Chapter 50

JAKE

I am sitting in the dining room in the hotel and everyone is staring at me. I have accidentally dropped my fork and Layla decided that it is best that she acts as if it is her. It just seems to me like she really cares a lot about me and this makes me feel like I want to spend more time with her.

It is true that I am exhausted and the fork slipped from my grip. I guess she does not want anyone to know that I am exhausted. Then she moves to sit next to me and that just drives me completely insane. It is already difficult to handle myself around her when she is a few feet away but this close seems like almost impossible. Especially when I am tired.

"Thank you for doing this. You really do not have to"

LAYLA

I could see the moment that he walk through the doors that he was tired and immediately I just felt like I had to protect him from the people around him that do not know what it means to respect another human being. I know that he does not notice the people looking at him but I do.

My heart automatically goes out to him that he can not just be in a public place without being stared at or someone asking for an autograph. I guess you can not say no to a little girl coming up to you with a book but if someone else is going come close to him to ask for his autograph I will intercede them.

"You may not pay me to be your bodyguard but I can just be a normal human being. It just feels unfair to me somehow"

I see him frowning as he asks me.

"What do you mean? What is unfair to you?"

"It is just a little bit unfair that you can not have your privacy"

He gives me a slight smile and then he looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes and says.

"I know it must seem strange to you but I have grown up in front of the cameras and people staring at me. This is almost second nature to me"

I realized that I have overstepped my boundaries by talking about something that does not even concern me. I also now remember the words of Stacy and how she said that I should not talk to him at all.

"I am so sorry. I did not mean to-"

He lifts up his hand trying to make me stop talking. Then as he swallows his food, he says to me.

"Please, do not say you are sorry. I appreciate that you care so much about me..."

Then he looks down at the table while he is playing with the fork in his food and mumbles the rest of the sentence.

"...not a lot of people do"

He continues eating and my heart breaks in pieces. How is it possible that he does not have someone that cares for him? How can he say that not a lot of people care about him? He has an entire crew and I am sure some of them care about him. I know that some of the people are here only for the money but some of them should have become his friends.

As I watch him eat in silence, I realized that this is something that is bothering him. All of a sudden, I want to sit even closer to him. I want to say something to him and I want him to hear me. So, I take it a chance and say it anyway.

"Jake, I am sorry that you do not have a lot of people in your life that care for you but I would appreciate it if you can see me as someone that cares for you. If you ever need someone to just talk to. I do not mind listening"

JAKE

I am completely blown away by what she just told me. I realize that I do not have a lot of friends but I never thought that she would give me a proposal like that. I start to wonder if I should have told her about not having a lot of people that care about me in my world.

Is this just something that she is saying? But when I look back into her beautiful blue eyes, I realized that she is sincere. I wish I can touch her hand but then it would be in the papers tomorrow. Then I remember, I need to be at a press conference.

I quickly stand up but I think I did it too fast and suddenly, I feel a bit dizzy. I have to rest my hands on the table and then I see Layla looking at me with concerned eyes.

"Are you okay? What is going on?"

"Hmm...I am fine. I just got up too fast. I am sorry to leave you alone with these vultures but I have to go. I am already late for a press conference and Mark will have my head"

I can see that she is not completely convinced by the fact that I am okay but then she says to me.

"It is okay. I understand that you need to go. Good luck with the press"

As I turn around, I look one last time at her and say.

"Thank you for everything. It really did mean a lot"

I can see her smiling and then I swear I see her blush. Then she says to me.

"It was only my pleasure"

LAYLA

I watch him walk away and I feel my cheeks flaring up again. I really hate to blush. Then I see all the people have dispersed that were standing almost next to us. I just hope what he told me is the truth that he does not mind the people.

I guess that comes with the territory. I quickly finish my breakfast and then decide to go and buy myself a book about Indonesia. I realized that I should go back to the stage to finish up packing the clothes for transportation. I guess everyone will have a hangover after the party they had last night.

I know that we need to be at the airport by five this afternoon so I better get myself to the stage as quickly as possible. Then my thoughts go back to Jason. How dare he even put his arm around my neck?

I wonder if I should confront him while he is sober but then again if he does not remember what he did, I would look like a fool. I guess I should just try and avoid him as far as I can. Then I get myself a cab and make my stop for the book and then to the stage.

JAKE

I am on my way to the press conference and I can not believe how extremely exhausted I am. I really did make a fool of myself in front of Layla but I love the way that she cared for me. Just when I am about to walk through the door, I hear a sharp sound in my ear. It is so loud that I have to cover my ears with my hands.

It makes me bend down to my knees and I can not stop the sound from entering my ear. I try to make out what sound it is and where it comes from but there is no one and nothing around me.

"Aahhh!"

Just then Mark comes through the doors and finds me on the floor bending down holding my ears. He put his hand on my shoulder and I can see his lips moving but I can not hear him. It feels like I want to slap his hand off me and the wolf in me wants to come out.

Through the shrieking sound in my ear, I have to concentrate to stay in my human form. But this sound is different from anything that I have ever encountered in my life. It is as if the wolf wants to come out more because of the sound and then suddenly without warning, it stops.

"Jake, are you okay?!"

Unexpectedly, everything is quiet and I can hear his voice clearly as if nothing just happened. There is no ringing in my ears and everything is back to normal. I stand up and look confused at him and ask.

"Did you hear that?"

He frowns and then he says to me.

"What?"

"That loud ringing almost shrieking sound?"

He shakes his head and looks at me even more confused.

"There was no sound...Jake"

How is that possible? I heard the sound loud and clear. It was more like a painful sound. I can see that Mark is not enjoying what I am telling him and I do not want to worry him unless I know what is going on with me.

"Okay, well, are we doing this?"

He stops me before I can go through the doors and then he says.

"Wait. Are you okay? Can you do this?"

I give him a slight smile and then I say.

"Well, you made it loud and clear that I do not have a choice. So, I guess whether I am ready or not I have to"

I can see him laughing from relief that I am making a joke. But as I walk through the doors and I put on my fake smile, my mind easily travels back to what just happened. I start to wonder if there is something wrong with me and if I should go and see a doctor.

But then again I know that the wolf brings fast healing and so, there can not really be something wrong with me. I sit through all the interviews and answer all the questions. And before we know it we must go back to the plane to leave for Indonesia.

As I entered the plane I can not help but look for Layla. This time she is seated on the side of the aisle. This, for some reason, makes me happy and as I walk past her I make sure to lock my eyes with hers. She smiles at me and I smile at her and I realized that we are creating a bond without realizing it.

I have never had a real relationship before but everything in me would love to have a relationship with her. I do not know what it is about her except for her beauty and caring nature the draws me so to her. Then I make sure that my leg brushes lightly against her shoulder just to send some affection to her.

I open the door to my private room where I can finally just lay down and rest.