“What are you guys doing?!?” Mom asked angrily.
“Oh my gosh mom, why are you guys back so early?” Kayden mumbled.
“It’s 11 o’clock!” Mom barked.
Sarah woke up.
“Hi, Mrs. Hansen. I’m Sarah, Kayden’s girlfriend, and I just came over to grab my wetsuit that I left over here, but then Kayden asked me if I wanted to watch a movie. I thought you knew about me being over here.” Sarah lied.
“Oh, I don’t mind you being over here. I just wanted Kayden to tell me so at least the house could’ve been clean.” Mom laughed.
“Oh I honestly don’t mind it at all.” Sarah admitted.
“Do you need a ride home?” Mom asked.
“No thanks, I have my car here.” Sarah said.
“Okay, well you are welcome anytime. Have a good night.” Mom said as Kayden got up and walked Sarah out.
“Well that was weird.” Kayden giggled.
“I know right. But I thought it was fun. Don’t you? Sarah asked.
“Yeah.” Kayden said as he opened Sarah’s car door for her.
“Let’s do something tomorrow, yeah?” Sarah asked as she got in her car.
“Okay, is tomorrow Saturday?” Kayden asked.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, well text me and we will figure it out, okay?” Kayden answered.
Sarah nodded.
They said their goodbyes and Sarah returned home.
Kayden ran back inside to find that his mom was sitting on the couch glaring at him.
“You know better than that. Might as well just tell me when your girlfriend is coming over.” Mom said.
“I know. I know.” Kayden admitted.
“I will talk to your father on what your punishment is, but for now you are grounded.” Mom sighed.
“But me and Sarah were gonna go on a date tomorrow.”
“Well you better cancel it because when you make a bad decision, well, their are consequences.”
“But mom!” complained Kayden.
“YOU’RE GROUNDED, PERIOD! Now go to bed.” Mom said angrily.
Kayden ran up the stairs and slammed his door.
“That was cruel, mom.” Alana said shaking her head as she ran up the stairs.
“Okay. Now I’m the bad guy. Wow,” Mom said in her head.

The next morning, mom and dad are doing their usual thing. Mom is making breakfast and Dad is filing papers for his next attorney case. Kayden comes down the stairs all sleepy headed and sits down at the dining room table. Mom serves him his plate of pancakes and bacon drowned in syrup.
“Hey mom, can Sarah come over today?” Kayden asks.
Mom sighs as she looks over to dad.
“You know you’re grounded. So why do you even ask?” Mom laughs.
“I don’t know, maybe you forgot about it.”
“I mean maybe if you do all of your chores and things.” Mom admits.
“Okay, will do,” Kayden says.
“Maybe me and dad can go on a date tonight, while you, Alana and Sarah stay here and watch movies.” Mom says excitedly while looking over at Dad.
“I don’t really wanna take care of Alana, again!”
“Well, you and Sarah can’t be here alone.” Mom says smirking.
“Why not?”
“You know why.”
“Okay so let me get this straight, if Alana stays here with me and Sarah tonight then, I can have Sarah over?”
“Correct,” Mom muttered.
“Okay, deal.” Kayden said as he shook Mom’s hand.

Kayden cleaned the whole house later on that day and Mom and Dad were getting ready to leave for their date.
“Okay, bye dad. Bye mom. Have a good date.” Alana said as she closed the front door right after the sunset.
Alana asked Kayden when Sarah was coming over and he said that she should be there any minute. Right then, Sarah’s car pulled up into the driveway.
“Hey dude,” Sarah said to Kayden.
“Hey Sare-bare,” Kayden answered.
Alana ran outside and greeted Sarah.
“So what movie are we gonna watch tonight?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t know. It’s all up to you.” Kayden said sincerely.
The three of them went inside and got cuddled up just as they heard a woman’s scream coming from Steve’s house.

The 3 of them ran over to the kitchen window where they could see Steve yelling at his wife in his living room.
“CALL THE POLICE NOW!” Kayden yelled to Sarah.
It was cold and musty outside and you could smell the salt from the ocean. The marine layer was starting to cave in on the pier. There were black cats running around all over the place, because it was a full moon. All you could hear was the screaming of Steve’s wife.
Kayden ran over Steve’s house to try and break them up. Kayden kicked Steve back and helped Laura, Steve’s wife, back on her feet.
Alana and Sarah were trying to call the police,but for some reason the phone line got disconnected.
“Call on your phone!” Alana said to Sarah.
“I don’t get service out here!” Sarah answered.
The neighbors started to wake up and walking over to see what was going on at Steve’s house. For some reason, all of the neighbors phones were disconnected.
Steve slapped his wife on her face and it was already bruising.
“What are you looking at?!” Steve yelled to the neighbors.
Steve sat down and started to cry. He looked around at all he had done.
“I really didn’t mean to hurt her.” Steve said weeping.
All of the sudden, police cars started to turn the corner of the street with the bright lights of red and blue. The sirens were so loud, it woke the whole town up.
Steve stood up and started to run towards the back of the pier. The policemen were chasing him. Steve stood at the end of the pier threatening the policemen he would jump off if they came a little closer. The policemen gave Steve a power talk saying that he had the rest of his life to live and he won’t want to give it all up. The policemen tried to get him to come off the ledge, instead Steve jumped into the ocean. 
The police started to walk back to the crowd of people on the pier.
“I’m afraid he has jumped.” One of the policemen said.
Everyone gasped.

The next morning everyone was scarred. It was Sunday now, and the police were doing an investigation in Steve’s house. Laura was taken in to be asked some questions. Sarah probably wouldn’t want to go back to their house, from all that happened. Everything was a nightmare, and I’m afraid to say, it was reality. Alana and Kayden’s parents won’t let them stay home alone anymore. Kayden and Sarah haven’t texted for days. From now on, Alana and Kayden would go to school together, and come straight home together. Kayden finally texted Sarah and he asked her if she was okay with all that happened. She said she was “fine”, but we all know what that really means.
That night, Mom and dad went to go get some Panda Express for dinner. They said they were only going to be about 20 minutes so they let Alana stay home and do their homework.
Alana and Kayden were sitting in the living room doing their homework when they heard a knock on their front door. They both thought it was Mom that forgot her phone or something, but it wasn’t. It was Steve. After all, he wasn’t dead. 

“Don’t panic… I just need to use your home phone.” Steve said.
“Alana, call the police!” Kayden yelled to Alana.
“No, please. Can I please just use your home phone?” pleaded Steve.
“Why should we let you use it?” Alana questioned Steve.
“Because I need to call my mother and ask her if I can stay with her for a few weeks because my house is being investigated and I don’t really wanna go to prison!” Steve said.
“Ummmmm okay, but only if you promise never to beat your wife again.” Kayden said.
“I didn’t even do that! I don’t even remember doing that!” Steve said angrily.
“Okay. Why don’t you remember?” Alana asked while handing him the home phone. “Now hurry because our parents are going to be home soon.”
Steve left and took the phone and called him mother. Alana and Kayden closed the front door and were very confused.
“What does he mean he doesn’t remember doing that to his wife?” Alana asked.
“To be honest, I have no idea.” Kayden answered.
Steve brought the phone back and said thanks.
“You think we should call the cops?” Kayden asked Alana.
“No, he said he didn’t wanna go to prison and I’m pretty sure he didn’t even do it. I mean think about it, if you beat your wife, wouldn’t you remember if you did it?” Alana said.
“Thats true. Now sshhhhh. Mom and dad are home.” Kayden said.
Mom and dad brought the Panda Express in and they ate as a family.

The next morning, Alana and Kayden did their normal routine for getting ready for school. Alana takes a shower and then goes into her room to get dressed. Right as you open the door, you see 2 very long mirrors. Then Alana’s record player is sitting on her dresser with the records stacked neatly beside it. All of her clean clothes are in her dresser folded nicely and all of her dirty clothes are in her hamper, in her closet. Alana’s bed is nicely made with her pink stuffed money on top of it. And her floor is so spick and span, that you could lick her hard wood floor and still not get ebola. They ate their breakfast and the Kayden drove them both to school. Once the bell rings for first period, they pretend like even know eachother. Alana has to go to cheer practice where she sees Sarah teaching the varsity team a new dance.
After cheer, Kayden picks Alana up at her normal spot and he sees Sarah. Kayden tells Alana to stay in the car. Kayden walks in front of her so that he knows she can see him. All of cheer is watching this romantic scene, even though its not that romantic. 
“What are you doing here?” Sarah asks.
“Coming to see my girlfriend, is that such a crime?” Kayden answers.
“No.”
“Okay then.”
“I’m in the middle of choreo, and-” Sarah gets interrupted by Kayden.
“Shhhhh…” he says.
“Kayden! I’m kind-of scared of all that has happened.” Sarah says.
“There is no need to be scared. Nothing will ever happen to you. Steve isn’t looking to kill you, he is looking to kill us and get me and Alana in trouble.” Kayden laughs.
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is?” Kayden asks.
“I don’t know.” Sarah says.
Kayden and Sarah realize that it’s time for Kayden to bring Alana home.
“Okay, well I have to go and bring Alana home.” Kayden says.
“Okay, bye.” Sarah says as she waves.
“Now stay focused cheerleaders, and learn your choreography.” Kayden stares blankly into Sarah’s eyes.
“Roger that,” Sarah says.
Kayden starts to walk back to his car.
“What was that about?” One of the cheerleaders asked.
“Honestly, it kinda complicated.” Sarah says.
Kayden gets back to his car to see Alana staring at him.
“I hope you know everyone was staring at you and Sarah.” Alana says.
“No way?!?!” Kayden says sarcastically.
“Whatever,” Alana says.



That Friday, Kayden texted Sarah and said that he really needed to talk to her and that it was very important. He suggested that they go on a date, to a restaurant, and they could talk about it there. Sarah said that she was free in the afternoon on Saturday. So they agreed on Saturday at noon.

It was Saturday and Kayden was driving to go pick up Sarah. He pulled up at her driveway.
“You ready Sarah?” Kayden said as he knocked on her front door.
“Yup, just about.” Sarah said.
Sarah came out wearing dark blue skinny jeans and and an elephant crop top. She wore gold sandals on her feet and had curled her brown-ish hair.
Kayden opened the car door for her.
“Wow. Thank you sir.” Sarah said laughing.
“My pleasure.”
They drove to the restaurant and sat down at a nice booth.
“So. How has your day been going?” Kayden asked.
“Good. What about you?”
“Pretty good.”
“So what did you want to talk to me about?” Sarah asked.
“So I know that we are going to college pretty soon and I really want to be with you a lot longer. But before we get into that stuff, what college were you thinking of attending?” Kayden asked politely.
“Well, I really like the UC Santa Cruz campus along with the SDSU campus.” Sarah said.
“Yeah, me too. I was thinking of the UCSC campus too.”
“It’s a really nice school.” Sarah said.
“So maybe we could go to school there together, if we get accepted.” Kayden suggested.
“But I mean it will be very awkward if we broke up and and we had the same classes and stuff.” Sarah said.
“Sarah, we are in high school not the 1st grade.” Kayden laughed.
“I know, but I’m just saying.”
“Why did you even bring say that in the first place? I mean, do you wanna break up?” Kayden asked.
“I don’t know. I think we should just take a break for a little while.”
“Wow. Haha I knew it.” Kayden said shaking his head.
Kayden got up from the table and put his napkin down.
“I’m gonna go blow off some steam. Do you mind paying for the lunch?”
“Why are you being so immature?” Sarah asked.
“Me? Immature? No way!” Kayden said and he left the restaurant.
Sarah paid the waitress and left.
“Oh wait, I don’t have a ride back.” Sarah said.
She took out her phone and called her mom.
“Hi mom, can you come pick me up?”
“Yes, where are you?”
“I’m by that TJ Maxx in the Malibu City Shopping Center.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in like 20 minutes.”
Sarah hung up the phone and suddenly just started crying. She regretted what she said to Kayden, because Kayden was so nice to her.
Her mom pulled up to where she was sitting and asked her what was wrong.
Sarah told her what had happened.
“I’m so sorry.” Sarah’s mom said to her.
“Me too,” Sarah said.
"Do you know why he broke up with you?"
"I said that we should take a break and then he got all butt hurt and then he just left the restaurant."
"Ohhhhh, well boys don't know the difference between taking a break and leaving eachother for good."
"Yeah, obviously."
"Well don't be sad. It will get better."
"Yeah, I know but he was just so nice to me and I loved him."
"Then why did you wanna take a break?"
"I don't really know what I was thinking when I said that."
"Then tell him that."
"I already tried calling him but he won't pick up."
"Then tell him in person."
"Mom, I don't even know where he is right now."
"Go tonight, at dinner time."
"He will probably still be mad and sad at me."
"Well of-course he gonna be mad, honey. You hurt his feelings."
"Ohhhhh so now I'm the bad guy."
"No, but you need to apologize."
"I am, but we might be broken up for good."
"Oh well."
"He said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me." Sarah said crying.
"Then you blew it, didn't you?"
"Mom, can you please be on my side?"
"I actually agree with Kayden on this one."
Sarah and her mom got back to there house and Sarah ran in and shut her room door. And that was the last of her.

On Monday, Sarah and Kayden didn't speak at all to each other. They were broken up for good. On the other hand, Alana was doing great. She got an A+ on her AP Human Geography test. Alana could tell that Kayden was depressed. She could tell that his heart was broken. He didn’t want to go surfing with Alana, he didn’t want to eat anything. He was so broken inside. After school, they both went home and Kayden went straight to his room and shut the door. Alana, on the other hand, was starving. So she went in the kitchen and stood at the refrigerator for 5 minutes, hoping some food would magically appear. She found some leftover Macaroni and Cheese. She heated it up in the microwave and went to her bedroom to do her homework. She heard Kayden’s music from her room. Kayden usually listens to rap; like Wiz Khalifa and Jay Z.
“Can you please turn that down?” Alana asked.
“No way, go do your homework.”
Alana slammed the door and walked back to her room, just as she heard a knock on the door.
“Malibu Police Department. Open up.” the voice said.
“Kayden, they’ve come for you!”
Kayden ran to go open the door. Alana followed.
“HI.” Kayden said.
“We are looking for Steve Hamber.”
“He’s not here.”
“We would like to search your house, if you don’t mind.” The officer said.
“Do you have a warrant?” Kayden asked.
“No,” the officer said.
“Well when you get one, then you can search my house.”
Kayden slammed the door on the officer’s face.
“Why didn’t you just let them search us?” Alana asked.
“Because, don’t you know, you’re never supposed to do that.” Kayden said.
“Says who?”
“Law and Order.”
They both went back to their rooms and did their homework.

Later that night, Kayden was in his room daydreaming about Sarah. He thought back to when him and Sarah were happy, when they were first together. He thought of when they both went to the Malibu Carnival together and they went on the carousel. He thought of how pretty she looked that day and how happy they were together. But now, he snapped back into reality. He realized that he could never be happy again. Sarah was the only thing he had ever wanted and now she was gone.
Alana went into Kayden’s room and asked what was going on. He said he was having flashbacks of when him and Sarah were a couple.
“Well, make her jealous. Show her that you can get any girl and that she wasn’t the only one to make you happy.” Alana said.
“But that’s mean.”
“Life’s mean.”
“Where did you learn to make people jealous?”
“Law and Order.” Alana laughed and left his room.
“Thanks!” Kayden shouted from his room.
“Anytime,” Alana shouted back.

The next day at school, Kayden did exactly what Alana told him to do. Everywhere that Sarah was, Kayden was, but with another girl. Sarah was getting frustrated. She didn’t like that Kayden was doing this to her, so she decided to play the game too. Everywhere Kayden was with his girl, Sarah went too, but with her boy. Kayden caught them kissing and told Sarah that it was very immature of them to do that.
“You’re the one who started it, with that girl, Whitney.” Sarah said.
“Yeah, but we weren’t kissing like you guys were.”
“So what. Were you trying to make me jealous or something?” Sarah asked.
“No,” Kayden hesitated.
“Okay then.” Sarah said.
“Actually…” Kayden continued.
Sarah waited for him to say something.
“Alana told me to do it.”
“Oh so now you are blaming it on Alana?” Sarah laughed shaking her head.
“No but, it is the truth. She told me to do it.”
“Okay, okay,” Sarah said laughing. “Hey I wanted to tell you something.”
“Yesssss???” Kayden asked mysteriously.
“Ummmmm, I wanted to say I’m sorry for what I said at the restaurant.”
“Oh, its okay.” Kayden said. “I understood from where you were coming from. I was going way too fast and you were at a steady pace.”
“Yeah. I’m honestly really sorry.” Sarah said. She didn’t want to tell Kayden that she went home and started bawling her eyes out.
“It’s honestly okay. But can we just be friends? Please?” Kayden asked. He didn’t want to tell Sarah that he went home and bawled his eyes out as well.
“Of-course.” Sarah said sincerely.
“I just really didn’t want to be like those couples that are like really awkward. Ya know?” Kayden asked.
“Yeah, same here.”
Kayden held out his arms. “Let’s just hug and put it behind us, yeah?”
Sarah went in and wrapped her arms around him.
Sarah secretly missed these tight, warm hugs. And so did Kayden.
For just one last time, Kayden grabbed her head and kissed her forehead.
“That was for the best times of my life. Thank you for that.” Kayden smiled.
Sarah went on her tip-toes and reached for his lips. She gave him a passionate kiss.
“And that was for good luck in the future.” She said and the bell rang.

It was Saturday now and Alana and Kayden planned to go parasailing on their friends boat. They got dressed and headed down to the beach. It was crowded with a bunch of tourists because it was spring break for most schools except for of-course Malibu High. They don’t have a spring break. They just have a really long winter break, instead.
Anyways, they both tried to find their friends boat that was supposed to be docked up at the pier. They found his boat. It was called Cinderella. So they went on their little adventure and they came back. Mom and Dad had just got back from their meeting.
“So how was your day on the water?” Mom asked.
“Oh my gosh. So much fun!” Alana said.
“Oh good!” Mom said.
“So me and Dad have to do some shopping at Target. We will only be a couple of minutes, okay?”
“Ohhhh I need some stuff from Target! Can I go?” Alana asked.
“Me too!?” Kayden asked.
“No, me and your dad need some private time, okay?” Mom said.
“But you guys spend every second of the day together.” Alana admitted.
“The final answer is no, okay.” Mom said.
They left and now it was just Alana and Kayden, until they hear a knock on the door.
It felt like they were having deja-vu. But Kayden answered the door anyway. It was Steve. He was back.
“What are you doing here? Again? We could get into trouble.” Kayden whispered.
“I just need to use your phone one more time. And I will be out of your life forever.”
“One more time! And that’s all!” Kayden said furiously.
He handed Steve the phone. Steve made a quick phone call and he was gone.
“I think we should call the police.” Kayden said to Alana.
“Why?” asked Alana.
“Because if he is wanted, it is obviously because he committed a crime and he is dangerous.”
“That’s true.”
“But I feel bad because he is a nice guy and I could never believe he did that to his wife. He loved her with all his heart.” Kayden said.
“Oh well. You gotta do what you gotta do.” Alana said handing him the phone.
Kayden dialed 9-1-1, but the line was busy. He dialed and dialed, but something must have been wrong with the phone.
“It was working perfectly a second ago. Why isn’t it working now?” Kayden wondered.
He went to go check the phone box and something was unplugged.
“That’s the problem.” Kayden thought as he plugged it back in.
He wondered if Steve unplugged it, or if it was unplugged already when Steve used it.
So he quickly dialed 9-1-1 and a monitor quickly answered the phone.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” The monitor asked.
“Hi, umm a guy that is wanted by the police just came by my house.”
“Okay, what’s your address?”
“4716 Pier Drive.”
“Okay a police car is on their way right now.”
“Okay thanks.” Kayden said and he hung up the phone.

The police came knocking on the door to Kayden’s house.
“May we come in?” Officer Karnilla asked.
“Uhhh sure, I guess,” Kayden hesitated.
The officers sat down at the kitchen table.
“So who did you see?” Karnilla asked.
“Steve Hamber. The guy that is wanted.” Kayden said.
“Ohhh okay. When?”
“Like 15 minutes ago.’
“And uhhh did he seem weird or dangerous in any way?”
“No, not at all. He just wanted to use my phone.” Kayden said.
“Oh, we are gonna need to see that.” Karnilla said excitedly.
“Why?” Kayden asked.
“Because it is part of an investigation! Now give it to us!” Karnilla yelled.
“Okay gosh,” Kayden handed them the phone.
The officer started scanning through the call list of the phone and started writing the phone numbers down.
When they were done they asked if they could take the phone back to the police station to do some DNA tests.
Kayden said yes only because he wanted the officers to get out of his house before his mom got home.
“Okay that’s all we need. Thank you for your time.”
“Mmm Hmm,” Kayden said and closed the front door for them.
As the police car was leaving, Mom’s car was pulling up.
“What were the police doing here?” Mom asked as she walked into the house.
“Oh, they just wanted to talk to me about Steve.” Kayden said.
“Oh really. What did they ask you?” Mom asked.
“Just like stuff.” Kayden didn’t want to admit that Steve came over to use the home phone.
“Okay, well. Where is Alana?” Mom asked.
“She is upstairs, in her room.”
Mom and Dad both went up stairs to find Alana. She was already asleep.
“Must’ve been tired.” Mom said to Dad as they left the room and turned off the lights.
“Okay well, I’m gonna go to bed.” Kayden said.
“Alright well goodnight, see you in the morning.” Mom said to Kayden.

The next morning everyone got up bright and early to clean the house because company was coming over. Mom was making the food. Dad was doing the yardwork. Alana was sweeping and vacuuming and Kayden was fixing the couch and doing the dishes. Everyone had to be doing something, or else Mom gets really scary.
Mom had a book club meeting and the house has to be SPOTLESS. Everyone starts to come over at 2:00, so thats why you got to have an early start. Mom usually makes mini grilled cheese, fruit kabobs and mini turkey sandwiches. And then for dessert, creampuffs. Everyone loves Mom’s cooking.
Its was about 1:00 now and everyone was starting to take showers and get ready for this book club. Alana and Kayden never understood why they had to attend the book club meeting, but they just don’t want to argue with Mom.
Everybody was dressed and looked presentable and they waited downstairs for everyone to show up. Alana was wearing a dress that was yellow and had sunflowers on it. Kayden was wearing a maroon button-up with dark jeans and Vans. Dad was wearing a flannel and black pants. And finally, Mom was wearing some caches with a black ruffled shirt.
“Is this too fancy?” Mom said running down the stairs.
“No,” Alana said.
“Are you sure?” Mom asked.
“Yes, we are sure, mom.” Kayden said.
“Okay, just checking. No need to be mean.” Mom said.
“We aren’t, but you’re just being like a diva right now.” Kayden said.
“Okay, yeah obviously.” Mom said sarcastically shaking her head.
There was finally a knock on the door and Mom went to go answer it. It was Suzanne.
“Hi! Welcome to my home. I hope you didn’t have any trouble finding my house.” Mom said.
“Oh no no no… It was no problem.” Suzanne said.
“Okay good. Let me introduce you to my kids.” Mom said.
“Oh yes! I have been dying to meet them.” Suzanne said.
They walked over to the living room where Alana, Kayden and Dad were sitting.
“This is Alana.” Mom said as Alana got up to shake Suzanne’s hand.
“Such a beautiful young lady.” Suzanne said smiling at Alana.
“This is Kayden.” Mom said as Kayden waved at Suzanne.
“Kayden!” Mom snapped at him to get up and shake her hand.
Kayden got up and shook Suzanne’s hand.
“So very handsome and tall.” Suzanne said.
“And this is my husband, Rob.” Mom said.
“Pleasure to meet you.” Dad said.
“Oh, the pleasure’s all mine.” Suzanne laughed.
“And everyone, this is Suzanne. My dearest friend and member of the book club.” Mom introduced Suzanne to the kids and Dad.
“Hi everyone, I’m so glad to be able to finally meet you guys and finally be able to see the new remodel of your house!” Suzanne said.
“So food is over there, and I’m going to go greet other people. So make yourself at home.” Mom said.
“Well thank you.” Suzanne said and walked off in the direction of the food.
“Kayden! You are making me look bad in front of my friends.” Mom said.
“Oh my gosh, mom. You are crazy.” Kayden laughed.
“You better be nice or else…” Mom said as the knock on the door interrupted her.
Mom walked over and opened the door.
“Hi Angelina! Welcome!” Mom said.
“Hi! Thank you!” Angelina said.
Right as you walk into the house, you smell fresh roses that have just been picked from the garden. It looks very vintage and beachy. And you can hear the Michael Buble album in the background. You can taste Mom’s perfume; it’s pretty bitter.
So then Mom introduced Angelina to Kayden, Alana and Rob. Only this time, Kayden was a good boy. Mom repeated this about 8 times before no-one else was coming.
“These grilled cheeses are delicious.” Margaret said.
Everyone agreed.
“Thank you! I made them myself.” Mom said.
“But of-course with the help of your lovely children right?” Angelina asked.
“Nope. They were all of doing their own things.” Mom laughed.
“Kids… you gotta help your mother out a time or two, right?” Darla said.
“We did! Me and Kayden like cleaned the whole house!” Alana said.
“Kayden and I.” Darla corrected them.
Alana laughed but she hates it when people do that to her.
“See you gotta give some credit to the kids, right?” Martha said to Mom.
“Yes, I see what you mean.” Mom said back.
So they finished eating their food and then they got right back to their book they we reading, “Pride and Prejudice.
“So how did y’all like this book?” Angelina asked.
“In the beginning, I thought it got off to a really slow start, but then towards the end I thought it was wonderful.” Mom said.
Everyone agreed. 
“What did you think of it, kids?” Mom asked.
“Ummm honestly, I’m not really of a book person, so I thought it was boring.” Alana said.
“Yeah, same.” Kayden said.
“Well thats too bad.” Martha said.
“So, what book should we read next?” Mom asked.
“I’m kinda diggin’ ‘The Fault in Our Stars’.” Alana said.
“Noo. That’s way too sad.” Mom said.
“What about ‘Forrest Gump’?” Angelina suggested.
Everyone agreed to that book.
So everyone continued eating and some people left. Finally, Angelina was the last person there.
“Okay, well I think I gotta go and get home to the kids.” Angelina said.
“Okay well thank you for coming!” Mom said as she gave Angelina a hug.
“Yeah thanks for coming.” Alana said.
Kayden nodded his head as he agreed with Alana.
“Bye,” Angelina said.
Angelina went out the door.
“Oh… Finally everyone is gone.” Kayden said.
“I know right,” Alana laughed
“Be nice. We are very fortunate to have guests over.” Mom said.
“Oh, so you can have a party. And I can’t?” Kayden asked.
“First of all this wasn’t a party, this was a gathering.”
Mom said.
There was a knock on the door.
“Maybe someone forgot something here.” Mom said. “Will you get the door please Kayden?”
Kayden ran over to the door and opened it. It was Steve… AGAIN.

“Dude, what are you doing here?” Kayden asked.
Mom suddenly realized who it was and called the police.
“I just need to talk to your parent.” Steve said.
“No, you don’t. And don’t ever come back here.” Kayden said.
“The police car rolled up into their driveway.
“Steve Hamber… You are under arrest for the beating of your wife.” The policeman said and he put him in handcuffs.
The police stuffed him in there tiny car and they brought Steve to the police station.
“I feel so bad for him…” Alana said.
“Don’t feel bad. He did a bad thing, so he has to pay the consequences.” Mom said.
“Yeah, but. I don’t know. I guess you’re right, Mom.”
Alana said.
“Oh, I’m always right, honey…” Mom laughed.
“Ohhh, sure,” Alana said sarcastically.

So, the next day, the whole family went to church, like they usually do. They love to go to church and worship the Lord.
After church, they usually go to “Souplantation”. Alana and Kayden claim it’s their favorite restaurant, even though it’s not really a restaurant, it is a buffet.
After that, they go home and relax for a little bit and then do their homework.
Alana goes to her room and puts on her favorite record. Taylor Swift, 1989. Everyone jams out to that record.
Kayden is in his room, playing darts and studying for his human geography test.
Mom and dad are in the living room baking brownies.
So to make a long story short, they just like to chill on Sunday’s and watch some football. Mom and Dad are die-hard fans of the San Diego Chargers. Mom posts on Facebook:

Chillin’ with the fam bam watching the Super Charger’s game. Let’s go!! #boltup

“Mom, can you just not use hashtags? Please?” Alana asked.
“What? I thought I was cool when I used those.” Mom said.
“Noo! You aren’t cool.” Alana said trying to be nice.
“Do I embarrass you?” Mom asked.
“Noooooooo,” Alana said sarcastically.
“Alana be nice to your mother.” Dad said.
“Since when do you care about that?” Alana asked her dad.
“ALANA! That’s enough!” Mom shouted.
“Oh my gosh… Okay.” Alana said shaking her head. She ran up the stairs and slammed the door.
“What happened?” Kayden asked as he went into Alana’s room.
“Nothing. I just told mom to stop using hashtags.” Alana laughed.
“Oh...I know. That gets really annoying. And it’s really embarrassing.” Kayden laughed.
“I know right. And then Dad decided to talk for once. And it just really bothered me.” Alana laughed.
“Yeah, I get you.” Kayden said.
“So what’s up with you and Sarah? I saw you guys like making out.” Alana said.
“I don’t really know. She’s kinda confusing.” Kayden said.
“Well, girls are confusing, in general.” Alana said.
“True, true.” Kayden admitted.
“I smell brownies.” Alana said.
“Same.” Kayden agreed.
“Race you?” Alana asked.
“Okay. Go!” Kayden jumped off the bed and raced Alana down the stairs.
Alana and Kayden are very competitive with each other.
Their hands were digging around for a good brownie.
“We haven’t caught any waves lately.” Alana said.
“I know right. Let’s go?” Kayden asked.
“When?”
“Right now.” Kayden said.
“Yeah? For real?” Alana asked.
“Yes. For sure.” Kayden laughed.
“Okay.” Alana said.
So Alana and Kayden both ran up the stairs and jumped into their wetsuits. Alana put her leash and her board into her boardbag. She put her hair into a bun and went into the bathroom to put some sunscreen on her face. Kayden was doing the same thing.
“Okay. Me and Kayden are going to the beach.” Alana said.
“Who?” Mom asked.
“Kayden and I.” Alana corrected herself.
“Well, while you are there, think about how you acted today. And then come back with a fresh new attitude. Okay?” Mom said.
“Hmmmm mmmm.” Alana rolled her eyes.
“Kayden let’s go!” Alana shouted up to him.
“Okay, hold on.” Kayden shouted back.
Alana held on and Kayden came running down the stairs.
“Ready?” Alana asked.
“Yup.” Kayden said as they walked out the front door.
Alana and Kayden both started walking towards the end of the pier when a car pulled up to them.
"GET IN THE CAR!" The stranger yelled at them.
"Wait, what?" Kayden asked as he shooed Alana away to get behind him.
"I said get in the car!" The stranger said again.
"Wait why?" Kayden laughed.
"BECAUSE I SAID SO!" The stranger yelled.
"No way!" Alana yelled back. "My mom told me never to get in a car with strangers!"
"True. But if you want to live, come with me." The stranger said.
"Where do you want us to put our boards?" Kayden asked.
"Shove em in the trunk! Let's go!" The stranger said.
Alana and Kayden did what the stranger told them to do. And they both got into the back of the Honda Civic and the driver stepped on the gas pedal.
"Where are you taking us?" Kayden asked.
There was a dead silence.
"Hello?" Kayden asked if anyone was there.
"Can you please answer me?" Kayden asked.
"JUST SHUT UP!" The driver yelled.
"Oh my gosh." Kayden whispered to Alana.
Alana nodded her head and rolled her eyes.
The car pulled up into a building's parking lot that was completely deserted.
Alana and Kayden opened the door and got out of the car. They stood there very silently.
"Come here." The stranger said.
Alana and Kayden held hand and hand and walked towards the door that the stranger held open.
"The reason why you guys are here is because Steve was going to come to your guys' house and kill your mother." The stranger said.
Alana and Kayden gasped.
"Can we at least know your name?" Kayden asked.
"Uhhhh, yes my name is Ryan." Ryan said.
"And how do you know us?" Alana asked.
"I'm an old friend of your mom. She had asked me to take you guys to a safe place." Ryan said.
"Oh okay. So what is going to happen to our mom?" Alana asked.
"Well, she is finding her own covering." Ryan said.
"And how do you know that Steve was going to come and kill her? And why?" Kayden asked.
"It's kind of a long story. I'd rather not tell you right now." Ryan said.
"Okay, fair enough." Alana said.
"There is a bed here for you guys to sleep and there is a fridge here. We might be here for a while so make yourselves at home." Ryan said.
"Okay sounds good." Kayden said as Alana and Kayden both climbed onto the air mattress and fell asleep.

The next morning, Kayden got up to go call his mom on Ryan’s phone.
“675 555 4135,” Kayden remembered in his head.
It rang and rang and still no answer.
He was starting to panic.
He walked over to Ryan and said that his mom wasn’t answering the phone.
“She probably won’t answer the phone because she is in the midst of hiding for her life.” Ryan said.
“What about my dad? Where is he?” Kayden asked.
“Uhhh I don’t know. He is probably with your mother.” Ryan admits.
Ryan has shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes. He is an ex MMA fighter and is currently working at Home Depot. He drives a navy blue Chevy truck with ghost flames on the sides. Ryan likes to go to the gym, on his freetime. So to make a long story short, Ryan knows how to defend himself. After all, his biggest dream in life is to be a bodyguard for the celebrities.
“Wait. I have a question.” Alana said.
“Okay. Shoot.” Ryan answered.
“How did Steve get out of the jail?” Alana asked.
“Well, he had escaped.” Ryan said.
“Are you serious?” Kayden asked.
“Yup. Either that, or they let him out.” Ryan admitted.
“I only know this because there was a rumour going around that he had escaped. But I just don’t believe that.” Ryan admitted.
“Yeah, our police are pretty good.” Alana said.
“Yeah. So umm when do we get to leave this place and go to school.” Kayden asked.
“All schools are closed down for now because of the loose suspect, but hopefully soon we will get out of here.” Ryan said.
“Okay, so what are we supposed to do all this time.” Alana asked. “Like it is not like there is a ton of stuff to do here.”
“Well read a book.” Ryan said.
“There are no books here.” Alana frowned.
“Well then… I don’t know what to tell you. Use your imagination.” Ryan laughed.
“Well what are you going to do?” asked Alana.
“Run some errands.” Ryan said.
“Can we go?” begged Alana.
“No way!” Ryan said. “You guys can’t go outside of this place.”
“So we are stuck here with nothing to do…” Kayden said.
“I’m afraid so, but I will get some games when I go out.” Ryan said.
“Can you get a trampoline, by any chance?” Alana asked.
“If they are on sale, maybe.” Ryan laughed.
They all scanned the room thinking that this room was big enough to hold a trampoline.
Ryan put his black leather jacket on and said that he was leaving.
“Okay I will be back in no time. If someone knocks on the door, don’t answer it. Here is a phone for emergencies ONLY.” Ryan said handing them the phone.
“K,” Alana said. “Bye.”
Ryan unlocked the door and left.
“I wonder if we should actually trust this guy.” Alana said.
“Yeah, I know right.” Kayden admitted.
“I mean I trust him and all, but I don’t know if he is a kidnapper or actually trying to save us.”
“Same. Yeah.” Kayden said sadly.
“I miss mom. I really hope she’s okay.” Alana said.
“Yeah, me too. But she is a strong person. She can fight for herself.” Kayden whispered.
“So… What do you wanna do?” Alana asked.
“Ha! What is there to do?” Kayden laughed.
“We could play rock, paper, scissors.” Alana laughed.
“Okay.”
Alana and Kayden played rock, paper, scissors probably 100 times before they fell asleep. Then they were woken up by the knock on the front door.
“It’s probably Ryan.” Kayden got up and went to open the door, but Alana stopped him.
“He told us not to answer the door to strangers.” Alana said.
“Yeah, but it is probably Ryan.” Kayden admitted.
“Let’s call him on the phone and see if it is.” Alana suggested.
“We don’t have his phone number.” Kayden said.
“He probably put his contact into the phone dummy.” Alana said.
Alana dialed the number on the phone.
“Hello,” Ryan answered the phone.
“Hi, there was a knock on the door.” Kayden said.
“Well don’t answer it. I’m on my way home. I will be there in 5 minutes.” Ryan said.
“Okay, bye.” Kayden said and hung up the phone.
The knocking continued.
“You know, maybe it’s mom. Or somebody else we know.” Kayden said.
“And maybe it isn’t. Ryan said to not answer the door.” Alana said.
An engine pulled up into the driveway of the building. It was Ryan.
"HEY! Get out this is private property!" Ryan yelled.
"No it's not, and I just need to talk to the kids." The voice said.
"Well you can't. Now leave!" Ryan yelled.
"I need to see them!" The stranger said.
"Who are you?" Ryan asked.
"Their biological father..." The voice said.
"What's your name?" Ryan asked.
"Jason." Jason said.
"How did you know they were here?" Ryan asked.
"Their mother, Katy, called me." Jason said.
"And??? What are you doing here?" Ryan asked.
"I just want to say hi. And introduce myself." Jason said.
"I need to see if it's okay with them first." Ryan said.
Ryan opened the door and peaked inside.
"I need to ask you guys a question." Ryan said.
"Okay, shoot." Kayden said.
"Do you guys know Jason? He claims to be your biological father." Ryan asked.
"No. I have no idea who that is." Alana said.
"Our father is named Rob." Kayden admitted.
"Okay well, do you want to meet him?" Ryan asked.
"Sure," Alana said nodding at Kayden.
Kayden nodded back.
Ryan went out the door and told Jason to come into the building.
"Hi guys. My name is Jason. And I am your father." Jason said.
"No your not." Kayden said.
"I know it may look like I'm not, but I am. Me and your mother had Kayden in college. And then I left your mom to finish college. But she dropped out. Then I guess she met Rob. She never told you huh?" Jason said.
"No. But so let me get this straight. You and my mom had me, but Rob and my mom had Alana?" Kayden asked.
"Sure thing, kiddo." Jason said.
There was an awkward silence for a few moments when Alana decided to break it.
"Wow this stuff is deep." Alana laughed.
"Yeah. Tell me about it." Jason said.
"Well... Dad. Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Kayden asked.
"Your mom told me not too." Jason said.
"Why?" Kayden said confusingly.
"I don't know. She just never wanted me to see my own child." Jason said.
"That's really weird of her." Kayden said.
"She always was a little kooky." Jason said.
"Yeah, I guess." Kayden said.
"How did you find us here?" Alana asked.
"Your mother called me about 1 hour ago and I rushed over here to find you guys." Jason said.
Alana went over to the TV and turned it on. They were listening to the news when they heard that the suspect, Steve Hamber, has been sentenced to life and has been arrested for attempted burning down a house.
"He had been arrested?!?" Alana asked.
"Yeah, I guess." Ryan said.
"Yesss! Free at last! That means we can leave this place!" Alana said happily.
Alana ran over to the TV and turned it off.
"Okay! Let's go guys! Come on let's leave!" Alana said happily.
Ryan, Kayden and Jason all got up and started walking towards the door.
"So much for buying that trampoline." Ryan laughed.
"Sorry about that." Alana apologized.
"It's all good." Ryan smiled.
Kayden got into Jason's car and Alana got into Ryan's car.
"We going back to Katy's house?" Jason asked Ryan.
"Yeah. Follow me." Ryan said and they were on there way back home.

It's was about an hour drive before they got back home.
Their house wasn't in flames but many firefighters were there. Alana had asked why so many of them were there and they said that Steve had tried to set the house on fire but a neighbor stopped him from doing that.
“Where’s my mom?” Alana asked Ryan.
“She should be here by now. Let me call her.” Ryan answered.
Ryan left and called Mom.
“Hey, it’s Ryan. Are you on your way?” Ryan asked Mom.
“Yeah, I’m almost there. I will be there in about 5 minutes.” Mom said.
Ryan went back to where Alana and Kayden and told them that their mom should be there in 5 minutes.
“Okay good. I miss her so much.” Alana replied.
“She better come back without a scratch on her or else… you don’t even wanna know what I’m gonna do.” Kayden seriously.
“Kayden! Don’t even say that.” Alana yelled.
“Well it’s true.” Kayden admitted.
Mom’s call pulled up into the driveway of their house.
“Mom!” Alana ran over to her and hugged her.
“My babies! Were you safe with Ryan?” Mom asked.
“Yes mommy.” Alana said backing away from Mom.
Kayden went in for a hug.
“Are you okay?” Kayden asked.
“Yes. Are you?” Mom answered.
“Of course,” Kayden said.
“There is someone here to see you.” Mom said pointing to Sarah who was waiting over by the policemen.
Kayden ran over to her and gave her the biggest hug. He wrapped his hands are her waist and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around him and wouldn’t let go.
“Oh my gosh. What are you doing here?” Kayden asked putting her down.
“I heard that Steve tried to burn down your house and I rushed over here to see if your okay.” Sarah said.
“Of course I’m okay. Are you okay?” Kayden laughed.
“Yeah,” Sarah looked down at her feet.
Kayden took his hands and lifted her head to be able to look right at him.
“I made a really wrong decision of letting you go. Please come back.” Kayden said almost shedding a tear.
“Me too,” Sarah looked up at him and grabbed his hand.
Kayden walked over to a bush and ripped a rose out of it.
“This is for you. Let’s give us another shot.” Kayden said.
“Okay,” Sarah smiled.
“Kayden tucked Sarah’s hair behind her ears and put the rose in her hair.
They walked over, hand in hand, to where Ryan, Alana, Jason and Mom were standing.
“Sarah, meet my dad, Jason. Dad, meet my girlfriend, Sarah.” Kayden said introducing them.
They shook hands and talked for a few minutes.
“Thank you very much for taking care of them.” Mom said to Ryan.
“You are very welcome. Anytime.” Ryan answered.
“Would you like to come over for dinner tonight, as like a thank you?” Mom asked.
“Of course, Katy. I would love to.” Ryan said.
“Okay, great!” Mom said happily.
A police officer walked over to where Mom and Ryan were standing.
“Are you Katy Hansen, wife of Rob Hansen?” The officer asked.
“Yes. What’s wrong?” Mom asked worriedly.
“Nothing is wrong, I am just here to inform you that nothing in the house has been demolished.” The officer answered.
“Oh, okay great! Thank you.” Mom said back.
The officer walked away.
“Okay, so once again, thank you so much. Words can’t explain.” Mom said.
“It’s okay. Your welcome.” Ryan laughed.
“I’m just really grateful that I got to see you again.” Mom said.
“Yeah, same here.” Ryan agreed.
Mom opened her arms and Ryan went in for a hug.
They both walked back to everyone was. Mom asked if she could talk to Jason for a moment. Jason and Mom walked to somewhere private.
“Did you tell them?” Mom asked.
“Yeah,” Jason answered.
“How did they react to it?”
“They actually didn’t panic. They were cool with it.”
“Oh… That’s surprising.”
“Yeah. You can tell Alana is really bummed about it though.” Jason said.
“Why?” Mom asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe that he’s not her real brother.” Jason said.
“Yeah, I get it.” Mom said.
“I really like Sarah, though. Kayden is really in love with her.” Jason said admiring that.
“Yes, he is so happy around her.” Mom said.
“Oh yeah.” Jason said.
“You know who I named Kayden after?” Mom asked.
“Who?” Jason asked.
“Kayden Everdeen. Your favorite race car driver.” Mom said.
“Oh. That’s so romantic. See. You do love me.” Jason laughed.
“Oh sure.” Mom said sarcastically.
Jason hugged Mom and then they both walked back to the group of people.
“Alana, what’s wrong?” Mom asked.
“Nothing,” Alana said.
“Alana, don’t lie to me.” Mom declared.
“I just feel really sad that Jason is Kayden’s real dad.” Alana admitted.
“Why are you sad about that? You have a great dad.” Mom said.
“No. Not nearly as cool as Jason.” Alana said.
“Yeah, well…” Mom said.
“I mean for all I know, you could be hiding your identity too. You couldn’t be my real mom.” Alana said.
“Oh, trust me honey. I am your real mom.” Mom laughed.
“Why didn’t you tell us before?” Alana asked.
“I was scared you guys would panic.” Mom admitted.
“Well…” Alana said.
“I’m sorry. I know I shoulda told you guys earlier.” Mom admitted.
“Yeah.” Alana said.
Mom grabbed Alana and hugged her.
“But I don’t love you any more or any less.” Mom said.
“I know.” Alana said.
Alana and Mom walked back over to everyone and asked them if they wanted to come in and have some food. Everyone agreed to that and they walked into the house.
Mom heated up the leftover pizza from the other night and made a caesar salad.
They were all starving and hadn’t eaten for days.
“Let’s go watch the sunset guys.” Alana suggested.
“Yeah!!!” Sarah said.
Sarah got onto Kayden’s back and they all walked out of the house and to the end of the pier.
“I wish this moment could last for ever.” Sarah said.
“Me too, me too.” Kayden agreed.
Alana skipped along side everyone. You could hear the ocean waves mixed in with birds chirping. You could see the reddish, orange-ish, and yellowish sunset in the back of the ocean. You could smell the crab for the crab store right next store. You could taste the salty air. You could feel the dampness of the air. But best of all, you could feel the love between everyone.
“Hey mom.” Alana said.
“Yeah,” Mom answered.
“Did you know how much I love you?” Alana asked.
“Aww. Alana. How sweet. But did you know how much I love you?” Mom asked.
“I do.” Alana answered.
Someone tapped Mom’s shoulder. It was dad. He was holding a cake in his hands that said:
    Happy
    Birthday Katy
in red frosting.
Everyone was singing the happy birthday song to Mom.
It was the perfect scene. Everyone was happy. Everyone loved each other. The sunset was in the background. It was so perfect. If only someone could have taken a picture right at that moment.
“We love you mom, so much.” Alana said.
“Yeah, we do love you Katy.” Ryan said and Dad and Jason both agreed.
“Yeah, thank you so much for putting up for me and Kayden all this time. Kayden must have been a real problem when we broke up for that 5 days. Ha?” Sarah asked.
“Oh, you have no idea.” Mom laughed.

The End