Deceive Me: Broken People Duet (A Dark New Adult Bully College Romance) by Vi Carter

Author:Vi Carter [Carter, Vi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CARTER BOOKS
Published: 2022-03-06T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

LAYLA

I lie in bed that night, staring at the ceiling. Carl comes home from work, and I wring my hands as I listen to his and Evelyn’s hushed voices. Carl’s is raised slightly, but I still can’t understand what he’s saying. A part of me wants to leave my cozy double bed and try to listen in on their conversation, but the sensible and tired part of me keeps me in bed. Their discussion lulls for a while, and I start to drift off. The ping of my phone has me pushing the lavender duvet off me as I reach for it on the side table.

Don’t make me come looking for you.

That one sentence from Jared plays havoc with my emotions. I want to pause them and place them under the microscope like Evelyn had taught me, but I’m drained. Instead, I text back quickly, not doubting his threat.

I’ll have lunch with you tomorrow. I hit send before I can think any more about him. I don’t even get the phone put back down when it pings again.

That was a given. See you tomorrow, Layla.

I stare at his message. Footsteps on the stairs have me putting the phone down and pulling the duvet up to my neck. I don’t want to have a conversation with Carl about Jared. My door opens slightly, and I release the death grip I have on the quilt. I can picture Carl raised up on his toes, trying to see me under the mountains of blankets. My breathing sounds so heavy and fast, and I try to even it out.

“Night, Layla.” Carl’s words have me crashing and burning.

“Night, Carl,” I whisper back, unable to keep up the pretense. As he turns on my bedroom light, the harsh brightness burns my eyes, and I close them tightly.

“I thought you were asleep.”

Okay, so we’re doing this now. “Not yet.” I sit up and rub my eyes.

The heaviness of his gaze and the dark circles indicate just how tired he is. “So you found Jared?”

I nod, stopping myself from clutching the blanket.

“When can we meet him?”

That, I didn’t expect. “Meet him?” I say back, not sure how I feel about this.

“Yes. As in, he comes over for dinner, and we all chat.” Carl smiles now while squeezing my knee through the quilt.

“Yeah, we can do that. I’ll ask him.”

Carl jerks his head while standing. “Great.” He seems really happy. When he flips off my light, I flop back down into my pillows.

“Good night, Layla,” Carl says before closing the door.

“Night, Carl,” I respond, even as my mind reels. They want to meet Jared. They don’t want to meet Jay, but Jared. I need him to be Jared when he comes here. Jared is Jay. He’s just different. I toss and turn until I try to settle my mind with memories.

The grass brushes my shoulders. The daisies give life to the greenery springing up and overtaking an area. Walking with my arms stretched out, I let my fingers thread through the grass.

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