Stay For Me - Megan Smith Page 0,77

last six months out of my pocket and place it near the flowers. “I love you, Layla. I always will.” I kiss my finger tips and then bring them to her name on the tombstone. “I promise I’ll be back soon to visit.”

Dear Layla,

I thought about you today but that’s nothing new. I thought about you yesterday and every day since you’ve passed away. When I woke in the hospital a few days after the accident I couldn’t remember anything about what happened. I had a hairline fracture to my skull, a broken nose and a dislocated jaw. Jaylinn came to visit me the day I woke up. She didn’t look like her normal self. I knew then that something wasn’t right. At first she wouldn’t tell me anything, said Cooper would be up later and he’d tell me. You know how I am; I had to know right then and there. I told her if she couldn’t tell me then to get out. It was wrong of me, I didn’t know it then but she barely left the hospital after the accident. After she stopped crying and me apologizing she shared with me what happened, the moment my life irrevocably changed. Your heart gave out on the operating table and they weren’t able to save you. I got angry and irritated. The nurses came in and had to give me medicine to calm down. All my readings were through the roof, they even had Jaylinn leave the room for a while. I wouldn’t let anyone else in to see me except her and Cooper.

You’re mom tried to bring Fallon up one afternoon but I couldn’t see her. It hurt so fucking bad and I just got more pissed off. You should be proud of your mom; she’s really stepping up to the plate with Fallon and she’s even emotionally supporting me through this now. When I first came home I was on strict orders for bed rest. She took care of me, took me to all my appointments and put up with my miserable ass.

Not one of my finer moments but I trashed the tree house. It’s funny though, Fallon helped. I couldn’t look at it knowing you’d never step foot in it again. Every time I stepped out onto the back deck it was a constant reminder that you were taken from me.

I’m sorry I got mad. All I have left now are our memories and they weren’t enough for me then. I realize now that those are my keepsakes of our relationship and no matter how shitty or demented or happy or sad or fun that they are, those are mine. It’s all I have.

You did one thing right by me, Layla, you taught me to love life no matter what happens. So my promise to you is to live up to that.

I’m not going to say goodbye because this isn’t that. This is just a see you later.

I love you.

Eli

“Mom, I’m home!” I called out when I opened the front door.

“Hi, baby girl. How was school?”

I walked over to my mom and gave her a hug. We shuffled off to the kitchen as we did every day when I got home to make me a snack.

When we walked into the kitchen, my older brothers, Mason and Cooper—the twins—and Jackson were sitting at the table doing homework with the most handsome boy I had ever seen.

“Kenzie, close your mouth.” Jackson said, laughing.

I was standing there staring at him; I couldn’t pry my eyes off of him.

“Shut up!” I said to Jackson. The boy looked up to see me staring at him. He smiled.

I quickly looked over to Mom. She was grinning at me. “What would you like to eat?”

“I’m not hungry.” No way could I eat in front of him. He was causing butterflies in my belly. “Is it okay if Hailey comes over?”

I heard Mason groan and mumble, “Not again.”

“Of course she can,” Mom said while pouring sweet tea into glasses.

I reached for the cordless phone on the kitchen island, called Hailey, and asked her to come over.

I sat and watched TV until I heard Hailey’s mom pull up in the driveway. She walked into the kitchen as if she owned the place but stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed who was sitting at the table. I giggled and ran off to my room with Hailey close on my heels. Once she shut my bedroom door, she turned around and asked, “Umm, Kenzie, who