Things were starting to settle down emotionally. People were beginning to process as everyone watched their phones for the news updates. Waiting to see if anyone was hurt. So far there were no deaths--none of us could have been happier to hear that.

That was the only thing that mattered to us.

We had been driving for hours. Finally arriving where we wanted to end up tonight. A small little town on the very edge of the Oregon - California border. Enough that we were far enough away from the event but not quite a full state away from home.

We had followed the coast all the way down to a small town called Port Orford. Hoping it would be enough to ease our racing minds. But we were all amazed when we got there to see how small of a town it really was. Only a few thousand people lined the streets, spread out in houses that were trapped in trees, all waiting to kiss the ocean shore.

We thought there had to be a hotel around here somewhere. Something we could stay in for the night. But it didn't matter how hard we looked, there wasn't anything nearby.

"So now what?" Julia wines, her bubbly personality fading away with the nightmares that were soon to crowd her mind. The ones that would take over all of our very own minds.

"I have no clue..." Aria whispers, looking down at the ground as she kicks at the dirt. The rest of us were quiet. Holding our thoughts back as if they were poison to the air. Maybe they were?

"I need to ask this--" My words trailed off as I delve back into my thoughts. Did I really want to mention this? We all had to be thinking about it? At what point do we turn around and head home?

My heart skipped in my chest. I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to have to explain any of this to my mother. Her words, that voice, everything she would attack me with for leaving her... for leaving my perfect life. I wouldn't be able to handle it. But the more I thought about it, would I really be able to handle the real world? If the world was as scary as this, and we would have to work through these things then would I really be able to survive?

I'd never question my strength before tonight. Before that very moment in the store where I lay on the ground helpless, allowing the man I truly love to protect me from all harm. What was wrong with that? So it wasn't in me to fight? Would that really be a bad thing when all the world was doing was fighting, who was supposed to back down and leave it alone?

"Maple?" Staton looked at me, and I could sense the worry in his eyes. It weighed on him like two boulders sitting on either side of his shoulders, growing heavier with each passing second until finally, they were able to crush him. I found my hand wrapping around his, holding it tightly as if it would give me strength in all of our moments of weakness.

"Are we still ready to move forward? Do we still want to make our way to California and eventually across the country? Are we going to continue to travel like this, after what happened back there? Do we run from it? Are we supposed to sit down and talk about it?" I could feel the questions racing out of me like a lightning bolt. But it seemed like no one was listening.

Breygan with his nearly white hair a mess stood strong in the middle of the group. Holding the bag he had packed for himself over his shoulder. He'd been leaning against the truck beforehand and something I had said must have startled him enough to move. I hadn't noticed, I was too preoccupied with my internal implosion that I couldn't be bothered. He looked deeply into my eyes, reminding me of everything we could have lost. Those blue orbs burning into my skin as he clenched his jaw allowing the skin on his face to tighten in anger. What had I said that bothered him so much?

"We grow up and we move on." His words were harsh and low. A growl echoing from his lips as he spoke. Staton jumps in between us, placing his hand on Breygans chest as if that would stop him from hurting me. Aria words her way to our sides as well, her blonde hair still falling around her shoulders in perfect waves.

"How are we supposed to do that?" I felt the emotion boiling up in my chest almost ready to spill over. I lunged towards him shouting the words, hoping he would truly hear me.

"Don't let your emotions get the best of you Maple! This is why girls can't be leaders." He turned to walk away, holding the bag tightly against him. His feet were heavy against the ground. I had no clue where he was going and honestly, the group was so stunned by the turn of events no one could move to chase him.

A few seconds pass of pure deafening silence.

Then the crickets start chirping, filling our eardrums with sound.

Soon Aria's footsteps were echoing on the asphalt as she followed Breygan towards the water.

The rest of us were still.

No one wanted to move. No one knew how to feel. How could you make the first step in the right direction without looking like a complete and utter asshole? When was too soon to pick your life up and get back on track? How could Breygan just expect all of us to forget about it like it didn't happen?

"He is just trying to cope in his own way Maple. I'm sure he didn't mean what he said." Staton was trying. Oh boy, I could tell he was really trying. His jaw clenched as he spoke, the anger in his eyes building up...but it was a different kind of anger. Breygan was irrational and Staton was protective.

But you couldn't fight fire with fire.

Julia took a seat on the ground, nearly collapsing as she falls into a mess of a ball. Her knees covering her face, her chest heaving as her entire body is overwhelmed by tears. I'd be a liar if I said the urge to cry hadn't crossed my mind once or twice in the last couple of hours.

We had all sat in silence for the drive and now that we were facing things, actually talking to one another none of us knew how to handle it.

"Julia..." I whimpered as I fell to the ground next to her wrapping my arms around her. I held her tighter than I had ever held someone in my entire life. The fear of losing my friends over something so stupid, so minuscule to the bigger picture nearly destroyed me.

I finally allowed the tears to wash down my own face. Allowing my body to match Julia as we cried together, releasing all of the energy that was built up in our systems. We cried until there were no more tears, drank a couple of bottles of water and then cried some more. Hoping that the tears would wash away the pain that was slowly setting in. This was our new world.

Eventually, we were able to gather ourselves. Wiping away the tears, with thoughts of the storm clouds blowing in. How fitting that it would rain on a day like this. A funeral for our younger selves, the people we would never be able to get back.

As Julia and I worked through our emotions, attempting to figure out what was real and what just simply sucked, I couldn't help but notice Staton, standing strong and tall like a statue. His body never wavering as he looks towards the sky, giving us just enough privacy that we didn't have to worry, but paying enough attention to know he wasn't needed.

He truly loved me, and my friends.

And at that moment I realized I would do anything for this man.

"Staton..." His eyes lit up at the thought of me needing him. Of course I needed him, and I would always need him.

"Yes, Maple?" He questions and the way my name falls off his lips throws butterflies into my chest. I hope I can feel this way forever. The love, and emotion that I got from this man was so amazing and so heartwarming that It put a smile on my face. It made me feel like I was worth having in his life.

"What do you think we should do?" I felt like a child asking him, but I knew I could trust him with everything inside me.

"Why are you asking me? I think you know the answer for yourself, and only you can answer it for yourself. But whatever you are doing I will be right by your side." I shook my head, both hating and loving his response at the same time.

I didn't feel heard though. As much as his comment sent a wave of chills down my spine he wasn't truly listening to me. I needed him to decide, I'm sure with plenty of time I'd be able to make the decision on my own, but we didn't have that. I needed him to make it for me. To help me through this, and the only way things would work out for me was if I relied on him to guide me.

"No seriously, what do we do?" I asked him, hoping he would see the look in my eyes. He knew me well enough he should have been able to look into my brain and understand what I was feeling. We've been through so many things together, so many fights with my mother, we could make it through this as well.

"I think, even though Breygan doesn't want to, we need to all sit down and talk and then we need to figure out if we want to keep running, or if we want to go back." Staton nods his head, he was obviously trying to convince himself of his words, but as soon as they left his mouth I believed that was exactly what we had to do.

My legs felt slightly wobbly as I jump up from the ground. I realized afterward I should have given myself some more time to adjust to the sudden change before taking a few steps. My body wavering back and forth, trying to decide if it was going to fail me or not.

Julia was the next person to follow me, and the look in her eyes told me she wasn't sure what she was doing either. The group needed to talk though and even if it killed me I would make sure we did just that.

The trail to the beach was rough, but soon enough we were able to manage our way around all of the bushes and branches. There was something beautiful about the Oregon coast. The way the trees nearly kissed the ocean waves in places, allowing the best of both worlds.

Breygan and Aria sat closely together on the beach, allowing the water to wash across the sand in front of them. Letting it kiss their toes in the warm summer weather. Well, as warm as it could get in this state. The rest of us took our seats, pulling our shoes off and holding one another close. Allowing the air to wash between us before we each made our final decisions.

As we sat there on the beach, a group of friends--five teens all running for different reasons, small water droplets begin to fall from the sky, clouding us in a wave of sadness to match the emotions we were all feeling.

In that dreary rainstorm, we all would have to make our own decision.