Chapter Five.

That night we drove without direction around Washington and we both decided that this place was not the place for us so we decided to just travel. Washington held memories that neither of us wanted and the only way we could start fresh was to leave.

It was well past midnight and I was getting very tired. Milo suggested we stop off at a rest stop.

"Out here we can sleep in cars and not get ticketed. It's perfectly legal." He said as he hopped out to go use the restroom.

It's so sad that he knows all of this. He has been doing it for so long that I wonder what would happen if he ever had an actual home to live in. He's so used to living on the streets, I'm afraid he wouldn't know the right direction to move in. What am I talking about? Here I am and I don't have any clue what im doing or where I'm going.

I guess there isn't any direction for us; we're just some drifters and the road is our sea.

Milo hops back inside and turns the heat up so we can stay warmer. "I know you have to turn it off but just a few more minutes. I am so cold." His teeth chatter and I pull the blankets out from behind our seats. We wrap one around us and I lock the doors.

We sit there for a while just listening to each other breathing and the low humming of my truck (thank goodness Rosalie tuned it before they all left). I look over at Milo who is now asleep. He has a peaceful look on his face as he dreams and every so often he would smile and mumble something. It reminded me of all the times Edward would stay with me and watch me sleep. He would tell me how cute I was and what I said. He said that that was one of his favorite things about me. Too bad those days are over.

I wonder if Alice has seen me. If she knew this was going to happen, why wouldn't she come and stop it or why couldn't she come and help me? No more tears, Bella. Remember, this is the real world.

I close my eyes and drift off to a cold sleep.

Waking the next morning, my back ached so bad that I had to get out of the truck and stretch for a good ten minutes. I woke Milo up who seemed so out of it, I felt so bad.

"Hey" I said trying to make him feel better, "I know we gotta save our money, but how about we get some McDonalds?"

Her perked up and gave me a big hug. "Thanks, Bella. I haven't had McDonalds in forever!"

After using the restroom and stopping off at a gas station to buy us a bottle of toothpaste and toothbrushes we head inside to McDonalds. I told him to order whatever he wanted and it felt really good to help someone out.

Getting our food and chomping away like our life depended on it, we then took a seat in the back of the restaurant.

"So, Bella, you ever going to tell me about your ex boyfriend?" Milo asks out of nowhere. I chew my food thoughtfully, trying to figure out where to start. It's not like I can tell him that they were a family of vampires.

"Well... let's see... I loved him, I thought he loved me, and then he told me he never loved me at all. He then convinced his family to move and leave me behind. Next thing I know, they all left and I went into a depression. Four days later my dad and I get a call saying my mom and my step dad got into a car accident and died on impact. Then as if things couldn't get any worse, my house caught on fire while my dad was in it, leaving me with nothing and a few hours later I came to the homeless shelter. Here I am. End of story."

"Wow, Bella. I thought I had it bad. I'm so sorry."

"What's your story, Milo?"

"Nothing exciting, I grew up in Washington and lived with my mom and dad. My mom left us when I was twelve and my dada started taking out his anger on me. He would beat me all the time and he started using drugs. He started locking me in the basement without food and water and I would be down there without any light for days. One night, he came down and I couldn't take it anymore and I just spazzed out. I was fifteen and when he went to go and hit me, I hit him back with so much force that it surprised him and knocked him down. I ran upstairs, grabbed a bag and left. That was it."

"Oh my god, Milo. How can you say that isn't that bad?"

He shrugged and took a bite of his burger.

"We got it rough."

"Yeah. Yeah, we do." I agree.

"What an asshole that guy was to you, Bella."

"What an asshole your father was to you."

He lifts his cup and I clink it with my own cup in a 'cheers' fashion and laugh at our silliness.

After we drive for a few more hours, I don't even know where we are. We don't have enough money to stay at a cheap motel so the truck will have to do. I park my truck behind a little market and we see an alley where a bunch of people are. As we walk by, a woman stops us, she couldn't be any older than thirty and looked like she's been out here for many years.

You'd think that I'd be scared by now, but truthfully im not. Im starting to understand this whole 'homeless' thing and, I've dealt with worse things like vampires. How scary can this old hag be?

"Hey, you two love birds... this spot is taken so if you need a place to sleep, you best get on moving somewhere else." Her voice comes out in static. It makes me want to covers my ears. How long has this crazy lady been smoking?

"What makes you think we're homeless?" I ask.

"I know people who ain't got anything when I see them. You two are in a good need of a bath."

I honestly didn't think we looked that bad. Maybe I was wrong. I look back at Milo who grabs my hand and leads us back to the truck and he grabs the game system out of the trunk and hands it to me. He then grabs the TV and he walks back over tot h crazy lady.

"How much for these two?" he asks. Her eyes light up at the merchandise and she waves us behind her. We follow her towards the back of the alley and I know that we are not safe, but there is nothing we can do. We have to try and get some money some how.

"Hey, these kids wanna sell their stuff for some cash.' She says to a tall and lanky guy with greasy hair.

"I'll give 'em to you for fifty bucks."

"That's it?" I ask.

"This is real life, honey. I'm being generous. You'd be surprised to get that for twenty the way things work around here."

I nod at Milo and we hand over our stuff. The guy gives is fifty bucks and offers room in the alley. We nod in thanks and grab our blankets.

"This is insane." I mutter.

"You gotta be quiet around this people, Bella. They know weakness when they see it. You gotta be tough out here."

Later, that night as Milo and I lean against a brick wall in between two buildings for warmth, I take a look at our surroundings. There's not much to see since we're a good distance from the road, but some of the guys about twelve feet away got a fire going and I can get a good look around me as well as feel a hint of warmth on my face as the wind blows the heat my way. There is a girl no older than fourteen sitting in a corner talking to another girl her age. They chat happily as if they have no care in the world. Aren't they the least bit scared of is out there? Judging by the looks of them; that would be a no.

I miss Edward. I miss him to pieces. I wish he was here to hold me and keep me safe. I start to cry and I feel Milo pull me into his chest. He rubs my back and I cry throughout the entire night.


Do not worry... Edward will come in soon. :)