What the Heart Seeks

Chapter 5-1

Chapter 5

The door to the garage apartment clicked closed as Layne leaned against it. Silence greeted him for the first time since morning. Chaos invaded his life from the start of the day. If he could transport through time, he would go back and do things differently.

He peeled his body away from the door and plodded across the living room. His boots clomped with each step he made. His feet ached from the countless miles he’d walked. If he remained on them much longer, he’d fall to the ground. The muscles in his legs were quivering.

If it weren’t for the hostility inside the main house, he would have found an empty room and crashed. He refused to be in the same house as Nate. His presence boggled Layne. The Elders should have killed him instead of keeping him detained for trial. The Regency would never apprehend him. He would evade them. Whether it was by his escape or demise remained unknown.

The Elders were making sure it wasn’t the latter. They forbade Mason and Layne from going into the cellar. Yet they’d allowed Dylan inside—the same person who’d tried to kill Nate just a few hours ago. It made no sense.

He hoped Scott would keep Dylan under control. His friend’s Cooler abilities hadn’t worked for Layne because it took everything in him not to tackle Dylan to the floor and beat him senseless. Layne hadn't forgotten Nate’s accusation that his son was a part of the plot to murder Heaven. Dylan hadn’t been the same since his last confrontation with his father. Nothing would surprise Layne at this point.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he rounded the corner of the hall, passing Faith’s room. It remained empty, but it wouldn’t be for long. At some point tomorrow, she would return from the hospital. Jerry would be with her, as would their son.

It wouldn’t be the joyous homecoming she wanted. Regardless of their complicated relationship, Faith loved Heaven. She’d confessed as much when she and Layne had briefly dated.

As he passed the hallway closet, his muscles tensed. He hesitated near the knob, remembering how he and Heaven had stood in the same spot. It was where he’d used the towels to dry her drenched body after he found her in the storm. One had clung to her n***d flesh. The other he’d used to wring the rain from her hair.

If only he and Heaven had known the truth about the affinity…

That truth sure as hell wasn’t the piss-poor excuse Delia gave them. The explanation Heaven had given him was more than he had hoped for. She was his soulmate, his Twin Flame, and if they’d made love once more, their bond would have been complete.

He released a shaky breath and slumped his shoulders. The door swung wide and allowed him to view the room. Nothing had changed since he and Heaven last occupied it. Her scent still lingered in the air.

As he approached the bed, he envisioned her sitting on the edge, like she had the night before. This time, tears didn’t stain her cheeks. Her bright, breathtaking eyes locked onto him. She lifted her lips and patted her belly.

You were right, Layne.

He fell to his knees, desperately wanting to join his hand with hers. Her cryptic message needed no explanation. The way she smiled toward her stomach was all the proof he needed.

Ice pumped through his heart. He hung his head and held his breath. Stinging spread through his eyes. Then they blurred. He hadn’t just lost his soulmate. He’d lost his only chance to be a father. To know she may have been pregnant when she died…

The tiny thread holding his heart together snapped. He leaned his head back, releasing a guttural cry at the ceiling. “Heaven!”

Layne let the pain overtake him and buried his face against the bed as the image disappeared. The vision would never come true. He’d never spend the rest of his life with her, nor would he hold a child of his own. All he had was a gigantic hole where his heart used to beat.

Not one time in his miserable life had he cried over anyone. It took someone extraordinary to touch his heart. Heaven did that and so much more. He had done his best to resist her from the beginning. He’d even gone as far as distracting himself with her sister. Nothing helped. All he’d gained were the lies he told himself. He’d been in love with Heaven since the first time he saw her.

The bed jostled as his chest heaved. He gripped the sheets, fighting the urge to form a flame. He’d start a fire and burn down the garage, right along with himself. Only he couldn’t. He was immune to fire.

If Heaven was their only hope of defeating The Fallen, he would perish soon enough. Until then, he had responsibilities. His death meant Adalyn would be alone. Considering Dylan’s current frame of mind, Dylan couldn’t care for her. In a fit of rage, Dylan may even kill her like he had her mother.

Why was Layne doing this to himself? It was s******c. His lungs kept seizing, desperate for a breath of air. None came. His mouth gaped. The only thing that helped was releasing the cry stuck in his throat, and his shoulders shuddered.

He’d been such a fool, wasting time resisting his connection to Heaven. They’d inflicted pain on each other with the stupidest arguments, and for what? Dylan?

He should have confessed his attraction to her the night they were in Malibu when he’d found her and Dylan on Jerry’s deck. He’d been too angry to speak, and had even avoided Faith’s advances when they went to bed. The next day, something changed after his confrontation with Dylan. The way Heaven’s eyes bore into him…it was as if she’d felt the same gravitational pull he’d sensed from the day they met.

He would have known for sure had Dylan not kept her to himself for the next few weeks. Not that it mattered. No amount of separation changed something fated to be. The incident at the engagement party proved as much. When she fell off the stool and into Layne’s arms, the fire within him became tangible.

To think they were told it was just their Seeker-Keeper bond initiating…

The people he’d trusted had spoken many lies. He would have believed those lies to the end of his existence. He was grateful his mother had revealed the truth, but why had she taken so long?

Once he pulled himself onto the bed, he sat on the edge and stared. He swiped his fingers over the left side of his chest where the arrow had pierced him. The dip in his muscle remained, but wasn’t as prominent. Heaven had healed it while they were in the quarry. She’d repaired every part of him, including his heart. She’d loved him. Now she was gone.

Whatever happened past this point was his fault. He’d failed her, failed the Psi, and failed humanity.