Aaron just nodded his head as his train partner went to work setting up her bed.

"I'm going to step out for a minute," he said, opening their sliding door. "I'll come in quietly. Good night."

He slid the door shut and made his way to the lounge car.

---

At the bar, Aaron found a few men worthy of conversation and ended up having a few rounds. It was a fun night; the game was on television, there were drinks, everyone was laughing, and overall, it felt nice to just have some fun.

However, as the night went on, Aaron couldn't get his parents off of his mind. No matter how many shots he took. Eventually, at around midnight, he slid himself out of the car, and fumbled his way to the restroom; getting his clothes from his luggage, grabbing his toiletries, and stepping into the shower.

After the shower, Aaron left most of his clothes back in his luggage, and walked back to his roomette with only gym shorts on. It wasn't as if it mattered.

Tired, depressed, and slightly drunk, Aaron silently crawled into his own bed and passed out. It was going to be a long train ride.

Anne woke up happily forgetting she was in a train car with someone else and slide down from her bed. "Good morning gorgeous how you doing" she muttered to herself walking out of the train car to her luggage grabbing a orange and yellow flame sun dress and went to the bathrooms to change bringing along her brush and other stuff.

---

Coming from the bathroom she walked back into the train car looking at the man's bag and remembering she was sharing the train car, " oops " she said before putting her stuff into the suitcase and sliding it next to her chair folding her bed back up.
" he must have been up late "she said then shook her head,"Was für ein dummer Mann." Said in German and walked out of the train car. Walking into the dinning car she sat down in a seat closest to where she came in, a few men scattered even less women. Shaking her head she brought out her phone and turned it on.
Seventeen missed calls from different numbers all not named. " delete"

Aaron woke up with one of the most raging headaches he had had in a while.

"What time was it? How long did I sleep?" He wondered. He glanced down at his watch. Too long.

Sliding down to the floor, he realized that his train partner wasn't around when he saw her stuff now neatly reset into her seat. Sighing, he folded his own bed back into the ceiling and made sure it all looked the same.

Walking in a surprisingly normal fashion, Aaron made his way to the bathroom and showered. Afterwards, he brushed his teeth and tongue to get rid of any smell of last night, and put on clean pants and a button-down.

Walking back to his room, he realized his partner was still gone. "Probably transferred rooms." He sarcastically thought. Aaron turned and made his way into the dining car.

Inside, he saw Anne sitting down at a nearby seat, staring down at her phone. Another attendant was making her way to presumably take breakfast orders, so Aaron sat down quickly.

"Morning, Anne." He said, trying to be friendly. She was about the only person on the train he knew. The attendant came up, and asked him what he wanted to have.

"Coffee and an omelet would be fine." He told her.

"Coffee would be good, oh and good morning Aaron" she said glancing up then back at her phone.
"Bing Bing" her phone rang agin and she just clicked it to end. " sorry bout that was it ringing last night I tought I turned it off but when I got it today it was on" she said putting the phone down to her coffee.
" You look half decent for getting drunk" she said in a half sarcastic manner, her was asleep like a drunk man. And believe her she had seen her fare share of sleeping drunk men, maybe to many.

Aaron laughed.

"Well, if we're being technical, it's because look decent for getting buzzed. I was conscious enough to hear a few of those phone calls, but not conscious enough to really care." Aaron joked; laughing quietly.

He felt pretty decent, and was hoping the coffee would help with the headache. Aaron glanced down at the phone Anne had been carrying the entire time.

"Although, it does sound like some people are really trying to talk to ya."

“Some people already had that chance.” she said moving some hair out of her face. That person wasnt someone she was wishing would call, anyway she didnt need to be called every 5 minutes Anne was a adult.
Again the phone buzzed and Anne answered it. The pperson was talking in english now "I told you to stay here but what did you do, go out on a train ride." the male voice was yelling at her.
,Putting down the phone she sat back and just stared out the window.

Aaron quietly listened to the conversation taking place; trying hard not to seem like he was eavesdropping. Very hard to do, it should be noted...

This Anne person seemed very enigmatic to Aaron. She would consistently make statements, hinting at her past, but nothing could ever be gotten out of her. I suppose I do the same thing... He thought to himself.

"What the hell," Aaron thought, "I'll ask, then."

"I guess I could see why you'd feel trapped." Aaron said to his partner in conversation. "My guess is that people that would take this sort of train ride aren't normal in the sense that they're vacationing. I would guess, most people would want to escape."

Aaron took a sip of his coffee. "The other side of the country seems like an excellent escape to me."

" a new job a new apartment, good place to stay but I would probably leave after I get some more money for the plane out to another country. " She said in a slight hopeful manner.

Aaron wasn't to genital about feelings but she barely had them so it didn't matter. Looking around she saw a few faces that looked familiar. Wasn't that the girl from the market she got her suit case in, well that didn't matter.

Finishing her coffee Anne stoud up," well I'm going back to the train car see you later. " She said grabbing her phone. Starting to walk away she flicked her hair back from her face like any normal girl would do.

Before Aaron could really respond to what Anne had said, he had left him alone once again in the car. Shrugging it off, Aaron finished his meal as it was brought to him; the coffee removing the remaining signs of last night's events.

Aaron didn't stand up, however; he looked out the window from his seat in the dining car.

Outside, the lands of Pennsylvania were passing by. People rode on bicycles and drove in cars; all traveling somewhere. For some odd reason, Aaron had a bit of a fantasy--in this fantasy, he imagined he were one of the people, riding their bicycles. Perhaps to school, or work; it did not matter. And that he looked into this very train as it passed, and saw himself.

Aaron wondered what the other man would think of him. What it would be like on the other side of the window.

"Sir," The train attendant said. She had come up behind him and startled him away from his mind. "Would you like a re-fill?"

Aaron looked down at his empty cup of coffee. "Uh, no thank you," He said quietly. The attendant returned to another table, and Aaron left the car; making his way back to his seat, and sitting down.

"Nice meal," He said aloud.

Anne was not in the train car they where sharing but wandering around the cars from a dinning car to a lounge area where she sat down listening to the music. They were passing through Pennsylvania and the scenery was beautiful. The music playing was pop songs on 103.5 as it said it was, once in a while.
At least she was safer on a moving train then in DC. Her home being broken into and most of her stuff taken while she was at work, ya much safer.
A few young looking men around her age went into the car and started to watch a soccer game being played on a flat screen. Sitting on a couch behind the chair Anne was sitting in. Boys watching there game, please this was a train ride come on.

Aaron was nearly happy that his partner for the train ride had disappeared. "Perhaps she was in the restroom?" Aaron thought. No matter.

Aaron slouched down in his chair, and propped his feet up on the empty chair across from him--on the very corner nearest the window, so as to not disturb Anne if she returned if he had fallen asleep.

And soon he did fall asleep; the rocking of the train had helped him, and soon he found himself in some sort of a darkened room. All around, was only smoke. He had a raging headache and stood up from the floor.

All around the walls of the room, through the smoke, were pictures of his family--a very familiar portrait of his mother, fathers, and himself--as a child.

Noises grew in his ears. At first, indistinguishable. But then growing, until finally, he heard them for what there were--the screams of his late parents.

The nightmare went on and on; taking turns Aaron had never wanted to remember, until finally, a jolt in the train had awakened him.

Aaron's eyes flashed open to see the ceiling of his roomette. Blinking a few times, Aaron began to notice his surroundings. Nothing had changed--except for the tears streaming down his face.

Fatigued, Aaron gazed out of the window and breathed heavily in his slouched position. It was going to be a long road to acceptance.

Anne walked to her train room after a small while there finding the dude here and starring out the window slipping into her chair not touching his feet she closed her eyes she hated when boys did that, always tossing and throwing stuff when watching a game. Food gets everywhere but the garbage bin.

And knowing anything about boys is a long shot, but hay her train partners was quiet and probably still a bit drunk so she was going to be and read since they had nothing better to do. The book was another romance novel she had on her kindle. Swept Away was the title looking out at the fields going by she smiled and started reading her feet propped up on his chair closer to the wall.

Aaron drifted in and out of sleep for quite some time; his vision endlessly blurred between the moving countryside and the haunting nightmares in his head. Finally, after what had felt like hours, Aaron's eyes slid fully open.

He glanced around, looking for reality. Had it been hours, or minutes?

In front of his was Anne; once more reading, on her kindle. She was slouched in a similar manner to him; propped in the same position as well.

Aaron's headache had subsided and his hangover had left him completely sober--back to reality, indeed.

Looking out the window, Aaron assumed it was around lunchtime. "Some dream..." He mumbled. He remained slouched over, and stared down at his chest.

" nice nap you had there"she said in a laughing manner still reading. " I wouldn't suggest getting drunk tonight the hangover may stay with you when we switch trains," she said glancing up with a quick smile going back to her book.
Why was it so easy to find someone in these books it's not like you could fall in love in 6 days it was under heard of. But she loved that part, It is the reason most people read romance novels.
Putting the book over she sat up straight in her chair and started out the window. Why did love have to be cruel and unforgiving but in books it's happy and always there. Why.

"I don't normally drink," Aaron said quietly. "But thanks."

Actually, he never drank, under any normal circumstances....

Aaron sat up in his seat.

"You know," Aaron said as he drink some water from a bottle he had carried with him. "You keep yourself locked up in that book of yours a lot."

Maybe it was the alcohol, but Aaron was just tired of being blown off. He couldn't try to move on from what had happened to him if all he could do was think.

"Try out the real world sometime. It can be fun."

" the real world can be a piece of shit sometimes and I would rather be in one of my books. " Anne said with a smile. Being honest the real world for her was always a piece of shit but she would like to believe it wasn't

" I barely drink too so ya..." her voice trailed of after that and she sat staining out at the view.he was nice still in that phase after the hangover where bad choices are inevitable so she just sat there wondering about life for a few minutes. The lady from before stopped in carrying a coffee container and cups " would you like some Mr" the lady asked him shaking the container to prove a point.

"Sure" Aaron said to the lady holding the coffee. Maybe it would help to clear the remaining junk in his system...

The attendant put down Aaron's coffee and Aaron quickly tried a swig, then looked back up.

"Alright," He said to Anne. "I'll give you that the world can be pretty shitty sometimes. But, that's just a part of it, ya know? Books have moments where the characters deal with some pretty shitty stuff too. You can't make a good book in which everyone has a great time all the time, I would think."

Aaron took another drink of his coffee. "Sometimes you gotta take the good with the bad. Even when your just sitting on a train."

" that's why I'm moving cause then the shifty part can try and steal from a empty apartment." " Oh and in a fact books make it all better in the end."

She her self took some coffee and looked around the small room, her she was on a trip across country talking about books and feeling with some guy she barely knew, ya this was one of the strangest moment she had.
" what to do now is the problem at hand." She said taking a sip of her coffee looking at him.

"What do you now?" Aaron repeated after his temporary roommate. "It sounds like you're making your way out to L.A. with nothing but your suitcase."

Which was fair; after all, it's what he was doing as well.

"I'd be critical of your choice to leave your problems behind, but to be honest that's exactly what I'm doing, right now."

It was almost a bitter irony that, out of all the people in the world, he was paired with someone that seemed to mirror himself.

" What are you running away from, since you seem to have figured out my problem already. " She had her guesses to this, bad ex, missed payments, killed someone. But she didn't know she wasn't some psychologist.

He was nice thought, " I have a clothes bag but basically just my suitcase."