#swayla

#swayhouse2025

West London born and bred artist Swayla is just getting started. Influenced by her Portuguese and African roots, she’s been able to create music thats both unique and magnetic.To date, the London native has released two singles “Come ‘Round” and most recently “Piece of Mind” which serve as the perfect introduction of what this young artist has to offer.

Amandah Opoku sat down with Swayla to talk about her new single “Piece of Mind”, musical aspirations, dream collaboration more!

So as I’ve posted before, I have put The Moment on Wattpad, incase you enjoy reading on there better but I’ve decided I’m going to start writing a new story. I have this idea in my head and I’ve had it there since the middle of The Moment so I’ve just got to take the plunge. BUT I need to know if you guys want me to post the story here as well, like I did with The Moment or if I should just keep it on Wattpad. I’m still working the details of the story out, mainly who it should be about, which is also something I need your help with. 

I’ve decided on three people so if you guys could choose from the list, that would be much appreciated. 

1. Ryland Storms (I’m iffy on him since he was included in The Moment)

2. Michael Sanzone

3. Griffin Johnson

Chapter Fifty-Two - The Final Chapter

Although the night was absolutely amazing and definitely one of the best I’ve had in a long time, it made me ridiculously sad. To think about going months without a single one of these people by my side was daunting and it was becoming a way bigger issue to me than it probably should have been. These people are my family and have practically raised me and to leave them, just because my name’s been under fire recently, is an awful thing to think about.

“You okay?” Noah asked, lifting his shoulder which resulted in my head lifting as well. Nodding my head, I tried to forget about how sad I was and focus on the movie but Noah wasn’t having any of that. “Regan...” He pleaded, shifting his body so I was forced to sit up properly. “Talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, I’m just sad.” I explained...well, I tried to explain. I was sad for your typical reason; I didn’t want to leave my friends and there’s nothing I could really explain other than that.

As the night continued, more and more people came up to me, wishing me a safe flight and a good time and before I knew it, I had a flight to catch in five hours. Saying my final goodbyes to everyone who had managed to stay late at the movie night, I took Noah’s hand in mine and headed out to my car. 

“Call me when you land, okay? Just so I know you’re safe.” Placing his hands on my waist, I placed mine on his shoulders, pulling him closer. With our chests pressed against each other, I held on for dear life. He meant more to me now than he ever has before and I was scared of losing that.

“I love you.” I whispered, closing my eyes as the tears began to form. 

Hearing him smile from over my shoulder, he tightened his grip on my waist, replying, “I love you too.”

Pulling my head back, I connected my lips with his, trying to savour the moment for as long as possible.

“You should go.” He said, pulling his head away from mine. “You don’t want to be late for your flight.” Considering I still had to toss last minute things in my suitcases, he wasn’t wrong; I should go...but I don’t want to. Placing one last kiss on my lips, he took a step back, letting his hands fall from my waist and allowing me to get into my car. Everything about this moment was sad; it was like that scene in the O.C. where Ryan heads back to Chino and Marissa stands in the driveway watching him leave; one of the saddest moments in TV history, in my opinion.

As I entered my house, I looked around at a parent-less house and I realized...that’s how I like it. I enjoy being on my own. I enjoy taking care of myself. I enjoy the situation I’m in and I just know that once I get to Italy, I’ll be doing there what I’m doing here. Looking at the note and plane ticket on the side table, I placed my keys down next to it as I headed upstairs and finished packing. It was around 2 in the morning and my flight was leaving around 7 and although I felt like I should be early, I wanted to wait until the last minute. I wanted to enjoy whatever time I had left.

Closing up the suitcases, I began wheeling them out of my room and carrying them down the stairs; it would have been a hell of a lot easier if I had two other people to help...but I barely exist to them. Grabbing my keys and the ticket, I saw the headlights from the Uber shine through the windows and knew it was time. 

Mumbling where I needed to go, I handed my suitcases to the driver and climbed in the backseat, beginning to scroll through my phone. It was still so dark out, which only made me more depressed as the scenery passed by the window, making it even harder to think about how this was supposed to help me.

“Wait,” I found myself saying about 30 minutes into the drive. “I forgot something.” Watching as the car turned around, I suddenly became nervous with myself. How could I do this?

Entering the house, I ran upstairs, trying not to fall as I reached the bedroom door. My heart began to race as I stood there, wondering how I could have ever thought about doing it. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and watched as his head turned to face me. His eyes lit up, even in the darkest of rooms and I suddenly felt at peace.

“Regan...” Noah said, getting up from his bed and walking over to me.

“I couldn’t go.” I whispered, pulling him as close to me as possible, finally feeling a genuine smile form on my face for the first time in days.

Chapter Fifty-One

Waking up in his arms felt like paradise, even though it was mildly uncomfortable but that was mostly because we were extremely tired from the night before. Pushing myself to get out of bed, I grabbed a some clothes and headed into the shower. Standing there, with the water dripping onto my hair, I couldn’t believe I was leaving tomorrow morning. It all just seemed kind of pointless now that Noah and I were back on track. Beginning to ran my fingers through my hair, I felt his hands wrap around my waist and his chest press against my back.

“Morning.” He mumbled against my shoulder, as he left a soft kiss. 

“Morning.” I repeated, turning around to face him. “How’d you sleep?”

“Let’s just say that’ll be the best sleep I’ll have for the next month or so.” Letting out a sigh, I looked down at the ground, beginning to feel bad about leaving him for however long. “Hey, it’s okay.” He said, placing his hand on my cheek and trying to catch my eye. “I’ll miss you but it’s okay.” Wrapping his hands back around my waist, I wrapped my around his neck, not wanting to let him go.

---

“They’ve planned a movie night, did you want to come?” I asked, as we stood in my driveway after the long drive home. He was leaning against his car as my arms rested on his shoulders. 

“Of course.” He replied, smiling.

“Okay, I’ll meet you there then.” Pressing my lips against his, I thought about how this would be one of our last kisses. I could think of a million things we’d do for the last time in the next 24hrs and all I wanted to do was cry.

Heading inside, I placed my keys down, noticing the note from my parents. 

“Had an emergency meeting. Took an earlier flight. See you when you land!”

Rolling my eyes, I couldn’t believe it. Not only was I going, pretty much against my will but now I was also going alone. I thought maybe this would be an opportunity for my parents and I to actually bond and enjoy actual family time together but in reality, they just wanted me away from Noah.

The day went by pretty fast, as I mostly just packed the rest of my things away and before I knew it, I was already late for the movie night.

“Sorry, sorry!” I said, walking out into the backyard area. “I was packing and lost track of time-” Stopping in my tracks, I looked at the scenery around me. There was a giant screen and little white bean bags placed on the grass and even a snack and drink bar off to the side. “Tayler...”

“Talk to Casey and Charly.” He said, raising his hands in defence. 

“Here I am thinking it’s just gonna be us and turns out it’s a whole-ass party.” Wrapping my arms around Tayler, he pulled me into a hug before letting go.

“Speaking of party, I see you invited Noah.”

“Long story.” I informed, letting out a laugh. Looking over at him, I smiled as he returned one before I headed towards Casey, who was standing at the front by the screen.

“Okay guys, so today is unfortunately Regan’s last day here for...well, we don’t exactly know because she’s a pain in the ass like that.” Sarcastically rolling my eyes, I laughed along with Casey before she continued. “But um, in all honesty, I do hope you have an amazing trip and that you find there whatever you can’t find here.” My smile faded as I looked over at Noah, thinking about that statement. “Anyway, today we’ve got Grease!”

Chapter Fifty

“I think we should probably figure out what we’re having for dinner, Noah.” The day had gone by so fast as we sat around and enjoyed each other’s company and I just never wanted it to end.

“I bought stuff for spaghetti, I’m thinking we’ll make a salad and some garlic bread?” Nodding my head, I headed into the kitchen and began pulling out the things we needed. “You’ll probably have way too much of this in Italy...I guess I didn’t really think that through.” Noah said, coming up behind me. 

I honestly didn’t even want to think about it. The thought of leaving him and all my friends in a couple of days was daunting and all I wanted to do was just ignore it. I can’t believe after everything that happened, I’m standing here making dinner with Noah and still leaving him behind in a couple of days.

“Let’s just not talk about it, okay?” I asked, placing the pasta in the pot. “I just want to enjoy whatever time we have left together.” Thinking about leaving for however long was really getting to me and it was starting to put a damper on my mood. We had a good day so far but the lingering feeling of goodbye was quickly setting in.

“Are you okay?” He asked, getting the plates ready.

Letting out a sigh, I closed the oven door and looked at him, beginning to play with the dish towel. “What’s going to happen to us when I go?” Still wanting a different response than the one I received before.

“Reg-”

“Noah seriously. I don’t know how long I’m going for and that’s what we need to think about. Are we together? Are we more than friends but slightly less than a relationship? Do we really want the first couple of months of our relationship, if we have one, to be me in Italy?” The room was silent as Noah processed what I was saying and I was terrified of the answer. I knew what was best for both of us but actually admitting that was not something I was prepared for. “The reality of it is, Noah, is that what we’re doing right now is fine but to think of it being anything more than that is naive at this point.”

“Okay, then let’s just go with it...Regan, I’m trying here and you’re really not making this easy.” He explained, running his fingers through his hair. Maybe I was being harsh but I just wanted to know what I was getting into before leaving.

“I’m not hungry.” I stated, placing the towel down on the counter and heading towards the bedroom. Hearing the beginning of my name leave Noah’s mouth, I closed the door and laid down on the bed. Today was supposed to be amazing, it was supposed to be romantic and it was supposed to be relaxing but when it came down to it, all it did was stress me out even more. 

About 20 minutes later, I heard the door open and felt Noah slide into the bed. His arms pulled me closer to him but still, we laid in silence.

“I want to be with you.” He whispered, his breath hitting the top of my head. “I want to walk around and call you my girlfriend again. I want to have dinners with your parents, who probably really dislike me. I want to sit in a room full of people and have them know that you’re with me. But,” He explained, shifting his position so he was now looking in my eyes. “if that means I have to wait until you get back, I’ll wait. I want you to have the best time and not worry about what or how I’m doing. So when you go, there’s no strings; you do whatever you want to do in whatever moment you’re in and when you come back, no questions asked. I love you, Regan and whether you’re here or there, that’s not going to change.”

Chapter Forty-Nine

With our chests pressed against each other, Noah ran his fingers through my hair and all I wanted to do was go for round two but this moment was just too pure to ruin.

“What are you thinking about?” He whispered, his breath hitting my face as he spoke.

“How I could live here in this cabin with you.” I explained, burying my head into his chest. His body was warm as I got as close to it as possible. “What’s going to happen when I’m gone, Noah?”

“I told you, I’m going to miss you everyday.” He explained.

“I mean besides that.” Pushing myself away from him, I sat up in the bed, holding the covers close to my chest. “I’m going to be away while you’re here...with Dixie.”

“Hey,” He said, sitting up next to me, forcing me to look at him. “I made a mistake with Dixie; I was stupid but I’m telling you right now, Regan, it never went to the level that you and I have. I know I haven’t exactly given you much reason to, but I need you to trust me.” The room fell silent as I thought about it, Noah was asking me to trust him....after everything he put me through, after everything I had to deal with...can I really trust him while in separate countries? “I love you, Regan.”

I froze. The last time I heard those words, they were coming from a completely different boy and everything in me was telling me to react the exact same way. Run.

“You don’t have to say it back, I know I probably don’t deserve to hear those words from you but I mean it.” I still didn’t know what to say or do. Sure, I felt so strongly for Noah and I felt like saying those words would be the right thing to do but it would also make leaving a hell of a lot worse. “Now, go shower; I’ll get started on lunch.”

“If I must...” I said, beginning to make my way towards the bathroom door, but stopping to lean my back against the door. “But it’ll just be oh so lonely in there...” I teased, stretching my leg out from the blanket I was using to cover myself. “How will I ever survive on my own...” Laughing as I saw Noah throw the blanket off him, he ran towards me, taking my waist in his hands, beginning to kiss me as he pushed me into the bathroom and towards the shower.

---

Tying the elastic around the end of my braid, I walked down the hall, towards the kitchen, and felt my phone buzz in my pocket.

“Tomorrow night, since you’re leaving us Sunday morning, we’re having a movie night, you know, like the old days? So get your snacks and your comfy clothes ready.” Typing a quick response to Tayler, I shoved my phone away, entering the kitchen.

“So how are we going to spend the day?” I asked, pushing myself onto the counter.

“You tell me...” Noah said, sliding himself in between my legs and placing his hands on my waist. “We can do whatever you want...wherever you want...” His lips traveled down my neck as he spoke and God...there was nothing I wanted more than to rip his clothes off...again.

“Did we really just come here to have sex all day?” I asked, letting out a laugh.

“Would that really be such a bad thing?” He asked, looking up at me.

“No...” Pressing my lips against his, I thought about it. If this was how I was going to spend my last days in LA with Noah...I’m happy with it. “But,” I said, breaking the kiss. “there’s gotta be something we can do here...” Pushing Noah away from me, I jumped off the counter and began searching the cabin. Opening drawer after drawer, I couldn’t believe the boys hadn’t brought any boardgames here. “Jackpot.” I whispered to myself before making my way back towards the kitchen. “Strip Go-Fish?” I asked, holding up the deck of cards. “I would suggest Poker...but I don’t know how to play.” I laughed.