"So, you coming?"
"Yes..."
Later that night
"Okay here's our ride, let's go"
Brandon got up and looked at Dawn waiting for her to follow him.
"you can go back, there is still time" a little voice inside her head said, "I have nothing worth going back to" she answered it and then got up and followed her boyfriend.
Earlier while they were waiting in the bus station she called her house from a pay phone and told her mother she wanted to sleep over friend's house so they at least not now, Marge said it was fine after all she was already worried about Missy being kidnapped and everything so she didn't think much about it, that would give them a headstart.
She walked by Brandon's side and let him put an arm around her as they headed to their bus.
They got in the bus and looked for their seats
"So huh... do you want to sit by the window?" Brandon asked her as he placed his backpack in the compartment above their seats
"No thank you, I think I'll just sleep all the way there" Dawn replied as she sat down and kept staring at the ground
"Okay then" he said as he sat by her side
They stayed there and waited for the bus to leave, when it started moving Dawn felt her heart racing, it was really happening, she was running away for good with a boy she barely even knew, there was no way back, that fact terrified her but... it was also kind of thrilling, like a restart, a blank page, the adrenaline made she feel like she was flying.
A few minutes later Dawn started to fall asleep (she had a habit of getting sleepy during road trips), Brandon kept looking at her for a while and then put his arm around her so her head was resting on his shoulder until he dozed off as well
A couple of hours later their bus the station in NYC and they both woke up with the sound of people moving around. They got up, Brandon grabbed his stuff and Dawn followed him the way out of there
"So, what are we going to do now?" She shyly asked him
"You think you can walk a few blocks?" He asked her
"Sure, why?" She asked
"The plan is going to my uncle Stan's place and convince him to let us stay there, he's owns a building" he answered her
"You think he'll let us?" she asked him
"Yeah, we get along quite well, he calls my house once in a while to, you know, check if my father's still alive, and he's always told me if someday I wanted to get out of there I could stay at his place here, he's the landlord of a building" he explained to her
"Is he dangerous?" she asked, still a little apprehensive by the whole situation
"Oh so just because we're related you suppose he's a fucking out-law?" he asked with an offended tone
"No! Sorry, that's not what I-" she tried to say, afraid that she may have messed up again
"It's fine, I'm just messing with you" he said with a smirk, which relieved her, and then he noticed Dawn was shaking a little and worried that maybe she was feeling cold "I can get us a cab if you prefer" he offered her
"No, I'm fine with walking" she assured him, not wanting him to worry about her
"So let's pick up the pace" he told her as he placed his hand on the small of her back and they started to go faster
As they walked by the street Dawn tried her best not to show how scared she was, she's never walked in a place like that not even with an adult nearby and everywhere she saw she found something to be scared of even if she wasn't even sure what it was
"Okay, it's here" Brandon said as they were getting next to a building, from outside it seemed to have 10 floors or so and it didn't look so bad but the place could use a paint job
"Are you sure he's up?" She asked him, she wasn't even sure what time it was but it looked like around midnight
"I called him earlier to tell him I was coming" he told her
A minute later a man who looked similar to Brandon's father (only clean and well-dressed) opened the door to welcome them