Page 17 of In the Lonely Hour

'Cause two hundred pounds

Of weight, I put down, oh…”

She sang along, eyes sealed tightly. When she opened her eyes and saw her sister, Lia, recording her, she burst into a fit of giggles.

“Get that damn camera out my face!”

“Nah! I’m taking you to the karaoke spot when we leave here. You playing!”

Layla laughed before she continued to sing. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d sang in front of anyone besides Dior and it felt damn good. Back in the day, her and Lia would sing and dance together all the time. It didn’t take long for Lia to catch the chorus and be her backup like the good old days. As the song faded out, Layla cut her car off.

“That was good, sis. I needed that,” Layla released.

“I needed this. I’ve missed hanging out with you.”

“I know, right? I’m going to do better, I promise.”

“You better. I’m gonna hold you to that. Do you want to call and check on Dior before we go inside?”

Layla nodded. She wanted to, but she didn’t want to bethatmom. Especially for her teenaged daughter. So far, she’d been having an amazing day. It started with her getting a massage and a manicure and pedicure before she did a little shopping. Then, she decided to reach out to her old high school best friend to see if she was available for lunch, and she was. Layla thoroughly enjoyed catching up with her. Afterwards, she went to her parents’ house to pick Dior up, which was how she’d linked up with her sister. Lia convinced Layla to grab a few drinks, but it didn’t take much convincing at all. It was Wednesday and Dior had a session with Andres anyway.

Though it was the first time she’d left them alone together, Layla trusted Andres, and he reminded her of the cameras that rolled while he was there too which put her mind at ease. Still, she took full advantage of the grace her sister had given her to call and check on Dior before their night started. After opening her door to allow the breeze of the air to enter in, she sent Andres a FaceTime request. When he answered, he quickly flipped the camera over so she could see Dior. She was in frontof the white board he’d gotten her looking over the conversation starter prompts he’d brought over. Layla smiled.

“How’s it going?”

“Good. We just went over the kinds of people she should and should not seek to be friends with.” He chuckled. “I should have recorded that shit.”

“Why?” Layla asked, smile widening.

“You know the skits Jason Banks does on IG as the parent and son?”

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s one where he’s asking the son what he should do when he’s out alone or some shit, and he was basically naming all the wrong answers, and that’s what Dior was doing.”

His chuckle made both Layla and Lia laugh.

“I bet. She’s not nice at all but she is friendly. She may not start conversations or keep them going with strangers, but she’ll talk to anyone who approaches her.”

“She gets that from you though,” Lia added. “I was always the one they thought was mean because I was quiet and your ass talked to every damn body.”

“I did huh?” Layla laughed in recollection. “Well, I’m glad she has his help.” She returned her attention to her phone, smile lingering at the sight of his handsome face. “Hey.”

Andres shot her a wink as he smiled softly. “Hey. Don’t worry about us. She’s good. Enjoy yourself, beautiful.”

“I will. Call me if you need me.”

“Aight. Aye, Lia,” he called. “Make sure you get her ass drunk and drive her back home.”

“That was my plan anyway, so I got you!”

Layla rolled her eyes playfully as she disconnected the call.

“I am not getting drunk,” Layla rejected, pushing her green mini dress down. She hadn’t worn it since last year and it was definitely letting her know she’d gained weight.

“Your boyfriend said get you drunk, so that’s what I’ma do.”

“Andres is not my boyfriend.”

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