Marked Secrets

19

Amelia

The day before my polygraph test, I walked into work to find Layla drinking some sort of protein shake. She stood at the counter, making a sour face as the liquid traveled down her throat. Deciding not to comment on it, I put my stuff in the back room in silence and joined her at the register.

Just before closing time, Layla munched on some baby carrots. It made me happy to see her eat, since I'd only really seen her eat some plain saltine crackers from time to time, and she was always a lot more discreet about it. It pained me to think about the fact that Layla was ashamed to be seen eating, ashamed to nourish her own body. Again, I said nothing and continued on wiping down the store window with glass cleaner and a purple cloth.

"Tomorrow," Layla said, biting off the end of a carrot and chewing it up before swallowing. She again made the same face from earlier, blinking rapidly. "I want you to go to the officials building around noon. The guards change shifts around twelve fifteen, and the one dirty ass guard who really needs a shower is usually half an hour late."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Save you," she replied simply. "I want you to stall David as much as you can. Protect yourself, don't be afraid to fight back."

"Layla," I whispered. "I don't want you to hurt yourself..."

She eyed me for a moment, holding up the small bag of baby carrots and raising an eyebrow at me. "I'll be fine. I'm getting my strength up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Can you please tell me what you have planned?" I pleaded, setting the glass cleaner and cloth back under the counter.

"No. That's for me to worry about, you have enough on your plate," Layla said, and she was not wrong.

My phone vibrated in my back pocket, and I reached around to tug it out. As I read the words on the screen, my heart fluttered in my chest.

JP: I miss you. Have you figured things out?

Knowing I was destined to fail anyways, and with Layla's secretive plan in place, it was almost as if I was supposed to fail in order for everything to run smoothly. I raised my thumbs to type out a reply.

Me: Yes, well, I think. Layla has a plan.

The typing icon appeared on the screen, and I looked up to find Layla smiling smugly at me. She wiggled her eyebrows, questioning me.

"Is that him?"

"I can tell. You have the biggest grin on your face," Layla observed, tilting her head and looking like she was reminiscing for a moment. She then scooted over to me, peering over my shoulder at the texts.

JP: Who's Layla?

"Is he serious?" Layla gasped, making me laugh.

"I haven't told him about you yet. We kinda didn't talk for like, two weeks so..." I quickly typed out a message that outlined Layla.

Me: A friend from work, she's great. She's like me, but smarter. I think she's the reason why my vision for Moonstone is gonna come true.