Goodbye, Farewell, Adios, It All Means The Same:

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely sure?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely, a hundred precent sure?"

"Lydia!" I exclaimed in annoyance as I turned around to look at her with my hands on my hips and she gave me a frustrated pout back from where she was sitting on my bed as I shook my head at her in exasperation. "I promise you, I am absolutely, a hundred and ten percent sure about this."

"I know. I'm just going to miss you. A lot." Lydia said sadly as she looked down at her hands with a frown on her lips and I hurried over to her side as I sat down next to her. I took her hand in mine as she leaned her head on my shoulder with a delicate sniffle and I leaned my head on top of hers as I ran my thumb over her knuckles.

"You know why I have to do this, right?" I asked her softly in a slightly desperate voice as we both lay down on my pillow at the same time and she nodded her head silently as I tried to stop the tears in my eyes from falling.

"I get it, Sophie. I kind of feel the same way. So much has happened here, so much sadness and hurt and death. I understand why you're doing this." she assured me firmly as she squeezed my hand gently and I nodded gratefully as we laid there together in content silence for a moment. I finally let out a heavy sigh as I pulled myself out of her embrace and stood up from the bed as she sat up with tears in her pretty green eyes. I walked over to my closet before kneeling down in front of my open suitcase and zipping up the full bag of clothes as I sniffed delicately with tears of my own.

"Okay, a couple of more things." I muttered out loud as I stood up from the ground and wandered over to my vanity table before removing the Polaroid photographs from in between the glass and the frame. I avoided looking directly at the people in the photos because I didn't want to start crying and I stashed them in the side of my suitcase before turning around to face my strawberry blonde best friend with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course. I'm going to be fine!" she assured me with false cheer in her voice as she roughly wiped her cheeks and I tilted my head to the side with both my eyebrows raised doubtfully. "No, really. I have my mom, and Scott, and Stiles…"

"You can call me anytime."

"And I will."

"If you need me I'll come back in a heartbeat."

"And I won't."

"I love you, Lydia." I told her honestly as I wrapped my arms around her tightly with tears in my eyes and she let out a breathy chuckle as she hummed in agreement.

"I love you, Sophie." she replied easily as she returned the hug with equal force and I pulled back with a smile on my lips as I discreetly wiped a tear away from under my eye. I pressed a kiss to her cheek as I stepped around her and grabbed my suitcase from the floor before heading over to the vanity table. I placed a white envelope on the counter top as I looked over my shoulder at my friend with a warm smile and she smiled back tightly with tears in her eyes as she waved her fingers at me while I headed for my bedroom door.

Dear whoever is reading this…

I'm sorry that I left without saying goodbye. I'm so sick of saying goodbye to people.

Please, don't panic. I'm perfectly safe.

I needed a break, desperately. Everything, everywhere, and everyone in Beacon Hills reminds me of someone I've lost. It's haunted by ghosts of the past and I need to clear my head.

Every time I walk into my room I want to cry. That's why I painted the walls, got new furniture. But it still smells like Aiden. One of the downfalls of being a werewolf, I guess. I cleaned ever surface and I washed my clothes, anything that could get rid of his scent but it's still there. Maybe it's not there at all and I'm just imagining it. Either way, it's painful just to be in there.

Everything has a memory attached. Some good, some bad. But always painful.

My nightmares have been getting worse and worse every night. I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone that it was happening, but I just didn't want to worry anyone. Although, I knew you were all worrying about me anyway. You seem to forget I have supernatural hearing, and I can hear conversations taking place in the kitchen all the way from my bedroom.

I know that they're not real, but they feel it.

I really do think some time away will be for the best. I just need to adjust and come to terms to the new reality and I think I can do that better away from Beacon Hills.

I have my cell phone and my laptop with me and I'll call you every day. Numerous times a day if that makes you feel better.

I love you all…. I'll call you when I get to where I'm going.

Sophie