The next few visits were incredibly awkward. That's what unresolved issues do to you, it messes with your mind, and affects the way you carry yourself, which meant Ryder was being overly enthusiastic, and Skylar was being overly chatty, which made the atmosphere highly charged with tension!

They both felt it.

The restlessness made Ryder crazy. Normally he would head straight for his car, and just drive off.

And why not.

"Let's go" he said, and apparently his determination convinced her not to argue with him.

She didn't even budge as they went by her dad's place, and Ryder insisted on going in alone.

After driving for a couple of hours, she realized where he was headed.

Mexico.

The Bucket List, he was still doing that!

"Are you nuts?" She said.

"Are we going to Mexico?? My dad was okay with that?" She could hardly believe her dad would give his blessing, she had been more dead than alive these past 3 weeks, and she needed to recuperate.

"He sure did, he gave us his blessing!" Ryder said, rather triumphant.

"You are kidding me" she said, fully aware her dad was not the overprotective type, but still? Mexico is a foreign country, what if something happened, while they were down there?

"Don't worry. I made a plan, and a back-up plan too, nothing is going to happen to you while we are there" Ryder said, as if he could read her mind.

Soulmates can read each other's thoughts, right?

"You don't know that" she said, feeling a bit anxious.

"The hotel has a doctor on the premises, and the hospital transferred your file to them just now. Your dad gave his consent, and he will be joining us there tomorrow" as he spoke, she felt more at ease, and she silently approved of his ability to foresee what she needed. His words calmed her down, suddenly she trusted him to take care of her, she trusted his ability to do that.

"This is certainly a surprise. I can't believe you did all this for me" she smiled at him.

"I did it for us. We still need to do as many things on the bucket list as we can, right?" He smiled back at her.

"Before I die you mean" she said.

He sighed.

"You have to pull that line every time?" He said, it made him uncomfortable, but he figured she said it to shock him or something...or to convince herself she did not fear the prospect of dying?

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" She asked him. No smile on her face, as if she could read his mind too.

"Talking about death does not make me uncomfortable...honestly it doesn't. I have come to terms with the fact, that I will likely die young, that does not scare me, but talking about you dying young, that makes me uncomfortable I guess" he said, and he meant it. He had little regard for his own life, but Skylar's life was another matter all together!

"You offend me by saying that...saying you expect to die young, you have all this potential, and you are so set on wasting it, that offends me! You have an obligation to live up to your potential, and keep yourself alive! I don't have that privilege. I wish, I did...but my future is already decided" she was no longer in the mood for jokes or gestures of bravery. She did not feel very brave. She was scared of dying...scared of missing out, and here he was...so pretentious, it felt like an insult. He knew nothing about being scared, having no options, no choices!

"You keep talking about potential. I have no potential!" He said, from where he was standing, he felt like he didn't have any choices...the shoes he filled were already worn out! He hardly knew anything else, he had no role model to find comfort in, his dad was m.i.a, and his mother was disconnected, she had plenty to do, besides guiding him, or supporting him. He never felt like someone was caring for him, no one seemed to care. Besides Charlie...and Dave...Skylar didn't care, did she? All she cared about was him not wasting his potential? On her behalf, the trouble with that is, you cannot live someone elses life, it does not work that way.

"I can't pretend to have all these choices, just because you have none!" He said, and it sounded too cold, he did not intend to hurt her by saying what he did, but he felt like it was the truth.

No one ever cut him some slack...ever. no one ever told him the world was a beautiful place filled with choices; possibilities, and dreams.

He simply did not believe that.

The world is a complicated place, it's as simple as that.

"You are impossible...you know that? I get the fact that your childhood might have killed any glimmer of hope, but you cannot hide behind that for the rest of your life Ryder, you just can't...it's just an excuse. Sometimes I think you are afraid of living...so much, that you would rather die! I am afraid of dying, I would rather live" she said, and started to cry. She was sobbing so hard he had to pull over.

"Skylar...please...look at me...what can I do...please stop crying" he begged her.

"I can't..." she said, and she didn't even want to try.

"You should cry too...it might be good for you..." she said, and the look on her face made him look away.

He wasn't about to cry...how could he? He hadn't cried for years, not since he was a kid...a scared kid, hiding away in his closet, he wasn't about to go back to that place ever again. He would rather die, as those words hit him - he suddenly did cry!

Totally unexpected, but so simple.

Once you do go back, and face those demons, all you can do is cry? Sometimes words are obsolete.

It's that simple.

Just don't look away...face your past...and he did, right there next to her...they did not need to talk anymore...the only thing left to do was cry, and so they did.