My heart was racing, and my adrenaline was pumping. I knew that I was in so much pain right now, but I couldn't feel a thing. I leaned back on the wooden, crate behind me and slowed my breathing.

"Holy shit," I said to myself. "I can't believe I just did that." A small laugh escaped my lips as I ran my hands through my hair. I just left New York, the only place I've ever known. I just left my friends and the only family member I had left. I shook my head in disbelief even though I knew it was all real. The worst part is, I don't even feel guilty or scared about running away.. I just feel free. Like a big weight was lifted off my shoulders, and the farther away this train travels the easier I can breathe.

I pulled my bag off of my back, and laid it on the floor of the train. Using it as a pillow, I leaned back and turned on my side. My eyes watched over the scenery that passed the train. Behind all of the trees and small houses was a silhouette of New York City. A bittersweet smile crossed my lips as the Big Apple seemed to shrink in the distance.

Maybe I was running away from my problems.. or maybe I just wanna go someplace where no one knows my name. With that thought on my mind, I closed my eyes and slowly drifted off into a well needed sleep.

»»——⍟——««

A deafening horn blared throughout the air, and immediately woke me up. I groaned as I pushed myself off the rattling floor of the train, and leaned back on the crate behind me.

I rubbed my forehead in an attempt to rid myself of the awful headache that was overpowering my mind. As I did so, I could feel tiny scratches marked all over my face like brail. Luckily, they only pained me when I touched them.
My whole body ached from all of the running and fighting from last night, and the bumpy train ride definitely didn't help. To say that I felt bad was a huge understatement because I felt like shit.

Another horn went off, and within a few seconds, the train slowed to a stop. I figured that this was its final stop, so I pushed myself off the floor carefully and stood up. I reached back down for my backpack, and threw it onto my back.

I walked over to the opening of the freight car and hopped out, landing on a mixture of sand and gravel. I turned my head slowly, taking in my surroundings. I was in a small train station. There were a few men spread out along the freight train I had just gotten off of unloading crates and other boxes from different cars. I turned on my heel and began walking towards one of the men.

When I reached him, I cleared my throat to gain his attention. He turned around with a clipboard in one hand and a pen in another. The man appeared to be young, but the dark facial hair growing from his chin made him look older. He was a lot taller than me, even though I wasn't that short. The man's arms were buff, probably from carry heavy deliveries as a job. He looked down at me with a small smile on his face, but it faltered when he saw the condition I was in. I don't really blame him though. I probably looked as bad as I felt. Nonetheless, he kept up his happy appearance and greeted me. "Good morning, Miss. Can I help you with something?"

I sent him a small smile and nodded. "This might sound kinda weird, but.. where are we?"

The man looked at me like I was crazy. "We're just outside Tulsa," he stated obviously.

I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head. "Wait, did you say Tulsa? As in Tulsa, Oklahoma?"

"Uh, yeah?" His response came out as more of a question. He tilted his head to the side. Something caught the man's attention because he glanced down at my left hand. I followed where he was looking and noticed that a shiny, silver cuff was still locked onto my wrist. He stared at me with a worried expression on his face, so I immediately I hid my hand behind my back and smiled innocently at him. "Is everything alright, Miss?" He asked carefully.

I brushed him off and nodded. "Oh, yeah. My friends and I were just messin' around," Technically it wasn't a lie.

Still, he didn't fully believe me. The man crossed his arms and furrowed his brows. "Are your friends in there too?" He nodded towards the freight car I hopped out of a few moments ago.

I shook my head, no. "Just me." The man opened his mouth, but before he could speak I cut him off. "I'm in a bit of a rush. Do you think you could point me in the direction of the road?"

He thought for a brief moment, and nodded hesitantly. "Uh, sure.. Just walk along these tracks and you should see the road about half a mile ahead."

"Thanks," I said and quickly walked passed him down the tracks.

"Oh, and Miss?" The man called out again. I looked over my shoulders and waited for him to continue. "Try and stay out of trouble, alright?"

"Okay," I nodded, but I think we both knew that wasn't going to happen.

With a wave, goodbye, I turned back around and continued walking along the train tracks like the man had told me. Tulsa, huh? I've never been to Tulsa.. or really anywhere, other than New York. Tulsa is pretty is different from the city though. There's no towering buildings, or bright lights, or busy streets. It's nothing like the hustle of New York. In Tulsa, everything seemed to be much more calm and slow. The only similarity the two places share is probably the weather. It was freezing here, and the bright sun above didn't give off any warmth. I could tell already that this winter was going to be harsher than the city's winter.

Where am I even going to stay? It's not like I can just call up a friend and stay at their place... I don't know anyone here. I guess I could always break in somewhere or try to rent a room in some motel. Shit, I don't even think I have any money! Man, I really should've thought this through more.

A tired sigh escaped my lips as I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets. After walking about half a mile down the train tracks, I finally made it to the road. It seemed to stretch forever in every direction. There were trees surrounding both sides of the road, along with a few rest stops and other buildings. Although there weren't many cars driving by, every once and awhile one would pass. For the most part, this Oklahoma was pretty deserted.

As I walked along the side of the road, I decided that I was going to try and hitchhike into Tulsa. I held my right hand towards the road, and stuck my thumb up. My boots treaded on the green, grass soundlessly as I waited for someone to stop. I didn't hitchhike often. In fact, this is probably the second time I'm doing it. Back in New York, I caught a ride from my house to Harlem with some random guy. His car was old and rusted, and it made a strange noise every time he'd use the breaks at a red light. The guy was super sweet and talkative, but probably because he was incredibly high on drugs. When he dropped me off at the warehouse, he offered me some kind of pills. I declined of course, but Todd was still pretty pissed.

"Diana," Todd scolded. "You can't just hitch a ride with some random crackhead you find on the streets."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "It's not a big deal, Todd."

"What if he drugged you or somethin?!" Todd reasoned.

"I already told you, I said 'no' to the pills!" I pushed passed him and made my way to the couch in the main room. Todd scoffed and quickly followed behind me.

"That's not the point, Diana," Todd lectured.

I spun on my heel and faced Todd with a glare forming on my face. "Then what is the point!" I exclaimed angrily. "You're acting like my father or somethin," I huffed, not intending for him to hear that.

Todd relaxed a bit. "Well, I wouldn't have to act like your father if he didn't leave you," he sighed.

I looked away sadly. "He didn't leave me.. he's just not here at the moment."

"Okay, Diana." Todd frowned and walked away.

"He'll come back," I spoke to myself. I wanted to believe it, but I just couldn't.

BEEP! BEEP!

I jumped slightly from the sudden noise behind me. Pushing my thoughts aside, I glanced over my shoulder and saw a delivery truck parked on the side of the road. There was a middle-aged man sitting inside the truck. He smiled and waved me over. I walked over to the side of the truck, and he rolled down his window. The greying man leaned out slightly with his elbow propped on the car door. "Need a ride?" He asked with a big smile.

I nodded. "Think you could drive me into Tulsa?"

"Sure! I got some crates to deliver there anyway," the man tapped the side of the truck, signaling for me to get in. "Hop on in."

I tightened the straps of my backpack as I walked around to the other side. I pulled on the handle, causing the door to swing open. The truck was pretty big, so I had to climb into it. Once I got inside, I closed the door, and sat in the passengers seat, not bothering to use a seatbelt.

"Where are you coming from?" The man asked curiously.

I shrugged absently, while looking out the window. Small buildings blurred with nature as the truck drove passed. "I was at the train station."

"You work there?" He questioned.

"Yeah," I lied. "I was supposed to catch a ride with my friend, but she decided to work an extra shift."

The man nodded slowly. We reached a red light, so he turned to face me and stuck out his hand. "Well, I'm Robert."

I shook his hand. "Diana."

"Nice to meet you, Diana," the older man smiled. I returned the gesture and turned my gaze back to the window. The trees started to thin out as Robert drove further into Tulsa. Now, there were houses, stores, and a variety of different buildings lining both sides of the road.

A large group of preppy teenagers strutted down the sidewalk, laughing obnoxiously at another group of friends that were passing by. In the larger group, the girls wore bright, plaid skirts with perfect white blouses tucked in. The boys had on tan colored pants with nice black shirts and a letterman jacket on top. Their style screamed rich. The smaller group of friends dressed in darker, riskier clothing that resembled what I was wearing right now. Almost all of them were wearing either leather jackets or denim jackets.

As the truck continued to drive further down the road, I noticed more teenagers lounging around in front of stores or just talking with a group of friends, but there was one striking similarity I noticed about all of the teens here: their appearances. Almost every teenager I saw on the streets either dressed fancy or rebellious, like the two groups I saw before. It was almost as if the whole town was divided by their looks.

Robert pulled his truck pulled into the back of a large, white building, and slowed to a stop in front of a double, metal door. He turned to face and as his hand spun the keys and switched off the engine. "Well, this is my stop and as far as I take you, kid." He smiled apologetically.

I nodded. "It's cool." I pulled on the handle and pushed the car door open. My boots smacked the cement when I hopped out of the truck. I reached for my backpack, which was laying on the seat, and threw it on my back lazily. After shutting the door, I walked around to the back, where Robert had the trunk open and was unloading crates of alcohol. I scowled at the thought of my alcoholic mother, who I probably wouldn't be seeing for a very long time. Not that I actually care anyway. She probably won't even notice that I'm gone.

As I started walking towards the front of the building, I turned back around one last time to say goodbye. "Thanks for the ride, Robert. Cya around."

Robert looked up from the crate he was carrying and smiled. "Anytime, kid." He walked inside the building with the alcohol and disappeared.

I spun on my heel and made my way to the front of the building. The sun was beginning to set, which means that night was approaching, and I'd need to find a place to stay quickly. When I got to the front of the building, my eyes searched the streets and the buildings around me. I noticed a sign on the window of the white building I was standing next to.

Buck's
Bar and Motel