I dedicat this ch to mabholloway for being a dedicated reader and commenter! Check out his short story The Oaken Chalice for a good read with a twist or his book The Disjointed Tales of Renryre Island for a good fantasy/mystery.

      I wasted no time finding my seat and slouching down into it comfortably. I popped my headphones in and ignored everything around me, except the view outside my window.
    I had a four and a half hour ride ahead of me. Well technically it was two hours then I had an hour layover in a town I didn't remember the name of so we could refuel, before getting back on the bus for another two and a half hours. I could tell from the extremely bored and tired looking people around me, that some of them had already been at this awhile.
    I turned back to the window and focused on the forever changing landscape. I hadn't exactly chosen the best time to leave, it was September, so while the days were still extremely hot, the nights were getting chilly. And I was going north so they'd be even cooler, possibly even teeth-chattering weather, I realised. I hadn't even thought to grab a jacket, I might would have to buy one.

    A text came through on my phone, temporarily interrupting my music. I pulled my eyes away from the window and down to my phone. It was from Lexi. She asked how it was going and said the cops were at her house when she returned. She'd told them she hadn't been home last night so she didn't know if I'd come by her house or not. They hadn't acted as though they believed her story but what could they do? I told her the bus was boring and that I was sorry she was being dragged into this. I knew she didn't mind but it still made me feel bad.
    I hadn't gotten much sleep last night with thoughts of the threatening text messages bouncing around in my head. So I used my bag as a pillow and took a nap leaning against the window.
    I woke up when the bus stopped at the station. The sun was starting to set so the bus driver had flipped a switch to turn on bright orange headache inducing lights so that everyone could gather their things. I'd have much rather gathered my things in the dim natural lighting but others were probably grateful.

    I stepped off the bus and was surprised to see this bus station was a bit bigger than the one in my hometown. This one had three fast foods places and a small gift shop type deal-kinda like you'd find in a hospital-smushed together inside of it. Where as our bus stop consisted off a ticket booth, rows of bench, and a bathroom that was almost always closed.
    My tummy rumbled and I looked back and forth trying to decide where to eat. Chick-fil-a sounded amazing, so did Subway actually, but McDonald's was my better option since I needed to save as much money as I could. I gave the other places one last longing filled glance then headed for McDonald's.
    Six dollars got me a ten piece nugget, a large frie, and a drink. I moved away from the counter with my tray of food and noticed a TV, so naturally I sat down near it. After waiting patiently through three commercials the news came on. Really the fucking news. I watched commercials for the news? Well I'd been mostly focused on my fries, but still!

    I only half ass paid attention as I dunked my chicken nuggets in barbecue sauce. But then my face flashed onto the screen with the word missing in big bold letters. Fuck now what? I hadn't expected them to report me missing! The picture was pretty old, my hair was shorter and my face wasn't as filled out but still, it was me. The picture went away and my mom and step-dad came on screen.
    My mom pushed her unkempt hair out of her face, my stepdad wrapped his arm around her, she took a deep shaky breath, then started to speak. She went on and on about how important I was to her saying she doesn't understand why I would ever do this. I actually laughed at that, then glanced around to make sure no one had noticed. I'd tried to tell her countless times, she just wouldn't listen. He was more important. Regardless of all that though I actually felt bad for leaving her like I had, at first. That was until they asked her what I was wearing last and she stumbled. I could actually see her mentally searching her brain for the answer. She had no idea, she seriously didn't have a clue. I'd talked to her just that morning, she'd even said she liked my shirt. After finally realizing she didn't have the answer, she did the only thing she could do in her situation, she lied.

    My face turned a violent red. I shoved my tray across the booth, it smashed into the other seat then loudly clattered to the floor. I probably shouldn't have been drawing that much attention to myself since my face had just been all over the TV, but at that moment, I didn't care. I sprang to my feet and  forced myself to walk to the nearest bathroom. Once inside away from prying eyes I slammed my fist into a stall door, it ricocheted off the wall of the stalls. The door of the last stall creaked open and a little girl of about eight walked out looking frightened. I instantly felt bad.

    “Sorry...I...um…my boyfriend just cheated on me,” I quickly stuttered out, hoping she didn't think I was insane.
    “That's okay, you must have really liked him. Boys suck,” she said with a shy smile.
    “Yeah they do,” I responded before walking out of the bathroom.
    I found a slightly secluded bench and sat down hoping the time would sense my foul mood and go faster.

    After I'd calmed down a little I decided to check out the little gift shop thing. They didn't have anything I wanted but it did have cool things to look at. Little coins with bible verses on one side and Angel's on the other, stuffed animals with big sparkly eyes, and coffee cups with neat sayings on them. I didn't know who would need to buy a coffee cup at a bus stop but still cool to look at for a really bored person.
    When I left the store I heard them calling my group to board the bus. I rushed to board and grabbed a seat on the back. Everyone quietly waited on the seats to fill up, then we were off again. Thank God. Because the further away from home I got the more relaxed I felt.