The door of the bus hissed closed then the bus jerked away from the
curb. A sad pair of blue eyes stared, unseeing, as the city of Cascade
passed in a blur.
"The best partner...badge...academy..." the words were all burned in his
mind, but they were a false dream. didn't any of them understand? It was
over. All of it. He WAS a fraud, and the worst kind of one. the person
he was lying to this time was himself.
Academy, yeah right. He was an admitted fraud. He wouldn't survive his
first day in court. The prosecution would have a field day the first
time he testified. No the idea of becoming a cop would never work now.
School was out too. Try to prove yourself after this. No way. It was
time to go. It was the only way.
Now that Naomi was gone, he couldn't even go to her for help, not that he
ever had relied on her much.Still, her death right after the diss fiasco
had hit him hard. Perhaps it had even been the start of his downward
spirl.
He fingered the money stuffed haphazardly into his pocket. It was
everything he could scrape together quickly. His heart was heavy as the
bus left Washington. He wondered briefly if anyone would miss him. No,
he decided, no one would. He'd be lucky if they even noticed he was gone.
He remembered his first bus trip. He'd been ten then. A pre-teen
desperately seeking his frequently absent mother's attention. She had
finally grown tired of her high maintenance son and sent him to a cousin
in Denver.
Then there had been the bus trip to Rainer when he was just sixteen. A
scared boy herded on a two thousand mile trip. His mother was on her way
out of the country and didn't have time to make sure he got there
safely. He heard from her again about six months later. He'd never told
her about that trip. He didn't want to remember it himself. It had been
months after that before he could allow anyone to touch him again. Even
more months before he could go anywhere and feel safe.
This trip would be different, he told himself. This trip he was taking
willingly. This trip would be the start of his new life, a new dream.
The bus pulled to a final stop, but he didn't notice at first. He didn't
notice until someone tapped his shoulder gently.
"Blair" a familiar voice called softly. "Its OK buddy, I've got you.
You're gonna be alright."
He looked into eyes as blue as his own. A man who had once been as close
as a brother stood before him. He was gathered into strong arms and was
surprised to find tears streaming down his face. For the first time in
weeks he felt wanted, welcomed.
"You OK now?"
Blair nodded against his friend's chest. He didn't want to let go,
couldn't let go just yet. He was held in the embrace a few minutes more.
"Let's go home the, OK?"
He sniffled softly then picked up his duffel bag. An arm was draped
comfortably around his shoulder as he was led out into the cold Colorado
night.
"Thanks Daniel" He murmured as he slipped into the passenger seat of his
friend's car.
Daniel smiled at him. "tonight we go home. In a few days we go see
General Hammond about your new job. You'll see Blair, it's really going
to be OK."
The End
