"I'm on the highway to hell. On the highway to hell," Dylan sang, driving past Rogers Park.

He hit slight traffic traveling from the hotel but still felt sure he had enough time to stop by the cemetery. He truly felt like he was on the way to hell. Singing helped with his uncanny thoughts. As soon as he stepped out from the plain last night, old feelings passed him, just hope of seeing Kennedy kept him in Alaska for a few days longer than he needed to stay.

He parked the car near the metal gate and inhaled deeply before stepping out of the automobile. His nose soon froze, and he sniffled a few times, locking the Lexus. Dylan stuffed his hands into the coat pockets and moved to the gate. Space seemed quiet, just his boots squeaked, stepping on a snowy path. He truly forgot how cold it can get in his hometown, thankfully he had a few sweaters in his luggage.

The wind seemed stronger as he reached his family's gravesite. He scanned the names and thought about all the stories his Aunt Rose told him about his parents.

Most of it felt unreal, and some of them felt made up. Not by Rose, but by Dylan himself. As a child, he felt sure he knew his parents. By the time he reached his teen years, he realized it wasn't true.

He was three and a half years old when a tragic accident near Flattop Mountain left him an orphan. His aunt Rose took care of him and cared for him deeply. Not enough though, or not as much as she cared for her husband. The thought of his uncle sent shivers down Dylan's spine. Even after all these years, he felt scared. Maybe it would be easier to forget all of it, if not seeing reminders in the mirror, and the nightmares he still had once in a while.

He squatted, trying to pray, silently. He wasn't a praying type, nor did he know how to do it. Dylan just talked to them. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on a blank image of his parents. His eyesight soon traveled to his aunt's tombstone. He lightly nodded, seeing his uncle most likely was still alive. As the stone held just his aunt's name, and fresh flowers stood in a white vase.

Dylan felt the vibration in his coat pocket, and soon he heard his phone ring. He stood up and took out his phone. Kai's name displayed on the screen and Dylan felt sure it won't be a pleasant talk.

"Hey," Dylan answered the phone, fastening his steps from the cemetery.

"How did it go?" Kai asked.

"Not there yet," Dylan answered, rushing toward the gates.

"I'm not great with time zones," Kai said, as a shuffling sound appeared in the background. "But I think the meeting was hours ago."

"Right." Dylan continued his journey toward Lexus. Dylan assumed Kai talked about meeting with his friends since that kept Dylan uneasy just before leaving Japan.

"Did you make the deal or not?" Kai's voice held firm.

"Yeah, of course, I did," Dylan replied with a sigh. "And watch your tone." His jaw tensed as he unlocked the car.

"Sorry," Kai mumbled. "Keep forgetting you are the boss." He changed his tone slightly. "What's the final price?"

"I was joking about the tone. I dropped ten thousand, and they agreed immediately," Dylan said and laughed.

"Yeah, yeah," Kai mocked. "You were right, as usual. When are you flying back?"

"I will be back after the weekend." Dylan wasn't fond of small talk, realizing that Kai called for business reasons, he tried to end the call as soon as possible. Years ago they were good friends, and Dylan still considered Kai as a friend, but doing business together put a strain on their friendship. And at this point, it seemed just the business part was left in their relationship.

"So, when are you meeting them?" Kai asked.

Dylan retook his phone to his right hand and opened the car door. "I will drive there now."

"Good luck," Kai replied with laughter.

"Yeah," Dylan responded as Kai hung up the phone call.

Dylan ignited the car and enjoyed the hushed tune driving through the city. Tapping his fingers on the driving wheel in rhythm with the song, he looked around the streets. If he would ignore the despair, the town reminded him, it's a decent place to live. With the North Pacific Ocean nearby and countless islands around. Not to mention all the mountains and nature surrounding the city.

Soon after Dylan's aunt died, he turned eighteen and moved from the city. There was nothing left for him here. He studied in New York first, soon meeting an exchange student Kai from Japan, and the pair developed a successful dating app. They sold the app and earned a good amount of money. And Dylan invested it all in stocks and soon his investments grew. After finishing university, Kai planned to move back to Japan and Dylan decided to join.

He found more success there and opened his own company, Kai always stayed close to him. And they both managed Dylan's stock market company. Kai would usually travel, and Dylan kept business locally. But Alaska held a strange pull on Dylan and even though he avoided coming back, he felt ready to face his fears.

Dylan soon left the city behind and turned onto a forest road as rain splashed the windshield of his car. It wasn't difficult to find the place, as he remembered he and Kennedy often came to the Bear Valley.

Kennedy would practice her drawing while he would write his poems. They rarely included Martin in this activity since he was more of an action guy. Sitting still with just nature sounds felt boring to him. But for Dylan, it felt peaceful. No yelling or hearing his aunt's wails behind the closed door.

The view of a cabin rose as he found a forest clearing. The place seemed abandoned and lifeless. But then he saw her climbing down the porch stairs. Her blond hair flowed as she walked closer. The space for him felt brighter in some ways. His breathing fastened as Kennedy stopped at the fir tree. It took him a few moments to calm himself down and leave his car.

"Did you say something?" he asked, noticing her lips moved while he walked towards her.

"Hi," Kennedy said, lifting her head. "I just said, hi." She smiled, revealing small dimples on her cheeks.

"Hi," Dylan said and smirked. His hands felt sweaty as he rubbed them together. "Can I get a hug?" He stretched his hands to the sides.

She tottered for a moment; the request wasn't outrageous since they greeted each other with a hug all the time, but it felt awkward this time. It's been two years, he reminded himself, and they talked on the phone so many times since then. Kennedy opened her embrace as he moved closer to her. Summer, he thought as she hugged him. No matter what season it was, she always smelled like summer.

A sound of a car engine echoed through space, forcing them to separate. Red pickup truck headlights enlightened them.

"I thought he swore he would never drive a red car," Dylan smirked, glancing at Kennedy.

"Give him a break," she said and grabbed his hand. "You missed his wedding."

He gulped, staring at her. "Are you trying to guilt-trip me into being nice?" he asked as Kennedy let go of his hand.

"Is it working?" she asked, smiling.

"A bit." His jaw tensed.

They stood in silence as the light decreased. Snow splashed and stained Dylan's blue jeans as Martin walked past him. He briefly hugged Kennedy and looked at Dylan.

"Not bold," Martin mumbled.

"What?" Dylan asked, confused.

"Nothing," Martin said, shifting his body toward Dylan. "Good to see you."

Kennedy's replica worked, making Dylan feel more guilty. He always regretted not attending Martin's wedding. The reasons behind it felt worthless at that moment.

"Good to see you, too," Dylan responded as Martin hugged him, patting the middle of his back.

The contact seemed brief but felt like time had not passed. Dylan scanned Martin, inspecting his appearance. Despite the beard, he looked younger than Dylan.

"So why are we here?" Martin applied to Kennedy.

"We should settle in first and I will tell you all about it later," Kennedy said and moved toward her car.

The guys shared glances. "Sure," Dylan finally said, and Martin nodded in agreement. They all spread out, and Martin went to his car. "Let me help you with that," Dylan offered, joining Kennedy at the back of her car.

"I will manage," she replied and took out her bag from the trunk of the Mercedes.

"Right," Dylan agreed with a nod and went to the Lexus.

Dylan fell behind as his friends proceeded to the cabin. He felt out of breath since he stepped out of his car. His emotions were getting out of control, he took deep breaths to calm himself down, it didn't work much though. He took out his bag, hearing Martin's laughter near the porch of the house.

Dylan looked around. The place seemed very familiar, and yet he couldn't recall if he had been here before. Noticing stone stairs leading to what seemed like a hiking trail, he shook his head, realizing he and Kennedy most likely passed this lodge while exploring the valley years ago. Fastening his steps, he caught up with the rest of the group in the chilly cabin.