“We’re going shopping and by my parents today,” Tara said coming to the table the next morning. I looked up from my food and dropped my fork but grabbed it before anyone could tell how scared I was by the thought of leaving the house.

“I don’t feel good,” I lied as I picked at my pancakes with my head down.

“Fine, you don’t need to those then,” Miles said taking my plate and headed to the sink. I sat back in my chair with my arms crossed and stared at Tara as she stacked pancakes onto her plate. “Sorry for scaring you two last night, we tried to call,” Miles said as he sat beside Tara at the table.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I said when I realized that my best friend would be a perfect match for a cousin that I just met last night.

“You really must be sick,” Tara said as she looked up from her food.

“No, I’m not, I was just saying that so that I didn’t have to go but then Miles took my food ass-butt,” I snapped. “Do I really have to go? Why do we need to go shopping anyway?” I asked sitting up.

“We need to get some things before we leave Friday, why don’t you want to go?” Tara asked as she stopped eating to ask. Great, she will be worried all day now that she knows I'm freaked out.

“She scared, aren’t you?” Miles said softly as he turned from Tara to look at me. I nodded as he got out of his chair and kneeled in front of me. “Cousin, you are safe now. The boy is in jail, he can’t get to you,” he said trying to help but not working.

“But what if he breaks out?” I asked freaked out from the thought. “How do you know if I’m safe? You aren't there when he comes to you in your dreams to kill you since they didn’t the first time!” I broke down crying, I haven’t told anyone about the dreams. I didn’t want them to know but I couldn't hold it all in any longer. 

Tara got out of her chair and came over and kneeled by Miles as she put a hand on my shoulder. “Nicole, we are here for you. I know we can’t promise that we can keep you safe but we will do our best to keep you safe and away from him if he ever does get out.”

“I’m only going to the thrift store, no big stores,” I said getting up and grabbing a pancake off of Tara’s plate, not wanting to talk about it any longer than I had too. 

…

I was in Target for some unknown reason when I saw Tara run by. “Run, he’s coming for you!” she yelled running to the back of the store. I turned around but didn’t see him. I started to panic when I heard a popping sound come from the front of the store. Trying to get as far away as possible, I turned around and ran in the direction that Tara ran.

The store was empty as I ran down aisle after aisle. “You can’t run for forever! I’ll get you like I got your friend!” he yelled as I came to a stop. On the aisle for baby food, Tara was on the floor shot through the head. Her eyes were weird from when she came face to face with her killer. I screamed which let him know that I had found her. He would be heading in my direction any time now.

“You should never have left that little house of yours, now this is what happens when you step out of your safety cage,” he said as he lifted the gun up to my face.

…

I shot up in the back seat of the car as we drove down I-25. The day we went shopping took a lot of courage out of me, but has caused nightmares. Miles was driving while Tara slept in the front seat with her head on he's arm. I looked out the window as lights on the night highway flashed by, not wanting to look at the love in front of me. 

We were the only car on the high way at 4 in the morning. Miles didn’t want to stop at a hotel; he thought that since he was driving, he was in control. I gave up hours ago trying to get him to stop.

“Do I need to drive?” I asked as I lean my head on the window.

“When did you wake up?” he asked looking at me from the mirror before he looked back to the road.

“Just answer me,” I said mad since he wouldn’t stop at a hotel.

“No, I’m fine,” he said as he pointed to a Mountain Due. “How are you doing? Feeling ok?”

“Yeah, just want a bed.”

“There is a nice clean warm bed waiting for you when we get home, you can sleep all day if you want to,” he said as I began to hear a tone in his voice.

“What is the deal with you and hotels?” I asked sitting up.

“Nothing, ok. Why do you want to know?”

“You are mad for one,” I said. “What happened to you that made you hate hotels so much?”

“I don’t hate hotels, they scare me,” he said after a long period of silence as he pulled off the highway. I could tell there was a story behind it but knew better than ask. We'll, mainly me, will find out one day.

“The best way to get over your fears is to face them you know,” I said leaning against the window again.

“Coming from the girl we had to drag out of the house to get her to the car,” he said without thinking. By the time he realized what he had done he couldn’t take it back.

Two hours later I saw the first ray of sunlight as we pulled into the drive through of a fast food place. “Tara, wake up. Time to eat something before we get home,” Miles said as he pulled up to the window to pay for the food.

“Why don’t we just wait until we are home to eat?” Tara asked without opening her eyes but reaching out for her food.

“One, I paid for it already, and two because I’m hungry,” he said as he handed Tara a chicken sandwich. Miles handed me a chicken breakfast wrap as he pulled out a large thing of fries that he special ordered and had to wait longer for.

“That’s a health breakfast,” Tara said as she opened her eyes and sat up in her seat. She looked back at me and then at Miles. “What happened? Nicole, you are usually talking nonstop. Are you ok?” I didn’t answer, Miles was right. How can I give advice on how to overcome fears when I wouldn’t even do that myself?

“How much longer until we get into the heart of New York City?” Tara asked wide awake an hour later.

“Right,” Miles said, pausing for special effects, “now,” he finished as he came to a stop behind a long line of cars. “You two are in your first traffic jam in New York City.”

I turned around in my seat and pulled out my video camera from my book bag and started to tape. “First traffic jam in New York City on October 2, 2012, Miles is driving with Tara in the front seat,” I said so that in the future who ever watches this would know what was going on. “How do you feel Miles, after driving for ten hours without sleep?”

“Tired,” he sighed rubbing his eyes.

“Wish we had stopped at a hotel?” I said messing with him. He turned to look at me and the camera and rolled his eyes. We moved a foot before having to stop again. “I take that as a yes,” I answered the question for him.

I turned the camera around to face me and started to talk. “My name is Nicole; I am leaving my uncle and my old life behind after an accident at school and am starting over again here in New York. Miles is my aunt’s son and,” I lowered my voice, “I believe Miles and Tara like each other.”

“What did you say?” Tara asked turning to try to grab the camera but stopped. “Look!” she yelled pointing behind me. I turned with the camera still in my hands to see a Limo behind us.

“Our first day and this is the first thing we go crazy over,” I said into the camera, as everything in the past few months left my mind for the first time. I zoomed in and was able to see through the front window of the car. Behind the driver I could see someone sitting behind them and two other people sitting across from them. Someone lend over in the limo, making it four people in the limo, not counting the driver.

Miles started to move and I lost focus on the limo. I turned back around in my seat and taped us as we slowly made it through the traffic. “Are you actually going to tape the whole ride to the house?” Miles asked when he noticed that I was still taping. I could tell by the looks on their faces that this moving here was the best thing to happen to me yet.

“Yes, yes I am. I want to remember the day of my new life,” I said as I turned back around in my seat to see if the limo was still behind us. It was.