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Dylan scrambled to pack a bag. She found an old duffel bag in her closet and started to haphazardly shove clothes inside of it. She packed a toothbrush, a few other essentials, and some cash she had shoved in between her mattress for safe keeping. The boys were out in the living room waiting for her so they could all leave.
Jonathan knocked on her open door. "Almost ready?"
"Yeah, almost," she'd tried to play cool since the four boys showed up at her doorstep but now the anxiety was creeping up on her. Her hands shook as she zipped up her bag. "Okay, now I'm ready!"
Jonathan looked down at her hands and frowned. "You're scared."
"I hate admitting it but yeah I am," she sighed. It's like this cycle is never ending. I've already lost Barb, Heather... Billy. Who's next, is it me? You?"
Jonathan stepped toward her and held her shaky hands in his own. They started to still. "Neither, okay? Everything's gonna work out. You don't have to come, you know."
"Yes, I do. You need help."
Mike barged into Dylan's room. "Uh, are you guys coming or what?"
Instinctively, Dylan and Jonathan sprung apart as if they had been caught doing something wrong. Mike stood just inside her bedroom doorway, one hand on his hip and tapping one foot impatiently.
"Yeah, we're ready," Dylan picked her duffel bag off the bed and tossed it at Mike. He stumbled backward but managed to catch the bag. "Here, kid. Since you're in such a hurry you can carry my bag."
Mike huffed but hiked the bag over his shoulder and led them down the stairs to the parking lot of her building. A bright yellow van was pulled up to the front entrance and it had a bright red sign that read SURFER BOY PIZZA. Dylan glanced back at Jonathan who was a step behind her.
"We're travelling in that?"
Jonathan looked embarrassed but nodded.
"What a discreet vehicle. I'm sure we'll blend right into traffic and the U.S. Army won't have any trouble finding us at all!"
"It's all we had," Mike threw her bag into the back door. "And, as you can imagine, we left in a hurry."
Mike jumped up and crawled in to the back of the van. Jonathan was still behind her. "You can have shotgun, if you want."
She instantly shook her head no. "No I think I'll take my chances on the backseat with Will and Mike. Your new friend is a little... much."
Jonathan laughed. "I get that. But I swear when you get to know him, he's a good guy."
Dylan could already hear the reggae blasting from inside the van and Argyle bopping his head in the front seat, no doubt singing along. Dylan pictured that in her head for eleven hours straight, stuck up close and personal in the front cabin.
