I woke up to a loud ripping sound. It was like someone was tearing a thick piece of plastic apart outside of my bedroom. I looked to the clock on my nightstand and it was already 6pm. The sun was starting to go down.

It was about 5 am by the time I made it home the following night, and I didn’t get the sleep for hours after that. Everyone was in shock after Freddy drove himself off the cliff, and I was just as haunted by it. I had been standing near the edge of the cliff looking down when I saw his Porsche shoot forward, hit Caleb’s RSX and then flounder rapidly until it flew off the cliff and down to the ground below.

There was an audible gasp from everyone who was watching, and some people broke down into tears immediately. I was shocked and saddened at what happened to the guy who was in the Porsche, but I was more worried about Mason until I saw him step outside of the car.

Once Mason and the other racers made it back to the top of the Bluff, everyone gathered around and said a prayer for Freddy, and people started comforting each other. Shortly after, the police arrived and started questioning people, Particularly Mason and Caleb as Caleb was the owner of the only other car that was damaged.

Benny ended up driving me home after it looked like the police questioning wasn’t going to end any time soon, and I left Mason with a simple hug goodbye.

And now, something else was going on in my living room, and it sounded just as terrible as the explosion from the night before.

I lifted my head off the pillows and stretched my arms out before I picked myself off the bed. The tearing sound was still continuing. I took a glance in the mirror before I pulled open my door and stepped in the hallway. I dragged myself to the living room where Dad was pulling packing tape over a large box again and again. There were several boxes scattered about, some of them already taped, and some folded and leaning up against the wall.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Dad stopped what he was doing and looked up, pointing his finger at me. “Go pack your stuff.”

“What?” I asked.

“Your suitcases are in the hallway closet, and you can grab a couple boxes to put the other stuff you need in.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We’re moving to the beach house. The house has been sold.”

“Wait.” I shook my head, trying to grasp what he was telling me. “Did you just tell me you sold the house?”

“Yeah. I accepted an offer last week, and if you hadn’t been giving me the silent treatment for two weeks, maybe you would have already known that by now.”

I blinked my eyes, feeling in shock. “Dad, are you crazy?”

“No,” my Dad said, his tone borderline sarcastic.

“You told me that we would move nearby and stay in California.”

“That was before I knew what I knew.”

“What?” I put my hand on my forehead. “This must be some sort of joke.”

Dad dropped the packing tape and walked over to the television, flipping it on. It was already on the local news channel, and a neatly dressed woman was staring at the screen while a shot of Rolling Bluff was pictured in the upper-right hand corner.

“Police are saying that a man by the name of Fredrick Black was killed last night when he drove off the top of Rolling Bluff during an illegal street race. He is suspected to have been killed on impact, and police are questioning two suspects,” A picture of Caleb and Mason replaced the image in the corner, “Caleb Greene and Mason Greene in connection with the death. So far no charges have been filed and authorities’ initial impressions are that the death was due to an accident.”

“Dad—“

“No Layla,” my dad interrupted. “It’s been all over the news this morning. Last night, I went to check on you in your room and I saw the window open. I saw you hop in the car with that … Mason… guy. And then to see this morning that he’s connected to someone’s death? What the hell do you think I would think about that? The offer was already accepted a week ago, and I was looking for a house nearby, but after seeing that, I realized that we needed to get away from this place. That man… He’s ruining your life.”

“Mason is a good guy,” I insisted.

“A good guy?” Dad snickered. “An illegal street racer. You think that’s the kind of guy that I want to see my daughter with?” Dad shook his head. “I did my best to trust you. I let you go to Prom with the guy and you ran off, and now you’re sneaking off in the middle of the night? You’re out of control Layla, and it’s time we get away and reset this situation.”

“I’m not out of control. Mason and I are in love, and—“ Even while I was talking, I was wondering if what I was saying was true. I knew we were falling in love, but were we really in love? But it didn’t matter because Dad cut me off any way.

“In love?” My dad laughed. “You’re too young to understand love. That older guy has manipulated you and pulled you into something that you don’t understand.”

“No!” I yelled. “You don’t understand. I am not leaving the OC. I’ve graduated now, and I’m going to go to college here and continue my life with my friends and with Mason. “

Dad smiled. “Sure. And how do you expect to do that? The house is already bought, and I’m handing the keys over in two days. You sure as hell can’t stay here.”

“I’ll—“

“You going to go live with your criminal boyfriend? Is that what you’re going to do?”

I shook my head and then I nodded, looking at my dad defiantly. “Yeah, actually. That is what I’m going to do. Mason will take care of me a whole lot better than you can!” I turned around and started stomping towards my room, stopping at the hallway to grab my suitcase.

“Layla!”

I slammed the door to my room and immediately called Amanda.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Amanda? It’s Layla. I need your help.”

“My help? What’s wrong?”

“Can you please come here and give me a ride over to Mason’s? Please? It’s so important.”

“What happened?”

“My dad is going crazy. I’ll tell you in the car. Can you please come here right now?”

Amanda sighed. “Yeah, let me make sure it’s okay with my Mom, and I’ll be right over.”