Kaleb's POV

I offered Layla a ride home after school, but she refused saying that she needed to do some research for one of her classes in the library. I also offered to wait for her, but she was adamant about me not waiting. Of course, I knew she was lying to me about needing to do research for one of her classes. It's only the second day of school and either me or one of my friends are in all her classes. I would have brought that to her attention, but I could tell by the look on her face that she just wanted and needed to be alone. I still didn't like the idea of her walking home by herself, but it's not like I can force her to accept a ride from me.

I still had to take Whitney home since I drove her to school this morning. I'm already in my car waiting for her when I see her, Summer and Winter walking out of the school. Something is off about them though. They're normally all bubbly and happy, but they all seem to be in a sad daze. Whitney walks over to my car and silently slips into my car. "Are you okay?"

She faces me with watery eyes. "Can you come in when we get to my house?"

This is very unusual for Whitney. "Did something happen? Daniel didn't break up with you or anything right?"

She sniffles a bit. "No. We just need to talk."

"Tell me now." I beg. "You are worrying me."

She sighs. "It can wait until we get to my house. I would rather you not be driving when we talk."

"Is, is it about Layla?" By her staying silent, I have my answer. My knuckles start to turn white as I grip my steering wheel tightly. I drive faster than the speed limit needing to know what is wrong.

I park my car in Whitney's drive way and follow her to her room. She throws her purse down and closes her bedroom door before sitting on her bed.

"What happened?" I ask impatiently.

Whitney takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. "So, you know how Summer, Winter and I were supposed to work with Layla during are second off period?" I nod my head. "Well, I told Layla that she needed to change into one of the uniforms so that I could assess her better compared to the baggy clothes she normally wears."

"She didn't want to do the routine and she kept refusing to change clothes. After begging her and trying to persuade her for about thirty minutes she said that if I didn't force her to change clothes that she would attempt the routine and give her schedule another day before having it fixed." Whitney gives me a sad smile. "I told her okay thinking that it was win-win. I would be able to see if she could even do the routine and for at least one more day she would still have the schedule we made for her."

"So, then what's the problem?"

Whitney looks at me worriedly and gulps. "The problem is when she did the routine. First, let me say she did awesome. The way she picked up on each routine and executed it perfectly, she was meant to be a cheerleader. If I had to guess, she's probably taken gymnastic when she was younger."

"So, you're worried she going to be the best on the team?" I question being unable to understand what was wrong.

She rolls her eyes at me. "No, Stupid. The problem is when she was doing one of the flips her hoodie and shirt raised up showing her stomach and back. The bruise on her face isn't the only one. Her stomach was purple and yellow." Whitney starts crying. "She had marks on her back too. I couldn't tell if they were cuts or what, but she freaked out on us when she realizes we saw them. I-I think someone is hurting her, Kaleb."

I can't help but to start crying too. "I was afraid of that. I've notice that she finches a lot when someone touches her or she too scared when someone comes up behind her."

"What are we going to do, Kaleb? Who do you think is hurting her?"

I think back to earlier when she was asleep, and I saw the mark on her neck. "I don't know yet. Did you see a mark on her neck by chance?"

"No. Why?"

"When she was sleeping in my car earlier, she turned, and I saw a mark on her neck. It almost look like someone had wrapped their hands around her neck , but it was hard to tell. The only way for me to get a good look would have been for me to wake her up, but then she would have refused to show me."

"Who would do this to her? How are we supposed to help her? Do you think it could be her parents, do you? What if her own home isn't safe?" Whitney says freaking out. "This is why she doesn't have friends. She doesn't want anyone knowing what happening to her. She's going to keep pushing us away, isn't she Kaleb? Do you think she's afraid that we are going to hurt her?" She gasps.   I had never thought about her being afraid of us. Could she be afraid that we are going to hurt her?

I place my hands on Whitney's shoulders. "Calm down. We figure out away to help her, but first we have to figure out what is really going on. It may or may not be her parents, but we don't need to go jumping to conclusions."

Whitney takes several deep breaths calming herself down. "You're going to pick me up again tomorrow morning, right? I don't want her walking to school."

"I'll be here, and I won't be late this time. See ya tomorrow." By the time I get back into my car it's already dark outside. It felt like I was only at my cousin house for a few minutes, but I somehow ended up spending three hours there. I need to get home, or my mom is going to be freaking out, but something in me is telling me to drive by Layla's house.

The drive to Layla's house seems long. Through the windows I can see all the lights on in Layla's house. I stop my car in front of her house, but I don't get out. Through a window that I am assuming is the living room I can see several guys drinking and watching tv. They're loud and I can hear them hoot and holler from my car. I was hoping to get a glimpse of Layla, but I don't see her. I wanted to make sure she made it home okay.

I should have asked her for her phone number, but when I think about it, I've never seen her with a phone.  She probably doesn't have one and that's even worst. How is she supposed to call for help if she needs it? I try to push the thought out of my head for now. I will figure out a way to get her a phone if she doesn't have one.

As I drive off, I pass by a small worn-down park. I don't think much of it until I see someone sitting on one of the old swings. I would have kept driving except something catches my eye. A back pack. To be more specific Layla's backpack. Because of how dark it is and because the person sitting on the swing is wearing dark clothing, I can't tell who it is. If it's Layla, it's not safe for her to be alone here, but I'm also a little worried that someone could have stolen her backpack on her walk home from school. This isn't a safe neighborhood, and I wouldn't normally get out of my car alone after dark here, but I need to know if it's Layla or not.

I get out of my car locking the door behind me. Silently I walk towards the swing set. From where I stand, I can hear the person crying. It's Layla. I cautiously make my way over to her not wanting to frighten her. "Layla?" She doesn't answer me as she continues to cry. I don't know if she is ignoring me or if she's so upset that she has shut the world out. I bend down to make myself level with her. "Layla? Are you okay? It's me, Kaleb."

She looks up and I can't help the gasp the escape my lips. Her left is eye is black and swollen shut. Their a red hand print going across her right cheek which will probably leave a bruise to match the one that she already had on the other check. She also has busted lip and blood dripping from her nose. Someone beat the hell out of her. "Layla, we need to get you home."

She starts shaking in fear. "N-No." She stutters. "I'm s-staying h-here."

"Layla, you can't stay here. It's not safe."

"P-please don't m-make me go h-home." She begs. My heart breaks for her. Why would someone do this to her? "I s-stay here a lot." She can't be serious. This is where she runs off to? Does she stay out her alone all night?

"Come on, Layla. You can't stay here. It's not safe."

"No." She cries. "It's safer here."

I grab her arm gently and pull her into a hug. "It's not safe here. I'm taking you to my house."

She continues to allow me to hug. "I can't." She whispers.

"Haven't you learned yet? I won't take no for an answer. You're coming home with me. I refuse to let you stay alone here." I still haven't release her from my embrace.

Instead of fighting me about it, she hugs me back. "T-Thank you." She whispers so softly that I almost thought I was hearing things. I start to usher her back to my car, but her leg must be hurt too because she is limping. Not waingnt her to be in more pain than she already is in, I gently pick her up bridal style and carry her to my car. I'm surprise when she tries to press herself closer to me.

I unlock my doors and tenderly place her in the passenger seat before running over to my side of the car and hopping in. I look at the time on the radio and I know my mom is going to be piss with how late I am getting home. However, once she sees Layla, she will understand why I am late. I was going to ask Layla what happened to her tonight, but I hear her snoring softly. I guess between whoever beat her up and all the crying she fell asleep from exhaustion. I just need to get her home and make sure she's okay. If anything, we can talk about what happened to her in the morning. And no matter how hard she might try she's not getting out of that conversation.