Page 66 of Landon & Shay: Part Two

I hated those comments more than words, especially since I knew how words could seep into a person’s soul and embed themselves into their entire existence.

I’d lived that life before.

I still lived that life on certain occasions. I didn’t want that for Karla. I knew the struggle of demons at such a young age—I wouldn’t wish that hardness on anyone, let alone Karla.

She was such a happy girl before the accident. You couldn’t find a time when Karla wasn’t dancing around and singing, much like her little sister Lorelai. There was a light in her that I thought could’ve never been demolished, but after the car crash and losing her mother, Karla’s light had almost completely disappeared.

It wasn’t completely gone, though, which made me happy.

I still saw a small twinkle in her eyes as she talked about her stories and Shay. I wasn’t surprised by that at all. Shay was a spark of light in my dark world, too.

“She’s more than amazing, Uncle Landon. She’s just so…cool!” Karla sighed, speaking about Shay. “She writes better than anyone I’d ever read before. And no offense, but her screenplays are better than any movie you’ve ever been in. Likewaybetter.”

I chuckled. “No need to bruise my ego.”

“It’s not your fault that you’re in some mediocre movies sometimes, Uncle Landon. Your acting is always great, but the words you say sometimes are trash,” she said matter-of-factly as she cut into her steak.

I couldn’t help but smirk at the comment. “I can’t argue with that.”

“If I can be half the screenwriter that Shay is, I’d be happy. You don’t understand—she’s the best.”

I could’ve sat and listened to Karla go on and on about the greatness that was Shay Gable, and I would’ve never grown tired of it. I was certain every word she spoke about Shay was true, too. It all matched up with the girl I used to know.

But, my dinner dates with Karla weren’t for anyone other than the two of us. It was a chance to me to check in on her body, mind, and spirit.

“Enough about Shay,” I said, stuffing a forkful of Brussels sprouts into my mouth. “Let’s talk about you.”

Karla grew more somber and her smile faded away. “Do we have to?”

“You know the rules, Karla. I buy you an overpriced steak, and you let me into that beautiful head of yours.”

She shifted around in her seat. “I’m okay. My therapist is really nosy, though.”

“Or she’s just trying to help you.”

“She can’t get me a new face, so I doubt she can help me much.”

I frowned, knowing that her scars were a big issue with her confidence. I couldn’t even fault her for being uncomfortable with them, because I had my scars, too, that I spent my childhood hiding. Then, I went ahead and had them covered with tattoos up and down my arms.

“Your face is perfect.”

“Tell that to everyone at school,” she huffed. “People fucking suck.”

I would’ve scolded her for swearing, but I wasn’t her father, I was the cool uncle. Besides, she was right. People did fucking suck.

“Have you thought about transferring schools like your dad mentioned?” She’d been having her fair share of bullying going on at her school. She even went through a large amount of time when she was skipping school, but once Greyson found out, he made sure to have Eleanor walk Karla directly to her classroom in the mornings.

“No way.” She shook her head. “That would just be a new set of assholes for me to meet. At least I know the jerks at my school. I know what lame comments they’ll throw my way, which makes it okay. They aren’t very clever, so they can’t hurt me too much.”

I frowned, picking up on the fact that they hurt her still.

“Besides, Brian started talking to me again,” she said, a slight curve to her lips. “I mean, he doesn’t say much in front of other people, but when we are alone, he checks in on me.”

“Why doesn’t he say anything to you in front of people?”

“Because, he can’t risk his popularity in front of our friends.” She paused and frowned. “I mean his friends.”

They used to be her friends, until they turned cold on her after the accident.

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