Acrasia

Chris sprawled out on the motel bed, trying his best not to completely pass out while Rae was talking to him. He wasn't sure what she was talking about, but every now and then he would hear something about baby names and snap awake again. He was never able to picture himself as a father. He wasn't able to picture himself getting married, either. It all seemed to be moving on its own. He felt like part of him was just clawing and fighting for a normal life, and it was a part of himself he really had no control over. He figured it was just paternal instincts.

He started to doze off again, but then rubbed his eyes and sat up to look at Rae, who was now silently sitting on the bed across from him. She was looking down at her feet, and twisting an untwisting the hem of her shirt.

"You okay?" Chris frowned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she shrugged.

Chris sighed, sitting up straight. "Okay, I'm sorry. Keep going and I promise I'll listen to what you have to say this time."

"You weren't listening to me that whole time?" Rae raised her eyebrows, looking at him.

"Of course I was," Chris quickly said, scooting over and putting his arm around her waist. "Now, uh, what's wrong then?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking," Rae started slowly. "About everything we left behind. All my friends and everything. They don't know about any of the shit we've been through, they just think I ran away!"

"Oh," Chris shifted in his seat. "Well, Jeremy and I disappeared too. They can safely assume you're with us."

"Yeah but doing what?"

"Well, uh," Chris thought for a moment, "you could always give them a call when all of this is over. Tell them I whisked you away to Europe or something."

"I guess," she sighed, then gave him a half smile. "Christopher, should I be worried about how good of a liar you are?"

"Just let it happen," he smirked, leaning over to give her a peck on the lips. He tried going for a little more, but she pulled away a little quicker than he expected.

"When will it be over?" she asked.

"It's going to be about four hours driving distance until we get to LA."

Rae looked at him, confused.

"You do remember why we're going to LA, right?" Chris frowned.

"Remind me," Rae said softly.

"Why did we drive all the way across the country? Who lives in California?" Chris said, sighing when Rae only looked more confused. "Kid. Tyler. He lives in Los Angeles. This whole trek happened because of him."

"Oh!" Rae's eyes went wide. "I guess he'd been with us so long that it never occurred to me he would ever go home."

.::.::.

Chris didn't know what he was expecting when they got to the little house Kid called home. There were no fireworks or anything. It was just a quiet house in a quiet neighborhood.

Kid himself could only stare at it in silence. He had nothing to say. His expression was something in the middle of terrified and relieved. He went up to the door with Jeremy, while Rae, Chris, and Britney hid by the car and watched.

Chris could tell that Kid was hesitant, and he knocked on the door slowly. A blonde woman with a small child on her hip opened the door, and Kid stared at her in confusion. They talked for a bit, and suddenly Kid's face turned pale. His expression turned into something of pure horror. Chris watched them thank the woman and slowly come back to the car. Kid plopped down in a seat in the back, his eyes wide and staring straight ahead.

"Well?" Chris asked slowly.

"They're gone," Kid's voice cracked. "In separate directions. I split up my parents. Holy fucking hell, I split up my parents."

"What do you mean?" Rae frowned.

"The woman that opened the door was the new homeowner," Jeremy explained. "She said that the woman who sold the house, or Tyler's mother, was divorced and lived alone. She's not sure where she moved."

Tyler nodded slowly, his entire body trembling. "Where do I go now? I don't know where my mom or dad is and, God, they're never going to want to see me again. Not after this."

"Don't be stupid," Jeremy told him. "Of course they want to see you. You're their only fucking son. We just have to find them."

"How?" Tyler snapped, glaring at Jeremy.

Everything turned ice cold for a moment. Chris had never seen Tyler angry before, and he assumed that he wasn't capable of the emotion.

"Look, you'll stay with me for a while, okay?" Jeremy sighed. "We'll figure something out."

"My life is falling apart," he groaned, slumping in his seat and burying his face in his hands.

Britney suddenly looked guilty, and turned to look away from him. The two had been like that since the hospital, only talking to each other if they needed to. Chris also turned to face forward, putting his hands on the steering wheel and glancing at Rae, who gave him a worried glance.

"So," Chris spoke up, "Where, uh... Where do I go now?"