Discovered

by E. D. Brady

  “Just pretend you didn’t see it,” Julie advised. “Wow, I’m really delighted for you. What a great present.”

  “This is really weird, though,” Layla said quietly. “I wonder where he went, and without his car.”

  “Maybe someone picked him up,” Julie commented, looking over Layla’s shoulder.

  “Maybe,” Layla agreed. “But I can’t imagine him breaking a glass and just leaving the debris on the ground.”

  “His ride probably showed up, and he didn’t have time to clean it,” Julie suggested. “Maybe he went to have your new car registered or something.”

  “Probably,” Layla answered, walking around the adorable vehicle. “Wow, I’m in shock,” she added, opening the door and looking inside.

  “Come on,” Julie coaxed. “You don’t want him to find you in here when he gets back.”

  Layla grabbed the dust pan and hand brush and swept up the broken glass while Julie worked behind her with a mop. When they were finished, they ran upstairs and laid their dresses flat out on Layla’s bed.

  Layla showered first while Julie set her large collection of make-up out on the broad chest of drawers.

  Twenty minutes later, both girls sat in robes, hair up in towels, helping each other apply makeup.

  With hair and makeup perfect, they decided it was time to put on their dresses.

  “You look gorgeous,” Julie gushed, gazing appreciatively at Layla’s short, tight, strapless dress.

  “So do you,” Layla replied, taking off her necklace and replacing it with the black string of beads. “Red is definitely your color.”

  “I know,” Julie teased, clapping her hands childishly. She turned Layla around to face the large mirror. “Look at us,” she gasped.

  At that moment, the doorbell rang.

  Layla nodded to Julie and walked awkwardly down the stairs, one hand gripping the handrail for support as she cursed her new five-inch heels.

  She opened the front door to see Jay and Joey looking ravishing in formal suits.

  Jay drank in Layla from head to toe, and his eyes swelled. “Wow,” he blurted out.

  “Julie, you look incredible,” Joey piped in, also with an overwhelming look of appreciation for his date.

  “You look so wonderful in a suit,” Layla said, staring at Jay, overcome by how handsome he was standing before her. She was looking forward to the envious glares she would receive when she walked into the dance with the most attractive guy in the whole school—childish, she knew, but what the heck.

  Jay smiled warmly. “Coming from a beautiful girl like you, that really means a lot,” he answered.

  Julie rolled her eyes. “If you guys are finished drooling over each other, we should leave.”

  “Seriously,” Joey agreed. “By the way, happy birthday, Layla,” he added, leaning over to give her a tight hug.

  “Thank you so much,” Layla replied. She pulled away from Joey and looked over his shoulder, spotting an enormous, black, super stretch limousine sitting in her driveway. “What did you do?” she screeched, glaring at Jay.

  He laughed at her petulant expression. “It’s the second part of your birthday present.”

  “It’s too much,” she said firmly.

  “It’s not every day that a girl turns eighteen, so stop looking at me like that,” he replied.

  She smiled. “Thank you, but it really is over the top.”

  “Yeah, thank you,” Julie butted in, making a bee-line for the limo.

  Jay took hold of Layla’s hand and led her to the driveway.

  The chauffeur opened the door for them. “Sir, your date is lovely,” he said as Layla climbed in.

  “Thank you, Frank,” Jay replied, climbing in beside her.

  “Do you know him?” Layla asked.

  “Why would you ask that?” Jay questioned.

  “You called him Frank.”

  “Would it be so strange if I asked him his name?” Jay replied.

  “No, I suppose not,” Layla mumbled. Then she quickly filled Jay in on her surprise birthday present from James and her mother.

  Joey pulled a couple of sodas from a small refrigerator built into a space between two plush leather seats and handed them around. “Here’s to a great night,” he said, holding his can up in a toast.

  “To a great night,” Layla, Jay and Julie repeated.

  “And to a great eighteenth birthday,” Joey added, nodding toward Layla.

  “Happy birthday,” Jay whispered into her ear.

  The entrance of the school was decorated with many silver and blue balloons, creating an archway over the front door.

  Jay kept a tight grip on Layla’s hand as they descended the stairs to the large gymnasium which also coupled as an assembly hall. There were a half-dozen more silver and blue balloon archways on the way down. Inside, hundreds of the same balloons were bobbing against the ceiling, their long strings creating a festive atmosphere. The loud booming of a hip hop tune, played by the DJ, reverberated around the walls.

  Layla and Julie made their way over to a group of girls they knew from different classes while the guys went to fetch a few drinks.

  “Wow, Layla, I didn’t know that you and Jay Logan were together,” Molly Demato, a girl from math, commented.

  “Um,” Layla answered, nodding.

  “He’s so cute,” Molly added. “I know a few girls here that would kill to be in your position at the moment.”

  “Seriously,” Jordon Helpin from history agreed. “Rachael Newman practically throws herself at him in our science class, but he never seems interested. Don’t say I told you that, though.”

  “My lips are sealed,” Layla replied, grinning.

  “Rachael’s here with Kevin Hartley,” Julie stated, gesturing to her left.

  “Fitting,” Layla mumbled, looking over at the couple in question. But then her eyes drifted to the vision moving in her direction. She watched Jay walk forward, admiring the view. His shirtsleeves were pulled up past his wrists, and his tie hung loosely around his neck. “Where’s your jacket?” she asked when he reached her.

  “I put it in my locker along with Joey’s,” he replied. “It’s kind of stuffy in here.”

  They spent most of the evening socializing with various classmates, not bothering to hit the dance floor until the DJ finally decided to play a slower, romantic song.

  Jay held out his hand. “May I have the honor of this dance?” he asked, smirking at Layla.

  She let him lead her to the dance floor. He put one hand on her waist and placed his other in hers gently. He looked down into her eyes as he led her around in circles. “I have something I’d like to say to you,” he said, narrowing his eyes as though trying to collect his thoughts.

  “Yes?” she questioned.

  “I wanted you to know that I’ve never met anyone like you before,” he said as though he meant every word. “You’ve affected me in a way that I’ve never felt.”

  Layla was a little taken aback by his words. Weren’t they supposed to be taking it slow? Regardless of how much she liked hearing what he’d said, she wasn’t about to let her guard down again completely, not this soon, or at least that’s what she tried to convince herself, anyway.

  When Jay looked down into her eyes again, Layla felt her heart break a little for some unknown reason. He looked at her as though he’d never see her again, as though he was saying good-bye somehow. “I’ve never felt this way about another girl before,” he admitted, and then he bent down and kissed her for a long moment.

  Against her better judgment, Layla felt her heart swell.

  “I just wanted you to know that, to remember that,” he said quietly after pulling back from her.

  “Are you…?” She was about to ask him why she felt as though those last words were some sort of good-bye, but decided against it, realizing that she was being ridiculous in her assumptions. Where the heck could he be going?

  “What?” Jay asked.

  “It’s nothing,�
� Layla replied, shaking her head. “I’m just surprised to hear you say that since we’re supposed to be taking things slowly.”

  “But it’s the truth, regardless,” he answered.

  “I guess…I guess I feel the same way,” she stammered.

  “You guess?” he said with a small chuckle.

  “I do feel the same way,” she stated, surrendering to the moment.

  “Layla…” Jay said breathlessly, then bent down and kissed her again.

  As if to dampen the magical mood, Joey came running over to them at that instant. “Do you want to get out of here?” he asked. “I’m hungry, and the music is too loud.”

  “What did you have in mind?” Jay questioned.

  “Maybe we could go grab a burger in the ale house next to Target,” he suggested. “Hang out somewhere quiet, just the four of us.”

  Jay looked at Layla and raised his eyebrows. “It’s your birthday,” he said, leaving the decision up to her.

  “Sounds good,” she replied. ‘One more kiss like that and I’m done for,’ she thought, grateful for the distraction.

  Chapter 13

  Frank held the door to the limo open for them as they climbed in.

  Jay sat next to Layla, took her hand in his and held on firmly as they drove down the road to the ale house.

  Fifteen minutes later, they were seated at a table, looking over the menu. “What time is it?” Layla asked, trying to decide if a guacamole burger would be appropriate at that time of the night.

  “It’s five minutes to ten,” Jay said, looking at the front of his cell phone. “Why do you ask?”

  “I was going to order a guacamole burger, but I can only imagine the calorie intake so close to bed.”

  “With a figure as lovely as yours, I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Jay replied, winking at her.

  “So, Julie…” Joey said, shifting nervously in his seat.

  Julie widened her eyes at him.

  “I was thinking that maybe we could get together again, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “You’re risking the wrath of Ben,” Jay said quietly, causing Layla to laugh, “opening a can of worms…playing with fire…poking the bear…”

  Joey rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I get it!”

  “When?” Julie blurted out, obviously having no idea what Jay meant.

  “Maybe tomorrow night,” Joey answered wistfully. “Maybe the four of us could hang out again at Jay’s or something.”

  “Sure,” Jay butted in, nodding, “although, we’d have to include Issy and Ben since there staying at my house also.”

  “Great,” Julie replied. “Issy seems really nice.”

  “She is,” Layla assured her.

  They spent the following hour eating burgers and just enjoying each other’s company. But as the clock approached eleven thirty, Layla supposed she should get home before James’ started to worry. And besides, she was eager for him to present her with her new car.

  They walked out of the restaurant and made their way to the limo that was parked at the far end of the parking lot.

  When they were about twenty feet from their ride home, Julie turned to Layla. “My feet are killing—” Her sentence was cut short by the loud screech of a black van turning sideways abruptly next to them.

  They stopped short and glared at the dark vehicle.

  Three masked men jumped from the back of the van with guns drawn while the driver kept the van running.

  Layla screamed, her heart thundering in her chest, feeling dizzy from the jolt of adrenaline. She staggered backward slightly.

  Without missing a beat, Jay pulled a gun from the inside pocket of his jacket and held it up facing the three strangers. “Don’t even think about it,” he warned the masked men.

  Watching the scene as if in slow motion, Layla noticed that Joey and Frank the driver quickly approached Jay, standing on either side of him, both of them holding guns.

  “We don’t want any trouble here,” Jay said with a loud warning in his voice. “As you can see, it’s three against three. Those odds don’t bode well for any of us.”

  “There are a lot of people looking for you,” one of the masked men said.

  “I suggest you get on your way and forget you saw me,” Jay insisted. He cocked his head slightly to the right. “Layla, Julie, get in the limo now!” he ordered.

  “Layla…” another of the masked men said, turning his head in her direction.

  “That’ll get you popped between the eyes, Buddy,” Jay warned. “Get on your way, gentlemen. I don’t think you want to find out the hard way which of us is the quicker shot.”

  Layla was frozen to the spot, paralyzed by fear. A shaking and whimpering Julie finally managed to pull her into the limo. Layla crouched down on the floor of the car while Julie bravely looked out the side window.

  Layla wanted to ask Julie what was happening outside, but couldn’t find the voice to do so.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Frank slid into the driver’s seat and put the keys in the ignition, starting the car, while Jay and Joey climbed into the back.

  Jay sat next to Layla and gathered her into his arms, hugging her tightly. “Are you alright?” he asked, breathing into her hair.

  “What happened?” she whimpered.

  “They left,” Jay replied.

  “What the hell was that about?” she asked with a shaky voice. She pulled away from Jay and looked over to see Joey with his hand on Julie’s shoulder, his head bent over hers, making sure she was okay. “Attempted robbery?” Joey guessed, looking over at Layla. “Expensive car, expensive clothes…they probably assumed we had a lot of cash on us.”

  “But one of them said that there were a lot of people looking for you,” she said, turning her gaze on Jay in a questioning manner.

  Jay shrugged. “I have no idea what that meant, and I wasn’t about to ask them for an explanation.”

  “But…but…” Layla stuttered. “Why are you and Joey carrying guns?”

  “They’re licensed,” Jay replied almost too casually. “Perfectly legal.”

  “Yes, but why are you carrying them?” she pushed, perplexed by his answer.

  Jay looked at her as though she was the one not making sense. “Because we can…because, like I said, they’re licensed and legal.”

  Layla was too shaken from fear to form an opinion on that answer. But despite the fear, she felt relieved that Jay had not been seriously injured or worse, she also felt sick to her stomach from the severe rush of panic and prayed that her burger would stay put.

  Jay kept his arms firmly around her all the way to Julie’s house.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Joey asked as Julie exited the car with Frank’s help.

  “I’m…I’m fine,” she muttered. “I’ll be fine.” She hurried into her house without looking back.

  “Layla, if you’d rather not go home alone, you can stay in my spare room,” Jay said, stroking her hair as they rode to her house.

  “I have to go home,” she stated firmly. “James is expecting me. I haven’t seen him today, and he’ll be wondering where I am.”

  Jay ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m so sorry this had to happen on your birthday.”

  “At least I’ll never forget it,” she said, trying to giggle through her nerves.

  Her hands shook as she tried to open the front door, still traumatized from the encounter. She turned and waved quickly at the limo before walking inside and locking the door behind her. “James,” she called out, but there was no answer. There was no sound of the TV, or any kind of life coming from the house. It was evident that James hadn’t returned yet.

  Layla walked to the stairs en route to her bedroom, flicking on every light that she passed, unable to get a handle on her nerves.

  She walked into her bedroom, kicked off the shoes and slid out of her dress and into a pair of sweats and an oversized T-shirt. She unfastened the string of beads that Jay had given her, then lif
ted her necklace off the dresser and tied it around her neck.

  She was just making her way to the bathroom to wash off the make-up when her cell phone rang. Assuming it was James, Julie or Jay, she placed it to her ear without looking at the name on front. “Yeah,” she said into it.

  “Layla Sparks,” an unrecognizable male voice said over the line.

  “Who is this?” she asked suspiciously.

  “That’s not important,” the unknown man replied. “I have something that you might want. Something you might even be interested in trading your boyfriend for.”

  A shiver ran up Layla’s spine as she remembered the three masked men, and without knowing how, she knew that whoever was on the phone had something to do with them. She felt as though all the air was sucked out of the room as she started trembling uncontrollably again.

  “I don’t have a boyfriend,” she muttered into the phone.

  “Don’t lie to me, Layla,” the man responded. “You would do yourself a favor by playing nice with me. I know where you live, and I know you’re alone…”

  Overcome with panic, her phone fumbled from her hand, and as she bent over to pick it up, she accidentally hit the off-button, breaking the connection.

  She raced downstairs; her only thought was to get out of the house and into the company of others quickly. She opened one of the kitchen drawers where she, her mom and James kept various keys, and fumbled around for the keys to James’ car.

  They weren’t there.

  She stood paralyzed to the spot.

  Her phone rang again.

  She picked it up and placed it to her ear, almost incapacitated from fear.

  “Don’t hang up on me again, Layla,” the voice said over the line. “And don’t even think of going to the police. I promise you, pretty girl, you would live to regret that.”

  Layla moaned into the phone, unable to answer.

  “That’s a good girl,” the man said. “Now listen—”

  Not really knowing why, Layla disconnected the call, this time on purpose.

  She quickly tapped on Jay’s name, not knowing what else to do. She prayed silently that he’d pick up.

  “Hey, Layla,” Jay said casually.

  Instead of answering him, she began to whimper uncontrollably.