As she was sitting on the bus, watching the scenery change and houses fly by, she couldn't help but cry. A fear and loneliness growing inside her, making her feel hollow and empty. She was on her own for the first time in her life. She curled up, hugging her knees close to her body, leaning her forehead lightly on the window of the bus and let out a deep sigh.

"Next stop Phoenix." Was heard in the speaker. 'Are you kidding me?' She thought. It felt like she'd been on this bus forever and she had just made it to Arizona. Frustrated, she rummaged through her bag in search for her headphones to drown out the noise of the bus and her own thoughts rushing through her head. Finally, she found them and curled up once again, deciding to make an attempt to sleep.

"Miss… miss?" Her eyes shot open, startled at the soft touch of the bus driver. "Miss, we have arrived in Dallas. You have to get off the bus." Still not completely awake, she scurried to get her things and left the bus, quietly apologizing to the driver as she on her way out. Upon entering the bus station she immediately knew, this wasn't the right place. She didn't know where she belonged anymore but she knew it wasn't here. She panicked. This wasn't right. She could feel her heart racing and tears forming in her eyes. What had she done? She couldn't survive on her own. She clutched her bag closer and ran towards the bathroom, locking herself in. With tears filling up her eyes she couldn't see while she rummaged through her bag, frantically searching for her cell phone. Once she had it in her hand she stopped for a second, trying to calm down and regain her sight. She wiped her tears and took a deep breath before dialing the all too familiar number.

"Benny?" she managed to get out before her voice broke. "Benny it's me, I-" a small click sound was heard and her heart sunk to the pit of her stomach. He hung up on her. She got up from the toilet seat and paced back and forth in the bathroom that seemed to get smaller by the second. Her heart was beating so loud and hard that she swore it would shoot right out of her chest. She really was all on her own now. Her pain suddenly turned to anger and it felt like time slowed down. She made her way towards the sink and placed one hand on each side of it. Staring at herself in the mirror she tightened the grip of the sink, her knuckles whitening.

"If they don't WANT me, then I don't NEED them." She said through clenched teeth before grabbing her things and storming out of the bathroom, making her way towards the departure hall. She can feel people staring at her as she determinately stomped through the bus station, only stopping to view the large monitor hanging from the ceiling, displaying the departure times. Where does she go from here? She needed to continue, needed to get further away from LA. She caught herself smile a little as she viewed the monitor. That's the place. She turned around and walked towards the counter.

She was suddenly awakened by a loud noise. Startled, she took out her headphones and peeked along the aisle towards the driver, trying to see what had happened. She could hear the driver mumble something incoherent while leaving the bus.

"GOD DAMN IT!" The driver's sudden outburst startled her and many of the other passengers. This can't be good.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid I have some bad news. We blew a tire. There are people on the way but it might be a while." The energy in the bus changed as the driver, once again, left the bus. 'This is just great.' She thought to herself as she reached for her water bottle. With the bus at a standstill the AC was off and it was quickly getting uncomfortably hot. She felt her clothes sticking to her body and she couldn't get comfortable.

"Screw this!" she said out loud. Loud enough to get a disapproving look from the older lady in the seat across the aisle. She didn't care. She grabbed her things and walked off the bus. A small breeze hit her face, the sun scorching hot. It's still better than the sticky heat inside the bus.

"Miss, you should stay on the bus until the transportation vehicles come and get all of you. They'll get you to a hotel or something." The driver said when he saw her get off the bus.

"I'm not staying. I'm… I'm going to… umm… walk the road." She told him. She couldn't stay here any longer.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea. We're kind of in the middle of nowhere right now. It will be best if you stay here and wait with the rest of us." He probably didn't mean to be arrogant about it but that's the way he came off to her. Acting like he knew what was right for her. Her brothers used to do that. They always were more social and would constantly give her advice, whether she wanted it or not. This was her time to take control of her life, of herself.

"I'm not staying here any longer." She had made up her mind. There was no turning back now. She turned her back on him and walked away.

"I really think you should stay." She heard him but didn't respond, just kept on walking. Focusing her eyes at a spot in the horizon and making her way towards it.

It wasn't long until she couldn't see the bus anymore and made her way towards a small bridge going over a creek. It was a beautiful setting. The sun made the water sparkle like diamonds. The small breeze made the trees and flowers dance in harmony with each other. She leaned forward, resting her forearms on the railing of the small bridge. She was going to get back in touch with her artistic routes. Her painting and her photography was going to help her and heal her, now broken, spirit. She took her phone out of her bag and stared at it in pain and in anger. In order for her to really move on, she needed to shed herself of everything that might have a negative impact on her. The only people she really knew was her brothers so it wasn't like she was leaving people behind. She was the one being left behind. Never being able to make friends, she had stayed close to her brothers since she was little. They had always been there for her. They made it a thing that if you wanted to be friends with them, you had to accept her. Many people called themselves her friends but they never would've noticed her if her brothers hadn't made it their mission to point her out, forcing people to be friends with her. Now, nobody wanted her. She took a deep breath before tossing the phone into the creek, watching it hit (and break) against a large rock before disappearing. It was done.

She was surrounded with nothing but nature. She didn't think that she that far out in the woods. Did she take a wrong turn somewhere? No, she was still on the main road, she was sure of it. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car. She turned around but couldn't see it yet. 'I'll just ask for a ride to the nearest town' she thought to herself. Then she got a little nervous. She had never hitchhiked before. What if she would end up in the car of some murderer? She saw the car come around the curve and she quickly stuck her thumb up, hoping that all the movies and TV shows weren't wrong about what that actually meant. The car slowed down, went only a few feet passed her before it came to a complete stop. She took a deep breath before walking up to the passenger side.

"You need help or something?" His voice was deep and powerful yet soft almost like a whisper. His muscular body made her tingle all over her body and his beautiful blue eyes made her knees buckle.

"Umm… yeah. I was on a bus heading for Atlanta and it broke down." She said far too slow for her own liking. What was this guy doing to her? She had never reacted like this before.

"Yeah, I saw the bus a while back. You walked all this way? Why didn't you just stay with the others?" It was a valid question, but what was she going to say? That she had a big fight with her brothers and ran away? That she was so angry that she couldn't stay in a confined space with strangers? Yes, that would sound great coming from someone asking for asking a stranger for a ride.

"I don't really know… I guess I'm just a little restless."

"Well I'm only going as far as Ellijay. But if you wanna… come with… I'll get ya there. If you want." He bit his lip slightly and avoided eye contact.

"Is there like a hotel or something in Ellijay?" She asked a little scared that it was a dumb question.

"Yeah I think there's an Inn on Main Street." He said while scratching the back of his head.

"Great." She got into the passenger's seat and buckled her seatbelt. She looked up and smiled. Their eyes met and she felt a jolt going through her entire body.

"I'm Megan."

"Daryl."