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But I never treasure them the way I treasure the books, and she can see that. My parents always read to me from a young age, and when I could read on my own we’d take turns, a chapter at a time, as we worked our way through their favorite stories. Even living on the streets, I procured a library card with a fake address so I could keep reading. It was the only thing that kept me sane, aside from my found street family.
And so the year passes quickly. The day I pass the final test for my GED, Roxanne makes a phone call and books our flights to Tennessee. Even though I beg her, she never allows me to go back to North Hollywood to say goodbye to my friends. Gently, she reminds me they never visited me in the hospital, and it was probably best to just close that chapter of my life completely.
We pack up our cozy apartment, and Roxanne leaves the day before my flight so she can get the house ready for my arrival, whatever that means. Dr. Rosen comes to spend the night with me and see me off, although she won’t be flying with me, either. Apparently, she has more work to do in LA.
Finally, there’s nothing left to do but board the plane and wait out the flight to my new life in Smoky Falls, Tennessee.
* * *
Layla
* * *
The crunch of gravel is barely audible from my buttery leather seat. I huddle in the back of the SUV as it winds through the dark, encroaching forest. It’s only three pm LA time, but it’s long past sunset here in the Appalachian mountains.
The driver hasn’t said a word to me since we climbed inside, and we’ve been driving for nearly two hours now. As it turns out, Tennessee isn’t as full of cornfields as I’d imagined. It’s mostly a forest, deciduous rainforest in fact. Something within me is ecstatic about the idea of exploring the woods—growing up in LA, all I’d known was dry desert air, smog, and the occasional ocean breeze when we visited the beach. I imagine the damp, earthy scent under the canopy of green; light filtering through wet leaves, dripping rain hitting the rotting vegetation below. The idea of running free through the woods is a siren song I’m eager to chase.
I twirl a lock of wild dark hair around my finger and chomp the gum in my mouth, trying not to let the nerves eat me alive while we crawl along to my new home in Smoky Falls, Tennessee.
In my mind, my uncle is a dark shadowy figure, like the beast in his castle. Apparently, he is the mayor of Smoky Falls, so he has to remain in town to run things. In the last year, we haven’t even talked on video chat; I occasionally get one short, growly phone call to update him on my progress. Roxanne always makes apologies he’s busy. For the long-lost niece he was so happy to discover, it certainly feels like I can’t matter that much to him if I barely merit a five-minute phone call.
Now, of course, I’m finally about to meet the legend himself. My chauffeur-driven SUV is cruising through the dense forest of the Smoky Mountains. Even after all this time, I miss Derrek and my friends. My street family. I know Derrek found me after the attack and called the ambulance, and I never got to thank him.
Roxanne always forbade going back to West Hollywood, and I knew this was too good a deal to screw up—running away, even for a few hours, was not an option. My uncle offered me a lifeline to get off the streets and have a better life, and I took it. So even though that regret still lives in my chest, there is no looking back.
I rub my forearms subconsciously. The deep cuts have long since healed, and the scars have faded, but they still itch sometimes. Dr. Rosen assures me it’s a psychological response, not a physical one, but even so, I swear I feel something from time to time, like nails raking over my skin, and it sends shivers down my spine. I only have flashes of memory from that night, no real detail to haunt my dreams, and for that I’m grateful.
Pulling the sleeves of my oversized sweater down to completely envelop my hands, I think about what Roxanne told me. From what she says, I get the impression my uncle has a big house, but both she and Dr. Rosen have been incredibly vague whenever I ask questions about anything related to Smoky Falls. At first, their tight-lipped tendencies pissed me off, and I refused to do my physical therapy and school work until they told me more. I felt like they owed me answers.
But somehow Roxanne talked me into it. She promised that once I got through the time in LA, I’d find out everything I wanted to know. So now it’s time for her to pay up. I graduated from physical therapy and got my GED, and I’m even enrolled at the Smoky Falls University starting Monday. It’s a little nerve-wracking to know I’ll be in college classes when I haven’t been inside a classroom since I was a freshman in high school, but after the last year of hard work I should at least have enough education for a community college.
I’m desperate to find out more about my uncle, not to mention my mother and father. All I know is that they left Smoky Falls when they were still young and never contacted their families again. No one even knew I existed until the story of an unknown girl getting attacked made national news. It turns out my legal name is Lilliana Harridan, although my parents always called me Layla Harris. With so many mysteries and so few answers, I can’t wait to reach my uncle’s house and start diving into my family's history.
As we pass a painted wooden sign that read ‘Welcome to Smoky Falls’, an electric thrill runs through my body—this is it! The new life I’ve been working toward for over a year. The fresh start Roxanne promised is waiting for me. My things from the apartment had been packed up and shipped before we left, and all that’s left in LA now are memories.
Tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday. I check my Apple watch—another gift from Roxanne—and it’s nearly seven now. In just a few short hours, I will be an adult, free to do whatever I want without the threat of foster care to keep me in line.
But I have no money, nowhere to go, and an uncle that will foot the bill for a college degree—why not take advantage? I can set myself up for whatever life I want, live here rent-free, and make my way back to LA or wherever the wind takes me once I’m done.
I peer through the windshield when I notice light up ahead; two lamp posts flank the entrance, complete with an ornate wrought-iron gate and a guardhouse. The uniformed guard steps out and verifies the driver’s ID before hitting a switch that opens the gate, and our SUV rumbles quietly ahead.
Another electric wave runs through my body, setting the hairs on my arms standing at attention as we pass through the threshold. This is a heck of a lot of security—my uncle has to be seriously loaded. Unless this is all just the trappings of being mayor? I know Roxanne says he’s rich, but she would never get into details. I wonder if he owns a fleet of fancy sports cars? A jet? A helicopter? A villa in the south of France?
We turn another corner, and there’s once again light ahead. I can make out a massive stone house with warm glowing lamps decorating the castle-like exterior. As we draw closer, I spot a small group of people standing outside, waiting for our arrival.
My heart rate rises to double time. I wish once again that Roxanne had flown with me instead of a day earlier. It would be nice to arrive with her in the car; even though I know she is waiting for me there on the steps, it feels like I am suddenly facing the unknown completely alone.
And just like that, the SUV crawls to a stop directly in front of the grand entrance. My heart absolutely pounds in my chest as I watch Roxanne step forward to open the door.
“Welcome to Smoky Falls, Layla.”
ChapterTwo
Layla
* * *
The lights are glaring as I step out of the dark SUV, and the air is cool and damp, just as I’d imagined it. A few people wait by the door, some of them wearing uniforms, and the man I can only assume is my mysterious uncle.
