Landon & Shay: Part Two (L&S Duet #2)(54)

He blinked a few times as if trying to push away the moment of sadness in his stare. “Sounds good. And Shay? Thank you for what you’re doing for Karla. She needs someone in her life that believes in her. Thank you for helping her. You’re good for her.”

“She’s a good kid. She’s just a little broken, but she’ll find her way.”

He gently laughed and brushed his hand against the back of his neck. “We’re all a little broken and trying to find our way, I suppose.”

I wanted to smile at him, but he still looked a little sad. Nothing like he appeared in the magazines.

“She adores you,” I commented, wanting to give him an olive branch. “She really looks up to you. When you called, she lit up, and it was the first time I actually heard her laugh.”

“Like you said, she’s a good kid. She’s a great kid who was dealt a shitty hand at life. I’m just trying my best to remind her that this world has a place for her and that she belongs here. I know her, though. I know how her thoughts can get very heavy and dark. I worry about her every single day.”

“Well, if there is anyone who can help her out of the darkness, it’s a man who found his way out of his own.”

“You think I found my way out of the dark?” he asked with a low, smoky tone. His words shot straight through my chest.

Of course, he’d found his way out of the darkness. For years I’d watched his light and happiness unfold against my computer screen.

“Are you ready, Uncle Landon?” Karla asked as she emerged from her bedroom. She came right before I could respond to Landon’s comment, which was a good thing.

I hadn’t a clue what I would’ve even said in reply.

The two both said goodbye to me as we walked to our cars to leave. As they drove away, I took a few seconds to sit in my car as the engine roared. I took those few seconds to remind myself to breathe.





21





Landon





“So, you think she’s pretty amazing, huh?” I asked Karla as we sat eating a steak dinner together at one of the most expensive restaurants in Chicago. I called the day before to have the whole place to ourselves. Whenever I took Karla on her dates, I always made sure the restaurant was unoccupied with people, because once she mentioned how self-conscious she was with the fact that people stared at her as if she were a monster.

I hated people and their goddamn judgmental stares. Sometimes, I’d even heard them make verbal gasps. Other times, children would react out loud to Karla’s scars. “What’s wrong with her face, Mama? She looks scary.”

I hated those comments more than words, especially since I knew how words could seep into a person’s soul and embed themselves into their entire existence.

I’d lived that life before.

I still lived that life on certain occasions. I didn’t want that for Karla. I knew the struggle of demons at such a young age—I wouldn’t wish that hardness on anyone, let alone Karla.

She was such a happy girl before the accident. You couldn’t find a time when Karla wasn’t dancing around and singing, much like her little sister Lorelai. There was a light in her that I thought could’ve never been demolished, but after the car crash and losing her mother, Karla’s light had almost completely disappeared.

It wasn’t completely gone, though, which made me happy.

I still saw a small twinkle in her eyes as she talked about her stories and Shay. I wasn’t surprised by that at all. Shay was a spark of light in my dark world, too.

“She’s more than amazing, Uncle Landon. She’s just so…cool!” Karla sighed, speaking about Shay. “She writes better than anyone I’d ever read before. And no offense, but her screenplays are better than any movie you’ve ever been in. Like way better.”

I chuckled. “No need to bruise my ego.”

“It’s not your fault that you’re in some mediocre movies sometimes, Uncle Landon. Your acting is always great, but the words you say sometimes are trash,” she said matter-of-factly as she cut into her steak.

I couldn’t help but smirk at the comment. “I can’t argue with that.”

“If I can be half the screenwriter that Shay is, I’d be happy. You don’t understand—she’s the best.”

I could’ve sat and listened to Karla go on and on about the greatness that was Shay Gable, and I would’ve never grown tired of it. I was certain every word she spoke about Shay was true, too. It all matched up with the girl I used to know.

But, my dinner dates with Karla weren’t for anyone other than the two of us. It was a chance to me to check in on her body, mind, and spirit.

“Enough about Shay,” I said, stuffing a forkful of Brussels sprouts into my mouth. “Let’s talk about you.”

Karla grew more somber and her smile faded away. “Do we have to?”

“You know the rules, Karla. I buy you an overpriced steak, and you let me into that beautiful head of yours.”

She shifted around in her seat. “I’m okay. My therapist is really nosy, though.”

“Or she’s just trying to help you.”

“She can’t get me a new face, so I doubt she can help me much.”

I frowned, knowing that her scars were a big issue with her confidence. I couldn’t even fault her for being uncomfortable with them, because I had my scars, too, that I spent my childhood hiding. Then, I went ahead and had them covered with tattoos up and down my arms.