Layla

The morning after watching Ghost with Willow, Leeds wakes up to find that Layla is not in bed; she is making eggs in the kitchen. She explains that she woke up very hungover and had four cups of coffee. Leeds suggests that she spend the day by the pool, but it is supposed to storm, so Layla suggests that they take pictures of him in the rain for his social media accounts. She reminds him that they are supposed to leave on Wednesday, and Leeds asks her how she would feel about staying a little longer. He tells her he wants to stay because he is making progress on writing an album. They compromise that he will give her three hours of taking photos for his social media if she agrees to stay three more days.

Leeds is working on a song later that night when Willow slips into Layla’s sleeping body and comes downstairs. She heads to the refrigerator to get something to eat, saying that Layla must have an eating disorder because she is always so hungry when she’s in her body. She teases him a little about posing for pictures earlier that day, and they talk about how social media is an important aspect of launching his music career.

Willow asks Leeds to play the song he played for Layla the night they met; she has access to some of her memories, and that one looms large. She tells him that she can tell that Layla loves him. He asks her if she can feel her anxiety, and she tells him that she thinks that Layla’s love for him is stronger than her anxiety.

Leeds plays his new song, “No Vacancy,” for Willow. They seem to be making an intimate emotional connection that he previously only felt with Layla. Willow says that Layla’s body is tired and she’d better go to bed. Leeds stays behind, wondering what he is getting into with Willow.

Leeds feels guilty about his obsession with Willow, so he tries to focus on spending time with Layla. They are sitting together in the grand room, and Leeds is reading the book they talked about the day that Sable shot them. She doesn’t remember them talking about it. He continues to consider buying the house so he can spend more time with Willow. Eventually, he and Layla fall asleep on the couch in the grand room. When Leeds wakes up, it takes him a minute to realize that Willow has inhabited Layla, and they get up and drink coffee together. Willow tells him that she has read every book in the grand room and tells him some random facts she’s learned from them.

She asks Leeds what happened the night Sable shot them, but he is reluctant to tell her. Meanwhile, it starts storming and the power suddenly goes out. When lightning strikes a few moments later, Willow is startled and accidentally slips out of Layla. She wakes up while standing in the dark in the kitchen and is scared. Leeds tells her that the power went out and that woke them up, but she is confused as to how they ended up in the kitchen. Just as suddenly as she left, Willow inhabits Layla’s body, and Leeds can tell immediately because her body is more relaxed. Leeds says he’ll try to convince Layla tomorrow that she had a nightmare.

UndercoverInc asks Leeds if Layla remembered waking up in the kitchen, and Leeds says that she did, but he then convinced her that she had been half-asleep and confused because of the power going out and the lightning scaring them.

UndercoverInc asks if Layla started to suspect that something strange was going on. Leeds says she didn’t understand why she was tired all the time. Though Leeds knows it is because Willow is using her body at night, he goes along with Layla’s theory that her fatigue is related to her head injury. He makes an appointment for her to see a neurologist but doesn’t want to take her because he doesn’t want to stop his relationship with Willow.

Leeds confesses that for days after that, he and Willow would spend every night together, watching TV and movies and having long conversations after Layla went to sleep. Leeds said they both felt bad about how they were using Layla to be together, and he admits to UndercoverInc that he is falling in love with Willow.

It is almost time for Leeds and Layla to leave the house, and Layla is looking forward to it more than Leeds is. He has continued to watch movies and hang out with Willow every night. Willow tells him that she is dreading the day he leaves and she becomes just a lonely, disembodied spirit again.

One night Leeds is writing music in the grand room, and the spirit of Willow plays a key on the piano. Leeds assumes she is trying to get his attention, so he opens his laptop. She tells him that Layla was going through his things and found the engagement ring. He’s upset, and Willow thinks it’s because he wanted to surprise her. But he says he’s upset because he’s not sure if he wants to marry her now that he knows Willow.

Layla is behaving differently now that she’s seen the ring; she is more energetic and vibrant and initiates sex. Leeds is uninterested and has difficulty focusing until he begins to think about Willow, at which point he is fully engaged in their intimacy. The chapter ends with Leeds coming to terms with the fact that he is falling out of love with Layla and in love with a ghost.

The next morning, Leeds wakes up next to Layla, who is once again inhabited by Willow. She wonders why she is so strong if she is just a spirit. She tells Leeds that she scared the owner of the house, Wallace Billings, into putting it up for sale by playing pranks on him, such as moving the furniture around the room while he was still in it.

They delve into a more serious discussion in which Leeds admits that he doesn’t think he’d fall in love with Layla if he met her now. He feels guilty about this because he feels he caused her to be the way that she is. He didn’t protect her from Sable.

Leeds makes Willow some grilled cheese sandwiches; since Layla is barely eating during the day, Willow can feel the hunger in her body. Leeds feels that one positive thing he can do for Layla is help her gain weight and be less hungry even if he is doing it without her knowledge.

Leeds makes an offer above the asking price for the house so that he can continue a relationship with Willow. He knows Layla won’t be happy about it, but he is sure that he wants the house. Soon after he emails the offer to the realtor, Leeds gets an email from UndercoverInc. He doesn’t know how he got the email address. Somehow, he also knows where they are staying, and he offers to help.

Leeds tells Willow about UndercoverInc, and she becomes defensive because having someone come to “help” her might mean she will cease to exist once Layla’s problems are solved. After they argue about whether UndercoverInc should come to the house, Leeds tells Willow that she should get out of Layla’s body. They agree that what they have been doing is wrong, but Willow is still crying. She consents to Leeds replying to UndercoverInc, and Leeds tells her that he put an offer on the house so that he can stay close. Leeds kisses Willow (inhabiting Layla’s body), and it is an intense experience that reminds him of his first kiss with Layla a year ago. He goes to sleep knowing that they just made everything even more complicated.

When Leeds wakes, the space in the bed next to him is empty. He can’t find his phone, and he looks for it and Layla. When he finds her, she is smoking a cigarette and is very angry. The realtor stopped by while Leeds was sleeping and dropped off the contract. Leeds knew Layla wouldn’t be happy about buying the house, but he didn’t expect her to be this furious. She is especially mad that he didn’t talk to her before putting in the offer. She begins packing her things and threatens to take the car and leave him alone at the house.

Leeds protests that he wanted to surprise her that night by proposing and telling her that he bought the house where they first met. Layla tells him that she saw the ring, and the receipt in the box was dated six months ago, which means he bought it while she was in the hospital and he has been waiting since then to propose.

Even though this is true, Leeds insists that he never doubted their relationship and that he does want to spend his life with her. He proposes and she says yes, tearfully apologizing for ruining the moment. Leeds regrets this dishonest proposal, knowing that he acted rashly because he didn’t want Layla to leave and eliminate the possibility of seeing Willow again. He feels that this has to be the worst thing he’s ever done. Layla excitedly leaves the room to call Aspen, and Leeds finds his computer and phone in a drawer. He opens the computer, and there is a message from Willow typed into a document saying that she hid his phone and laptop because Layla looked angry. Leeds apologizes into the air, hoping Willow hears him, but no one responds. He assumes that she is angry with him.

Later that day, Leeds scolds Layla for not eating enough, and she is defensive, saying that she’s gained three pounds since they came to the house. Leeds is irritable because he knows he shouldn’t have proposed to Layla if he doesn’t love her, and Willow hasn’t spoken to him since he did. He and Layla discuss buying the house. Leeds tells her that they wouldn’t have to live there; the house could be a vacation home or investment property, and they can move back to Nashville if she wants. They’d just have to stay an extra week or two to close on the house. Layla agrees.

Layla wants to sleep with Leeds, and he imagines that she is Willow the whole time. Afterward, Layla falls asleep, and Willow enters her body. She is upset with Leeds because he has made it so that he gets both Layla and Willow. She thinks he is confused about who he loves and that if she hadn’t gotten involved, he would still love Layla. He protests that he had already started to fall out of love with her before he met Willow but says he felt guilty because the ways she changed were his fault.

Willow asks him to tell her about that night. Leeds is reluctant, but she insists. He tells her that he dated Sable for a few months and discovered that she had an intense obsession with him and was mentally unstable. After they broke up, she continued to stalk him and had to be removed from some of his shows by security. He said that Sable had been dealing with depression, bipolar disorder, and bulimia when she confronted them with a gun. She shot Layla and Leeds, and then Leeds took the gun and shot her. Sable died that night, and Layla had to be rushed to the hospital.

Willow comforts him by saying that he did what most people would have done. She refers to the fan club that Sable started about Leeds, which causes Leeds to freeze. He had not told Layla or Willow about the fan club and has no idea how she would have known. He concludes that Willow is actually Sable, in need of closure. Willow protests that she made up the name Willow because she didn’t know if she had a name in her previous life, and all of the memories she has are confusing because she doesn’t know whether they are Layla’s or hers. Leeds demands that she get out of Layla’s body immediately. Willow tells Leeds to contact UndercoverInc and have him come there so he can try to help them figure this out. They know that Layla will not willingly stay in the house, so Willow will need to inhabit her for a while. Leeds agrees and emails UndercoverInc.