Jake's POV

"Have you seen Kayla?" Paige ran up to me as I was setting up my campers' volleyball court.

"No, doesn't she normally drive here with you?" I didn't understand why she was so frantic.

"Exactly. I was with Angela last night looking at wedding stuff while Kayla was with Charlotte. We were supposed to go over to her house that night, but she sent us a text saying she didn't feel well so Angela came back to my house so she wouldn't get sick. Jeremy is still visiting family friends. I went to pick Kayla up this morning and she didn't answer the door" Paige's eyes were darting everywhere as if Kayla would suddenly appear.

"She didn't text or call you? That isn't like Kayla" the worry was slowly creeping in.

"No warning whatsoever. She just wasn't there when I went to pick her up" Paige was wringing her hands anxiously.

"I know where they hide the spare key, we should just go inside. Maybe she overslept" I started towards the parking lot.

"Jake I know you were the boyfriend for a long time, but I've been the best friend forever. I used the key to get inside and Kayla and Charlotte weren't there. I know you're trying to help, but we need another plan" Paige insisted.

"Alright well we'll cover for her so she doesn't get in trouble with our boss, then after camp we'll call Charlotte's camp to see if she's there, and we'll track Kayla down" I wished we could go look for her right now. I didn't think I could make it through camp worrying about her the whole time.

Somehow I made it through those three hours without completely focusing on Kayla. Alright that's a lie. In three hours I managed to call her eleven times without anyone noticing. I guess Kayla didn't notice either because she didn't pick up or answer any of my twenty text messages.

If it were any other person missing one day of work without telling anyone and not answering the phone wouldn't be anything to panic about, but this wasn't any old person.

Kayla Ryans hadn't had a sick day from work or school since the 6th grade, and she would never miss work without calling her boss or telling Paige she didn't need a ride.

Kayla hated having to ask people for rides, even if they insisted it was no big deal and it wasn't out of their way. Trust me I spent a whole summer driving Kayla to our volleyball league practices, and each time she acted as if I was giving one of my kidneys to her. She wouldn't make Paige drive across town to pick her up when she wasn't home unless something was really wrong.

"I swear that was the longest day of camp ever. I'm pretty sure the hands on my watch started going backwards at one point" Paige came up behind me right as my last kid ran off with his dad.

"She isn't picking up her phone Paige. Kayla always has her phone on her in case Charlotte's camp calls. What is going on?" I ran my hands through my hair.

"Angela, Jeremy, and Scott should be here any minute. We'll find her" Paige patted me on the back before pulling out her phone. I knew Kayla was the level headed one in their relationship. She was the one who kept it together during a crisis, kept both of them together. Paige was having a hard time keeping it together and she was struggling, but she would never admit that because she was almost as stubborn as her best friend.

"Good maybe Scott will know where to find her" I couldn't figure out where she could be or why she wouldn't call.

"What's going on?" Angela and Jeremy came running up, and Scott walked down from the parking lot a minute later.

"Kayla didn't show up for work, she isn't at home, and none of us have heard from her. We don't know where she or Charlotte are" I caught them up to speed.

"Don't panic yet. I'm calling Charlotte's camp right now" Paige held up a finger before turning away so she could hear whoever was on the other end of the line.

I took the time to call Kayla again.

"Yes I need to know if Charlotte Ryans is at camp today" Paige put on her office voice that she used when she worked the front desk at the veterinary office.

"No I'm not related to her, but it is urgent that I know whether she is there or not" Paige took a deep breathe in an attempt to remain calm. I got Kayla's voicemail, again, and hung up.

"I understand that you have policies, but her sister is missing and I need to know if I should be looking for both Ryans sisters or just one" Paige's composure was slipping.

Only hearing one side of this conversation was killing me.

"Yes. Thank goodness. Thank you very much for your time" Paige hung up the phone, "Charlotte is there and she's fine. Kayla must've dropped her off this morning before she disappeared" Paige sighed with relief.

"Alright that solves one problem. What could make Kayla run off like this, and where would she go?" I racked my brain, but couldn't come up with a thing.

"Keep calling Kayla's cell. Everybody think about where she would go" Paige started dialing before I could even vocalize my agreement.

I was just about to dial Kayla again for the third time in five minutes when a text popped up.

Charlotte is at camp, and I am fine. I know you're worried, but please stop calling. Andrew is back. I need time to think. -Kayla

"She just texted me" I tapped Paige repeatedly on the arm as I read the text over again.

"I got the same one. No wonder she disappeared" Paige sat down in the sand and just stared at her phone. All five of us got the same text.

"Who's Andrew?" Scott asked. Paige, Angela, Jeremy, and I shared a shocked look. Kayla never told Scott about her walk out dad. It wasn't our place to enlighten him. Clearly she didn't tell him for a reason, I just couldn't figure out why.

"Kayla's ass of a father? I take it you don't know the story about him" Paige was trying to feel out the conversation.

"What happened with her dad?" Scott was clearly lost. The rest of us looked around at each other. No one wanted to be the one to spill something Kayla kept so tightly locked away.

"Kayla's dad left them when Kayla was eleven. She hasn't seen him since, well I guess until now. That's the general gist of the situation" Jeremy explained slowly, looking at the rest of us as if to be sure he wasn't too out of line.

"What? He just walked out? I assumed he traveled a lot and that's why he wasn't around. Why didn't she tell me?" Scott sat down on one of the court benches and ran his hands over his face.

"Kayla doesn't share... information about herself easily, especially anything involving Andrew. She locked all of her memories of him in a box and shoved it to the deepest part of her closet a long time ago" I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that Scott didn't seem to know Kayla on the same level as the rest of us.

"Why would he randomly show up after so long?" Jeremy asked.

"I have no idea, but she clearly didn't take it well. Where could she be?" Paige looked down the beach as if she could somehow see where her best friend was, probably sitting somewhere crying or fuming. In Kayla's case it was probably the latter.

"She said she wants to be alone, maybe we should just give her space" Scott suggested. The rest of us gave each other more knowing looks.

"She claims she wants to be alone, but we all know when Kayla's upset her thoughts are her own worst enemy" I wished I could just stop caring and worrying about her, but even if we were still fighting like a few weeks ago, I knew that wasn't possible. This was Kayla we were talking about.

"Exactly. Let's split up and go find her" Angela took Jeremy in her car. Scott, Paige, and I each took our own cars.

The four of us knew Kayla better than anyone else, but we each knew her in different ways. One of us was bound to find her.

Where would Kayla go when she was upset? Obviously she wasn't at the volleyball courts. She wasn't at her house or with Charlotte. Her mom was at work, so she wasn't with her. Some place that would take her mind off this mess and how she was going to handle this situation.

I threw a U turn at the next light. I had an idea, it was a long shot, but it was a start.

Ten minutes later I pulled up to Ridgemont's surf beach. The beach Kayla and I went to all those years ago. A place that held one of the few good memories she still held of her father. When he taught her how to surf.

I searched the water trying to find her in the crowd of people attempting to surf.

There she was.

She was one of the few people who was actually standing up.

I bet you the majority of people who knew Kayla had no idea she could surf. One more thing she kept locked in that hidden box of hers.

I walked down to the edge of the water, dipping my toes in, and waiting for her to come back to shore.

When she finally did and she finally saw me, there was a noticeable sigh that dropped her shoulders.

"You don't listen very well do you?" Kayla's slight smile let me know that she wasn't actually mad that I found her. Deep down I knew she wouldn't be.

"Never have and I don't plan on changing that any time soon. How are you holding up?" I sat down next to her on the sand.

"I keep wavering between angry, nostalgic, frustrated, confused, and then back to angry. My biggest question is who the hell does he think he is?" she threw some sand onto her board as if that could relieve her pent up anger.

"I have no idea what went through his mind back then, yesterday, or every day since then" I sighed. I wish I could comfort her more, but I didn't know what to say in a situation like this.

"Me neither. I just needed to escape for a little while. Think it all through, and try and calm down before I have to go home and see my mom and Charlotte" she explained.

"Don't worry Kay I know" I put my arm around her and pulled her into a hug. We just sat there for a while. I knew she didn't need me to give her some corny speech about how everything was going to work out for the best. She just needed someone.

I don't know how long we sat there, but during that whole time only one tear fell to the sand.

Interesting huh, out of the 5 people who know her best look who knew exactly where to find her.
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