I paced back and forth in the living room, praying that I wouldn’t get another call from someone wanting to order a sale sweater from Sunray Apparel.

I spent the past hour putting Travis to sleep—he was totally exhausted after the romp he had with my father—then another hour scouring the internet, looking for the number of The Mod Shop. The place didn’t have a lot of advertising, and you would be surprised at how many other unrelated places share the same name. I eventually found it on some sort of auto-tuning website were guys talk about making improvements to their car.

I still wasn’t sure if Mason really still worked there or if he would be working there when I called, but after speaking with Amanda a few days prior and the long day at Dad’s house and the department store, I was finally pushed to the edge. I needed to talk to Mason. I’d just say ‘Hi,” ask how he is doing, and somehow I’d end up telling him about Travis… I guess? I wasn’t sure how exactly it would work, but I knew that I needed to make the call and at least see how he felt about it.

My Skype program was already open on my computer screen. I decided that I would make the call via Skype rather on my cell phone, just in case the call went sour or he freaked out. I’d have the option to abandon the call and not worry about him tracing the number or tracking me down somehow. I sat down in my chair and pulled my work headset over my ears.

I took a couple deep breaths. Stay calm Layla. Stay calm.

“Can I speak to Mason?” I rehearsed. “Yes, is Mason working? Hi, is Mason Green there?”

After getting myself as comfortable as possible with my intro, I typed the number onto the screen and clicked call button. The whole time, my heart was practically beating out of my chest.

It must have rang 4 or 5 times, and I thought for sure that no one was going to answer, but then I heard a click.

“Hello. This is The Mod Shop.”

My stomach clenched. It had been 4 years, but I recognized that velvety voice like I had just heard it yesterday. It was Mason, and I hadn’t even prepared for the idea that he would be the one who would answer the phone. I thought I’d at least have a buffer.

“Hello? Mod Shop.” A couple more seconds. “Anyone there?”

I couldn’t say a word. I wanted to fall out of my chair, and at the same time, I just wanted to sit there and listen to him say ‘Mod Shop’ or just anything over and over again. Just hearing his voice brought a flood of memories back—back when I was an innocent High School girl and he was everything that I desired.

Click.

And just like that, it was over.

I sat there staring at the computer screen for a few seconds, feeling a little stunned. Hearing his voice, having knowledge that he was still in the OC, knowing exactly where he was and where he worked—it made him seem so much more real all of a sudden. I had tried for so long to push him out of my head, and just with a few words, he was right there again, dancing around in the front of my mind like he was taunting me.

I wanted to call him back again and talk to him, now wanting to ask him why he cheated on me so long ago, and drop the bomb on him that he had a son, but at the same time it seem so wrong to do things that way.

I pulled the headset off my head, stood from the chair, and walked into my son’s bedroom. Cars were scattered all around the floor, and he was sleeping peacefully on top of a Nascar comforter.

He’s just like his father… He looks so much like Mason.

I took a deep breath and stepped out of his room and into the kitchen, pulling my phone out of my pocket.

“Amanda?” I asked when she answered.

“Hey bitch. What’s up?”

“If Travis and I come out to California, is it cool for us to stay with you for a couple of days?”