Layla never thought she'd watch her father being arrested.

Yet, here she was, watching Shoupe drag him out of the house. Mel had ran the plates of the car that showed up at her house seconds before Layla was locked in the sauna room. They tracked back to a man that no one knew, living out of a shitty apartment. After the police showed up, he'd confessed to it being his car, but Raymond was the one to take it. Of course, no one believed him.

Until the Ring doorbell was played and video proof of Raymond taking the truck just ten minutes before Layla was locked in. They arrested him immediately, Mel and Henry driving over to Layla old house to get her things but only to show up as they were putting him into the cop car. Layla watched, her heart sunken.

"Layla." Mel looked back at her.

"Could someone else pack up for me?" Layla asked, whipping her eyes as she crossed her arms in the back, "I wanna go back home."

"Yeah, we'll call a van." Henry nodded, turning around the car as he looked back at her in the mirror, "Do you wanna talk?"

Layla didn't say anything. Silence passed for a few moments before there was a sniffle from the back seat, "How could a father do this?"

Mel and Henry shared a sad look.

"Well, some people shouldn't be parents." Mel spoke to her gently as she glanced in the mirror for a moment, "Your dad is one of them."

Layla voice broke, "I miss my mom."

Henry frowned as he nodded, "I do too, kid."

"He killed her." Layla whispered after another second, "If he tried to kill me, he did her too, right?"

"It's most likely, they'll ask him at the station." Mel nodded, Henry pulling up into the driveway as they both turned to look back at her, "Do you want us to call your friends?"

"I'll call them." Layla sniffled as she whipped her eyes, getting out of the car and slamming it behind her.

"How do I make it better for her?" Henry looked over at Mel in questioning.

"Don't leave her." Mel gave a sad smile, rubbing his arm as the couple got out of the car.

Mel broke the news to Layla after the station called. Raymond not only admitted to locking Layla in the sauna, but also to being the cause of Alicias death. When they asked why, all he told Shoupe was that Layla and Alicia were just like his mother.

"His mother abused him." Layla said after Mel told her, her eyes stared off, like she was processing what she'd said to her, "I just- I need a-"

Layla didn't finish her sentence, instead standing up and hurrying toward her room. She locked her door, feeling like she couldn't cry even though that would make everything so much better. Uneven breathing came from Layla, she tried to inhale with gentle rubs to her chest, not helping much. She ran to her window, pushing it open and getting some air. Yet it still felt like she had a elephant sitting on her chest.

Layla leaned on the wall, all her drawing hung. Because crying wasn't an option, her body didn't let her, she resulted in anger. Layla yelled loudly, hurting herself in the process, yanking down all her work. Some tore when she pulled, others crumbling up all over the floor. She yelled at each one, her anger over taking her entire body as she tore each of them down with shouts of nothing but pain and hatred. Yet, all she wanted to do was cry, and her body simply wasn't letting her one bit.

When nightfall came, Layla had called her friends. Each time she did, non of them answered. Even the phone Topper gave Sarah, she wasn't picking up. Layla clearly didn't realize what tonight was, but how could she after the day she had? She threw her phone, cussing all her friends under her breath as she did so. It took her a while, the Kooks walking down the street making her remember tonight.

The Annul Bonfire.

That anger from before was only worse, now angry at her friends more then anything. Grabbing her purple cardigan, she crawled out her window to avoid Mel or Henry having to ask where she was going and how she was feeling. The Bonfire location wasn't far from Mel's, only two blocks down. Layla thought about taking the car, but she didn't even have a license, and driving in her state was not the best idea.

Even sad and angry, she still her common sense unlike other dumb asses.

When she made it toward the Bonfire, the fire illuminated from all the way down the street, she watched a fight spread out, some leaving. John B and Topper were, yet again, fighting. Sarah was on the ground, Kie helping her up while JJ pulled Topper off of John B, Kelce and Pope shoving at each other.

The pogues jumped the wall, going to run off, only to come face to face with Layla.

"Layla, you missed so much." JJ panted.

"Yeah, so did all of you." she snapped, staring at all of them, "Maybe you should bother to check your phones once in a while."

Layla turned on her heels to leave, because she realized she was too pissed off and upset to be anywhere near anyone without taking her anger out on them.

"Layla! Wait!" John B caught her arm, making her turn, "Hey, hey, whats wrong?"

Layla shoved his chest suddenly, "My dad murdered my mom and then tried to kill me. That's what's wrong."

Kie stared down at the twenty-six missed phone called, seeing two on JJ's phone, three on Popes.

"Layla, oh my god, we're so sorry." Pope tried to approach her, but she only put a hand up to stop him, "The bonfire, it was really loud and we didn't-"

"Right." Layla swallowed as she looked around, "Where's Sarah?"

"She showed up with Topper." JJ said, earning a scoff, "Hey, your dads an asshole. Look, let's go make you feel better."

"I'm not gonna feel better, JJ!" Layla gave him a look of disbelief, "How? By partying at some stupid bonfire? I don't even know why the hell I came here."

"Because you knew we'd make you feel better, come on." Kie tried, Layla shook her head as a small lump formed in her throat.

"I wanna go home, actually." Layla admitted, a laugh in her tone, "This was a mistakes, sorry."

"Layla!" JJ called for her, "Let us drive you. Come on, please!"

Layla didn't turn back.

"Her fucking dad." John B said in disbelief, "Hate that guy."

"What do we do? She's so angry at us." Pope frowned, watching Layla leave, "I knew I should have called when I didn't see her."

"She isn't angry with us, she's angry in general." Kie sighed, looking down at the twenty-six missed calls, "She needed us to be there for her and we weren't."

"Telling her Sarah showed up with Topper wasn't the best idea." John B glanced at JJ, "We need to go to her, right now."

"Yeah." Kie agreed, shoving her phone in her pocket.

"Layla." Sarah called as she ran through the sand. It was dark, and when she showed up at Mel's, they'd had to track her phone just to find her on the beach, "Jesus christ, we've all been looking for you."

Layla ignored her, staring at the water as he knees pressed into her chest. Sarah touched her shoulder, Layla didn't say or do anything. Sarah leaned down and hugged her, "I'm so sorry about your dad, and your mom. I wish i'd been there."

"Yeah." Layla said as Sarah pulled back, "Just like you weren't there on my court date either."

Sarah's face fell, "I didn't-"

"I wanna be by myself, please." Layla looked at her. Sarah never saw someone seem so angry, blinking at her usually soft eyes, "Sarah, just go."

"You want me to leave?" Sarah asked, she tried not to cry because it wasn't her time to. Layla nodded, only looking back at the dark ocean in the middle of the night. Sarah rose to her feet, whipping the single tear that fell from her eye. She walked about six feet before freezing, turning around to stare at Layla back, "Hell no."

Layla turned back in disbelief as Sarah continued on, "I'm not leaving you to be in pain by yourself. You're my girlfriend, so suck it up, because i'm not leaving until you do."

Layla stood up and turned to her, her lip trembling as she nodded her head. Her eyes looked behind Sarah, seeing the Twinkie pull up and four pogues jumping out of the back, calling for her.

"I'm sorry." Layla whispered to Sarah, "I didn't mean what I said. About the court thing, I know you had to be with Whe-"

"You still matter." Sarah cut her off with a shake of her head, "I still need to be there for you."

Layla nodded her head, and finally, the tears fell. Sarah wrapped her in her arms as Layla began to cry into her neck, her arms holding her so tightly that Sarah struggling to breath slightly. She felt another pair of arms go around her, then another, then another, and one more. Layla cried for a few minutes, letting all the sadness go after not being able to for a while. With her friends, the people she loved.

Ten calls to Sarah.

Five to John B.

Two to JJ.

Three to Pope.

And Twenty-Six to Kie.

It took 46 missed calls in total for her to get this, it wasn't fair, but at least she had it. And that was enough.

•

kylie speaks

poor bby.