�Road To Nowhere� Chapter 24: Had To Leave It All

Courtney�s last day at Palo Verde High had come. She halfheartedly got dressed out of the suitcase still left in her room. She held her cheerleading outfit for a moment before folding it and putting it into her backpack. She made sure all her textbooks were either in her backpack or in her car. She would have to turn it all in today.

She walked into the school ready for her last day. Dan stood by her locker. She gave him a weak smile. �Hey,� she said.

�Hey,� he replied. �What do I say to her? What is there left to say?�

�So,� she said as she cleared out her locker.

�So,� Dan said.

�This is awkward,� Courtney observed.

�Yep,� Dan said helping her take out books and papers.

�We�re leaving tomorrow morning,� Courtney told him, although she knew that she already had.

�Yeah,� Dan fought back more tears. What would it take to make her realize that they were meant to be?

�Well there�s the bell,� Courtney said as the first bell rang. �I�ll see ya in homeroom, k?�

�Okay,� Dan echoed as Courtney walked down the hall.

* * * *

�Okay class, as most of you know, this is Courtney�s last day,� her homeroom teacher said. �So I�d like each of you to write her a �goodbye-good luck� letter.�

The class silently worked on their letters to Courtney. She sat in silence as she reminisced about all the good times in homeroom. She had met Dan there, she would never forget that. She watched as he sat hunched over his desk, writing furiously onto the paper in front of him.

Before the bell rang, the class gave Courtney their letters. She didn�t read them; she didn�t want to know what they said. She put them in her backpack and walked out of the room.

The rest of her classes went by fast. Her classmates gave her sympathetic smiles and wished her good luck. Her teachers did the same. She plastered a fake smile on her face to keep herself from crying. Lunch was no different than any other day. Her friends acted like everything was normal.

Courtney couldn�t take it anymore. �Please!� she shouted. �Stop pretending that nothing is wrong! I can't take it anymore!�

�Courtney, calm down. We�re just trying to make it seem like old times,� Chelsea explained.

�It�s not like that anymore though, don�t you understand?� Courtney hid her face in her hands.

�It�s okay, Court,� Matt said.

�Courtney, we�re here for you,� Dan told her rubbing her back.

�All these words you say, they don�t mean anything to me anymore,� Courtney said into her hands.

�What do you want us to do?� Josh asked her.

�I want you to make this go away,� Courtney said.

They sat in silence. They all wanted to make it better, but they couldn�t and it hurt. They all wished that there was something that they could do for Courtney, but there was nothing left to do.

* * * *

As the final bell rang, a sense of relief washed over Courtney. She was glad the day was over because now no one would have to pretend for her sake. She walked to her car. The sky had turned an ominous shade of gray. It perfectly suited her mood. She heard running footsteps behind her.

Dan came running from the building. He was breathing hard. �Courtney, there you are.�

�Here I am,� she replied. �What can I do for you?�

�I just wanted to say goodbye,� Dan said. �I don�t know when I�ll see you again.�

The reality struck Courtney. She wouldn�t see Dan for a long while. This was not how she wanted to say goodbye to him. She wished her mood was better, she wished the weather was better; she wished the circumstances were better.

�Courtney, I love you. I always will. And I�m going to miss you,� Dan embraced her not wanting to let go.

She returned the embrace. �I love you too, Dan. I�ll miss you too.�

They parted. As hard as it was to say goodbye, leaving was even harder. Courtney tore herself away from Dan�s gorgeous blue eyes. She got in her car and drove away, never looking back.

Dan stood where Courtney�s car had been parked not moments earlier. He watched in disbelief as the best thing in his life vanished down the highway. She was gone and he missed her already. The tears came and didn�t stop coming. Dan had never known a love like Courtney and he felt empty without her.

* * * *

Courtney drove to the hotel that she, her father and Cynthia were staying at. The moving company had packed all their belongings into a truck so they had nothing left to sleep on. This would be Courtney�s last night in the place she loved more than anything.

The night was endless as she tried to sleep. All of her dreams were haunted by images of her life without Dan. She knew she needed him. She awoke countless times at unmentionable hours. Nothing she tried seemed to help her sleep. When the morning finally arrived, Courtney was never happier.

She took a hot shower and dressed in comfortable sweats. It would be a long and tiresome drive to Orlando. They would make several stops along the way to relieve the fatigue. Courtney was going to drive her car while Cynthia and her father drove his Mercedes. Courtney look one look around the town she had called home for so many years before driving off into nowhere.

* * * *

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