After saying his tragic goodbye to his brother, Tyler didn't really feel like going over to Rachel's to repeat the processes. She would definitely burst into tears and Tyler really didn't feel like causing more people pain that night.

But with the endless list of broken promises reeling in his brain, he knew he couldn't add another disappointment. So he ignored the feeling telling him to flee and forced his feet to take a detour, past the dented red stop sign and down the side street known as Clementine Drive.

When he spotted the familiar house in the distance, Tyler had second thoughts. But he had to push through because he also saw Rachel, peering out of the living room window. She was searching the street, waiting for him to come by. He sighed painfully and trotted the rest of the way to her house.

Once he reached the porch, slowly hopping up the steps, Tyler lifted his hand to knock on the door. With a wild swing, the door came open before his knuckles could even make contact. Rachel leaped out of the house and grabbed him in a forceful hug. He stiffly wrapped his arms around her, trying not to drop his Ukelele or his bag of food. Then he felt her body start shaking and trembling against his chest.

"Oh, Rache, don't cry," Tyler softly begged, feeling the voices in his head begin to blame him for her anguish.

Rachel ignored Tylers's sad plea. She pulled away from his warm embrace and wiped her running nose with her shirt sleeve, lifting her watery slate blue eyes. She shook her head and gave him a look that broke his heart.

"Go, Tyler," Rachel said suddenly, her voice as ridged with emotion as broken glass. "Don't doubt it. Just run. Run for your life and don't look back for a single second. This place is no good for you. I know you're gonna change. I know that someone out there will fight fate itself to find you and to flip your life around forever. So run and go. There's honestly no time to sit and have formalities."

Rachel surged forward and enveloped him in a hug again. Then she drew back and pulled something from her jeans pocket.

"Take this," she insisted, pressing something cold and metallic into his palm next to his Ukelele.

"What is it?" he asked, setting down the stuff in his hands before examining the object.

"Remember that night when we left our houses and spent the night in the park?" Rachel asked, her eyes shining with the memory.

Tyler shuddered at the thought of that warm July night two years ago. The time spent staring at the stars with his cousin was nice, but the reason he had left wasn't as grand. It was the night his mother first told him he'd be better off dead than living with such a broken mind.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"You said such a beautifully eerie thing that night. Something I will never forget. Remember what it was?" she asked, prompting him to recall the night.

Tyler shook his head, trying not to let too many memories resurface.

"You said, 'Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit'," Rachel recited perfectly.

Tyler tilted his head, barely remembering the phrase. Rachel lifted his hand and made the silver chain dangle between his finger, perfectly displaying the yin and yang like pendant. It had a German Shepherd chasing a rabbit in a perfect circle, around and around again in a neverending orbit. Tyler felt a small smile cross his lips.

"I knew you'd like it," Rachel said, no trace of a smile on her gentle face.

Tyler let his eyes look over his cousin, taking in the ghostly trails that the tears left on her rosy cheeks. He had seen his fair share of Rachel in a broken, devastated state but this looked different. Avoiding her weak gaze, Tyler lifted the silvery chain over his head and cast his eyes down to the dangling pendant that stood out against his dark hoodie.

"Thanks," he softly replied, fingering the swirling charm again before tucking it under his shirt. His lips curved upward and a tiny smile lifted his face as he thought about Rachel's special gift.

"I'm glad I got to see you grin one last time," Rachel said, her voice fading at the end of her sentence.

Tyler flicked his gaze between her two eyes, seeing how much she was going to break when he finally left. He stepped forward and grabbed her in a sincere hug this time, saying, "I'll see you again one day. I promise."

He felt her quaking sigh before she pushed him away and pointed to the road.

"Now go," Rachel demanded, softly adding, "And don't you look back."

Tyler stared at her slate blue eyes for a single moment longer, taking it in for the hopefully lasting memory of the moment before grabbing his stuff and turning to leave. He stalked down the gray, boring street obediently all the while wondering what Rachel would go inside to do next. Once he reached the end of the potholed road, he lifted his sparkling brown eyes up to the bent sign like always, seeing its brokenness and pitiful fading.

A strong wave of wind fell over him and he shivered in fear and anticipation for the coming adventure. Something gave in his chest as he stared at the sign and thought of Rachel, and in that moment and is heart fell so hard that he dropped down to the asphalt with it. He shook his head, his bones trembling from the harsh words and the impending journey ahead and he audibly refused to cry. Eventually, he lifted himself off the ground and, even though his eyes fought him to look back to the simple little brick house that belonged to his cousin, he refused. Instead, he trod on to his assigned destination: Jackson High, and he didn't once look back.

And as Rachel watched this she felt a part of her burn. She knew the broken Tyler she loved would never come back to see her. And that killed her just a little bit.

--------------------

The soft robin's egg blue had faded from the cold October sky and the stars were starting to appear faintly in scattered groups. Tyler hurried his pace, hoping he could reach the nearby high school in time. He eventually reached an open road, kinda busy for a Wednesday evening. There, in the distance, Tyler spotted the high school with its royal blue color pridefully painted on every accent and the last light of the setting sun gracing its silhouette like a brilliant halo.

He recollected Rachel's instructions and took a route to the parking lot labeled "East Lot". He was thankful for the sign telling him where to go because he had never been to Jackson High before and he wasn't good with directions.

There were a few cars in the East lot, most of them were gathered toward a nearby building. A single, black SUV that looked as old as Tyler set off alone. He glanced around, evaluating the other car before he decided the SUV would be his best bet.

As he approached the lone vehicle, he spotted a teenage girl leaning against the passenger door and staring off into the distance, her straight hair whipping in the wind and her hands snug in her jean pockets. When he got closer, the girl paid him a simple glance but he avoided her eyes until he was close enough to meekly ask, "I'm looking for some guy named Shaw. Do you know him?"

Tyler really didn't want to make constant eye contact with this stranger so he kept his eyes beyond her, looking at the vast sky over the nearby field instead. But he did catch her unimpressed eyebrow raise in his corner vision.

"And what makes you think that Shaw is a guy?" the girl growled, her arms drawing up from her pockets and slowly folding across her chest like she had all night to argue.

"Uh-I-uh. . ." Tyler felt like an idiot. Not a new experience for him at all but that didn't make it less unpleasant. "Nothing I guess, sorry."

"You better be," the girl slit her eyes at him for a moment, looking him up and down in silence. She finally nodded upwards and asked, "You here to get out of town?"

"Yeah," Tyler muttered, rubbing his sneaker toe into the asphalt. He had been so excited to leave, felt so light on the way there, but his dumb assumption, his one slip up, had ruined it all and forced him back to mumbling replies.

"I'm Shaw. But that's my last name, you can call me Kora. I'm gonna drive this car"-she beat the side of the SUV with her fist-"to Arizona. I'm willing to take anyone who shows up with me."

Tyler nodded and continued staring at the ground, noting the weeds growing from tiny cracks in the parking lot.

"You can put your stuff in the back," the girl said, throwing her hair out of her face and pointing a thumb to the back of the car. "The trunk's unlocked."

Tyler sighed and lugged his belongings to the back of the shiny car. He pulled open the hatch and began stacking his bags in the almost completely empty space as he thought about how long it might take this girl to drive to Arizona. He wasn't sure he was going to enjoy driving with her, she seemed like a jerk so far.

After taking as long as he could to slowly place his bags in the back of the car, he had no choice but to go back and stand around with the girl. He sighed, removing his ancient iPod from his backpack and wrapping his earbuds around it before shoving them both in his pocket and moseying back to the girl.

Tyler stood in the next parking space over, ignoring Kora as she pulled her arms into the sleeves of her denim jacket. Instead, he cast his eyes up, up, up to the endless sky, dimming into a navy blue with tiny stars peeking through and sparkling high above them. A front of solid gray clouds was approaching the school at a crawling pace in the distance.

"Watcha thinkin' about, kid?" Kora asked out of nowhere.

Tyler lowered his eyes and met her sharp, aqua green ones. He simply shrugged and turned his gaze back to the sky.

"You sure don't talk much, Tinker Bell," she laughed a little, leaning back against her car and crossing her ankles. "That's okay, I'm sure I talk enough for the both of us."

Got that right, Tyler thought silently, shaking his head.

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