Landon & Shay: Part Two (L&S Duet #2)(52)

We’d met a few weeks ago when Greyson invited me to join the girls and Eleanor for a baseball game. Karla and I clicked, which seemed like a big deal, because Greyson said his daughter had been anti-social for a long time running. Ever since the accident, Karla lost a lot of her friends. They mocked her for her appearance and called her Hunchback—due to her posture.

I remembered high school being cruel when I was there, but I couldn’t have imagined being in school with today’s technology. The things Karla had told me people had said and sent to her via social media made my skin crawl.

How did we develop into a world where children had no morals? When did they become so cruel?

Once Karla learned I was a writer, she asked if I could look over some of her stories. “You don’t have to, because I’m sure you’re busy, and wouldn’t want to waste your time with my stupid work,” she said, putting herself down—something I was certain she learned to do from others. “I don’t want to waste your time.”

I hated how low her self-confidence was, and I wanted to help her build it up as much as possible, even if it was through her written word.

Plus, I enjoyed her company. She was a good kid with a damaged heart, who just needed to be told she was enough.

I once knew a broken boy with his own set of scars who’d needed to be told of his worth, too.

What could I say? I had a type.

I smiled as Karla’s eyes moved back and forth over my manuscript. “I’ll never be this good.”

“No,” I corrected, taking the papers from her grip. “You’ll be better. You’re already better. So, let’s get back to work on your manuscript. We can plot out some of the major scenes and go from there.”

She nodded with a frown, almost as if she was afraid to dive deeper into her story. I placed a comforting hand against hers. “You know you’re good enough, Karla, right? You are a beautiful girl with beautiful stories living inside of you. You’re allowed to let those stories out.”

She lowered her head. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Call me beautiful. I know it’s not true, and that you’re trying to be nice, but you don’t have to lie.”

I placed my finger beneath her chin and rose her stare to lock with mine. “You are beautiful, Karla. Every single piece of you, and the parts that you think are ugly, are truly the most stunning parts.”

She huffed. “Tell that to the boys at school.”

“Lucky for us, the boys at school do not get to define what beautiful is. We do.”

She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head toward me, as if she was trying to figure me out. “How did you get so confident?”

“Easy.” I shrugged. “I stopped saying mean things to myself.”

“I can’t even think of a mean thing you’d ever say to yourself. I mean, look at you. You’re perfect. If I looked like you, I’d have every guy in the world wanting to look my way.”

Oh, Karla.

To be so young and boy crazy again.

“You don’t need boys to look at you to be worthy.”

“Says the woman who probably has every man looking at her.”

“Just because they look doesn’t mean they will respect you. Trust me. I’ve been burned enough times by men to know that just because they think you’re beautiful, doesn’t mean they’ll value you.”

Karla snickered, shaking her head. “You’re not going to win this battle, Shay. You’re the prom queen, and I’m the school freak. That’s just how it is for some people.”

Before I could reply, Karla’s phone went off. I saw the words ‘Uncle Landon’ flash across the screen before she scrambled to answer it.

My stomach knotted up from seeing his name on her screen. I knew Landon had been close with Greyson’s two girls, especially after the accident, but seeing the word ‘uncle’ next to his name made it clear that he was a lot closer to the girls than I’d even known.

“Hi, Uncle Landon. What’s up?” Karla asked, holding the phone against her ear. She turned her back slightly toward me, but I didn’t miss the small smile that spread across her lips as she spoke to him. “Yeah, I know.” Her smile deepened. “Yeah, I know.” Then, she laughed.

She laughed! The broken girl with such low self-esteem laughed at the words Landon was giving her through their call. That made my heart warm up. Even though I had my opinions on Landon, it made me happy that he was able to make Karla smile and laugh, because I knew she did both things so sparsely.

“Okay, okay!” Karla laughed, shaking her head. “Fine. I’ll say it, but only because you’re being annoying about it. I love you, too. There. Happy?”

She kept smiling, and the grin must’ve been infectious, because a smile landed against my lips, too.

Karla cocked an eyebrow. “Wait, what?” She stood to her feet. “Really?!”

I stood, too, confused by her sudden movements.

“Okay, yeah. Okay, bye.” Karla hung up the phone, and that smile stayed planted against her lips. She looked my way and combed her hair over her face. “Um, sorry, Shay. Is it okay if we cut today’s lesson short? My uncle, Landon, is in town for a lot longer than he thought, and he wanted to take me out on a date.”