�Road To Nowhere� Chapter 23: Everything's Changed

�He�s crazy,� Courtney thought. �He can't be serious.�

Dan�s eyes pleaded with her to let him help her and be there for her. Her eyes searched for clues as to what in the world would provoke him to do this. She found no answers.

�Dan, I can�t,� Courtney looked down at her feet. She didn�t want to see the look on his face. �We�re in high school. I can�t marry you.�

�But� Courtney, it doesn�t matter that we�re in high school. I love you and don�t want to see anything else bad happen to you,� Dan pressed his forehead against hers looking directly into her eyes.

�Dan, I just don�t think that you�re being rational,� Courtney replied.

�Courtney, I am being rational. I know that I love you and want to be with you forever,� Dan wanted her to understand where he was coming from.

�Dan, believe me, I would give anything to marry you. I would give anything to have something so constant and someone who loves me, but I just can�t. Not right now,� Courtney felt a tear fall from her eye. Why did this have to hurt so much?

�Okay,� Dan said but didn�t mean it. It wasn�t okay with him. He didn�t want her to go off to Orlando with her father. That man was not good to her.

�Let�s just go to school now,� Courtney wanted to change the subject.

�Okay,� Dan said shakily. �I�ll be in the kitchen.�

With that he left the room leaving Courtney sitting on the bed. The tears fell silently. She wanted to be with Dan. She knew that he would take care of her and be there for her always. But something was telling her in the back of her mind not to. Just to walk away from him and not look back.

Courtney pulled a blue tee shirt over her head. She borrowed his jean jacket and left the jeans she had worn the night before on. When she was done, she went out to the kitchen. Dan was sitting at the table waiting for her. He looked up at her. It hurt him to look at her beauty. It hurt to be in the same room as her.

�Let�s go,� he whispered, his voice cracking.

Courtney silently followed him out the front door. They got into the car from the night before and drove to the school. Not a single word was spoken. The silence was deafening. The tension blanketed the two. Neither wanted to be the one to break the silence.

The pair walked into the school hallways and found themselves face to face with Ashley, Matt, Chelsea, and Josh, each with their own look of surprise and sympathy. Courtney almost broke down again. Her friends just wanted to help her; they always had been there for her.

�Court,� Josh stepped forward. �Are you okay?�

�No,� Courtney answered truthfully. Why lie when she knew they�d find out anyway?

�I tried to call your house last night. You didn�t answer,� Matt stated the facts.

Courtney took in a breath when she realized that none of them knew that she had slept at Dan�s the night before. She choked up when she realized that they didn�t know that he had asked her to marry him either.

�Um, yeah. I slept at Dan�s last night,� Courtney said not knowing how much to tell them. She looked at Dan for reassurance. He looked back at her with hurt in his eyes. She knew she couldn�t tell them.

�Why? What happened?� Chelsea asked. Even though she and Courtney fought, they were still best friends and cared about each other.

�My dad was drunk and his temper was flaring. I had to get out of there,� the tone of Courtney�s voice let them know she didn�t want to go into detail.

Matt, who had been silent thus far, hugged Courtney. His arms held her tightly against his body. He was the only one who saw that Dan had been there for Courtney when she had needed someone the most. Only Matt saw the love and protection Dan had for her. Only Matt knew there was something that they weren�t telling the group.

�Court, is everything going to be okay?� Matt asked trying to get in between the lines.

�I don�t know yet,� Courtney�s struggle was laid out on the table for everyone to see. She hated being exposed like this. She knew that even though her friends loved her, they all had their own opinions running through their minds. She could almost tell what they were thinking, all of them except Dan. She didn�t want to know how much she had hurt him.

Luckily she didn�t have to take anymore of this. The bell rang saving her from her thoughts. She walked away from the group to her homeroom. Nothing would ever be the same again, that was for sure. She just had to find a way to keep Dan in her life even after she went to Orlando.

* * * *

One week later not much had changed. Courtney and Dan were still in love but hesitant toward each other. Courtney�s dad and Cynthia decided to elope and not have a huge wedding, so Courtney was in the process of packing her stuff. They would be driving to Orlando the following week. Courtney�s friends tried to make her life as easy as possible; no one had any idea what to say to her. She was distant and reluctant toward them.

Dan was over one afternoon helping her pack her belongings. Courtney watched as her delicately handled all of her things. She saw the glimmer in his eye as he let the tears fall. She ran to him.

�Dan, don�t cry. Oh, please don�t cry,� she hugged his head to her chest.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. �I can't help it, Court. I�m going to miss you so much. I just wish you�d let me take care of you.�

�Oh, Dan, you know I can't. I have to go,� Courtney held him for fear of breaking down again.

�I just wish�� Dan trailed off. He couldn�t do this anymore. It was like living a lie, a lie he couldn�t keep inside anymore. �Courtney, are you sure that you don�t want to marry me? Because I would do anything for you. Anything at all.�

Courtney knew he was sincere and wanted to be with him more than anything. �Please, Dan. Don�t make this any harder than it already is.�

�I�m not trying to make it harder, I�m just trying to make it easier,� Dan replied. �Easier.�

* * * *

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