Free The Lake (The Lake Trilogy, Book 1) by AnnaLisa Grant Page A

his head and catches my eyes. “I am very interested in everything you have to say, Layla.”
    My heart leaps inside my chest. He shouldn’t say such things. He clearly has no idea the effect he has on me. Being here with Will…it’s the first time in a very long time that my desire to share a part of myself with someone is outweighing my fear of any consequences. My heart begins to race again. I take a few more, hopefully not-so-obvious, deep breaths and give Will the not-so-abridged version of the drama.
    “Well…hmm…where to start. I was seven the first time I met Luke and Claire. We all went to Orlando to have Christmas with Gram and Gramps. Luke and Claire had been married a couple of years, I guess. We did Christmas morning at our house and then drove to Gram and Gramps’ house, which was three and a half hours away. The plan was to open gifts with everyone, stay for dinner, and then drive home. Sounds nice, right?” Will nods. “Well, we did the gift thing, which was fun for me as the only kid, and then we started to eat dinner.
    ” I was only seven so I didn’t completely get it, but I knew something was up. Luke would say something about how his job at the law firm was going, and Dad would say something like ‘Well, that’s great that you’ve decided where your loyalties are.’ Then both of them would look to Gramps. It’s like they were each waiting for him to show support of their point of view and reprimand the other one, but he never said anything.” I take a long pause, hoping I’m not painting my dad as a terrible person. “I had three bites of turkey and one bite of mashed potatoes before Dad declared we were leaving. I gave Gram and Gramps kisses while they told me how much they loved me and were glad we had come. Then we gathered my gifts, packed up the car, and drove home. We were there for two and a half hours.”
    “Wow. I don’t even know what to say. That’s terrible ,” he says but then corrects himself. “Sorry. That was rude. Here you are telling me such private things and I’m just letting anything fly out of my mouth. You don’t have to tell me anything else. I’d understand. But…I’m listening, and I am interested, if you want to keep talking.” His eyes are piercing in the glow of the moonlight and I’m distracted yet again.
    “No…I want to tell you.” The corners of my mouth lift into a small smile realizing the depth of truth to that statement. “I can’t talk to Luke or Claire about any of this. Not yet at least. So it’s nice to have someone to talk to. Thank you.” I smile to convey my sincerity. “Looking back on it, I still don’t know or understand what happened. My parents never spoke of Luke and Claire, and the next time I saw them was at my parent’s funeral, five years later. My parents…they died in a car accident when I was twelve.”
    “Oh , my gosh, Layla. Mr. Weston said that your parents had passed away, but he didn’t say anything about an accident. I’m so sorry.”
    “It was really hard at first, but Gram and Gramps took me in, so, I at least had somewhere to go. Luke and Claire never said a word to me then, and I didn’t talk to them either. So, like I said, when Gramps died, that was the third time I’d ever laid eyes on them. I’m not sure why they didn’t come to Gram’s funeral. She died two years after I moved in with them.
    “So…to finally answer your question…I don’t call them ‘uncle’ or ‘aunt’ because that implies a relationship we just don’t have. I’m getting to know them and I’m hopeful it will change one day.” I feel surprisingly relieved. I’ve never talked to anyone about this. I was so used to keeping it to myself that I’m almost shocked at my ability to share so freely, but that’s what Will does to me.
    Maybe it’s the way he looks me square in the eyes, or the way he turns his whole body to give me his full attention, but my heart wants to be an open book to him. I just have to