I couldn't believe it. Real, actual hot water came out of the shower head. The lights still didn't work and I had the flashlight on the counter but what a relief to have hot water cover me in its embrace. Angus had called in a pizza last night and sure enough Bon woke up hungry. He didn't mind the other two staying with us and it gave him someone to talk to. It was one in the morning before I decided to turn in to bed and Bon, like the gentleman he was, insisted I have the bed. The men all wished me sweet dreams and I jumped into bed, falling asleep almost immediately. I woke up to a silent hotel room, thinking Angus and Malcolm left sometime during the early morning. Surely none of them got any sleep. Exiting my room I still didn't see them so I hopped in the bathroom and took a shower.

That's where I was now; scrubbing a good amount of shampoo into my hair and forgetting my doom of making the ultimate choice later this afternoon. Today was the first day of the rest of my life. And no matter what I decided to do, there would be some regrets.

Needless to say I wasn't looking forward to it. My shower could only distract me so much.

As I grabbed the half empty bottle of soap I heard something. Something frighteningly akin to a cough. Thinking it was purely my imagination, already overactive from my latest worries, I ignored it.

Then whoever coughed also sneezed. Thank God I was near a toilet, I was about to shit myself.

The bathroom door was closed, right? I had closed it....but had I locked it? Unfortunately I was naked so even if I wanted to see what was going on I couldn't without giving them a show. Realizing it was my only option, I slowly pulled the curtain back and saw Malcolm standing there in the dim bathroom looking absolutely exhausted.

Using the toilet.

"Hi," he muttered. "Sorry, I'll only be a second."

"I-I thought you went back to your room," I stuttered, forgetting I had a pile of shampoo on my head. The thin shower curtain was barely enough to conceal myself and I clutched it with two hands.

"Bon let me stay," he said. "Angus left, though." He zipped himself and flushed, heading for the sink to wash his hands. I couldn't tell if he was a little drunk or just tired from staying up so late. "I would have waited but it was an emergency. Ya' know how it is." He kept his eyes averted and for that I was grateful. "Bon's been livin' like a caveman," he muttered, looking at the broken light bulbs. I wasn't sure Bon minded. He was after all, a bit wild. "Nice hair. See ya'." Malcolm left the bathroom, closing the door after him.

There was one regret I'd have for certain if I went back home. Giving up having experiences like that one.

**********

When I emerged from the bathroom, clutching my towel tightly around myself, I saw Malcolm face down on the couch, snoring. I only saw him for a second before Bon blocked my view, holding a can of spray in one hand and a shirt in the other. Of course, he wasn't wearing one.

"Sorry about the smell," he said, giving the living room a good spray. "Most of it's gone but I'm sure some of it's lingerin' on Mal here." Malcolm looked like he didn't want to be bothered. Bon caught sight of my towel and grinned. "Ya' goin' on tour like that?"

"Yeah," I said rolling my eyes. "Sitting next to you."

"Great," he said. "Don't mind me, jus' pickin' up after last night." Last night....As I looked around the room I couldn't help but wonder what happened last night?

I went to bed relatively early so it must have happened after I left. Pizza boxes in a pile by the door, that was obvious. Several pairs of white socks were on the coffee table in a pile, questionable. Malcolm unconscious on the couch, I could guess. Three mugs of stale tea on the kitchen counter, a fan blowing by the window. A newspaper was hanging on the wall by a pocket knife and there were lines drawn across it in black ink; I had no fucking clue. Bon noticed me staring at it and nodded at it.

"Angus insisted we measure how tall he was," Bon said. "We all had a go at a joint, like. Angus thought maybe he was finally taller than Mal." He shrugged and looked at the newspaper, blowing from the fan. "Had to use this with my pocketknife. See, that's Ang right there." Bon pointed at a line going across an article about a local fish market. "An' Mal, neck an' neck." Barely above the first line was a second one. "Ang wasn't convinced."

"And the tea?" I asked, pointing at the mugs.

"Angus made 'em," he said. "Poured 'em out, an' fell asleep on the couch. Left an hour ago'."

"So if Angus slept on the couch..."

"Mal an' I didn't sleep," Bon said. Just as I suspected. "That's why he's half dead over there." I turned around and Malcolm had shifted so that he was now facing the ceiling, snoring even louder. "Jus' got to talkin' an' next thing we knew the sun came up."

"I'm sorry I took your bed," I said. If I hadn't been living off of Bon like a parasite he or Mal could have had a bed to sleep in.

"Ya' didn't take anything," Bon said. He handed me his shirt and kept spraying down the hotel room. "Still smell grass? Or have I gotten it all?"

I took a whiff. I wasn't sure weed lingered the way cigarettes did but I didn't smell anything. Nothing except the flowery air freshener Bon drenched the room with. "I think you're good."

"Good," Bon said, giving another extra spray. "Don't wanna get in trouble, do I?" Setting the spray bottle down he took the shirt from me and put it on. "Talked about you a bit." I stopped in my tracks when I reached my laundry bag full of clothes. "Mal an' I, I mean."

"And....what did you talk about?" I asked. If so much as one word of either of them locking lips with me got out, I'd throw myself in front of their tour bus. How humiliating would it be for the men I admired to find out I practically slept with all of them behind their backs?

Okay. So I was being way over dramatic.

"Not much," Bon said. "Mal asked what I thought about the whole future thing again, ya' know?"

"What did you say?"

"Said it was the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." He grinned and crossed his arms. "An' it couldn't possibly be true an' of course Mal suggested we fight it out an' he won." I rolled my eyes, realizing he was joking. "Got me good in the eye an' I gave him one right on the lip."

"With your fist or with your mouth?" I asked, giggling like crazy. It was Bon's turn to roll his eyes and he excused himself to the pile of socks on the coffee table.

"Nice, hon. Real fuckin' nice." I doubled over laughing, watching Bon fold the pairs of socks up. It was then I noticed the open suitcase on the floor, clothes spilling out. My laughter died down. Bon shoved the socks in a pocket of his suitcase and zipped it shut, turning to me.

"You're already packing?" I asked.

"Course. We leave in a few hours." I watched Bon grab a few things here and there around his hotel room and drop them into the suitcase, one of them being the book he lent Angus. Bon looked at me like he was trying to figure me out. "Are ya' comin' with us, or...."

"I...don't know," I said, tightening my grip on my towel. "I want to..."

"But...?" Bon prompted. I shrugged. "Ya' tired of concerts? I don't blame ya'. They're great fun but it's nice jus' to loaf around, ya' know?"

"Sure," I said. "But that's not it." Bon dropped a couple pairs of jeans into his suitcase, one of which was laced with holes.

"Ya' don't like us?"

He grinned again and I made a face. "Of course I like you," I said.

"Hm."

"I don't know, it's a big decision," I said. "And I don't want to make the wrong one." Bon nodded.

"Maybe there is no wrong one," he said. "Ya' know, if it's worth stayin' behind or comin' with us...whichever one is worth takin'." I sighed. It was worth every minute going on tour with AC/DC. I'd be home in 2024 beating myself up for not going. But I knew I'd be miserable leaving my best friend in the future without me. Knowing I'd given her up...and I still had to apologize for the nasty things I said to her. Maybe the future would change if I stayed and she wouldn't know who I was and our argument wouldn't matter.

But I would remember.

My heart knew what the right thing to do was and I was so torn up over it. I couldn't bear to leave my new friends behind. But they'd get on without me. Life would go on without me. The band would still be a band without me.

Bon and Malcolm would die either way. Nothing I could do would change a thing.

Malcolm stirred and I watched him sit up, rubbing his temple. "Mornin', Mal."

"Mornin'," he muttered. His little nap did nothing and he looked exactly as he did in the bathroom. "You packin'?"

"Yeah," Bon said, zipping the suitcase up. "Then I'm goin' down to the buses an' helping. Least I can do for joyriding."

"I'll have to wake Angus up," Malcolm said. "There's no way he's gettin' up on his own. Not after last night."

"I dunno, he surprises me sometimes," Bon said. "As long as he hasn't been drinkin' like us he'll be fine."

Malcolm just noticed me. "Did I ruin your shower this mornin'?" he said, eyeing my towel.

"I'm afraid I've been traumatized," I teased. "I may never shower again."

"In that case you're sharin' a room with Mal," Bon said, moving his suitcase to the door with the pizza boxes. "As his punishment."

"Hardly what I'd call a punishment, Bon," Malcolm said, smiling at me. He stood from the couch and passed the newspaper on the wall, pausing to laugh at his successful height domination, then went on to the door. "I'll be down to help in....an hour."

"Sure," Bon said and Malcolm left, sleep in every stumbling step. "You comin' to see us off at least?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," I said and hurried to grab my clothes from my bag and change. Might as well wear what I wore when I first came here.

**********

"We'll be outside with the buses," Bon said, pulling his suitcase over his shoulder, holding his hotel key in his other hand. The case of beer we bought was tucked under his arm. I barely stepped outside the bathroom when he rushed by me, looking around the room in case he forgot something. "Come out when you're through, I'm turnin' this in." He held up his key. "Make sure ya' turn yours in, they get real crabby if ya' don't." Bon's smile told me he had experience with that. "An' hey, if ya' see anythin' of mine, bring it out, would ya'?"

Kissing me on the cheek he was gone right as I asked how would I know if it belonged to him. And there I was alone in the room, discouraged by how empty and clean it was. Much like when Stelle left, leaving the room so cold and vacant. 

Nothing in the room looked like it belonged to Bon. Just throw pillows, some coasters, a broom. He washed out the three mugs Angus left behind and put them away. He had taken his knife out of the wall and left behind only a tiny scar. The newspaper was gone too. I noticed a little instrument sitting on a chair by the window, the fan blowing the curtains. I picked up Bon's inhaler and stuffed it in my pocket.

"Wouldn't do to have Bon die, would it?" I asked, the irony stinging. 

Looking through my laundry bag and making sure I had everything with me, clothes, notebook, souvenirs, I closed it up and heaved it over my shoulder the way Bon did. Taking in the room one last time, I grabbed my key and headed out the door. 

**********

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I don't see your name on our registration list," the man at the front desk said. Holly jolly Christmas music blasted away into my ear from the tiny radio. Fans and the AC were attacking the lobby and the front doors were held open by bricks. A man dressed as Santa was standing outside, ringing his bell. No, he wasn't in a speedo. But he was constantly getting sprayed down with water by some of his helpers dressed like elves. 

"The man I was staying with already checked out," I said. "This is his extra key."

"I see, and what would the guest's name be?" he asked, looking through his list. 

Feeling shy, I mumbled, "Bon Scott."

"Oh, he's that fellow from the band staying here," he said, finding his name and room number. "Full name Ronald Scott, there he is." Checking the key over and finding a match, he stuck it on the wall behind him, looking me up and down. "So you were his guest, huh?"

"Sort of," I coughed and hurried out, realizing what that sounded like. Outside in the sweltering heat I passed a group of very seventies looking musicians with their instruments in hand walking into the hotel. I didn't recognize them but figured they also picked this hotel to stay at. All of them sported wide lapels and cowboy hats over their long hair. Walking around the building, I noticed a fairly large group of people crowded around two tour buses. Men and women alike were loading things up such as suitcases and any spare equipment left behind. 

I found my crowd, the groupies, standing together talking with some roadies on a break. Dressing skimpily was certainly not frowned upon today with summer's fast approach. Cliff was helping shove his suitcase up the steps of one bus, laughing when it barely fit. "You got Angus in here or what?" the roadie yelled, helping him. 

Malcolm sped by, looking much more awake after a quick beer, and jumped onto the other bus. I probably looked like an absolute fool with my laundry bag, watching everybody else do all the work. My main goal was to find Bon so I could give him his inhaler before he left. Some guys were passing around a bag of chips and I blanched remembering the pizza boxes I left behind. 

Oh well. All of us will be long gone by the time they find out. 

Cliff finally managed to get his luggage loaded on the bus and saw me. "Hey, ya' made it," he said smiling. "Ya' comin' with us?"

"I don't think so," I said, feeling every inch of my heart break. Cliff's face fell but he nodded in understanding. "Might be time for me to head home."

"An' uh...." He lowered his voice. "How are ya' getting home?" he asked. "The whole...time travel thing, ya' know..."

"I have no idea," I whispered. Before Cliff could answer somebody shouted that they still had two hours left before they had to leave. 

"Wouldn't hurt to have you along," he said. "Always room for one more." His offer was so kind but I just didn't think I was supposed to. The urge to stay behind was great, even if it hurt. But the urge to go with them was even greater.

"Have you seen Bon?" I asked, changing the subject before I started crying. "I have to give something to him."

"He's on the bus," Cliff said, pointing at the one in front. "That one, I think."

"Thanks," I said. I started walking away but then I dropped my things and pounced on Cliff for a hug. He caught me and I had to stand on my toes to reach his height. Someone passing by whistled and I fought the urge to flip them off in a friendly fashion. I let him go and he stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. 

"It's been nice havin' ya'," he said. "Take care of yourself."

"You too," I said and left him behind. Cliff was an absolute twelve. The bus he directed me to was a bit crowded and I scanned every seat to see if I could find Bon. There he was in the very back, standing and talking to a friend of his. I didn't want to interrupt and slowly approached them, head lowered. Bon noticed me first and took a glance at all my things. 

"You decide to come after all?" he asked, looking me over. Bon's friend drank a bottle of water and looked at my cumbersome laundry bag. When I didn't respond in the affirmative like he was expecting, his expression fell. "Or...ya' didn't..."

Reaching into my pocket I pulled out his inhaler and handed it to him. "You forgot this."

"Oh," he said, taking it from me. "Wondered where it had got to. Thanks, kid."

"Sure," I said. Bon could easily detect the melancholy in my voice and pulled me aside into the back room behind the curtain, excusing us from his friend's presence. 

"If you're so sad about leavin' then why not jus' come with us?" he asked. "None of us have any objections."

"It's not that easy," I told him, muttering so nobody could hear us. "I've still got a life back home, I've got friends and family." That's when it hit him. 

"Right," he said. "Forgot about that." We stood there looking awkwardly at our shoes until someone pulled the curtain back, Phil standing there. 

"Woah, sorry," he said, making to leave, a smile on his face. 

"We're not doing anything, Phil," I called and he came back, laughing. He had a box under his arm and scooted past us to stick it somewhere we couldn't see. Someone came after him with another box and passed it to Phil, who shoved it against the first. 

"Hotel soaps, Phil?" Bon asked. "Make off with some goodies?"

"First aid kits," Phil said. "Got a whole shipment this mornin' an' they told us to stick 'em back here. In case you get a hangnail." 

"All that for me, Phil, you're too good to me," Bon said. He held out his inhaler. "Hannah here jus' brought this out for me."

"Forget it again?" Phil asked, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. "What's this, the fifth time?"

"Seventh," Bon admitted. "It's jus' for emergencies, ya' know, easy to forget once in a while." Bon stuffed it into his back pocket and left Phil and I alone, hurrying away before I could say goodbye. One look at my sullen expression and Phil knew I wasn't coming.

"Sayin' goodbye?" he asked. I nodded and made a move to hug him. His water sloshed around in the bottle as he wrapped his arms around me. For a minute I thought the guy who whistled was back but it was someone else sneaking around us and retrieving something from the back who happened to be whistling a tune. Phil stepped back and gestured past the curtain. "We've got a couple more boxes out there to bring in," he said. "Spare clothes. Could help with the underwear."

"As tempting as that sounds, Phillip, I have to go," I said and made my way out of the bus. "Goodbye!" I called over my shoulder. Clambering down the stairs and almost falling on my face, I took a long look at the bus, both of them. We had a lot of good times in these buses. 

And....a lot of not so good times. 

I jumped back as two men carrying a metal ladder walked by. Along with the two buses was a huge white truck, the back doors open and even more things getting loaded up in there. Someone honked the horn up front, yelling out the open window about how hot it was. 

Some of the groupies hopped on board the bus, probably accepting their invitations to go with them. Jealousy crept up and I forced it back down. I had a choice and I made it. I should be nothing but happy for these women.

One of the rules of being a groupie is, 

6. We're happy for those who get the chance, even if we don't. 

An amazing opportunity was at stake here and even if I couldn't take it, why couldn't the others? I was happy for them, really. 

Someone put his hands over my eyes and I pulled away from him, flailing my arms in a series of karate chops. Malcolm was standing there, holding his hands up in surrender. "Sheesh, didn't mean to frighten ya'," he said. 

"Sorry, Mal," I said, standing up straight, hoping nobody saw that. That was another thing I'd miss about 1978. You could do silly things like that without anybody pulling a phone out and filming you for the internet to see. If anybody here saw me, they'd have no proof. 

"Bon said you were leavin'," Malcolm said, nodding at my bag. "Said I should say my goodbyes now 'cause these buses won't wait for us, ya' know."

"They have to wait for you, you're the band," I said. Malcolm smiled. 

"Tell that to Phil. Stepped off for two seconds at the petrol station to get a drink an' he comes out an' the bus was down the road." 

"Didn't they do a head count?" I asked, laughing.

"This ain't no primary school field trip, ya' know?" Malcolm said. "Don't have someone to take roll call."

"You could do it," I suggested. Malcolm brushed some hair away from his face as a breeze blew through it. 

"Nah," he said. "You're either on the bus or you're not." My heart sank again. "An' I guess you won't be, will you?" I hung my head. Malcolm gently nudged me with his elbow. "Hang tight, kid, we'll be back."

"But I might not be," I said. "I might be gone and you'll have forgotten all about me." His face fell and he looked like he was trying to come up with some encouraging words but nothing was coming to mind. "This might be our last day."

"Well...hey, it might not be," he said, wrapping an arm over my shoulders. "Maybe whatever magical thingamajig that brought ya' here will bring ya' back, ya' never know. An' besides. It'll take a lot for any of us to forget ya', especially me."

Tears stung. One way or another he would forget.

Making sure he didn't see me cry, I hugged him. My tears stained his shirt and I was sure he could tell anyway by the wet fabric. "We'll miss ya', anyway," he said, rubbing my back. I couldn't bear to pull away from the hug and instead just cried silently into his shoulder. 

"Uh oh, Mal, what did you say to her?"

"Nothin', Ang, I said nothin' to her," Malcolm said. I could smell cigarette smoke. Not much better than weed but not as strong either. I willed myself to step aside, quickly wiping the tears away. "You're fine, ain't ya'?"

"No," I said and Angus, feeling bad, came to give me a hug. 

"There there now," he said, and I could tell he was staring Malcolm down. "Don't let that mean old man make ya' cry."

"At least I'm not short," Malcolm snorted. 

"Bein' taller than me doesn't mean shit," Angus mumbled and I finally laughed. "There, see?" Angus pulled away to look at me. "There's a smile." My face would have burned red from his gentle gaze but I was too preoccupied with saying goodbye to everyone. "We'll be thinkin' of ya', won't we?"

"Course we will, any time we see a clock, ya' know?" I couldn't help but remember their London interview a few years ago.

"Still got Big Ben in your backyard?" I asked Angus. It took him a second to register but when it did he giggled. 

"Yeah," he said. "Sure do. When it rings I'll hear it from across the world. I'll hear it from the plane, ya' know? An' I'll remember ya'."

I beamed, my eyes still wet. "Thanks." One could always count on the Young Brothers to cheer them up. But even so, my heart still ached. My whole chest ached and I worried I would crumble to pieces watching the buses drive away. The truck's horn honked again and the same man was yelling something from the open window. Someone in one of the buses honked the horn and yelled back through his window. 

"If we weren't already checked out we'd be kicked out right now," Malcolm said. "Surprised no one's already after us about it."

"Probably glad to be rid of us," Angus said. "We don't make much trouble but we're a noisy bunch."

"Hope that O'Leery fellow did okay at the weddin'," Malcolm said. "I'd have dropped in if I wasn't doped up."

"Not Hannah, though, she's a good girl," Angus said. Beaming at the words, I let out a squeal of surprise as someone snuck up behind me and lifted me off the ground, their arms around my waist. I knew they could only be related to Malcolm, who had also snuck up behind me. "An' where the hell have you been?"

"Slept in," Stevie said, setting me down. He lifted Angus over his shoulder easily. "Brushed half my teeth an' hurried on over."

"Is that what I smell?" Malcolm laughed as Stevie set Angus down. He and Malcolm began a rousing boxing match and Angus fixed his lopsided t shirt. 

"An' what am I smellin', Mal, you dabblin' in the magic lettuce?" Stevie asked, blocking a swing. "Washed it down with an ale?"

"He bathed in it," Angus offered with a silly grin. We stood side by side, watching them duke it out. "Twice."

As Malcolm and Stevie called a truce at the blast of the horn, Stevie nodded at the buses. "Guess ya' gotta get goin'?" Two roadies went running past us, long hair flying in the breeze and a couple well dressed women walked after them, claiming their seats on the bus. "No shortage of guests, I see," Stevie said, admiring the view. 

"Enough of that," Malcolm said. "Friends an' relatives of the roadies. Show some respect." Stevie patted me on the back and wished me luck, heading for the large back doors of the truck to have a word with some of the crew. "Good kid," Malcolm muttered to himself. Both of them turned to me, the action dying down. Time running out. "Ya' gonna be okay?"

I nodded, unsure of what else to say. No way in hell did I know if I was going to be okay or not. These men could take off and I could be stranded in Sydney for months afterward. Nowhere to stay, nowhere to go. 

The sudden rush of paranoid thoughts really wasn't helping me with my decision. 

"Hey, got a pen? Paper?" Malcolm asked, snapping his fingers.

"Uh...in my bag," I said, opening it and rummaging around for my notebook and pen. After shaking off a pair of underwear I pulled them out, handing them to him. The flyers and newspapers fell out onto the pile of clothes and I didn't bother fixing it. 

"Got a lot of stuff," Angus said while Malcolm flipped the notebook open. "Don't blame ya' for not wantin' to lug that around on tour." Malcolm tore a piece of paper out from the notebook and handed it to me. He stuffed the notebook and pen back in my bag while I examined the paper. 

"Couple hotels we're stayin' at while on tour," Malcolm said. "Some of 'em are in another country..." He shrugged, knowing that might not do me much good. "But thought I'd include 'em jus' the same."

There was no internet to look any of these places up. I'd have to call or ask around. "And you said you'd be back for Christmas?"

"Course, we always get Christmas off," Malcolm said. "If ya' still happen to be in the neighborhood, ya' know....could drop by."

"Drop by where?" I asked. 

"Ah," Malcolm said, holding his hand out for the paper and pen. After scribbling a few more things down, he handed them back. "Our family house is here," he said pointing to one address. "I've got a flat here an' Ang's is here, they're nearby. An' Phil's got a place here." He pointed at the last address. "We're uh...sorta thinkin' of movin' to England, get some work done up there. But we live here for now."

"An' our doors are always open," Angus added. "Unless you're the IRS."

"Thanks," I smiled. These would come in handy if I got stuck here after they left. "Do you really have to go?"

"Duty calls, love," Angus said. "We've got a rent to pay, ya' know?"

"Yeah, I know," I mumbled. Malcolm gave me one last hug before that guy honked his horn again.

"Who's honkin' that fuckin' thing, I'll shove that horn up his arse so whenever he sits down...." Malcolm said and Angus and I started laughing. Cliff, who was passing us and overheard, laughed too.

"I don't doubt it," he said. Finally and unfortunately, I had to let go. Malcolm and Angus, with one last wave goodbye, made their way onto the bus. All the equipment was loaded up and the truck's doors closed, the engine revving and driving away. Cliff got in the bus and Phil was already there. I had no clue where Bon went. But when the doors closed and everything was set to go....

Some of the crew members looked out the bus windows and waved at the people below. The people below, like me, waved our goodbyes. I didn't think it was time for them to leave yet and I didn't want to start walking until they were out of sight. One man made faces in the window and another one undid his belt and dropped his jeans, his...ahem...other end pressed against the glass. I laughed but everyone else seemed to think it gross and undignified. 

Their loss.

Someone came running up to me, their shoes clacking against the pavement. I turned to see who it was and almost ran straight into Bon, who scooped me up into a hug, my face smushed against his chest. "Almost forgot," he said. 

"No worries," I said, my voice muffled. My feet hung inches above the ground. Bon didn't want to let me go and only complied when a driver yelled at him to hurry up. 

"Sorry 'bout him, he's in a cheerful mood," Bon smiled. "An' thanks again for bringin' my inhaler. Comes in handy after a show."

"No problem," I said. And with one last lingering goodbye, he got on a bus and the doors closed after him. It was a long while before the first bus started up, slowly inching its way down the parking lot. I watched it go, my heart longing for me to throw caution to the wind and run after it, demanding to be let on. 

What kind of life did I have at home? I loved my family but things weren't great between us. Honestly this group felt more like a family to me than my real one. What would I really lose by choosing this life over them?

I'd still lose my best friend. She still meant something to me. I had to stay behind. For her. 

With a deep ache in my chest, I watched the second bus take off, taking my boys with it. The group of people waved it off, jumping and cheering after it. I didn't have the heart to cheer. The crowd finally dispersed when the bus rolled out of sight.

And that was it. They were gone.