“Yeah, of course I dropped her off. She was tired, but otherwise she seemed fine,” Benny said.

“You’re sure?” I asked. “She’s didn’t call me yesterday, and today it says that her number is disconnected. Something isn’t right.”

“She probably forgot to pay her bill. I wouldn’t be surprised if she calls you tonight.”

I took a deep breath. “Yeah, maybe you’re right and I’m just overreacting, but I thought I would check with you anyway.”

“Of course, Mason,” Benny said. “How are you holding up? Are the police off of your back?”

“For now. They said they might bring me in for more questioning, but I think they’ve got enough eye witness accounts that match my story that it won’t go any further than that.”

I finished up my chat with Benny and went to my living room to watch some TV. I missed Layla, and wished that she would call so that we could spend time together. Benny knew that I didn’t want to be anywhere near cars for a couple days after the accident, and business would probably be slow as most racers in the area took a break as well, so I wasn’t planning on going into work.

* * *

Two days without being in contact with Layla was weird, but when day four rolled around, I knew something was wrong. I hopped in The Beast and headed for Layla’s home.

When I arrived, I was surprised to see a strange, white minivan parked in the driveway. Had her dad bought a new car or got a special delivery?

I wasn’t looking forward to speaking with her Dad, and he probably wouldn’t be too happy to see me, but I needed to make sure that Layla was okay.

I parked in the driveway behind the van, and when I reached the front door I knocked, expecting Layla or her Dad to answer any second.

“Hello,” a tall, Indian man said when he pulled the door wide. I could see that the house was practically bare and there was an Indian woman standing on a step ladder painting one of the walls. “Can I help you, sir?”

“Um… I’m looking for Layla.”

“Layla? I don’t know any Layla.”

“She lives here with her dad. Are you guys painters or something?”

“Oh,” the man said. “We just bought this place. We’re changing up a couple things before we move our furniture inside. The previous residents do not live here anymore.”

“What?” I asked. “They don’t live here anymore?”

“Yes, that’s what I said. We’re the new owners now.”

“Where did they go?”

The guy shook his head like I was crazy. “I have no idea. We did the transaction through an Agent. I never even saw the previous owners.”

“You’re kidding me?”

“What do you mean sir? Can’t you just call the person you’re looking for?”

I shook my head and held up a dismissive hand. “Thanks for your help. I’m sorry to disturb you,” I said as I turned and walked briskly back towards my car.

“No problem. Have a good day!” the man yelled.

Now my head was really spinning. Her phone was disconnected, she hadn’t called me, and her dad had sold the house. Surely she would’ve told me if she were changing her number or she was planning on moving. It was all way too weird.

I picked up my phone and started dialing Caleb as I pulled out of the driveway.

“Hey what’s up?” he answered.

“Caleb, do you know anything about Layla moving?”

“Why would I know anything about her moving? She’s your girl.”

“But you were friends. Did she ever mention anything to you?”

“No, she never said a thing.”

“Well shit. Her phone is disconnected, and she’s moved somewhere. I don’t know how to get ahold of her.”

“You just saw her the other day,” Caleb said. “Quit freaking out.”

“I’m not freaking out, but she’s not the kind of girl to up and vanish like that. What about Amanda—the girl she hangs out with? Do you have her contact details?”

“I deleted her from my phone when she didn’t go to Prom with me.”

“But you picked her up from her house once before, right?”

“Yeah, that one time.”

“What’s the address?”

“Fuck if I remember.”

“Come on, Caleb. Would you be able to remember where you went if you saw it?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Okay, I need you to take me to her.”

Caleb moaned. “When?”

“Right fucking now.” I clicked the phone off and sent him a text that I was on my way.

I drove to my parents’ house to pick up Caleb, and then we made the 15 minute or so journey to Amanda’s neighborhood.

“This is definitely the street,” Caleb said. He pointed his finger towards a small, Spanish style house. “I think that one’s it, but I can’t be sure.”

I parked on the curb and then walked up to the house and rang the doorbell. To my relief, Amanda answered the door.

“Oh, thank god you’re here,” I said.

Amanda looked me up and down, her face almost looking disgusted. “What can I do for you?” she asked.

“Have you talked to Layla? I went by her house, and someone else is living there. And her—“

“Layla is gone,” she said flatly.

“What do you mean she’s gone? Is she hurt or something? Is she in the hospital?”

“No. She’s gone, as in she doesn’t live here anymore.”

“What do you mean? Where is she? She would have told me if—“

“Mason,” she interrupted. “Layla moved to Florida.”

“Moved to Florida? Like a vacation? Look, can you just give me her number?”

“Sorry,” Amanda said. “I don’t know if she has a new number yet, and I wouldn’t be able to give it to you if I did. She moved there permanently.” She took a deep breath. “Look it is none of my business, but I should just tell you that Layla doesn’t want to see you anymore, so you might want to just move on or something.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Wait. Why? I’m so confused.”

Suddenly a huge, towering bald man with face similar to Amanda’s, obviously her father, appeared behind Amanda and leaned his arm on the door frame. “Is everything okay here, Amanda? Who is this guy?”

“Yeah, everything is fine.” Amanda smirked. “He’s a friend’s friend, and I think he was just leaving.”

I swallowed hard, wanting to seek more answers, figure out what exactly happened, but the tension from Amanda and her dad told me that I wasn’t exactly welcome at their front door anymore.

“Yeah, thanks…” I muttered and turned back towards the street.

I hopped into my car and Caleb glanced at me with concern on his face. “What’s wrong? What did she tell you?”

I stuck my key in the ignition and started up The Beast, then leaned back into the chair, sucking in a hard breath. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. There was a literal pain in the center of my chest that felt like my heart was breaking in two.

“Layla left me,” I muttered. “She fucking left me.”

She did the exact same thing to me that Samantha had done. She let our relationship blossom, and right when I was feeling comfortable, right when I thought I was falling in love with her, she tossed me to the side like I was just a piece of side entertainment to distract her while she took a break from her regularly scheduled life.

She had seemed so different than Samantha. I thought she was this sweet, innocent girl that would never do anything bad to me, but boy was I wrong. She was a heartless bitch who didn’t even bother to tell me she was moving and didn’t really give a fuck about me.

I guess I was just a bad judge of character.