Last Stop This Town (24 page)

The gang broke up and Pike pulled Dylan aside. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“About what you wrote. In my yearbook. About ‘reinventing myself.’”

Dylan was listening. He was glad Pike had read it.

Pike continued, “I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ in college. I’m going to try to quit smoking pot.”

Dylan tried to contain a smile and just said nonchalantly, “That’s cool.”

“Or at least cut back.”

Dylan patted Pike on the back. “There’s hope for you yet.”

And then something occurred to Pike. He said he didn’t want to be the same old Pike in college, but that Pike was already gone. As much as there was no going back, there was no standing still either. In the course of one night Pike had
already
reinvented himself. Change was inevitable. And the thought of it—that Pike really could be whoever he wanted to be in the future—was actually pretty exciting.

Pike gave Dylan a big hug. Dylan smiled, and in that moment they knew what their friendship meant to each other. Dylan turned to head outside to the beach.

But Pike stopped him. “Oh, and one more thing. If a girl fucks you up the ass with a dildo, does that make you gay?”

Dylan raised an eyebrow. “No, of course not.”

Pike cursed himself. “Shit. I knew it!”

Dylan just laughed and headed outside.

On the beach, Walker and Genevieve walked along the water holding hands. Walker was happy. The dawning sun lit up the Sound in orange and red. It was a beautiful moment. One, it suddenly occurred to Walker, that you usually only see in a herpes commercial. He tried not to let his mind wander and decided to stay in the moment.

That lasted another nine seconds before he blurted out, “You know, we should totally go back into the city some time together. Ooh, and I’m a really good cook. I could make you a lasagna some time—”

Genevieve covered his mouth with her hand once again. “You are the biggest dork in the world.” She removed her hand and replaced it with her lips.

Back inside, Sarah and Noah were hand in hand. As they, too, headed out to the sand, they saw Dylan standing on the porch alone. “You know, you two make a really great couple,” Dylan commented, truthfully.

“Thanks, Dylan,” Sarah smiled.

“Here.” Noah handed Dylan his yearbook back.

Dylan smiled. “I told you you wouldn’t have time to sign it.”

“I did sign it. We all did.”

Dylan was surprised. “When?”

“Just read it.” He headed out onto the beach with Sarah.

Dylan went over and sat down in a comfy lounge chair. He opened his yearbook to a page labeled “SAVED” on the top. He recognized Noah’s handwriting.

I’ll be honest, Dylan. I’m scared shitless. I’m scared about a new school, a new city. I’m scared about doing my own laundry.

Dylan quickly glanced at the page. It was filled out with all three of his friends’ handwriting. He wondered when in the world they had time to sign it.

The answer, of course, was back at the railroad crossing. Noah had felt a surge of emotion and suddenly remembered Dylan’s yearbook. So he stopped the car and woke up Pike and Walker. The three of them silently passed the yearbook back and forth, completing the message as one combined unit of friends.

Dylan continued reading, noticing that the handwriting had changed to Walker’s.

But none of that compares to how scared I am for you. I was worried before about what we were going to do without you and now that takes on a whole new meaning.

Noah told them
, he thought.
Good
. He didn’t want to have to try to explain it again. Dylan continued reading as the message turned to Pike’s scrawl.

I know you think you needed to protect us all these years and maybe you were right. But we’ll be fine on our own. And so will you
.

Dylan teared up.

The following weekend, Dylan went into basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. They shaved his pretty emo hair but Dylan didn’t mind. He strove to keep up with his platoon on a five-mile run, struggled to do another push-up in the mud, and strained as he repelled down a sheer cliff. And if that weren’t tough enough, soon he found himself jumping out of airplanes in the middle of the night on air-assault exercises and surviving in the swamp for days on end with nothing to eat but what he could catch. He was pushed to his limit and he loved it. Welcome to Ranger School.

I guess it's time to grow up. We've known our whole lives that this day would be coming but now that it's here, it's just a little hard to believe. Not sure if we're ready, but it's happening whether we're ready or not.

In the Fall, Dylan’s unit was shipped to Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. He’d seen some heavy action, but Army Rangers were pretty hard to kill.

On one mountain outpost, dressed in full combat gear, Dylan took a break, sitting reading his yearbook one more time as his unit ate lunch.

You were right about one thing. Life
is
for making memories. And we made some tonight. For that, I thank you.

Dylan smiled. Suddenly, a sergeant ran up and barked some orders. The men quickly stowed their gear. Dylan shoved his yearbook into his duffel bag.

Your friend, Walker

Dylan’s unit moved quickly down a rocky terrain.

Your friend, Pike

The sergeant silently signaled a full stop and the men readied their weapons.

Your friend, Noah

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• CHAPTER ONE
  
• CHAPTER TWO
  
• CHAPTER THREE
  
• CHAPTER FOUR
  
• CHAPTER FIVE
  
• CHAPTER SIX
  
• CHAPTER SEVEN
  
• CHAPTER EIGHT
  
• CHAPTER NINE
  
• CHAPTER TEN
  
• CHAPTER ELEVEN
  
• CHAPTER TWELVE
  
• CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  
• CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  
• CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  
• CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  
• CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  
• CHAPTER NINETEEN
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR