Layla is standing outside the hospital when I pull up. She's staring at the ground, her hair gently brushing her shoulders as the breeze plays with it. She's wearing a floral dress and she looks better than I've seen her in a while; her cheeks are rosy and just by looking at her, she seems to be in a better headspace.

"Layla," I say as I approach her. "You look beautiful." She stands when she hears her name, a smile coming across her face. She doesn't hesitate to wrap her arms around my neck in a hug, pulling me close.

"I'm so sorry for the way I acted last night..." She whispers. I close my eyes.

"You don't have to apologize. I don't understand what you're feeling, but I can see that it isn't easy. I get it."

She leans back and looks at me for a moment, searching my eyes for something. Before either of us can say anything else, Layla presses her lips to mine. I kiss her back, beyond happy to be in this moment.

I realize that there is no way I could have ever been upset with her for yesterday. I've acted like a jerk to her countless times – I'm far beyond forgiveness. But still, she's here. She is allowing me to be with her. She's allowing me to have a piece of her heart.

Little does she know; she has my whole heart.

"What was that for?" I ask her softly, leaning my forehead against hers. From this distance, I can smell the sweetness of her skin and hair and feel her flowy dress brush up against my legs.

"For everything. For this date, and for helping me be brave."

I can't help but smile. Early this morning, I called her and asked if I could take her on a date for a little while. Her parents weren't completely excited about the idea of her leaving the hospital, but she insisted on a night out from the constant smells and sounds of the hospital.

I was more than excited to get her all to myself for a little while.

*

Layla doesn't object to climbing the new and improved stairs that lead us to the floor of her hideout. Instead, she just stares at them once we approach them, her eyes wide and a smile on her face.

"You guys did this?" She asks incredulously.

"I wanted you to be safe going to and from. This makes it easier, too."

"Yeah, easier for intruders."

I look at her for a moment, afraid that I made her mad. But then she cracks a smile and I relax a little. When I first met her, I would never have cared if I made her mad. That's what I wanted to do, actually. Now it is one of my biggest regrets because being on this side, I get to see every beautiful side of her.

"They didn't keep me out, did they?" I fire back with a smirk. I kiss her quickly before she can reply and start pulling her up the steps, lunch cooler in my other hand. I'm careful to give her enough time to go up the steps so we aren't rushing it.

By the look on Layla's face, I can see she isn't pleased with how she's feeling. But I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Once we're at the room, I allow her to walk in first. Inside, I cleaned it up, fixed a few strands of half-lit lights, and made sure the radio was on a good station. I quickly hook up my phone to the aux cord and set a playlist that I had made a while back.

"I can't believe you did all of this. I can't believe that I'm here, with someone like you."

I shrug my shoulders as I set the cooler down on the blanket I had laid out in the corner of the room. I walk over to her and rest my hands on her waist, pulling her closer to me.

"I can't believe that you've allowed a jerk like me to be here with someone like you. I don't deserve you, Layla Scott."

To my surprise, she doesn't say anything. She rests her head on my chest and is quiet for a few seconds too long. A moment later, we are swaying back and forth, and Layla is still too quiet.

I lift her chin up towards me gently and find that she's been crying.

"What's wrong?"

She sniffles and her cheeks grow rosy. "You aren't a jerk, Jonah. And I never want to hear you say that again. You were just trying too hard to hide your hurt." She rubs under her eye and looks away from me as she takes a deep breath. "Thank you for fixing my camera. You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I had to. That camera allows you to capture the world from your perspective... and I wish the whole entire world could see it the way you do." I tell her quietly, rubbing circles on her arms.

In the background, the radio plays lowly. Love by Lana Del Rey comes on and Layla smiles.

"I love this song," she murmurs, her eyes gently fluttering shut.

"I thought you would." I take her hand and twist her around, her dress following her. I spin her right into my chest so that I can hold her tightly as we sway to the music.

After a few more twists, dips, and kisses, we retire to the blanket I have on the floor and I pull out the food I bribed Laura into making it for me; no back talk for at least a month. Needless to say, she didn't oblige.

"Tacos," Layla says. "One of my favorites." I help her get comfortable as I hand her a paper plate to eat on and before I know it, she's eaten two tacos.

"Hospital food just doesn't do it for you," she declares.

I laugh. "I wish I could say I made this, but I actually had Laura make it. Please don't sue me."

"I could never. Tell Laura these are amazing and that I can't wait to have dinner with you all more often." She pauses for only a second. "Especially since I'm able to leave the hospital now."

I look up as soon as she says it. "You are?"

A grin breaks out across her freckly face that causes me to smile. "They said I'm stable enough. I just need to be careful, of course. I can come back to school as long as I can keep the stress to a minimum and eat healthily. I'm so excited to get back to my life."

I lean across the blanket to kiss her and then kiss her again. I can never get enough from her.

"I'm so happy that things are looking up. I love yo... I love that you get to finally come home." I catch myself, my ears growing warm. I'm not sure if Layla catches it or not, but if she does, she doesn't say anything. I'm thankful for that.

Although I could never feel anything but love for this girl, I'm afraid to tell her what I'm feeling. I'm afraid that if I tell her that she is the only girl in the world I have ever felt this strongly for, then something is going to happen. And I don't want this to end.

"I brought a movie and a laptop if you feel like staying a little longer." I reach behind one of the beanbags and pull my backpack towards me.

"It's..." I look at the DVD case and frown. "The Lion King. I swear I thought I grabbed something else."

Layla giggles. "I love this movie." She takes it from my hands and pops the DVD into her hands. "You made an excellent mistake."

"Wow, I sure wish I could hear that more often," I joke. Layla puts the DVD into the laptop and pressed play. Before I know it, I'm watching Mufasa die for the 100thtime. Each time I get a little more used to it, but it still reminds me of my childhood tears.

"I know, this part is sad," Layla says comfortingly as she nuzzles herself into my chest a little more. The room is now dark, the only light coming from the Christmas lights around the room and from the laptop screen.

I look down at her. "I'm not crying... but yeah, it's sad."

Layla lets out a sigh. "Have you ever thought about living in someone else's prayer?"

I quirk an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" It seems like such a silly question at such a weird time.

"The sunset looks so beautiful tonight. What if someone prayed that it would so they could see it, maybe for the last time. We are enjoying that sunset, too. That means we're living in someone else's prayer."

I try to wrap my brain around what she just said. It almost seems obvious, but it's something I never would have thought of. We live day to day not paying any mind to the weather or to how slow or fast our transportation is, when someone may have prayed for it to be the way it is, and God answered it.

The bus was fast so the man in his newly bought suit could get to his first job interview on time. It went slow the next day so that the old lady in the corner had a chance to finally finish the book she's been reading before she had to get off. Layla is right, not to my surprise.

The longer I'm silent, the more Layla becomes fidgety, sitting up and staring out the window not far from us.

"You think about the craziest things." I lean up so I'm sitting right behind her. "But you're right. It is crazy. Am I living in one of yours?"

I can see her eyes crinkle on the sides as she smiles, though I can't see it from behind her. She turns to me and grabs my hand, slowly winding her fingers through mine as if memorizing each crease and speckle in my skin.

"You are my prayer," she whispers before lifting my hand to her mother and pressing her lips to it. I pull her back to me so I can hold her while we watch the movie. She nestles her head into the pillow and for a while, I find myself watching her instead of the movie.

Her arm forms goosebumps so I grab another blanket I brought with me and wrap it around both of us. It doesn't take long for me to get used to this. Laying here with no other thought but the girl in front of me. For once, feeling her heartbeat against my chest, I feel peaceful.

_____________

The song for this chapter is Love by Lana Del Rey if you couldn't guess that :)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! We are nearing the end of the story, but that doesn't mean it's over yet. Layla's and Jonah's story will be continued along with Jordan's in the next book, A Thousand Words!

Thanks so much for reading! Also, I entered this story in the Watty's!! Wish me luck!!

- Haley <3