Sequel: The Raven
Status: Active ♥

A Heart Worth Loving

Aftermath

The sensation of fire rushing through her veins brought her forward out of the darkness, causing Layla to shout out in pain and then there was nothing. No pain, no fire, just a complete sense of peace and Layla fought to get her breathing under control.

“Layla, I need you to breathe,” came Sheila’s voice from somewhere in the distance, “Nice and slow.”

“Sheila?” Layla asked, feeling panic begin to build in her chest and trying to fight her way through the fog that filled her mind.

“In and out... take it easy.”

Feeling someone’s hand on her arm, Layla focused on that point of contact and used it to ground herself. Gradually, she managed to calm her breathing and relaxed as the fog slowly cleared.

“Hi,” she whispered as Sheila’s face came into view.

“Hi there” Sheila replied with a warm smile, “How’re you feeling?”

“Better.”

“Good, are you hungry?”

“Starving actually, how long was I out?”

“Nearly thirty-six hours, but that was to be expected,” Sheila stated, watching as Layla sat up and stretched, “Why don’t you go shower and I will sort you out some food?”

Showering, Layla got changed into some clean clothes and sat down to eat the soup that Sheila had made. It was late by the time she decided to head home, finding the front door ajar and cautiously making her way inside.

Clearing each room, she frowned when nothing seemed out of place and quietly crept towards her bedroom. Hearing movement from the other side of the door, she pushed it open and froze when she found her mom sat on the edge of her bed.

“Layla,” her mom greeted with a smile.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to learn more about my daughter, I’ve missed out on so much...”

“You don’t have a daughter,” Layla snapped, “You made your decision, you chose magic and left me to die. The only reason that you’re here right now is because of my magic, I’m stronger than you ever were and you want it.”

“Lay...”

“Well, go ahead and take it,” Layla continued as if her mom hadn’t spoken, holding her arms out to the sides with tears rolling down her cheeks and waiting, “TAKE IT! I don’t want it, I never wanted it and all it does is remind me of things that I would rather forget.”

Watching her mom closely, she saw the woman’s eyes shift to the door and turned to see Damon enter. Anger flashed in his eyes as his gaze fell upon her mom, stepping forward threateningly and pausing when Layla grabbed his arm.

“I suggest you leave,” Damon said, standing beside Layla and glaring at her mom.

Her mom stared at her in silence for a few minutes, before finally leaving and Layla felt something within her break as Damon wrapped his arms around her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but it wasn’t because she was upset... it was because she was angry and exhausted.

Lying on the bed a little while later, Layla wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks and curled deeper into Damon’s side. She had told him that she would be fine on her own, but he had refused to leave and deep down she was grateful for the company.

“Did Davis keep to his end of the deal?” Layla inquired after a long silence.

“He did,” Damon confirmed, “Took off the morning after you cast the spell... Ric made sure of it.”

“Good.”

Layla knew for a fact that Damon had more that he wanted to say, but right now all she wanted to do was sleep and let her eyes drift shut. She hadn’t mentioned anything about her magic or her mom’s spell, mainly because for the first time since getting her magic back she felt normal. If she was honest, she didn’t care if she never got her magic back and would be just fine being a regular teen.
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