"I just thought I'd come over and tell you that I was leaving"

"Are you moving away?"

"Nah, just taking a bit of a vacation, but that means I won't be here to keep you safe. You'll have to be extra careful. I'll be back soon."

Johnny? Hello? Did you even hear a word of what I just said?"

Johnny blinked, coming out of his daydream to find that he was staring blankly at a wall.

"Huh?"

"I said 'you promised to take me out somewhere today', but you weren't even listening!"

Johnny blinked again.

"I did say I would didn't I?" He said to himself.

Aidan sighed and sat down on her couch next to her boyfriend, pulling her legs up under her and resting her head close to Johnny's but not touching. He didn't like it when people touched him. She never, for the life of her could understand why.

"Why do you always get so quiet and spacey?" she asked.

Johnny shrugged, but he knew exactly why. He'd left someone behind in his eager attempt to forget his past.

An eight- year- old boy who always trembled and squeaked. How long had it been? Nine years? That would make Squee...Seventeen. He himself was twenty-seven. He never did go back, but it was for his own good. Squee or no Squee, That place held haunting memories of his past; of the horrible, unspeakable treacheries he'd done. Even so, he still had this nagging demon in the pit of his stomach to contend with every day.

"Johnny, you're doing it again!" Aidan whined, jolting him, once again, back to the present.

"Sorry," Johnny said offhandedly.

Aidan sucked in her breath and let it out again in a big sigh.

"Okay, I can tell you've got something on your mind -" she said. "-So tell me what it is and maybe I can help?"

Johnny shook his head and gritted his teeth together in defiance, but then slowly began to speak.

"Nine years ago... I lived in another town about three hours from here. In that town, I...did...things. There was this kid and – God, I don't know." Johnny said.

Aidan frowned and then began to speak quietly, choosing her words carefully.

"Did you ...mol -"

"NO!" Johnny yelled, horrified at the suggestion. "Never! I just... I was very violent" he finished.

Aidan and Johnny sat on the couch in silence for quite a while, watching the silent screen of her television flicker with news reports. A Frooty Pops commercial. Yummy.

Aidan cleared her throat meaningfully.

"I think you should go back and see him again. The little boy, I mean, you know?"

Johnny felt a little perturbed that she was meddling in something she had no say in, but she was right, wasn't she? Maybe he should go visit Squee, just to see how he'd changed in his adolescence. He really didn't want to go back , as much as he wanted to see him again. He'd left that place for a reason and up until now, it had all been dead to him; just memories of the past and nothing more. He had not changed at all, though, except for his sleeping and eating now...and he didn't kill.

Finally, he made up his mind.

"Alright, I'll go...right now. Let's get it over with."