Layla Williamson
Actor History
Tika Sumpter (contract: July 15th, 2005 to present)
Occupation
Executive assistant to John McBain, Llanview Police Department
Former waitress at Capricorn
Aspiring Actress
Resides At
Apartment in Llanview
Marital Status
Single
Past Marriages
None
Relatives
Clarence Williamson (father; deceased)
Lisa Williamson (mother)
Evangeline Williamson (sister)
Clay Williamson (uncle)
Cheryl (aunt)
Toni (cousin)
Brenda (cousin)
Henry (cousin)
Children
None
Flings & Affairs
Antonio Vega (faked so that he could get custody of Jamie)
Vincent Jones (dated)
Michael McBain (flirtation)
Oliver Fish (lovers)
Cristian Vega (flirtation)
Crimes Committed
None
Brief Character History
Layla arrived in town in 2005 to spend some time with her older sister Evangeline, and immediately got a job working at Capricorn for Antonio Vega. She soon realized that Antonio was in trouble -- he desperately wanted to keep custody of his daughter, Jamie, but was in a brutal custody battle with Jaime's grandfather R.J. Gannon. Making matters worse, Antonio's girlfriend, Jessica, was frequently absent. Layla and Antonio hatched a plan where Layla would pretend to be Antonio's girlfriend to increase his chances of gaining custody. It worked, and Antonio was awarded custody. Although things went nowhere between Layla and Antonio, she soon became devoted to his daughter, Jamie, who began looking upon her as sort of a maternal figure. Antonio and Layla were soon over altogether, even though she continued working at Capricorn and gained a new best friend in Adriana Cramer. She began a flirtation with Vincent Jones, an old friend of assistant district attorney Hugh Hughes and boxing manager of Evangeline's boyfriend Cristian Vega. But Layla ended things with Vincent when she found out he had been behind Cristian losing a big fight.
As 2007 got underway, Layla and Adriana co-founded a fashion line, named Exposed. They soon hired an attractive former baseball player, Tate Harmon, to model the male underwear line. Layla was devastated when Evangeline went into a coma following a racially-motivated gas attack. She, along with Vincent, became close again, and eventually learned that Tate was behind the race attacks. Tate held Layla and Vincent, along with Adriana and Rex Balsom, hostage on the rooftop of the Palace Hotel. They were however rescued by police officer Talia Sahid before Tate could be any fatal harm to the group. Layla was there for Adriana when she tried to keep her engagement to Rex from falling apart after Rex's childhood love Gigi Moraso returned to town with a son who Adriana soon learned was Rex's. But the wedding was a fiasco and soon Adriana left for Paris, only to return when Rex was shot and near death. Layla, meanwhile, suffered her own heartache when she caught Vincent cheating on her with another woman. She flirted briefly with Michael McBain, who was estranged from his wife Marcie, but it was clear that Michael still loved Marcie.
Layla helped comfort her roommate, Sarah Roberts, after her boyfriend Cristian married another woman to help her avoid being deported. A heartbroken Sarah left town, and Cristian's marriage quickly fell apart when it was revealed that his newlywed wife, Vanessa Montez, had a history of entrapping men. Layla lashed out at Cristian for dumping a good girl like Sarah. A new police officer in town, Oliver Fish, took a liking to Layla, but she seemed uninterested in him. During the Go Red Ball in February 2009, Layla brushed off Fish's requests for a dance, explaining that she was too busy helping to run the event. Fish ended up having a one-night stand with Stacy Morasco, and told Layla the next day that he had met someone else and was no longer available. Layla felt rejected. While visiting her sister Evangeline in Maryland, Layla overheard Cristian talking to Evangeline about his recent troubles and telling her that he would always love her and was waiting for her to get better. Layla berated Cristian for being a player, while Cristian lashed out at Layla for being half the woman her sister was and for driving men away. Layla reacted bitterly at him in return, fearful he may be right. She answered a personal ad and was pleased when a handsome man arrived for her date, but the man was turned off when Layla and Cristian got into yet another argument right in front of him. The man said it looked to him like Layla and Cristian were hot for each other. Layla and Cristian got locked in the diner's freezer briefly, and again got trapped together in a sauna, getting into shouting matches each time.
When Layla's roommate, Talia Sahid, was found murdered by a serial killer, Cristian broke the news to Layla. Layla was devastated, but Cristian helped her get through her grief. In the process, their icy relationship began to thaw. When Layla reluctantly decided to move back to her parents' home in Maryland because she was out of work and couldn't find roommates, Cristian suggested that he move in with her so she could stay in Llanview. Layla was hesitant but agreed. They put out an ad for a third roommate and the only person to answer the ad was Oliver Fish, the police officer who had tried to date Layla briefly in the past. Layla wasn't interested in having Fish move in, but she changed her mind after he proved himself as a handyman and after Cristian said he thought it was a good idea. Oliver and Layla were in the park one day when Kyle Lewis jogged past, asking for Oliver's help to get him out of blackmailing charges. Oliver brushed him off and later explained to Layla that he knew Kyle from college. Fish then asked Layla if she would consider going on a date with him, and despite her reservations she agreed. Layla overheard Cristian warn Fish that he would have to deal with Cristian if he disappointed Layla, and Layla was pleased that she made Cristian jealous. Cristian was bartending at Capricorn when Layla and Fish showed up for another date. Layla and Cristian began sparring again. Layla was pleasantly surprised when Fish spontaneously kissed her.
While on a date at the Palace Hotel, Layla noticed the male waiter checking out Oliver and pointed it out to Fish, who seemed to get flustered. Layla explained that it didn't mean Oliver was gay, and just then Oliver said he wanted to continue the date back at the apartment. Their evening was interrupted by Cristian, however, who told Fish that Kyle had told him that Oliver wasn't who he seemed to be. Fish said Kyle was just jealous because he wanted Layla for himself. Based on Fish's advice, Layla got a job at the Llanview Police Department as Detective John McBain's assistant. She told Fish she didn't want anyone at work to know they were dating and got angry when Fish quickly spread the word. Fish explained that he was just proud of Layla and wanted to fit in with the rest of the guys. But when Layla tried to get intimate, Fish backed off, prompting Layla to ask Fish if he was gay. Fish denied it, noting he had slept with Stacy, and accused Layla of not taking their relationship seriously. Layla apologized, but then Cristian arrived home and told Layla that something had gone down between Kyle and Fish while they were in college. Layla told Cristian to mind his business, and she and Fish tried to get back on track.
In August, Cristian oversaw Kyle and Oliver kissing in the ally behind the Buenos Dias Café. Although Oliver denied that the kiss was mutual, Cristian could tell Fish was lying and told him to come clean to Layla, or he would be forced to. Fish made several attempts to tell Layla the truth but chickened out. After putting Layla on the phone with his parents, who were excited to talk to the girl dating their son, Fish and Layla headed to her bedroom and had sex for the first time. After learning that Fish and Layla had sex, Cristian lashed out at Fish for not telling Layla the truth, but Fish denied being gay, saying he had only experimented with Kyle in college. Layla and Cristian both were duped into leaving their apartment one night so Stacy, desperate to conceive a child she could pass off as Rex's, could attempt to make the moves on Oliver. When Layla and Cristian arrived home they found Stacy kissing Oliver, but Fish explained that Stacy threw herself on him, and Layla believed him.
One day at the gym, Layla met a man named Nick Chavez and proceeded to work out next to him. Nick told her about this man he was seeing and how he was still hung up on his ex from college, who was back in the closet and a police officer. When Layla learned Nick's man was Kyle Lewis, she put two and two together and figured out that Fish was Kyle's ex....the one in the closet! Layla went to Cristian with what she had learned, and Cristian finally confessed that he had seen Oliver and Fish kissing but kept quiet because he didn't want Layla to get hurt. When Fish arrived home, Layla demanded that Oliver admit the truth. Under intense questioning, Fish admitted that he and Kyle were together in college but denied he was gay. When Layla brought up the recent kiss between Oliver and Kyle, Oliver claimed that Kyle had pushed himself on him. Layla refused to believe it and begged Oliver to admit to himself and to her that he is gay. But Fish refused, forcing Layla to order him out of the house. The next morning, after having a drunken one-night stand with Stacy, Fish returned to the apartment and admitted to Layla and Cristian that he was gay. Fish volunteered to move out, but Cristian and Layla sympathized with him and asked him to stay.
Fish explained to Layla and Cristian how his parents would never accept that he's gay, especially his retired cop father. When his dad called to say that he and Fish's mother were on their way to Llanview to meet his girlfriend, Layla encouraged Fish to come out to his parents. Cristian even bought him a "how to" book about coming out to your parents. When Fish's parents arrived a day ahead of schedule, they were surprised to learn that Fish's girlfriend was black. As Fish prepared to tell his parents the truth, his father discovered the book by accident and assumed that Cristian was gay. He excoriated Cristian for leading a gay lifestyle and told Fish that he would need to move out of the apartment, which prompted Fish to reveal the truth to his parents. Layla and Cristian stood by helpless as Fish's parents turned their back on their son and walked out of his life.
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