Page 103 of The Life Experiment
Angus had called. Texted. Called again, but no reply ever came.
It had taken him two hours to accept that Layla wasn’t coming. Two hours for heartbreak to sink its teeth into him once more. Downing the rest of his drink, Angus left the bar.
When he reached home, worry hit. Was Layla hurt? Had something happened to her en route? He tried contacting her again with the same result.
A few days later, Angus saw three dots indicating Layla was typing.
She never sent a response.
As his fingers moved to text Jasper and see if he wanted to meet for drinks, Angus had stopped, unnerved. He didn’t want to go drinking to numb his pain. He didn’t want to rely on that crutch or be a person who couldn’t process their emotions. For years, Angus had lived with the consequences of that. His behaviour had already let his family down once. He wouldn’t let it happen again.
So, the no-drink rule was implemented. It was a vow Angus planned to maintain, no matter how convincing Jasper was.
As an impish grin took over Jasper’s face, Angus’s patience wavered, and he steeled himself for the finest display of manipulation he’d ever been on the receiving end of.
‘You’re going to love me,’ Jasper chimed, leaning back in his seat and grinning.
‘Jasper, we already love you,’ Gilly joked, but when she looked between her son’s flat expression and his friend’s cheeky one, her smile faltered. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘It is now. Not that you’d know it from looking at Angus. Don’t be so serious, my friend,’ Jasper chided. ‘This is a good thing! Clarissa and I have found the key to ending your moping.’
‘I’m not moping,’ Angus protested, but Jasper shook his head.
‘You’re a moper, Angus. It’s quite annoying, especially when you won’t say why. I’ve been trying to figure out what could have gotten you so down. We know it can’t be money, so what could it be? Then I bumped into Clarissa.’
A subtle blush coloured Clarissa’s fair skin when she spoke. ‘I told him about our run-in at the park, with your friend Layla.’
‘Who’s Layla?’ Gilly asked.
‘Exactly!’ Jasper replied. ‘Who is she and why has she broken my best friend’s heart?’
Heat burned the back of Angus’s neck as he felt his mother’s eyes on him.
‘Your heart is broken?’
‘I know, Gilly. I didn’t think he had a heart to break either,’ Jasper quipped. ‘Anyway, I wanted to find out who this mysterious Layla was. See about fixing things for our boy here. And seeing as you so rudely never introduced us, I had to do a little digging. With Clarissa’s help, of course. You should see her skills, Angus. It’s quite frightening, actually. Five minutes on social media and bingo! She found her.’
‘It helped that I’d seen her, too,’ Clarissa added.
‘Needless to say, we now know everything there is to know about Layla Cannon. The next step is to use that knowledge to get you back together,’ Jasper said, pulling his phone from his pocket, but Angus groaned.
‘Jasper, please. I messed up with Layla. There’s no going back.’
‘There you go moping again. How do you know that?’
‘She was supposed to meet me the other day. She never turned up. If that doesn’t prove that she’s done with me, I don’t know what will.’
A small frown furrowed Jasper’s brow. ‘When exactly was this?’
‘Why does that matter?’
‘It matters more than you might think. What day did she stand you up?’
Sighing, Angus stuck out his jaw. ‘Tuesday.’
Jasper nodded as if he expected as much. Biting his lip, he flicked through his phone. When he handed it over, Layla’s sister’s Facebook profile was loaded.
‘Why are you showing me Maya’s social media?’ Angus asked.
