Forsaken

“You’re telling me all of this is normal? You think she’s normal? How well do you really know her?” Billy asked, frustrated at his friend. “You get with her and all hell breaks loose!”

Lucas chugged the beer he’d let turn lukewarm. It took everything in his power not to punch the living daylights out of the man sitting across from him.

It’d been a few weeks since his birthday, and not one fucking day had gone by without someone reminding him of how he’d ruined her.

“I know you love her, man, but love is blind sometimes. She’s a great girl and has made an incredible impact on you, but all y’all do is—”

Lucas slammed the bottle down on the table, forcing Billy to jump. “Protect each other? Let’s see the shit happen to Wanda then, tough guy. You’d be a pathetic, blubbering piece of shit if that happened.”

Billy frowned. “Maybe she’s doing it to herself!”

Lucas sighed. “Oh yes…hiring people to follow her…blowing up a car in Vegas…ordering my death match? You sound insane. She’s not!”

Billy shook his head. “People are mad crazy, Lucas, but fine! Let’s go to the house.”

Heath, Tim, Lyle, Billy, and Lucas made their way to the house in the woods, not telling anyone about their little excursion—especially Layla.

“Still no signs of activity here. I’m putting my bet on Paul and Lauren. They seem like real fucking psychos,” Tim said as the men trekked through the abandoned house. “Paul’s got the money to do it, and he did love her in his own twisted way.”

“I’m still watching Gretchen and her folks and yours, Lucas,” Billy said. “Got Chuck down in Galveston now.”

Lucas had heard all of this before. Staying off the radar meant higher powers were involved. No way people were slipping by them so easily.

“Sylvia’s fine. She’s not coming back though until this is cleared, but I don’t even know if she’ll come back then!” Heath chirped from the kitchen. “See anything out of the ordinary here since you and Layla visited?”

Lucas frowned. It had been months since they had stepped foot in this godforsaken shithole, and it still felt like he’d never left.

“You gonna fight anytime soon?” Tim hustled from the hallway. “You know, you could go legit and box a few matches outside of the underground.”

Lucas sighed. It was like the entire world was against him and Layla being together.

“Tim, I promised her…”

Tim coughed. “Yeah, and I love the hell out of her, we all do. She’s absolutely beautiful, smart, sweet, talented, the whole nine yards, but you’ve been consumed by her.”

“Is it her or me?!” Lucas was on Tim in a flash as the other guys watched. “Some people think it’s her, some think it’s me. Hell, some people think both of us should be locked up in our very own padded cell together.

“You fucking told me your damn self that I was a better man because of her, Tim, so what gives? Are you losing out on money? Is that it? The big bad Tornado ain’t making you any dough now?”

Tim backed up. “They’re after you, friend, and I know you love her, but maybe you need to let her go.”

***

Shawna and Devon took Layla out for lunch the same day the guys searched the house.

“This is a charming restaurant.” Layla beamed. “Thank you for inviting me out. It’s been crazy the last few weeks.”

Shawna eyed Devon knowingly. “Lucas truly loves you, honey, but—”

Layla stopped chewing. She knew what was coming.

“He’s gotten a lot more obsessed with you and everything you’re doing that…” Shawna trailed off.

“You think he’s lost himself?”

Layla knew it was too good to be true. She had such a sinking dark feeling that it was Paul and Lauren that she figured if Lucas wasn’t around, the madness would stop.

“What if Lucas is doing it?” Devon blurted out, Shawna shooting her a dangerous look.

“What?” Layla coughed. “You can’t be serious?”

Shawna sighed. “He’s possessive and takes what he wants, Layla.”

“He’s protecting me,” Layla said, a look of exasperation spreading across her face.

“Well, it’s almost October and y’all have been good so far with your new job and setting up the blueprints for the new place,” Devon said. “I just want you to think of your future, honey. That’s all.”

***

Lucas was waiting for her when she got home. His heart was pounding, and he was absolutely sick to his stomach. She’d never be at peace unless he was the one willing to make it happen.

“Hey, babe! What’s going on here?” Layla stared at her belongings placed neatly by the front door. Lucas was standing in the middle of the living room with a lack of emotion on his rugged face.

“Lucas? Why is my stuff…?” She could feel her heart pounding out of her chest.

Lucas straightened up and breathed in deeply. “I’m letting you go.”

Layla frowned. “Go where?”

“Away from me. Here. Us.”

Layla’s breathing hitched, and she smiled. “You’re kidding, right? This is a prank?”

Lucas shook his head. “No, it isn’t. I need you to leave. We’re not…we’re not working out.”

Layla scoffed. “You listened to them, didn’t you? This is ridiculous. Let’s go talk about it—”

“~No~!” Lucas roared, startling Layla so much that her body trembled violently. “This was wrong. We were wrong. I shouldn’t have started this with you.”

“Y-you don’t mean that…” Layla’s chin quivered as she held back her tears. “All we’ve been through? All we’re ~still~ going through? I thought you loved me!”

Lucas’s hands were clenched in fists, and he was sweating. “I do, but not like this—maybe not the way I should. This is…too much.”

“Too much? That’s what I am? Too much?! All of those nights calming you down from your fucking attacks and I’m too much? How dare you?!” She charged at him and pushed him hard, only driving him a step back.

“I gave you everything, Lucas! You protected me! I tried protecting you!”

Lucas grabbed her wrists and pulled her into him, his eyes dark. “None of this bullshit started happening until we got involved. I know for a fucking fact that you’ve thought about it.”

“Thinking about it and breaking up with you are two different things, Lucas! Is it someone else?”

Lucas tossed her back, her feet fumbling. “It’s no one. There is no one else, Layla. Even if I love you, we can’t do this anymore. We can’t keep looking over our shoulders thinking someone’s after us—especially you.”

Layla sobbed. “You’re leaving me to protect me? Are you fucking mad? I love you, Lucas. I love you so much and you’re tossing me away because I’m a fucking inconvenience as usual.”

Lucas stepped forward. “You deserve—”

Layla raised her hand. “Stop. I’ve heard this from you before. Maybe you used me to get your frustrations out. I was just a tight hole for you, and now you’re done with me.”

Lucas shook his head. “That’s not true.”

Layla gathered her two bags and headed out the door to her car, Lucas trailing behind.

“So that’s it? Nothing else? You’re too much of a coward to be with me?” Layla held the driver-side door open, her keys shaking in her quaking hand.

“I have to move on, as do you, Little Hippie. You’ll find a good man.”

“You don’t ever get to fucking call me that again! I found a good man, and he’s standing in front of me trying to be hard and cruel. You address me as Layla or Miss Potter because you do not get the privilege of calling me anything else, Mr. Foster.”

Lucas was flush against her body as she tried to wiggle free. “There’s nothing I want more than to tell you it’s going to be okay. I told you I was no good and fucking dangerous, but you stayed, and I’ve put you in harm’s way. I’m sorry, baby—Miss Potter.”

Layla slapped him off. “Don’t fucking touch me. You’ve been waiting for this moment. Everything we’ve been through and now this? I’m waiting for this to be some type of sick and twisted joke, but I know you, and you’re just out for you.”

“That’s the way it should be,” Lucas lied.

Layla’s tears flowed freely, her heart shattering into a million pieces.

“Here!” She pulled the promise ring off and threw it at Lucas, who let it fall to the ground. “I don’t need it anymore. There’s no us, so there’s no forever.”

He watched her slide into the car and peel out of the driveway. Picking up the ring, he let his own tears slip down his cheeks. He loved her more than anything in the world, but he had to let her go.

“It’s better this way, Layla.” Lucas fell to his knees, clutching the ring in his hand and muttering to himself. “You won’t have to be burdened by me anymore. You’ll understand one day, Layla, I promise. Fly high, Little Hippie…”