18

        Jax  leans against his impala smoking a cigarette. He held clothes of gold and scarlet well wearing camo cammies with light brown boots. We haven’t said a word together. Just silence. I decide to speak first, “Jax-”

         He cuts me off, “Are you a threat to me and Layla? Do you mean harm to us?” 

          So he’s just scared. “No neither…Jax, I want you to trust me again. Besides, what’s gotten into you? I never saw you smoke.” 

          “I’m being shipped out again. They need me. And about the cigarette thing. I used to always smoke. Now I only do it rarely.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper. “I haven’t been able to find any info on Layla but I would like to know how she's doing,” he hands me the paper,”contact me sometime.” He gave me a nod with that similar smile. He then got in his car and drove away. I unfold the paper and it has a marine’s station number and coordinates of some kind.  

          Now Layla. I have control of myself enough to where I know I won’t lose it and hurt her. I trust that she won’t flip out on me. 

           I take a deep breath and imagine her face. Her hand in mine. I close my eyes and allow my hand to go back to her soft skin. I open my eyes and see her lying on a soft brown couch. She is wearing a black baggy hoodie that is way too big for her and sweatpants. I look at her hand. A bottle swings. She appears to be asleep. I walked up to her. She looks awful. Beautiful but awful. I kiss her on the forehead and take the bottle out of her hand. I swish it around. It has a strong funny smell and doesn’t appear to be any drink I’ve seen before. I’ve learned many things, however, I don’t know what this is. I hesitate but I take a sip. Immediately I want to spit it out but force myself to swallow. It’s disgusting. I find my way to the kitchen and find many other similar bottles. I dump them all out. I grab a plastic cup and go to the sink and fill it with water. 

          I walk back out and put the water on the coffee table. I tap her lightly. “Layla woke up. You don’t look too good.” 

         “Ash?” I decided to let it slide. 

         “Yes. It’s me.”

          She opens her eyes and her face starts to quiver. She puts her hand on my cheek and gives me a soft smile. “How… I’m glad you're here.” 

         I give her a smile back and sit her up. I hand her the water and tell her to drink it. I go out to the kicken again. She should eat something. I look through the cupboards and fridge and find ingredients for raman. I grab a pot and fill it with water. Then I set it on the stove to boil. I grab five slices of chashu,  a handful of green onions, narutomaki , and an egg. I put the ramen noodles in the pot and set the egg I grabbed to boil in a separate pot. I chop up the green onions into small pieces and cut a few slices of narutomaki. I put them to the side and grab some chicken broth powder and soy sauce. I get a medium sized bowl and fill it half way full of water and put two teaspoons of the powder in and mix it well. I take out the noodles and put them in the bowl. I swiss some soy sauce over it and put the chopped onions and narutomaki neatly to one side of the bowl. I curve the five slices of chashu on the other side of the bowl. I grab the boiled egg and chop it in half. I eat one half and put the other half against the chashu. Then I grab a set of chopsticks and place them carefully in the bowl. There is one successful and beautiful dish. 

     I take it to her and tell her she should eat. I hope she likes it considering I’ve never cooked before till today. I went around her house and found a small white towel. I go to the sink and soak it in warm water. I look under the sink and find some candles. I grab a lavender one since I read it makes you feel calm. I put the candle in the center of the coffee table and lit it. I then grab her bowl and glass and take it to the kitchen. I refill her glass and return it to her. I go back and drain the sink. I squeeze the towel and get rid of excess water. I go out back to Layla and tell her to lay down. I put the rag on her head. “Thanks Ash.”

        “For what?” 

         “For taking care of me. It was dumb to drink well I was sick. I just missed you and all.” 

         I kneel down on the floor next to her. “It’s ok. No need to thank me.” I kiss her on the cheek and go out to the kitchen and wash the dishes. I look over the corner and realize that she fell back to sleep. It’s ok. I’m here now. I dry the dishes with a washcloth and put them away neatly. I tidy up and bit and realize that as much as I would like to, I can't let her sleep all day. I go to the bathroom and fill up the bathtub. I put little lilies in the water and lit a lavender incense. I go out and wake her up again. I told her that I prepared a bath for her and laid some fresh clothes on the sink for her. She gives me a hug and hands me the towel from her head. 

         I go to the kitchen and need the towel in hot water. I hear the water drain from the bathroom so I prepare the towel for her when she comes out. She was never mad at me it seems. I got a fluffy blanket and put it folded up on the couch. I put the towel on the coffee table along with fresh water. I write a note for her as simply and plain as can be and leave it on top of the blanket. “You should lay down and get some rest. You should feel better by tomorrow. I didn’t realize that it was already eight o’clock at night. I thought it was still morning. I love you. I’ll visit you again soon. P.S. Call Jax. He's worried about you.” 

 I left the number that he gave me on the bottom of the note.