Elena's mind drifted away as she heard Layla's warming statement. They helped themselves on another makeshift bench. She remembered the endless beautiful moments that she had shared with him. The playing in the rain, the cuddling at their birthdays, and the songs they danced together. She remembered of all the promises they had told each other, that come whatever obstacle, they were going to be there for each other. The thoughts of the horrible night stormed in once again in her mind and she couldn't help but whimper as they came racing through her mind like flashing lights. The struggle, the pain, the agony, and all the horror that she went through. A lot of time had passed and the events were fresh in her mind like they had happened yesterday. She started shaking again, as soft whimpers made way.
"Elena, Elena... Elena!" Layla tried to wake her up from the deep slumber of the horrible events that she had been thinking of. "Elena, open your eyes... open your eyes."
She instantly opened her eyes and looked at Layla, eyes watery already. She looked like she wanted to cry. Layla slid over closer to her and embraced her in her motherly arms. Elena's whimpers started dying out slowly and slowly. Until she was much calmer, Layla couldn't bother to talk. Layla had taken Elena into her embrace and she soothed her as if she was her own child. She brushed Elena's hair coherently, stroking its black strands with her gentle hands.
"Don't cry, don't cry." She soothed her as Elena's breathing started to calm down. "I'm so sorry for what happened to you, Elena. I'm sorry that it had to happen to you at the hands of Ethan. I'm sorry that it had to be my son, I'm sorry that we lied in court and I'm sorry that we never apologized for all the wrong we had put you and your family through. For all that we did, Elena I'm truly sorry."
"Miss Layla?" Elena spoke up later, after outwitting her episodic trauma.
"Yes?"
"Do you believe that Ethan raped me?"
Strange question, coming from the wrong person at the wrong time.
"He told me that he did," Layla answered.
"And you believed him?"
He did it, but it wasn't on purpose. He admitted to everything, and he said that he was going to prove to you that he was innocent in all of this.
"I do." She however answered. That's all that she told Elena in response to her question. "Elena, if we cannot accept what happened then we are bound to never move on in life."
"Why did he have to lie? Why did he have to r*pe me?" Elena asked as she pulled away from Layla's embrace. "I wanted a life with him, for the both of us. And he took that away from me... and now here we are, at the edge of our worlds trying to hold onto loose ropes."
Layla sighed, "Elena I didn't come here today to ask you about what happened that night. Whatever happened, happened and now here we are. I just needed to know if you were okay, and if you will be glad to go back to Seattle with me, where you will be much safer, away from Lance, because Elena as long as you have Ethan's baby in you, and he feels like he has an opportunity with you in life, you will never be happy or feel safe to say anything."
"So what are you suggesting?" Elena asked.
Layla smiled. Elena was finally listening to her. "That you come with me back to Washington, where you'll be closer to us and your family. Where we can protect you, from him."
"But I don't want to go back home, I'm too embarrassed and people will one day see my belly growing, and then what?" Elena cried out.
"Or..." Layla continued when Elena was through.
"Or?" Elena asked as she brushed away her loose strands.
"Or break up with him... and stay here alone. He would have nothing to hold him back to this country once his expedition is over."
"I don't know... I was hoping to build on something for the both of us."
"Elena, he's not the right guy for you. You're not in love with him, you're scared of telling him that you're with Ethan's baby because you know he'll walk away and the most important thing is that you are going to be a mother... and he will never be any of that. If you're not doing this for yourself, or for me or Ethan, then do this for your baby."
Elena snuffed and muffled her lips once again. Sadness was printed on her face. She really wanted Lance to be here. And she wanted him to be there when they raised the baby together. But Layla's long talk sounded like she was warning her of Lance. Was she ready to throw everything away? After all that she had gone through. She wasn't ready to begin this new chapter of her life on her own because it was scary to her, to be honest, and she wasn't planning to add another random stranger into her life. Not that fast, not this soon.
"Okay... okay. I will do as you say." Elena said as she snuffed a little further. "I'm going to break up with him."
"I know it's hard, but trust me, this is the right thing to do."
Elena sighed. "I listened and trusted one of you Purcells and I paid severely. I hope I'm not making that mistake again."
"You're not," Layla affirmed her. "Trust me... you're not."
"Could we go in for dinner then...?" Elena said as she stood up from the bench. "My aunt was preparing a Mexican specialty, just for us."
"Okay," Layla afforded a small chuckle as she also stood up. "Elena..."
"Yes?" she asked.
"Can I touch it? Your belly?"
"Why?" She asked, scoffing before.
"I've never been a grandmother before... so, it's kinda a new thing for me. Can I touch it?"
Elena shrugged. "Okay." She opened her black jacket and raised her blouse. The cold bit her skin immediately and she liked it. Layla placed one hand on her belly as she wanted to feel the bump on her. She felt it. She smiled warmly at Elena, her eyes blossoming with happiness.
"There she is..." Layla commented, eyes closed as her hand felt Elena's skin.
"It's not a girl..." Elena corrected her. "It's a boy."
"How do you know?" Layla asked.
"I just do," Elena answered with a broad smile. "I just do."
************************
That evening after a meal of traditional food from the Mexican culture; the Enmolada, which was filled with arrays of spices and fried chicken dipped into warm mole sauce and devouring the Chilles en Nogada, Layla bid the two farewell and darted back to the city. She had told Elena that she had to catch a plane back to Arizona to meet her husband of whom they would both head back to Washington together. The dinner was filled with happy stories and tales, with nothing but pure mirth being given off from each lady. Macarena told some of the tales of Mexico, and the superstitious ones to a further extent. Elena's and Layla's goodbye hug was long and heartwarming, and the two separated on good terms. Not as extreme as what Macarena and Elena had thought earlier on. She was just a mother, looking after the unborn baby of her only son. Layla promised to keep Elena's baby a secret too from her parents and told her that she would be coming to visit her once in a while.