Beautiful Pain

Sometimes the pain she felt was so intense it made Layla want to scream. Not a day passed that she didn't think about what she did to Cole. It's true that no matter how far she had run away from her past it was always there right beside her. Sometimes Joey's words played over in her mind like a song she couldn't shake off "it should have been you." He wasn't wrong.

It was easy to blame Joey for all the things that went wrong in her life, but he wasn't the real problem. After what she did it forced Layla to take a long hard look at herself and see who was really was. The way of life for people born into the elements is peace. It is their job to maintain balance in the world. A mystic shall never cause harm to another especially a common. Layla had broken one of the oldest and most sacred principals. This is why she would always hate herself.

There were issues with Evan from the very beginning. She hesitated doing the whole mentoring thing altogether specifically because of him. At six years old he had this obnoxious superiority complex because he was a child of fire. More than ten years later he still holds the same ignorant stance to what power he holds. Every time she opens her mouth he tunes her out. Every training session is met with such a draining resistance. He is clearly the one that needs the most work yet he is the one she likes working with the least. What bothers her most about him is that she fears he will end up repeating her mistakes.

Layla is practically in his face when she shouts, "Do you get that fire cannot even exist without air? Or is your head that thick?"

Evan seems completely unfazed as always by her in your face approach. He stands his ground, "And do you get that I really don't give a shit?"

That afternoon they were working one on one. There was no denying Evan no longer lacked the discipline she had chastised him for for all those years. His skills were so advanced that lately Layla had come across difficulty trying to teach him new things. This was something she couldn't let on. It was important to always appear several steps ahead of the rest of them. She thought that perhaps it was time to switch gears a bit.

Layla looked him directly in the eye, "Heat me."

"What?"

She stepped closer to him until there was almost no space between their bodies. She placed her hands on his shoulders. "Give me heat without burning me. It's called transference. One person can push their energy onto the other if both are willing."

"But the last time..."

She interrupted, "That wasn't transference. Just close your eyes and concentrate. Feel the heat before it gets to the burn. Prove to me you can do this."

"What if I hurt you again?"

"Stop wasting my time. Do it or leave."

Evan closed his eyes then placed his hands on her hips. Layla closed her eyes too. Things became so still Layla could feel his breath, hear his heartbeat. Then she felt the heat come from his hands slowly spreading throughout her entire body. It was calming at first then it grew a little too hot for her. She realized she was experiencing an internal burn, probably something Evan had lived with his entire life. She welcomed the pain. It helped push away all the emotional hurt she had been carrying with her.

Suddenly the burn stopped. Layla opened her eyes to see Evan backing away from her. She snapped at him, "Why did you stop?"

"Because you were crying. I thought I was hurting you."

Layla snapped, "Don't be stupid, I'm fine."

"Stupid? I'm concerned."

"Why? We're not friends. I don't even like you Evan. I'm only here to make sure your reckless ways don't end up killing everyone."

"Whatever." Then Evan walked away.

Layla sighed. He was the one that almost killed her, but he was also the one that saved her and for that she will never forgive him.