Layla

Chapter 3

Layla woke up to dishes clattering, a sound she was used to. She wasn't familiar with the bed she was sleeping on though. She took a few seconds to recollect last night's events. Her Mumma was gone.

She cautiously opened the bedroom door to see a tall figure making what seemed to be pancakes. Layla just stood there in silence, not knowing what to do until Nicholas turned around. "Morning!" Nicholas said, in his usual cheery tone. "Do you remember me? I'm Nicholas from last night. I'm also your older brother. You fell asleep on the couch, so Hamish let you sleep in his bed. Hamish told me what happened yesterday. Are you okay?" Rambling was his forte 

Layla was just asked too many questions at once, so she decided to answer none of them. "Mumma told me about you"

"She did? What did she say?"

"That you're Nicholas"

"That's it?"

"Yup"

"Wow, that's awfully nice of her", Nicholas scoffed

Layla just smiled and nodded, completely oblivious to Nicholas's sarcasm.

"Would you like some pancakes?" Nicholas asked

"Yes please," Layla decided that tending to her poor stomach was a tad bit more important than her embarrassment.

Layla let herself get comfortable in the little breakfast nook by the window. "Here you go." Nicholas said sweetly, placing a plate stacked with golden brown pancakes. Layla's eyes glistened almost as much as the thick honey dripping from the pancakes. This was heaven. Layla didn't wait a second before devouring her food.

"Woah, slow down kid. Are the pancakes good?"

A muffled "mhm" was heard from Layla as she nodded he head aggressively.

"Morning," Hamish said in his morning groggy voice. His hair was dishevelled and his dark circles were exceptionally prominent.

"You look great," Nicholas said patting his brother's shoulders a bit too hard.

"Couldn't sleep" Hamish was up pretty much all night thinking about his sister. "Hey Layla, did you sleep well?"

"Mhm," Layla said, now finished with her breakfast. "When's Mumma coming back? She promised to take me to the ice cream parlour today."

Hamish and Nicholas looked at each other in disappointment. Another promise their mother couldn't keep. How were they supposed to tell their little sister that her mother left and definitely wasn't coming back? "I... I don't know." Hamish said softly, almost feeling guilty for what his mother had done. Like it was somehow his fault.

Hamish pulled his brother aside. "We can't give her up for adoption"

"That's what I said. It's not like she can live with someone else. The only families we had were grandma and grandpa and they obviously can't take of her because, you know, they're dead."

"No shit Nik"

"We have to take her in. It can't be that hard. She seems like a sweet kid."

"Okay, let's do it. Fuck what have our lives turned into?"

***

"Layla, we need to talk to you," Hamish said, sitting directly in front of Layla in the breakfast nook.

"Okay"

"Your mum's not going to come back for a while. So from now on, you will be living with us. How does that sound?"