Kyle's hand shifts from the gear stick and rests on my thigh. He gently squeezes my leg for comfort, then I grab his hand and smile. I squeeze his hand back, hard enough to make him wince. I don't mean to hurt Kyle, I just need something to cling to.

I feel like pea floating through space. There's that feeling of weightlessness floating through me, but a small sliver still wonders if I'll ever make it back to earth. What if I'm lost in the big abyss forever?

"Where do you want to go?" he asks.

"I don't want to go home, that's for sure," I reply.

"What about your parent's house?"

"No." I shake my head.

Mum will ask me a million questions too why I didn't stay, where I went, what I'm thinking, or what I'm doing. I don't have the answers to those questions, and I'm not in the mood to be social. I need some space.

Instead of giving Kyle an answer, I rest my head against the cool glass of the car window and frown. I liked the feeling of the moving car, the passing surroundings, and the possibilities of running away. That sounds better than going home.

The idea of going somewhere new, being new people, and leaving this life behind is enchanting. Maybe Logan had it right all along? Maybe he should have gone to London with Tori and this mess wouldn't have happened.

"My home it is then." Huffs a tired Kyle.

Kyle pulls his hand away from my grip to change the gear. We move into another lane, then he picks up speed and turns another corner. The car travels down another road and eventually, we see the pinky orange hues of the setting sun leaking across the horizon.

Shortly after, we arrive at Kyle and Ben's house. He opens the car door and helps me to my feet. I follow Kyle into the house and keep close to his side. As I peer over his shoulder, I see Ben's disapproving glare which rattles me to the core.

I hide behind Kyle's slender body to avoid his judgemental gaze. Ben already dislikes me for the way I treated Kyle, I can't imagine what could come next considering Blake is one of Ben's best friends. I'm sure he'd roast me alive for this.

"Not now," says Kyle.

Ben uneasily drags his gaze from my stance and looks at the glowing television screen. The small patter of noise and the gloomy darkness sends chills running down my spine.

"Thanks." I softly smile.

"Ben is a good friend, too good sometimes," he mutters.

Kyle and I walk into his bedroom and stop part way through the room. I stand at the foot of the bed while he rummages through his drawer in search of a clean shirt.

"There's towels under the sink, and here's a shirt you can wear. Do you want some shorts? I think I have a clean spare somewhere . . ." Kyle steps over a pile of dirty clothing to rummage through his side table.

"Oh, no, this will be okay." I tug on a grin.

"Okay." He sighs with relief.

I walk into the bathroom and close the door behind me. Stripping out of my clothes, I toss them into the sink and step over the bathtub and into the shower. I turn the tap on and I'm surprised with the warm water rattles through the pipe.

The warm beads of water cascade along my skin, drip down my body, then swirl around the drain before falling away. I press my back against the tiled shower wall and huff. The steam from the shower wall makes the room moist and clammy.

My back slides down the tiles as I sit down. I hug my knees to my chest, then rest my head on my knees. The hot water brings a sense of warmth to my cold numb body. I'm still waiting for that moment where I wake up because I don't want to believe any of this is real.

Tears stream down my cheek and drip onto my knees. When does the pain go? When does it trickle away like the water?

The door suddenly springs open and Kyle rushes into the room.

"Ava, are you okay?" he shouts.

"Hm?" I frown.

"You've been in here for fifteen minutes, so I called out and you weren't responding. Shit, Ava, I thought something really bad happened!"

"Oh." I sigh.

Kyle leans over the side of the bath to turn the taps off. He then grabs a cream towel from under the sink and drapes it over my shoulders. He then helps me out of the shower and tries to rewrap the towel around me.

The flimsy fabric falls to the ground which makes Kyle blush. I wrap my arms around his body and snuggle in.

"I'm scared," I whisper.

"It's going to be okay," he replies. "And you're hugging me naked."

"Right." I quickly grab the towel and cover myself.

"Can you get dressed, or do I need to help?" he awkwardly asks.

"No thank you, I'll be fine."

Kyle nods his head as he exits the bathroom. I quickly dry myself off and then change into the long shirt and my underwear. I hang the towel over the rack, then walk out of the bedroom.

I flop onto the bed and snuggle into one of the pillows. Kyle looks back at me with his sad brown eyes. He pokes me with his foot and slightly grins.

"What now?" he asks.

"I take the first plane to London and get out of here."

"You can't run away from this," says Kyle.

"Even though you're right, I can still try, right?"

"No."

Kyle tugs on the pillow and throws it away. He wraps his arm around my waist, then tugs my body close to his chest. I rest my head on his arm and then Kyle kisses my forehead. My eyes flutter closed as I listen to the sound of his heartbeat. With one thud at a time, I find myself being pulled into a deep sleep.

* * * * * 

There's a commotion in the hallway that shakes me from my slumber. I slip off the side of the bed, step out of Kyle's room and peek down the hallway. Blake is standing by the front door arguing with Kyle about coming inside.

Ben, of course, isn't helping. He's trying to boss Kyle around, although, he's not having either of it.

"Please, I need to see her," Blake begs.

"Listen, Blake, come back tomorrow when she's had time to sleep. I promise it'll be better then."

I know I couldn't run forever, even though London seems like a magical place.

"Blake?" I sniffle.

Kyle immediately steps out of the way and lets Blake into the house. He runs down the hallway and scoops me into his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck and snuggle into his neck. He places me on the ground and kisses my forehead.

"I'm taking you home."

Blake walks into Kyle's bedroom and collects my belongings. He takes my hand and then drags me down the hallway and out of the house. Ben and Kyle stand motionlessly by the front door, watching as Blake and I get into the car.

"Why did you come back for me? I walked away."

"Someone has to save you from yourself."

When we arrive home, I cringe at the sight of it. Blake and I get out of the car and head down the side of the house. Before we get into the house, I stand by the front door and shake my head.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Because Ava, I need you."

Blake walks into the house and I follow him inside. He grabs a beer from the fridge and cracks it open. He takes a long sip from the bottle, then looks at me.

"I can't do this, I'm sorry, but I can't." I shrug my shoulders.

"Shit, Ava." He throws the bottle across the room and it smashes against the wall.

Anger boils through my system and I act on it.

"You know what, I can break things too." I walk towards the table and grab one of the vases filled with dying flowers and throw it on the floor. The shards of glass from the vase scatter across the floor. Water splashes onto my legs and along the floor boards.

Blake storms out of the kitchen, and I back up a few steps. His arm flies through the air, sending the collection of flowers flying through the air. A loud clatter of noise vibrates through the room as it hit the ground.

He steps towards me and grabs my face. Blake lifts me onto the table, then his lips meet mine.

"The only think I'll never break is you," he whispers against my skin.

"I still need space, Blake."

"Okay, I'll give you space."

"In a couple of weeks, we can talk about us and decide if we want to be a couple. Until then, I think it's best if we part ways and see what the world has to offer."

"Okay." He nods. "If that's what you want."

"Thank you."

My heart erratically beats within my chest, almost like it's about to explode within the squishy compartment of my chest.

"One thing before you go." Blake's green eyes pierce into mine. "Can I kiss you?"

"Yes," I agree.

Blake slowly reaches in and presses his lips against mine. I cling to his body and soak up the feeling of having him in my arms.

He leans his forehead against mine and strokes my cheek. 

"Why are you being so good about this?"

His fingers slide under my jaw and he tugs my lips back to his. 

"Because you still love me, and if you need space to wrap your head around everything, to realise you should be right here with me, then I want you to have your space."

"How can you still love me even though I'm hurting you?"

"Loving you doesn't mean doing what's right for me, it's doing what's right for the both both of us."

"Thank you, Blake."

I don't know what will happen now, but it feels like a colossal jump into a deep hole going nowhere. I don't know how I could move forward after this, but I'd try. Life gives us many different pathways, I just hope mine leads back to him. 

Thank you for reading! The next book in the series is called 'Moving Forward.'