text: The second she left that town she knew there was no going back. she took a steady breath in and kept on walking. the second she got off the bus she left in a sprint, hastily trying to avoid anyone she might've known, but it had been an hour and that determination she had fizzled out. she was tired and food deprived. Do I really have time to rest? "Isn't it a bit late for someone as young as you to be out?" the girl turned to face a slightly older man dressed in loose jeans and a black hoodie. "I dunno. is it?" she hadn't meant for it to come out so rudely but her patience was wearing thin. he held his hands up in surrender and stood up straight. "I was just concerned lady." "I'm sure you were" well... she had sarcasm on her side if nothing else, that was certain. "there is a motel down the road." she stared at him blankly. "did I ask?" a rhetorical question. one of the best kind of questions. was she really going to listen to some half drunk stranger on the side of the road? well... why not. her head hung low as she paced herself trying to find this, so called, motel that the stranger had mentioned. After what felt like hours, but were actually a couple of minutes, she stumbled upon a bright glowing sign with the word motel written in the most tacky font. well no surprise there. The girl looked around the, well lit, lobby and at the old man who stood behind the counter. "Welcome to the East Side Motel. You looking for a room?" She needed to spend her money wisely. In general she scarcely used her savings but now was when it really mattered. she needed to survive on this until she got far enough away and could actually get a job. "one night, please" that would be enough. she could get start walking again when the sun rises. the man brought her to a small homely room fit for one person. it could've been worse. she sat her bag down and collapsed into the bed. never had she been this exhausted. she ran the most recent events through her head as she tried to remain sane. The drugs. The gangs. The decision that she made had caused this. she had no one to blame but herself. the next morning she freshened up using the miniscule bathroom in her motel room. It wasn't a problem for her. She was used to living on nothing. as she left she took in the fresh air, enjoying the breeze. "fancy seeing you here" she looked over her shoulder to see the same stranger from the night before leaning against the wall of the motel. she could see him clearly now. he had bright blue eyes and curly golden locks. he wore a smirk that made his dimples stand out. its like they were mocking her. "forgive me if I'm wrong but wasn't it you who mentioned this place" keeping that same condescending tone, she said "what is it going to take for you to leave a poor girl alone, stalker" he chuckled. "Stalker?" he slowly made his way over to her. "Don't flatter yourself. my grandad owns this place ,sweetheart. I'd be careful who you called 'stalker' around these parts." "well. better safe then sorry." he ran a hand through his hair. "We started off on the wrong foot. I'm Alec. My grandad owns the place you just stayed in and he wants to take me under his wing." "I don't remember asking?" "Feisty. I like it. come one, sweetheart, what's your story?" "What's it matter to you" "Come on. feed my curiosity" why is he persistent? is it really that boring here? "I'm moving. Just needed change" in her defense, it wasn't a complete lie . "That's what everyone says. change . its merely an excuse to people. I've found that they're always running away from something or someone" she stared at the ground, struggling to find words. "or maybe I'm wrong" "yeah maybe" "I never caught your name." "that because I never threw it" "fine. Be that way. Sweetheart suits you anyways." she gave out a small laugh as she started up at him. Before today she had thought he looked older then her but now in the sunlight, his boyish smile and aggravating dimples made her question if she was wrong. "you said your grandad was going to take you under his wing, right?" why was she so intrigued "yeah he thinks that I should have my life together at 17. A bit much if you ask me." "So your 17?" he nodded. "what about you? or is that to personal for you to answer" she could hear the sarcastic tone roll off his tongue. rolling her eyes, she answered "I'm also 17" "so I get to know your age but not your name?" "names are too personal. You can find out a lot about them from small details like that" "seems like you know a lot about that." "I know first hand" she could see that he wanted to press further but decided against it. "So where you moving to?" "I don't know yet if I'm being honest" "A journey without destination. That sounds riveting and it also sounds like you are running away" "At the end of the day everyone is running away from something. I'm just taking bigger actions, following my gut" "Must be something real bad if your 'big actions' means you can't even stay in the vicinity of your home. What about your family?" "don't have any" Alec couldn't find the words to what she had just said. Instead he put his arms around her and gave one of the most awkward hugs she'd ever had. "what are you doing?" "hugging you, obviously" "well can you stop." a slight sigh left her lips as she saw the bus pull up. "it was nice meeting you Alec. Maybe one day we will see each other again" "I think I'd like that." She walked up to the open door. "see you later sweetheart" For one final moment she turned back to Alec. "Aspen" he looked at her in confusion. "My name" she turned to walk on the bus. "its Aspen"