Dawson was tempted to pace the hall outside Layla's room, but opted instead to go clean up his breakfast while she talked to Colin. If he got to work a little later than usual today, Jack would just have to deal. Even if he went out to the field, he wouldn't get anything done with his mind like this, so focused on what was happening behind that door.

Layla would take care of it. She'd get it through Colin's head that she wasn't leaving and send him away for good to give her parents the same message. Then she and Dawson could sit down and talk about exactly what that meant. Would she move in with him, or would that be moving too fast? Maybe she'd rather get one of the River View apartments to slow things down, as well as be closer to the building Marshall was eyeing for her in town.

Dawson was just fine with moving fast, but he'd understand and reel it back if she wasn't. He was already asking so much from her—to leave everything behind, to trust him and Red View enough to stay and try to make it a home. Whatever she needed to be comfortable with all of that, he'd do his best to give to her.

He just finished loading his dishes into the dishwasher when Kenzie poked her head into the kitchen, doe-eyed. As she stepped inside, he noticed she was already dressed in her workout gear. "Okay. Explain."

Always the light sleeper, he should have figured she'd been woken by the commotion. "What do you already know?"

"I heard you on the stairs, but not very well. It's Colin? Something about a check?"

"The asshole tried to pay us for letting Layla stay here. You know, he's lucky Jack hates me so much." He leaned against the counter, drying his hands with one of Lillie Mae's old dish towels. "I've had to get real good at managing my temper, thanks to him."

"Where is he now? Please don't say buried in the backyard."

Dawson let himself laugh and relax a little as Kenzie headed for the coffee pot. "If Layla hadn't opened her door when she did, I'd probably be out there with a shovel right now."

She grinned, but waved a hand in circles. "Come on, come on. From the beginning."

So Dawson explained it, not bothering to dance around the harsh things Colin had spit at him. Kenzie's face went through anger, then disgust, and right into understanding when Dawson got back to the part where he'd been about to punch Colin's lights out. When he relayed what Layla said about staying, Kenzie smiled, holding a hand to her heart.

"I knew she'd stay." She used her other hand to reach for the coffee pot and pour some into a well-loved ceramic mug.

"She's up there trying to get him to understand that," Dawson said, stepping over and grabbing a mug from the cabinet above the coffee machine. Right as he finished saying so, Layla entered the kitchen.

She'd gotten dressed, but not into workout clothing like Kenzie. Jeans and a blue button up donned her body, hair loose and wild with those perfect waves. Yeah, he could get used to seeing her walk into the room for breakfast every morning.

"Layla! You're staying?" Kenzie beamed as she asked the question.

"How'd he take it? Is he leaving now?" Dawson wondered. He was about to go to her, but he noticed her lack of a smile, the way her eyes shifted between him and his sister. He froze in place, stomach sinking. Not exactly the happy, relieved celebration he'd been expecting.

"I... I don't know," Layla's voice wavered as her gaze continued to flitter. "I just... I don't know. I think I was being a bit rash."

All that joy he'd felt from her declaring she was staying left him in one short, terse breath. "Damn it." He set the mug down on the counter harsher than he meant to and saw Kenzie's eyes widen. Layla just bowed her head, eyes trained on the floor. "God damn it. I shouldn't have left."

"I'm..." Kenzie moved to the door with a resigned grimace, giving Layla's shoulder a friendly squeeze. "I'll let you guys talk."

Layla watched her leave, and finally met Dawson's eyes when they were alone. Hers were already brimming with tears, and she took in a shaky breath as she hugged herself. "It's just a lot, Dawson. It's really a lot to consider, a lot to think about."

"Your mind seemed pretty made up when you came out of my room," he snapped. Did she know how much it hurt to see her this way? She was standing there breaking his heart in more ways than one, and it didn't even seem like she realized. Hell, maybe she just didn't care.

"I just woke up, I wasn't expecting him to be here! I don't know, Dawson, I need more time. I wasn't thinking straight."

He wished she'd stop saying his name. Wished she'd just leave and rip off the damn band-aid. "Oh, but now you are thinking straight. You're making the brilliant decision to go back to everything you were so happy to get away from. Back to life without your own free fucking will." Back to life without him.

"You make it sound so black and white, but it isn't."

"Well it is to me, Layla. You're either here, or you aren't." He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I knew I shouldn't have left, but I told myself you'd handle it, you'd set him straight and send him back to New York. I thought you'd stick up for yourself."

Those last words had the sadness in her eyes turning to fury. "That's exactly what I'm doing! Don't you get it? That's what I've done my entire life, and no matter how much I want to, I can't just stop and risk it all."

"Well then I guess that's it, huh?" He willed his voice to stay firm, cold. "Sounds to me like you've made your decision already."

"Dawson—"

"I was willing to take the risks, Layla." He pointed at his burning chest. "Maybe you forgot that I had anything at stake here, but I did. Still I let myself..." Love you, he wanted to say, but knew it was pointless and would only serve to embarrass him further when it did nothing to change her mind. "I let myself want you, let myself give into the wanting."

He had to look away, didn't want to catch the pity in her eyes that he knew would be there. "Stupid mistake." He moved to the side door that led outside, relieved that his voice was steady as he looked back and said, "Goodbye, Layla. I'll see you and Colin at the wedding."

If it was a childish thing to say, he didn't care. He left and closed the door behind him, walking out towards the trees. He had work to do, had a life to get back to. A lesson to learn for the second time in his life. Maybe this time it'd get through his head that love wasn't good for anything other than getting hurt.

not sure what it says about me that the angst is always my favorite part of any story, both for reading and writing 🤔