Chapter 13: REMEMBER ME

**MONSOON || THEN

LAYLA**

She is thirteen and has a huge crush on a building. Its sleek, glass facade reflects the city lights like a mirror, casting long, inky shadows onto the streets below. It evokes a sense of power and ambition in her. For now, all she can do is touch the shadow.

One day, I will own a penthouse. She tells herself.

"That is called a building castle in the sky." Ayesha always says this whenever Layla explains how she is going to design her penthouse.

"No, you watch me. One day, we will make it." Layla says with the confidence only she possesses.

"We are in Wayfarer for godsake. If you are born in Wayfarer, you will remain in Wayfarer. Everyone says that."

"I will prove it otherwise," Layla said with conviction.

"Yes, mam. Please do and buy me a diamond necklace. Because I don't think I will pass this Maths test even when I become eighteen." Ayesha shouted on her way home and they parted ways.

She kept her head down when she walked to her house. Wayfarer bustled with shops and cafes. The sidewalks are always crowded with pedestrians, and most of them always seem to be either high or wasted. The bars and clubs with cheap liquor draw more people who are trying to seek a way to escape from life. She knew for a fact that none of the people who lived there were happy. That was exactly why she wanted to get away from that world. Her eyes stared at the blue sky and she took a breath before she stepped inside her home.

Just like she had expected, her mother was sprawling across the frayed couch. She looked for something to eat in the refrigerator and found it empty. Her stomach growled again and she had to take the little amount of money she saved to buy some eggs- and bread. She hid the change in her uniform's skirt pockets and carefully folded them so that her mother wouldn't get a whiff of it.

Her mom, Emma is just thirty-two years old. Layla was a result of a one-night stand and clearly unwanted as her mother would always like to remember her. Emma's parents disowned her and that's how she ended up in Wayfarer, doing all kinds of jobs to survive. She didn't do a good job at that though. She got addicted to drugs and fell into a huge debt. She lost the sense of reality. Layla sometimes found her on the steps of the club and everyone who saw her, dragging her mom home pitied her. That was something Layla didn't let herself do; she never pitied her life. She grows through it.

But that's the thing about people with big dreams; they can't give up even when the thought of death appeals to them.

Today is the first time, it happened. A few men came to her home, demanding to see her mother. When they saw her pass out on the old sofa, Layla caught their attention. It was the first time, Layla feared for her own life. It was the first time, she tried hard to wake up her mother and the woman didn't even budge. So she ran from home and one of the men followed her.

"You need to pay on your mother's behalf." He told her.

She thought her life was over until she bumped into someone who could change her life forever.

The first thing she noticed in him was his piercing blue eyes, tousled hair, sharp jaw, and a permanent scowl that was engraved into his face. He might be eighteen or nineteen. He is taller than her and she hardly reached his chest. She has to raise her head to see his face.

The guy opened his jacket, revealing a gun, a fucking gun that got the man running away from the place.

Layla took a step back from him, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"Don't worry. It is not a real gun." Maybe it is due to his voice, it didn't sound that assuring to her.

"Thank you," She mumbled and they both walked silently on the empty road.

"What is your name?" She asked him when the silence felt too overwhelming.

"Leon," He answered.

"I am Layla." She replied to the unasked question.

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

Five years older than her. None of the eighteen-year-old boys in her school are that tall or that handsome. He has rough features that make him look more like a man and less like a boy.

"Where do you live?"

"Wayfarer."

"I live there. But I never saw you."

"Shifted recently."

"Oh, which school do you..."

"Shut the fuck up." He warned, and they fell into a very uncomfortable silence. Being in his presence felt like walking on the edge. He is so intriguing that she finds it hard to shut her mouth like he not so nicely suggested.

"The ice cream there will be so delicious. You should try it sometimes. Harry gives me a lot of sprinkles...." Her voice trailed off when she saw him glare at her.

She fidgeted with her fingers. "It's just I am scared." She mumbled, lowering her head. "Mom is passed out on the couch. I don't know if the men left or not. I am hungry. I had to make dinner and do my homework. God, I can't stop talking if I am scared. I am so sorry. I must be causing you a lot of trouble. But I am so tired. Why can't I stop talking? Oh fuck! No, don't tell anyone that I use the 'f' word. I am a model student. Folks look up to me. Oh, I ace everything I do by the way. What about you? Are you good at sports? You look like you do that a lot, I meant, physical activities. At my school..." She clasps her mouth with her mom. "I am so sorry." She mumbled again. "I told you I can't stop talking when I am.."

This time, it was him who covered her mouth with his palm. "Do you want to eat?" He asked her.

"No." She nodded her head, making him raise a lone eyebrow.

"I mean it's fine. I am fine." Her stomach growled, exposing her lie.

The stranger casually shoved his hand into his black leather jacket pockets and took a step forward. "Do you want to eat?"

Layla pressed her lips together and fifteen minutes later, they sat in a cafe. He drank coffee while she ate sandwiches. The rain started to pour and Layla sighed in defeat.

He gave her a questioning look.

"It rains here in the most unexpected times which is always."

"You don't like rain?" He questioned for the first time.

"The drainage will be clogged. The streets will be flooded. I will be late to school and my home, it is entirely a different mess especially when it rains."

He gave her a nod, just a nod and she went on talking about random things. He stayed there with her in silence and she forgot how hard her life was and that she had run away from a man who could have assaulted her.

"And when I said I won't hear a word she said, she agreed." Layla was panting by the end of her long joke, and laughed, covering her mouth with her palm. Her eyes twinkled whenever she smiled and she looked at him expecting at least a twitch of his lips. He gave her none. His lips are glued together, she murmured to herself.

"Don't follow strangers next time and don't fucking eat what they give you," He told her before he started walking in the direction they came from. Layla quickly brought an umbrella from her home and ran to him. He has long legs which made his strides longer than hers.

"Here," She panted, one hand holding the umbrella and the other on her hips. "It may rain again."

When he didn't take that, she held him and kept the umbrella in his hands.

"Welcome to Ylumia. And this is your bestie." She pointed to the umbrella. He frowned when the sky roared. Layla smirked and he shook his head slightly before he turned back.

"Bye," She shouted after him. "My name is Layla. Remember me."

He didn't look back, didn't stop and didn't even say bye.

He followed her till she reached home, bought her food, listened to her, advised her not to follow strangers, even if it is with a grumpy tone, and left without expecting anything in return.

Layla remembered everything that happened that night, from bumping into him and walking home. He is grumpy, very serious, calm, and courageous. Thinking about made her heart warm. He clenched his fist as he tried to stop them from doing something whenever she started talking. His hands are big. Layla looked at her own slender hands. And she imagined holding his hands. She blushed at that thought.

"LEON," She whispered to herself. " L E O N."

If someone asks her about their crush again, she is ready to scream her lungs out. It is not that skyscraper anymore. It's him. LEON.

She could see their future together, so bright and cheerful. That was just a girl crush. But at that moment, it didn't feel like it. It felt more; Layla felt more than what the sky and sea made her feel. She felt the skip of her heart, the butterflies in her stomach, and blush of her cheeks.

"You just wait, Leon. I will grow up. We will get married and live in a penthouse."

Oh, she has everything planned. She is not a confused kid like most students of her age. She knows what she wants and Leon happened to be one of them or a major part of them.