Scars Like Ours | Red View Romance #2

🐈 Eleven

When Annie walked into the kitchen behind Adam, Cliff, and Jack, she was surprised to find Layla sitting at the breakfast nook, plate already made. Kenzie had splayed out a sandwich bar on the kitchen island with different types of breads, lunchmeats, cheeses, and condiments next to a bowl of fresh, leafy lettuce. Dawson joined them after a few minutes, scrubbing his hands of the dirt that came with his job as everyone made their own lunch.

Annie was thankfully able to enjoy the meal and the company, even with her lingering embarrassment and Cliff-induced nerves. She always enjoyed hearing about work at the orchard, the upcoming wedding, and how the gym was coming along. Still, when she'd finished eating and excused herself for the bathroom, she realized she might not've been hiding her frustrations as well as she thought--when she left the bathroom, Layla was waiting for her in the hall.

"Are you okay?" Layla asked, voice light with concern. "You barely looked up from your plate the whole time we were eating."

"Yeah, I just..." Annie shrugged as she trailed off, hesitating to reveal the male cause of her even shyer than usual behavior. But now was as good a time as any, right? She'd share her big secret and maybe get some good advice on how to get over a guy she barely even knew.

Dropping her voice, she led Layla further away from the kitchen door. "Well, actually, I wanted to talk to you."

Layla's eyebrows rose. "Really? What's up?"

"There's something I have to get off my chest. But I need it to just be between us. You couldn't tell Kenzie, or Dawson, so I understand if you wouldn't want me to tell you."

Layla's brow furrowed with confusion, but after a second she went wide-eyed. "Oh! Is it about Jack?"

"Wh--No! No. And I can't tell Jack, either."

"And it's not...?" Layla didn't have to finish the question. It was obvious she expected Annie to confess feelings for one of the McAden's, but it wasn't the one she was thinking of. Annie stepped aside and led Layla into the empty dining room, feeling safer behind closed doors rather than out in the open hall.

She dropped her voice even lower, even though she could still hear the loud, distracted chatter from the kitchen next door. "It's about... Cliff."

Layla leaned against one of the dining chairs, studying Annie as if waiting for more. Finally, she prodded, "What about him?"

Annie felt the blush rush to her cheeks. She figured Layla would've gotten the insinuation, given what she just thought Annie had been about to confess. Instead of saying anything, Annie just nodded her head a bit, shrugged, and hoped Layla understood what the look on her face meant.

By the way her expression changed, it was pretty obvious she did. "Oh! You mean...?"

Again, Annie nodded. "I know I hardly know him--I keep telling myself that, but it doesn't seem to help. I'm just so... infatuated with him. I can hardly think straight these past few days."

Layla grinned, letting out a quiet laugh of pure joy. "Well that's great! Probably mildly annoying for you, but great. You should go for it."

"Go for it?" Annie repeated the words with an inkling of hopelessness. "Layla, I don't even know the first thing about going for it. And even if I did, I couldn't. I mean, he's completely out of my league. And to top it off, I just become a complete mess around him."

"You're exaggerating." Layla crossed her arms. "I've seen you around him. You act fine--maybe a little quieter, now that I think back on it--but nothing crazy."

"You didn't see me an hour ago when I almost tripped and fell into a box of lightbulbs right in front of him." Annie sighed, resting against the wall behind her. Thinking back on what happened, she wished she could sink right into the wallpaper and disappear. "It was humiliating. He's just so... so beautiful, and every time he's around I get so flustered."