FERVOR

Ch. 11

Layla

Tears streamed down her delicate cheeks as the words replayed in her head like a broken record.

"Layla, honey, Jesse is in the hospital. Gavin is on his way to pick you up right now. I just- oh God. Layla, it doesn't look good," Marilyn's voice bled through her phone's speaker, labored and filled with heavy dread.

Layla rushed out of the hall as quickly as she could, not giving a damn about the world around her. She ran to the parking lot, finding Gavin waving her down.

No words had been exchanged as he opened her door and gently ushered her inside. When Gavin rounded the car and stationed himself in front of the wheel, he found Layla fumbling with her seatbelt. After steadying her shaking hands and locking in the mechanism, he sped out of the college grounds.

Layla kept her head down and eyes closed. Reality had set a trend of being shitty to her and now she couldn't withstand its harsh lashes. Her head was spinning, and the bile crawled further up her throat with every passing second. Layla's heart hammered against her ribcage, seeking freedom.

Little did it know, the poor thing would never experience such relief, not now anyway.

Gavin peaked over at Layla regularly, confirming that she was alright. He wanted to help, but his cool exterior was no match for the storm within. Jesse had been like a brother to him. It scared him shitless to even think about what they'd see when they arrived at his hospital room. But right now, he had to keep track of the road ahead.

No drifting off.

Top priority was getting Layla and himself to the hospital, safely. Gavin knew that Jesse wouldn't hesitate to break all of his limbs and dismember his body if anything happened to Layla.

Thankfully, the face of Valley Springs Hospital met their eyes. Now, for the hardest part - mustering up enough courage to leave the car and face reality.

Proving to be the one with bigger balls, Layla left the vehicle, summoning all of her strength within to get her through this.

For Jesse, she reminded herself.

The last thing Layla remembered was Gavin hitting 'third floor' on the elevator keypad before fading away from the present moment.

"You took a big tumble, missy! Why didn't you just ask for a cupcake, Lay?" Jesse inquired as the twelve-year-old Layla giggled from her hospital bed. "Well, at least you have this rockin' cast! I'm not gonna lie, it looks pretty dope," Jesse joked as he 'booped' her cute button nose. A bright, pink cast hugged her calf and would remain for another eight weeks.

Despite having a broken leg and a nasty bruise, Layla's mind hadn't deviated from the strawberry cupcakes that Jesse stashed on top of the refrigerator.

The reason for her predicament was the strong desire for Jesse's signature, scrumptious cupcakes. She just couldn't resist. But when the stool gave out, Layla knew she was in too deep.

Jesse had stayed with her throughout her entire hospital stay, only leaving when the nurse practically shoved him out of the room because visiting hours were over. But he always came back with more sweet treats - his way of making Layla smile.

When a clammy hand clasped her shoulder, Layla was brought back. Gavin passed her a sympathetic smile.

They had to stay strong, for Jesse.

Without further discussion, Gavin pulled Layla along the hallway. They had already put off the inevitable for too long. Before she realized, Gavin had stilled in front of a door, slightly ajar. Her palms began to moisten and her skin ran pale.