"Hello," I Lied.

Nate

As the car beeps loudly outside, Kyle heads outside, waving to Jack and his mom. I stand beside the door, shuffling my feet. "Uhh.." I murmur. "I guess..I'll see you, then." Jack nods, stepping away from me. Hurt, I fold my arms around my torso. Not even a hug? A goodbye? Does he not care? The whole morning, even though we spent it together, he seemed a bit cold, like he wanted me to go. I guess he doesn't want me to come back..was he waiting for me to leave the entire time? Was I too much?

I understand that his father just died, and that their family is under a huge deal of stress- I mean, Jack just told me that Ashleigh's pregnant? If she were my sister, I'd probably leave her for the sharks, but Jack helped her out, talked to their mom for her. Such a loving brother- but obviously he doesn't want me here anymore. Maybe he blames me for what happened to his dad. I would if I were him.

Choking up a bit, I stutter my farewell. "Bye J-Jack." Pulling the door shut behind me, I trudge down the walk, tears filling my eyes. I hate this. I don't want to end like this. I have a horrible feeling that Jack's not going to be here when I come back. I didn't really give him a reason to stay, though, did I? He probably hates me.

Reaching the curb, I turn around slowly, prepared for the last view of the house. What I'm not prepared for, though, is Jack flinging himself around me. Tumbling down to the sidewalk, he presses down on my chest with his hands, trying to get off me. Grabbing his wrists, I lean my head up, keeping him in place.

"Jack," I whisper, letting him go to wipe away a stray tear running down his face. His lips part, and his expression is one of utter despair. "I love you so much." Sliding my hand along his jaw, I press a kiss to his lips, tasting salty tears. He hiccups slightly, kissing me back in a slow, unsure way.

"Don't leave." He cries, burying his face in my shirt. Sitting up slightly, I hold him against me, well aware that my brother and dad were pointedly trying to ignore the scene before them. Waiting for him to stop crying, or at least stop bawling, we sit there for a good three minutes before he looks up at me, eyes red and swollen, lips trembling.

"I'll be back. I promise. Just," I pause, trying to find the way to word my innermost fear. "Don't leave before I can find you again. Please.." He nods, kissing me again. A loud cough behind us startles Jack into standing up quickly, wiping his face with his sleeve. Picking myself up, I pull him into another hug. "I love you."

Grabbing onto my shirt tightly, he returns the feeling. "I love you, too. I'll be here." Letting go, I hold his hand while the door of the car opens. Letting go, I slip in, tears running down my face like a babbling brook. The door slams shut, and dad looks into the backseat.

"Ready to go?" I grimace at the words. "I mean..uh..buckle up." Ignoring the request, dad waits for a minute before understanding it wasn't going to happen. Turning the keys in the ignition, he sets the car in drive, pulling away from the curb. Looking back out the window, I wave slightly at Jack's fading figure. Turning down the road, I have a giant urge to open the door and run back to him, but the trial has to happen. We'll be back, and Jack will be here, waiting for me.

Kyle leans his chair back, bumping into my knees. "Sorry." He mutters, obviously trying not to upset me. Pressing my tear stained cheek against the cold glass, I try to relax into the rhythm of the traffic sounds as dad pulls onto the interstate.

Leaving the town behind, Kyle plugs his IPod into the jack, turning on Death Cab for Cutie. Singing along slightly, he misses a few words, but continues in a sad voice. "Love of mine, someday you will die, but I'll be close behind. I'll follow you into the dark." The song continues, and I settle into a deep, yet somewhat relaxed depression. The song turns a string in my heart, tears flowing fresh. Silently, I say goodbye to Jack again, in my heart.

Sometime later, I must have fallen asleep on the wrong shoulder, because when I wake up, a pain is aching through my body. Looking around, I try to adjust to the time. It's dark out the windows, and headlights are everywhere, but the car's stopped. "Dad, where are we?" He looks back, startled.

"We're about an hour away from home." Noticing my confused expression, he tries again. "Our old home. Stanton." Nodding, I grab the seats, lifting myself forward. Kyle's sleeping soundly, a slight snoring sound emanating from his throat.

Shaking his sleeping figure, I whisper, "Kyle. Kyle, wake up." After a minute, he blinks his eyes, coming out of what seemed to be a light sleep.

"What's up? Where are we?"

"Almost there. I guess we're being held up at the border, right dad?" He nods sleepily.

"Do you want one of us to drive? We could take over for a bit so you could sleep-"

"I'm fine." Taking his word for it, I turn back to Kyle, who is staring out at the other cars.

"Kyle, come back here?" Unbuckling his seatbelt, he climbs into the backseat with me. "Who do you look forward to seeing most?" He takes a second to think about it.

"Definitely Hannah." Pausing for a moment, he continues in a nostalgic voice, "Remember about two weeks before we had to leave? She asked me to the Sadie Hawkins Dance. I was really looking forward to that." Resting his legs over my lap, he says sadly, "I wonder if she has a boyfriend by now."

Trying to cheer him up, and ultimately failing, I reply, "Well, it has been over two years. She might be away at college for all we know. Or married. Or dead." Glaring at me, Kyle punches my arm playfully. "Hey," I whine, grabbing my arm as if hurt. "I'm just saying!"

"Well then, don't." He says, a little more serious.

I drop it, asking another question. "Why do you think the man turned himself in? Do you think it's really over?"

"That's what the police guys said. And I dunno. Maybe he was tired of a life of hatred and death. Maybe he realized he needs to come clean to live a better life. Maybe he 'found God'. Or maybe it's all some scheme to get us back in Stanton to kill our entire family," He says in a false cheerful voice, obviously being sarcastic.

The car suddenly jerks forward in drive; The traffic's moving. Dad turns around in his seat, blinking sleep out of his eyes. "Just go to sleep, boys. When we get there, I'll get us a hotel room." Taking his advice, we both lean into the seats. Kyle falls asleep almost immediately, but I have to look out the window. The sky is cloudy; no stars would be out tonight. A dreadful feeling filling the pit of my stomach, I let a few new tears escape before falling into a dreamless slumber.