gets hurt? What if she gets her heart broken? I just couldn’t bare
it.” His voice is soft, defeated now. “I thought I was doing the right thing, but what if
I
hurt her? What if
I
broke her heart? I’m trying, Claire. I want to do right by them…but I feel like I’m already failing.”

I realize even more in this moment that last night’s warning was more than Luke just asserting some newly found parental right. He feels an obligation to my parents to take care of me…to protect me. I hadn’t considered this until now, and am relieved that I came to my senses last night. There’s a connection there between Luke and me, and that space, that canyon that had been between him and my father seems absolutely irrelevant now. Luke and Claire are my family, all I have left, and…I love them. Yes, I love them. How could I not? They have recreated a life for me that I should have been living but was denied by my own grandmother’s unforgiveness. I have been given a life more full in this last month than I ever thought I’d have. I am so incredibly grateful that tears begin to sting my eyes. I take a deep breath and become more determined with my choice that will hopefully solidify our family bond forever.

I take a few steps back and call to them. I want to give Luke time to collect himself if need be. I put on my
I just had my first kiss
voice and call, “Good morning!”