Chapter 1 Running away, it s what I do best. It s what I m doing at the moment. Staring out a bus window, the miles flashing by but I m not really seeing a thing. I m in many other places than here, so far away. I boarded the bus in Miami at around 4:45pm. I knew no one would try to stop me but I couldn t stop looking over my shoulder every step of the way to the bus station. I almost expected Caleb, my newly ex-boyfriend, to jump out of every shadow. He was being held, against his will, at a local hospital under psychiatric evaluation. This was my doing. It was the only way I could get away. I wouldn t normally have people committed against their will but drastic times call for drastic measures. I think that s the old saying, anyway.

My family is long gone. As it so worked out both my mom and dad were only children, as was I. They passed when I was 12. Car accident. Tragic. That s the word people always use when they speak about it. Both grandparents, long gone. As far as friends, well, I was always a bit of an outcast. Not a loner or a loser somewhere in between I d say. I never let people get close. I had aquaintences but certainly no one I d trust with my future location.

Every summer, my parents would take me to a town in northern Michigan called Paradise . It was just that. I had summers full of blue water, toasted marshmellows and the smell of mosquito spray. My heaven. When I made the decision to leave, in my heart, I knew there was no place I d rather go. A part of me expected my parents to be there waiting for me. It was heaven, after all unfortunately that s not what I found when I exited the bus a day later.

Wow , I breathed as I took the scene. People exiting the bus pushed past me in annoyance. It was nothing like I remembered. Was I in the right place? I rushed through the crowd, people greeting their families, hugging their friends. My parents weren t here. Part of me was disappointed.

I m sorry? I said to the guy behind the counter, who I was clearly interrupting. He didn t look up. Yep he said. Not really sure if he was clearing me to ask a question or agreeing with me. I, uh what city is this? I exhaled hard, feeling dumb. The guy looked up, a little amused. He smiled as he answered, It doesn t get much better than this. This is Paradise. He shook his head a little and went back to his work. I took a few steps away as my mind raced. I guess I was really trying to grasp that I really had spent all my money coming here, that I really had no one.

I threw my hands down and walked back out to the bus to get my lugguage. I brought a bike and two giant knap sacks. I mean huge. I m stronger than I look though. I strapped the giant bags to my back and walked my bike to the front of the bus station and mounted it. I felt eyes burning into me. I peddled as fast as I could. I had to scout before sunset.