THIS COULD BE US, anna shumate

shes not fine

layla hadn't come out of her girlfriend's bedroom for a few days, she knew anna and her friends were just trying to help but layla didn't want anyone to be around her.

all she wanted was time to figure out why it happened.

she stands up coming off of her girlfriend's king size bed coming towards anna's connected bathroom, splashing water onto her face letting out a breath, looking at herself in the mirror.

seeing the black circles underneath her eyes from the countless nights of not being able to sleep, she gets her toothbrush from the pot anna kept for her, brushing her teeth spitting out the toothpaste from her mouth.

"okay,"

she lets out a breath, her hands on the edge of the sink, looking ag her herself in the mirror before going back into her girlfriends bedroom seeing a tray of raspberries and starwberries with a starbucks drink along with a teddy bear.

____

"she's not fine, okay, she hasn't come out of my bedroom since that day," anna stated to their manager downstairs away from her bedroom where her girlfriend currently is in.

emma looked at her friend, "all we can do right now, is just be there for her until we catch him doing this to someone else," alana nods her head, "does layla not wanna come downstairs?"

anna shook her head at their manager, "no.. alana, she says she's fine but she's not eating, and whenever i try to talk to her, she blanks out of our conversation,"

emma frowned knowing anna was tryna help her girlfriend but layla was keeping her guard up with what happened, "i'm gonna go talk to her—"

anna stopped her best friend, "no," emma furrowed her eyebrows, "she just needs time, i know she'll open up to me,"

alana looked at her client, "she can't stay in your room, she has to be outside," anna ran a hand through her hair, "i'll try and take her to get something to eat,"

emma looked at her friend, "if she's not gonna go then we have to tell noah and her family," anna nods her head, "i have never seen her be like this," they all nod their heads, "i just hope she doesn't go back to how she was when she and drew broke up,"

emma and alana nod their heads, "she won't,"

____

noah comes into anna's house after anna had no other choice but to call him after she tried to get her girlfriend to go out to eat with her.

"what happened? where is she?"

noah questioned looking at his sister's girlfriend with dixie beside him, "so.. she had a photoshoot with some photographer called leonardo apollo who alana now found out isn't a actually a photographer," noah nods his head with his arms now crossed over his chest, "and as she was getting changed, he basically came into the dressing room and touched her,"

"what?!"

anna looked at her girlfriend's brother, "where were you when this was happening, anna?" he asked anna, "i was here, sh-she.."

noah just shook his head, "where is she?" she points upstairs, "she's in my bedroom, the third door on the right," he goes upstairs into anna's bedroom seeing a figure underneath the covers.

"layla, it's me,"

layla pokes her head out from underneath her girlfriends comforter where noah sees the dark circles underneath her eyes and tears, "paigey, what happened?"

layla's lips quivers breaking down in her brother's embrace telling him everything that happened at the photoshoot with the part of leonardo slapping her, "he slapped you?"

he asked his broken down sister, "it-it left a red mark," noah frowned rubbing his sister's back, "he won't get away with this, we'll get the best lawyers on this,"

layla shakes her head, "n-no, i just want this all to go away, i want this feeling to go away," noah looked at his sister's eyes seeing that she was tired, tired of trying to be fine when she's not, "it's okay, it's all going to be okay, i'm here,"

"shh—shh,"

noah rubbed his sister's back feeling his sister's grip loosen off of his t-shirt looking down seeing layla sleeping with tears falling down her face.

anna watched her girlfriend from her bedroom door with a frown feeling bad that she couldn't help her girlfriend.

dixie looked at anna, "it's okay, she's gonna be okay," anna looked at dixie, "i-i just feel terrible cause i couldn't even help her to fall asleep, cause i know she's not been sleeping well since what happened and—"

dixie now puts a comforting hand onto anna's shoulders, "layla knows that you tried and that's all that matters to her," anna sighs looking back to her girlfriend seeing noah put his sister's head onto the pillow moving away from his sister.

noah closed the door behind him looking at anna, "she's sleeping but when she wakes up, she's gonna need you," anna nods her head, "also i'm sorry for shouting at you, it's just—"

anna looked at him, "it's hard seeing your sibling so hurt and upset," noah nods his head, "yeah," anna ran a hand through her hair, "i wish i was there cause if i was, i don't think i would of been able to hold myself back from killing that man," noah looked at her, "me too, when she wakes up can you just text me how's she doing,"

anna hummed walking noah and dixie out of her house coming back upstairs towards her bedroom, opening her bedroom door coming closer to her girlfriend going underneath the covers wrapping an arm protectively around layla's waist.

"i can't lose you,"

anna whispered not knowing that her girlfriend was slightly awake hearing anna say that, "i need you to be okay cause i-i can't lose you, i love you too much to lose you,"