Rejected To Be Your Second Chance novel Chapter 146

　　Mason wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Cara and Danielle were standing behind them.

　　Justin stood next to Sebastian’s body.

　　We stood like that, in silence, for a few minutes, enjoying the peace and appreciating those who stood around us.

　　Layla burrowed her face into my chest.

　　We walked down from the pile of broken boards. Everyone gathered on the ground.

　　“How did you do it?” Anna asked and looked at Layla with admiration.

　　She shrugged a shoulder. “I had help.” Layla threw her smile.

　　Danielle jumped on one leg, Cara’s arm still wrapped around her waist to steady her.

　　“Now what?” Cara asked.

　　I looked around at everyone’s tired faces. We were done with the fights, the ones that occupied our lives for far too long. Fragments of hope and joy started surfacing back in me. I couldn’t speak for the others, but they probably felt the same.

　　Some feelings had their time and place, and some you needed to make sure you always held on to. Hope, for example, should never leave your soul. It left mine, but anger remained. When Layla came back, I dared to accept hope back in, and then Celine was kidnapped, Tracey was killed, and Layla almost got blown into pieces. Hope was a bitch, but it was a bitch I needed to embrace.

　　“Now we go home,” I said and pressed a kiss to Layla’s temple.

　　A breeze swept in, rustling the trees’ leaves.

　　Cara smiled when her eyes swept over Celine, who was sleeping in Layla’s arms. Mason patted Justin’s shoulder. They didn’t share any words, but a silent acceptance sprouted between them.

　　Justin lost the girl, but he would’ve given his life to save her.

　　Layla chose me, and for that, I would be forever grateful. She kept our family together when all I did was drive it apart. I held her close the whole way home. In the car, I put my hand on her leg, needing to feel her.

　　We drove through the night. Anna fell asleep. She had been watching the baby for the past thirty minutes. Cara put her head back and released a heavy breath. Her eyes closed, and soon, she’d be sleeping too.

　　The boys and Danielle were in the other car behind us.

　　“What’s on your mind?” I asked.

　　Layla’s head snapped back from the window. She looked lost in thought, staring out onto the road.

　　“The worst isn’t over yet,” she whispered.

　　The funeral. She would have to say goodbye to her sister. We left so soon, and not a word was spoken aloud of her death. I still see Tracey’s face and can only imagine the things going through Layla’s head.

　　Her sister was dead. She died protecting our daughter.

　　When we went after Sebastian, it was a distraction from having to deal with the reality of what we had left behind. We couldn’t close our eyes to it anymore.

　　I squeezed her thigh, showing her I was there for her. My words wouldn’t ease any of her pain. They did nothing to ease my own.

　　“I’m sorry,” was all I could say.

　　“Me too,” Layla cried.

　　We reached the pack and saw the lights in the house were lit.

　　My mom met us on the stairs. She immediately took my daughter in her arms and shed a tear for her granddaughter’s return.

　　“Welcome home.” She pulled Layla in for a hug. My mother’s hand cupped my cheek.

　　The other car drove up, and the boys got out. Justin went around the back and woke up Danielle. She jumped out on her legs. The wound was almost healed.

　　Her pants were covered in blood. The dark dent where her flesh was still open was visible when she stood under the light from the lamp.

　　“Oh, sweetheart,” mom gushed and held out her hand for Danielle.

　　She limped up the stairs, supporting herself on Mason.

　　“Why are you up?” Mason asked, pressing his palm on Danielle’s waist to steady her.

　　“We’ve been waiting for you,” my mother said with a tear falling down her cheek. Her eyes circled over our faces and locked on Layla’s. “Everything has been prepared. It’s time to say goodbye.”

　　I heard her gasp lowly, breathing in through her teeth.

　　Layla clenched her teeth and nodded. I grabbed Layla’s hand and gave it a light squeeze.

　　We walked through the house and out the back, where the doors were wide open. The light strings were hung in the trees. Candles, big and small, stood around on the ground, burning in big flames. Black roses in vases stood around on the pedestals.

　　I watched the violet petals with black linings in bloom. I reached out my fingers to feel the silky touch. I hadn’t seen roses like these before.

　　“They were Tracey’s favorites. She said that roses were given in love, where happiness was born and in death, where happiness laid to rest,” Layla said, her voice hitched, and the tears pooled in her eyes.

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