Serious Issues

Layla

It wasn't long before I fell asleep. I wanted only to be here for a few minutes so Daniel could fall asleep, and then I'd leave. Yet I ended up falling asleep.

I must have woken up around nine in the morning to my phone going off. I was still drained, and my feet ached from carrying that man into his home. I looked over and saw I was lying on the bed all alone.

I got up, reached for my phone, and saw my sister on the line. "Hello?" I answered with my voice still a bit groggy.

"Hey, sleepy head!" I groaned at her morning enthus. She was always so perky in the morning. "Karly...good morning."

"You slept over Danny's!" I rubbed my eyes and yawned, causing her to laugh.

"Yeah, so?"

"Tell me what happened? Did you guys hook up?" she says, whispering the last part.

"Who hooked up with who?" I hear dad and Shawn yell in the back.

"No one!" she yells after them.

"No one hooked up, Karly. The man was gone entirely, and by the time I got him into bed, all I wanted was to rest for just a few minutes." I said, yawning again.

"Uh-huh!"

"No-thing happened, Karly. And it never will." I declared, making her laugh.

"Yeah, yeah. So where is he now?"

"Uggh, I don't know. I woke up, and he was gone. Can you come by to get me? I need to shower badly. My feet are killing me." I say, sitting up and resting my head against the headboard.

"Sure, give me a few minutes. We were just sitting for late breakfast."

I nod as if she could see me, closing my eyes. "No worries, take your time. You know what?" I say, looking around his room.

"I'm just going to shower here. I'll just see if I can find some of his clothes. I'll give them back later."

"Whatever you like. I'll see you in about an hour," she replies as I hear dad singing in the back. He loves to sing while cooking, but he's not the best singer.

"Felix, quiet down. The neighbors are going to complain again." mom yells, making Karly and me laugh. "I'll see you soon, Layla."

"Ok, see you soon. Save me some food!" I ask.

"You got it. Bye!" she says cheerfully before hanging up.

I sigh, placing my phone down and wondering if any of his clothes will actually fit. "Bad idea not to wear a damn bra, Layla." I scold myself as I look down at my clothes.

For once, I was thankful he had lowered his blinds. The sunset faced his room, and all the sun hit early in the morning.

There was a faint knock at the door right before it opened. "Danny? Are you up?" the head of a brown-haired girl came in, and my eyes went wide in surprise. "Layla?" Daniel's sister, Riley, comes in, and I get up as I see her run to me. We hug tightly as she reaches me.

"Riles. Oh my God, look at you." I gasp, seeing her little bump.

"You're having a baby. Oh, you look so adorable." I say, placing my hand on her small bump.

"Yeah. It's a boy. I'm naming him Logan Alexander." she says, making me give her a loving stare.

"Like your grandpa." she tears up, smiling.

"Yeah," she says as we sit by the edge of the bed. "I miss him, Layla," she says, looking down and holding her tummy.

"I'm really sorry about your grandpa, Riles," I say, sincerely hugging her. Their paternal granddad pretty much raised them. His mom took off when his youngest sister, Ruth, turned two. She couldn't stand the pressure of their dad being sick.

Soon after, he passed away, and she was never heard from again. They were left under the care of their grandpa until he passed away last year.

"Thanks, I miss him. But I think Danny is the one taking it harder." I knitted my eyebrows and tilted my head.

"Well, they were pretty close. Right?"

"Yeah, but grandpa and Danny had a huge fight a little before he died. Plus, he found out you were getting married. So, grandpa was forcing him to get married, and threatened him by saying he'd take away the company from him and-"

"Wait...what?" she stops talking and looks at me with pain in her eyes.

"Riles...Slow down. I wasn't getting married. Who said this?" I asked, confused by her words.

"Last year...it was all over the tabloids. They said you were getting married to that doctor guy. It hit Danny pretty hard. Soon after, grandpa was obligation him to get married too. They had a huge fight over it."

This made perfect sense. He and Dad were acting so strange last time I was here. It was when he cornered me and began kissing me senseless before I kneed him and ran away.

He was such a douche with Trevor, and so was dad, which was strange because dad was always such a gentleman. I knew dad didn't like Trevor, but he was polite to him out of respect for me.

"Well, I can assure you I wasn't, and I'm not going to any time soon." I said, getting teary-eyed.

"Trevor and I broke up a few weeks ago," I said, looking down. Riley placed her hand on my shoulder while holding her belly with the other hand.

"I caught him sleeping with Stacy." she gasps, slumping her shoulders. "Oh, honey. I am so sorry." I sigh, pursing my lips and forcing myself into a smile.

"It's OK, Riley. I'm fine. I mean, it hurts, but I know I'll move on. Still- it hurts," something in me always told me that Stace had always had a crush on him.

Maybe I was asking too much of her too. The doubt made me uncomfortable, and I would get confused when I'd come home and see Danny. "To be honest, Riley, I kind of knew Stacy had set her feelings for him aside for me. She had stepped out of the way so I could be with Trevor because she thought that was the right thing."

"Well, yeah, but it still. It doesn't make it ok to cheat on you like that."

"I know. But I guess I wasn't such a good friend either. I knew she liked him, and I went out with him anyway. We both let each other down, yet...she stayed a friend." I felt horrible. I miss my best friend; she was my confidence, my partner; we did everything together.

"God. I don't know what it is about you and my brother. You two seem to have trouble following you all the time." she says, making me chuckle.

"Yeah. I guess we both have serious issues." I reply, making both of us chuckle.

"Well, I'm glad you're back. Wait... You're in my brother's room." I chuckle, nodding my head in disbelief.

I guess it did look bad. "Riles, I can assure you nothing happened. Your brother got drunk last night, and all I did was bring him home. I was too tired to drive, so I crashed here." I said, stating the obvious.

"I'm still wearing my clothes as you can see," I say as she gives me a disbelief look. "Ok, if you say so. But, just for the record," she says getting up.

"I would be totally ok if you two dated," she says, winking an eye and walking to the door.

"By the way, I brought breakfast for him, but there's enough for you. It was good seeing you, ladybug. I have to meet Charles. We're going furniture hunting for the baby's room. Call me; we'll go get lunch together." I smile and nod as she opens the door.

The conversation with her had me perplexed. It was no wonder why Daniel was so down last night. The loss of his grandpa must have hurt him badly. And why the hell would the media say I was getting married?

This goes to show why the hell I try and stay away. I hate being in the middle of gossip, especially when it's made up.

"Hey, Riley. How's my nephew doing in there?" Danny stands at the door; he's holding a tray with food as he smiles at Riley.

"Hi, Danny. He's good. A little inpatient this morning, but we're ok. I was just talking to Layla." she says, wiggling her eyebrows and giving him a smirk. He smiles, lowering his head.

"Ah. Riles, I can assure you, Layla, and I didn't -"

"I know. She told me. Besides, you two are grown, adults. I'm sure if you did, it would be none of my business." she reaches for his shoulder and kisses his cheek.

"I'll see you later, Danny. Bye, Layla." I smile awkwardly, sitting with my hands on both my sides against the bed. He clears his throat, walking in and setting the tray on the side table. I glance and see a plate with pancakes, bacon, and hash browns, accompanied by a red rose with a black ribbon tied to it.

By the looks, he had been at the gym as he wears sports shorts and a t-shirt that looks like it's still covered in sweat.

"I, Uhmm; I brought you breakfast. I'm going to take a shower. I can give you a ride right after if you'd like?" he says, pointing toward the shower in his ensuite bathroom.

"It's ok; I already talked to Karla; she'll be over soon to pick me up," he smirks as I get up and fix my dress.

"Yeah. I just talked to Shawn; they're on their way to your dad's office; we'll meet them there instead. If... that's ok." I sigh, closing my eyes.

"I need to go home and get clothes. I don't think it would be appropriate for me to wear the same clothes I slept in."  I say, pointing to my dress.

"What's wrong with that? You look hot." I roll my eyes at his compliment—typical guy.

"Still. I'm not comfortable." he looks toward his dresser and goes over, opening the top drawer.

He takes out a garment and comes back. "Here, it's your old clothes. Black leggings and your old t-shirt." my eyes widen as I see my clothes, or at least my old pants with his old shirt.

"You mean my pants, your shirt. This is yours, remember?" I say, pointing to the clothes in his hand. He chuckles and gives it back to me.

"And I told you to keep it, remember? It's yours. You left it here last time you came to swim with the girls." I grab the clothes and get up. The only problem was that I had no bra. I just knew I would be uncomfortable, but it'll have to do until I get to the office. Then I can raid their closet where they keep all the clothes for the models and grab new underwear.

"Thanks, Danny. If you don't mind, I'll get ready first." I take a step, but he stands in front of me, holding my waist. "Daniel," I whisper as I see his chest rising.

"Layla, I-"

"Don't. Let's just get ready and leave, ok?" I say as I push his hands on his chest gently and walk toward the bathroom to get ready.