I could see the sun starting its decent from the sky and again I tried to call Lucy's number, which still kept on going over to voicemail. It had been nine hours since she stormed out on me, and still I could not reach her. Sure, I could call Sam but he was the last person I actually wanted to speak to. Not just that, but Michael's words were still fresh in my mind. There was no way I was looking to Sam. I was doing this by myself.

"We're closing in an hour," Timothy said as he brought me probably my tenth cup of coffee for the day. I was pretty sure that if this continued I would be bleeding coffee soon.

"Yeah well, I still can't get hold of my friend. Do you know of a motel nearby?" I asked him, hoping for someone to just guide me to a place where I could be safe for the night. Sure, I could try and go back to Llaluna's, but I just wasn't ready to confront her a second time in one day. Maybe if I gave her until tomorrow she would have cooled down by then.

For the moment and for tonight however I was in a predicament. I didn't have anywhere to go. I didn't have any clothing. I didn't even have a toothbrush at this point.

"Sure. I can show you one. It's not like I have anything else to do after work," Timothy said.

"What about going home?" I asked. I almost asked him about school, but I remembered it was the holidays which would have on its own explained everything.

"Nah... I usually don't go home until quite late," Timothy said with what I could see was the fakest smile ever, which was saying something since I only met him a few hours ago. There was something bitter on his face when I mentioned his home.

"Cool. I just really need to get to the mall. Is it far?" I asked, thinking about getting some clothing. Thank goodness I made it a point to always keep my wallet in my back pocket.

"It's literally just around the corner. If you can wait for me until I get off shift it would be awesome," Timothy said as he walked away from my table once more.

With every sentence Timothy spoke to me, the more intrigued I was getting by him. There was something so oddly familiar about him, but not just that... When I looked over the fully written pages in front of me of the last few hours, there were more observations about him than anything about Blake. I knew this process all too well. This was the process a decent writer would take in building a character. Was there a chance that in this lifetime I could write about more than just Blake? That I could write about someone else's sorry other than my own?

Maybe coming to this town wasn't as bad an idea as everybody would think it was...

***

Dusk had already started to set in as I walked next to Timothy towards the mall.

"The big mall with the designer shops is a bit further. We can go there if you want. This one is closer. It's got everything you need, but its chain stores," Timothy said looking me up and down.

Sure I was dressed in brand name clothing, but it wasn't like it was truly my choice. Between Sam always wanting to spoil me, and Lucy refusing to go anywhere with me without name tags of famous designers being stuck all over me, I didn't really care what I was wearing as long as it was comfortable and it fitted me.

"I don't mind chain stores. It's just my friends who like name brands... They're a bit weird," I said as I tried to keep up with him. I could not understand how I could have been so unfit when I was walking. Just this morning I was running at what felt life the speed of light, but then again, there were memories chasing me down the street, which is worse than being chased by an angry dog.

"So what are you actually doing in town?" Timothy asked as we walked.

For a moment I wondered about the answer myself. I wasn't sure anymore. What had I come to do here? How was this going to help me put Blake behind me in any way?

"I don't have a fucking idea what I'm doing here," I said and without planning it I laughed out loud. "I thought I knew why I came here, but now that this day is gone I have no reason for even being here anymore. Whatever I came here to do I could have probably done from my living room with a glass of wine in my one hand and a phone in the other."

"So you didn't exactly plan this trip?"

"It was an in-the-moment kind of thing. I didn't exactly think it through," I answered with the truth that was starting to hit me right between the eyes. "And now I'm stuck here because of my own stupidity."

"Apparently everything happens for a reason," Timothy said as he walked a little bit faster, making me almost run to keep up with him.

"So they say," I said. "But I'm not sure about it. There are many things that I just can't see the reason for that has happened to me."

"Maybe you should just give it another decade or so. It should show itself in time," Timothy said over his shoulder.

"You have quite a bit to say on the subject. Quite a belief you have going there for you."

"Not so much a belief as hope. Sometimes hope is all you have, and then you cling on to it with everything you've got."

I could not believe my ears. There was something about this boy that I have never heard from someone his age. I am sure Llaluna would've probably explained it as him being some old soul. Maybe some wise monk that had reincarnated into a gay teen's body. I didn't believe in that. I could see what was going on in front of my eyes. This kid has been through a lot of pain in his life. Something had happened to him to make him more mature than the average teenager.

"Here we are," Timothy said as we stopped in front of what he had called a mall. By my standards it was way too small to be considered one, but then again, it wasn't as if I was in the biggest town in the country either.

"I haven't been in a mall as small as this in ages," I observed. "Are you sure there's nowhere you need to be?"

"I'm sure," Timothy said and I could once again sense the sadness in the boy. It was almost the same kind of sadness I saw in myself every time I looked in the mirror with the idea of trying to kill myself.

What I needed to do inside the mall went quickly. In less than an hour I was done with what I had to do. I bought some clothing, and no, I did not forget to buy underwear, a towel, and even shaving cream and new razors. I had no idea how long I was going to be in town for, so I made sure I had enough supplies to last me at least a week. There was no way I was going back home in any case before I had done what I came here to do. Not that I knew why I was truly here anymore to be honest. I just knew that I needed to be better before I could go home.

"Need to go home yet?" I asked Timothy. The sun had already set, and if I was his parent I would have wanted him home by now, or at least wanted him to contact me by this point, although I have not seen him near his phone since we left the coffee shop where he worked.

"No," he answered curtly, turning his head to the side, not looking me in the eye.

"So you will still show me to a motel?" I asked.

"Sure."

He wasn't very forthcoming anymore. The later it became, the less talkative he was, and there didn't seem to be any way to get him to talk a bit more. He barely thanked me for the hoodie I bought him to say thanks for him taking care of me, even though I could see he was eyeing it from the moment we walked into the shop.

"So where do we go? Where's the nearest motel?" I asked him.

"There's a motel on Shady Ave, back as you enter the town. It's where the truckers stop. There's a small hotel down the street as well. Not exactly five star quality as far as I know, but still decent enough. They don't rent rooms out by the hour though, so your luck would be better at the motel," Timothy said as he led the way out of the mall.

"Then we'd better go for the hotel rather than the motel," I said as I raised an eyebrow towards him. This kid was beginning to frustrate me quite a bit. Just earlier he was the most helpful kid on the planet, but now he just started to become right out mean. If I didn't know any better I would've thought that he was trying to insinuate that I wanted to get a hooker for an hour at the motel.

"You sure? They're not that cheap you know," Timothy said as we walked over the parking lot that started to look very abandoned to me. Did we really stay in the mall that long?

"I'm sure I can cover it," I answered as I followed him.

I knew it might not have looked like I had much, especially since I was just shopping at normal retail stores, didn't have a car with me, and had a black cross slapped over my mouth, but I was pretty sure this kid would gasp for air if I were to show him my bank account. I might have hated being published and what came after that, but I have never complained about the money it had put into my account at all.

"Okay then. We'd better go. They won't take in anybody after nine. It's not that kind of establishment," Timothy said as he quickened his pace down the street, me strutting along as fast as I could with the many packages I was trying to handle.

"Wait up!" I almost yelled as he walked at least five paces in front of me. "Before we get there I have something I need to ask you. And I want an honest answer."

"Shoot," Timothy mumbled as he slowed down.

"You're fifteen right?"

"Yeah... And?" I could see agitation in his face again. I could hear it in his voice.

"Why are you not home? Won't your mom or dad wonder what had happened to you?" I needed to know right now. I didn't want some parents sitting in their home, wondering where on earth their child was.

"No they won't," Timothy said with a sarcastic tone. "Now butt out please."

"I want to know why. Just tell me why and I will drop the subject," I urged again. I could see him going red in the face, but there was no way I was dropping the subject before I knew what was going on. It became clearer and clearer to me that he was hiding something.

"I don't have a home," he said as he picked up the pace again, walking fast enough to leave me several steps behind him.

"You mean..?" I cried after him.

"Yeah! Now drop it!" he yelled as he picked up the pace to the point where I had to jog to keep up.