After watching me work for a few moments, Layla sighs softly and places her small, soft hand atop of my own bloodied and bruised ones. I bring my eyes up to meet hers as she whispers, "Let me do it."

I don't object as she takes the cloth from my hands. "Lay down." She murmurs, and I do as she says, twisting around so that I'm lying along the bench. I move my arm out of the way so that she can get a better look at my cut. She begins cleaning it carefully. It stings a little, but she is being incredibly gentle.

While her right hand works at cleaning my cut, her left rests over my stomach, her palm touching my bare skin. My skin burns in the places she touches. But it's a good kind of burn. It's the type of burn that makes you feel cold once it's gone. The burn slowly spreads through my body as she works, and I keep my eyes on her the whole time. I watch the concentration in her eyes and the way she lightly bites down on her bottom lip as she cleans my side.

I suddenly feel myself heating up for a different reason entirely as my mind flashes back to what I saw in the alleyway. My blood runs hot with anger. Not at Layla. Never at Layla. But at those guys in the alleyway. I heard what they were talking about. What they were going to do to her. My blood boils just at the thought.

"I had told you to stay inside, Sunshine." I murmur, unable to keep my thoughts contained. My body tenses as I remember the things those men said. Their conversation continues to circulate in my head as my fists clench at my sides.

"I wanted to help," She says softly, looking up at me from beneath her long lashes. Her emerald eyes meet mine and I untense slightly. She's here and she's okay. They didn't hurt her. But they could have.

I sigh in frustration. "I know you did, but what if I hadn't been there? You could have gotten hurt." My voice is slightly strained as I speak. What if they had-

"But I didn't, Reece. I'm okay." She stops my thoughts short, her hand moving to my chest to rest over my already pounding heart. She looks into my eyes for a moment, trying to calm me.

"No, Sunshine!" I know I'm shouting at this point, but I can't seem to stop. "Those bástards would have hurt you! They would have laid their hands on you without your permission because people like them don't care! If I hadn't been there and that happened... I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you, Sunshine." I sit up now and I can't meet her eyes.

"Nothing's going to happen to me, Reece, I-"

"You don't know that!"

"Maybe not!" She's shouting now as well, standing up and taking a couple steps back, "But I'm believing it because that's what keeps me sane. You think I don't know that my life was at risk not fifteen minutes ago!? I am well aware, Reece!"

I stand up too, taking a step towards her, "And it's all my fault! If I had just dropped you home, none of this would've happened!"

"If you had dropped me home, those guys might have found Ariella by herself instead! Ever think of that!?" She raises her eyebrows, her arms out wide.

"Alright, fine, maybe that's true. But maybe they would have left her alone. Maybe if you hadn't come to dinner tonight, this could have all been prevented. Or better yet, if I had just stayed out of your life completely, you'd be safe, at home without all this stress that I've put on you." I'm not telling the truth. I don't want to go back and not become friends with her. That's the last thing I want.

"You think you've put stress on me just because of tonight!? Reece, I've been stressed for years now. Worrying about my parents' relationship and when they will finally get a divorce. Worrying about how that will affect Bella and me. Worrying about my grades and whether I'll make it into the college I want to go to. You are the last person that would ever put stress on me. You have done the exact opposite of that, Reece! Please-" She drops her voice to a whisper again, hanging her head, "-don't push me away because you think I'm going to get hurt," She looks up at me, taking a step forward and smiling slightly, "How can I ever get hurt when I have you here to protect me?"

"But you could have gotten hurt," I repeat softly, hanging my head and feeling my shoulders drop, the tension seeping from my body.

"No. Stop," She cuts me off sternly but tenderly, "Don't talk like that, Reece. I'm okay, you're okay, we're okay," She speaks softly, reaching her hand up to gently brush her thumb over my cheek, just under the cut that's there.

"We're okay," I repeat, taking a small step closer to her.

She nods with a small smile, moving her hand down from my cheek and instead placing the palm of her hand on my chest, right over my heart. I know she can feel how fast my heart is beating. I just don't know why it's doing that.

I let out a small sigh and nod my head, "Okay," I finally whisper, moving back and sitting on the bench before twisting around to lay down again.

Layla smiles softly, crouching down beside me again now that I have finally calmed down. She puts a large bandage over the cut on my side before politely asking me to sit up so that she can bandage up my hands. I do as she asks, twisting around so that I'm sitting on the bench, facing her. She moves to sit beside me.

I keep my eyes on her as she begins to clean my right hand and I find myself comforted by her presence. She's here and she's safe. She looks up into my eyes once she has finished cleaning my hand. God, her eyes are so green. She quickly looks away to clean my other hand. I can't help but notice how small her hands look in mine. Hers are soft and delicate and gentle. Mine are bigger and rougher and bloody. She wraps up my hands carefully before meeting my gaze again. Her eyes drift to my cheek and I know that she's looking at the small cut there.

She lifts her hand and gently brushes her thumb under the cut, her eyes scanning my face slowly as if she's taking in every inch of it and locking it away in her memory. But I'm doing the same. I try to memorize every freckle, every blemish, and every crease in her skin.

After what feels like hours but is really only a few seconds, she moves her hand away from my face to prepare everything to clean the wound on my cheek. I just watch, staying silent the entire time.

Her eyes meet mine once again and she flashes me a small smile before moving closer. So close that her face is only inches away. Our knees touch as she moves her left hand to rest gently on my jaw, keeping my head in place. With her other hand, she moves the cotton pad up to my face and starts cleaning it carefully. It stings. But not too bad. Still, when I make even the slightest indication that it hurts, Layla pulls away instantly and mumbles a 'sorry' before continuing a second or two later.

She pulls the cotton pad away from my face and places it in the small pile of bloodied tissue that has collated on the bench. Keeping her hand on my jaw, she studies my face for a moment and makes sure I have no more injuries.

"Reecey!" Ariella's voice breaks the calming and silent bubble that has been surrounding Layla and me. Her hand moves from my face and she instead puts it into her lap as the little girl stops in front of us. "Look! Daddy gave me a band-aid." She pulls up the bottom of her pants to reveal a pink Disney princess band-aid on her leg where her cut is.

I smile down at her, "All better now?"

She nods, "Uh huh! But you still need one."

My eyes widen slightly, "No, it's okay, I already have one on my cut."

The little girl comes closer and rests one hand on my knee while the other holds out a band-aid for me, "No, silly! You still have a cut on your face. Look! I picked this one out especially for you."

I sigh. I can't say no to her. "Alright, let's put it on."

Ariella hands the pink band-aid to Layla who unwraps it and turns to me, her lips turned up into the kind of smile that shows she's trying not to laugh. Gently grabbing my jaw in her hand once again, she places it over my cut and carefully presses it down so it will stick.

Ariella claps her hands together, "Yay!"

Layla smiles and helped the little girl into her lap as she says, "Now he needs Princess Ariella's kiss to make it feel all better."

She turns to Layla with a frown, "No, he needs a kiss from both me and you. Two princess kisses are better than one."

Layla only laughs and my eyes widen slightly. She's not going to do it... is she?

Ariella leans towards me, drawing my attention as she places a loud kiss on top of the band aid before pulling back with a smile, "Feeling better?"

I nod with a smile, "Much better."

She gasps happily and turns to Layla excitedly, "It's working! Your turn!"

Layla smiles and grasps my chin gently between her thumb and forefinger. She turns my head to the side, not looking me in the eyes as she leans forward. Her lips softly press against the band-aid, her bottom lip just brushing my uncovered skin and sending tingles all down my spine with just a kiss. She pulls back only a couple seconds later, flashing me a small smile before pulling away completely.

"You're all better now!" Ariella exclaims happily, bouncing in Layla's lap.

I laugh, picking up my shirt that now has a slice through it and is covered in blood. "I am." She holds her arms out to me and I pick her up, both Layla and I walking back over to the others.

All of the other guys who usually train here have all gone home so it's just Layla, Bella, Gunner, Jace, Ariella and I left. I briefly wonder if they heard Layla and I's argument but brush it off. I don't care if they did.

Gunner looks like he is trying not to laugh when he sees me, "Nice band-aid."

"Shut up," I mutter as I set Ariella down on the ground. Locking eyes with Layla, I raise an eyebrow at her, "Ready to go?"

She nods, turning to Jace and Gunner, "It was nice meeting the both of you."

"Nice meeting you too, Sweetheart," Jace says, winking.

I roll my eyes. Player.

Gunner smiles, "Thank you for finding Ari. Don't be a stranger, yeah?"

Layla laughs, "Of course."

"Bye!" Ariella says, wrapping her arms around my legs. I chuckle, ruffling her hair slightly. She then moves over to Layla who bends down to her level. She flings her arms around Layla's neck and hugs her tightly. She pulls back a little and whispers something into her ear.

Layla smiles at her, "Of course, Princess. I'll see you later."

Bella, Layla, and I all walk back out to my car, getting into our respective seats. The drive to their place goes past in a comfortable silence, all of us lost in our own thoughts.

My mind once again drifts to the three men that harassed Layla. I should have punched them a few more times. They got off easy. If Layla hadn't been there to stop me, I would have done a whole lot worse.

I pull into their driveway and park my car, my gaze moving to face Layla. I clear my throat, "Thanks for helping find Ariella."

She turns to me with a smile, tucking a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear, "No problem. This night didn't exactly turn out how I'd expected it to."

A small laugh escapes my lips, "No, it didn't. But I'm glad you and Ariella are both okay."

"I'm glad you were there to save us," She replies, her beautiful green-eyed gaze holding me captive.

After a few seconds, Bella clears her throat, making us break eye contact. She smiles at us when we turn to her, opening the door, "Thanks for having us over for dinner, Reece. I'll see you inside, Layla. Bye!" Then she leaves, closing the door behind her.

Both Layla and I watch her skip up the front porch steps before opening the front door and going inside. I look back at Layla to find her gaze no longer on the house but instead on my hand that's clutching the gearstick.

"Seriously, thank you," She whispers, gingerly reaching her own hand out and running her fingertips over my bandaged knuckles.

"Anytime, Sunshine," I say, my voice a hushed whisper just as hers.

She gives me one last smile before unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the car door. She steps out and just before she closes the door, she bites down on her lip and smiles a little, tilting her head to the side as if she's considering something. Then, before I know what's happening, Layla hops back into the car and leans over the seat, quickly pecking my cheek before murmuring, "Bye, Reece."

I don't get the chance to reply as she has already hopped back out of the car, closed the door and starting skipping up her front porch steps. She opens her front door and turns, shooting me a quick smile and a wave before going inside and closing her front door behind her.

Sighing, I lean my head back against the headrest as one thought runs through my mind.

What the fúck?