Page 108 of The Life Experiment
Falling into him, Layla did the same.
The kiss was slow at first. Tender. Filled with everything Angus had been carrying inside of him for weeks. And as Layla’s arms wrapped around his neck, Angus drew her closer, until he wasn’t sure where he ended and she began.
51Layla
As she lay her head on Angus’s chest, Layla took the advice her dad had once given her. She closed her eyes and paid attention to the way Angus’s breathing mirrored her own. Noticed the way her nerve endings fizzed as he toyed with her hair. Took a mental picture of this moment so she could carry this sense of peace with her always.
Sighing contentedly, Layla snuggled deeper into the crook of Angus’s arm. The pair had been coiled together on Layla’s sofa ever since returning from Hull two hours ago. Stillness was needed after the last four days. Post-funeral life had been taxing in ways both good and bad. There was joy in watching her family bond with Angus, but it was shadowed by the sadness that David wasn’t there to meet him too.
As if sensing Layla’s thoughts had wandered to grief, Angus pressed a kiss to the top of her head. ‘You’re amazing, do you know that?’ he whispered.
‘I do. You keep reminding me,’ she teased, her cheeks lifting as she smiled.
Tightening her grip around Angus, Layla made herself a promise – every day, she would fight for this feeling. However big, however small, she would take a moment to stop. To breathe. To revel in the love she felt.
Layla was about to tell Angus this vow when the intercom to her apartment buzzed.
‘No,’ she groaned, burrowing into his chest. ‘I don’t want to get up. I’m too cosy.’
‘Let me,’ Angus replied, pressing another kiss to her head and shimmying off the sofa. At the intercom, he held the answer button and called, ‘Hello?’
‘Is Layla there? Layla Cannon?’ a voice called back.
Shock forced Layla upright as she registered the voice, but what shocked her more than Saira’s appearance was Angus’s reaction to it. The instant he heard her, all colour drained from his face.
Layla didn’t give herself long to process that, though. Scrambling to her feet, she ran and joined Angus at the intercom. ‘Don’t let her in,’ she commanded.
For a moment, the pair simply stared at each other, but then Angus broke the silence. His gaze traced over the fierce blush in Layla’s cheeks. ‘How do you know Saira?’ he asked tightly.
Blinking, Layla studied the man before her. Slack-jawed, as surprised as she was. ‘You… you know Saira too?’
Before Angus could answer, the intercom buzzed once more.
Watching Angus flinch at the sound, an indignant frown took over Layla’s features. ‘How do you know Saira?’ she demanded.
‘I… I’m not sure I should say.’
‘Well, I’m not sure you should stay silent either,’ Layla snapped, folding her arms across her chest as if doing so could quash the panic rising inside her.
When Layla’s interrogative stare became too pressing to ignore, Angus cracked. ‘I don’t know what I’m allowed to say,’ he cried, in time for the intercom to ring again. Before Layla could refuse Saira entry, Angus reached out and buzzed her into the building.
‘What are you doing?!’
‘Getting an answer to your question,’ Angus replied. His measured tone stoked Layla’s fury, but her anger wobbled as she watched him chew the corner of his lip.
He’s nervous,she realised. Drawing back, Layla wrapped her arms around her trembling body.
‘Don’t look at me like that. Please,’ Angus begged, but Layla couldn’t help it. The idea that Angus was somehow connected to Saira was overwhelming. Layla had already forgiven him for lying once. She couldn’t do it again.
Side-by-side and locked a tense silence, Layla and Angus waited for Saira.
When her knock came, Layla opened the door. Saira stood on the other side, meeker than Layla had ever seen her before. ‘Hello, Layla,’ she said softly. ‘It’s good to see you.’
‘Good’ was not the word Layla would use to describe that moment. Before she could respond, though, Saira gasped.
‘Angus!’ she cried. ‘I was hoping you’d be here. I’ve been reading your updates in the questionnaires.’
Layla’s head snapped to Angus. ‘The questionnaires? Were you part of the experiment too?’
