Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:26:43 -0700 (PDT) From: Ryan West Subject: Diving In 15 Chapter 15: It's the End of the World as we Know it Cameron Wright stretched his arms out across his white sheets. The sun shined in through the blinds onto his bare chest. He rolled over and picked up his phone to see what time it was. 11:24. He was surprised he had slept so late. He had much trouble getting to sleep the night before. There was a lot on his mind. Mostly James. And some Matt. Shouldn't it be the other way around? I'm in love with you. I know that's weird, and I'm sorry but I am. Ever since we met I...His words still rang in Cameron's ears. And the kiss. The way James placed his hands on Cameron's hips and pulled him in. The electricity that ignited the moment their lips had touched. He couldn't get the thought out of his mind. He couldn't get James out of his mind. This was wrong. Cameron had a boyfriend. He had Matt. Matt was the only boy who should be occupying his thoughts right now. He loved Matt, or so he had said. He didn't know anymore. Everything was so unclear. It didn't help that he was leaving to go to Matt's summer house the next day. He had a lot to figure out. He looked at his phone again and noticed that he had seven missed calls. Had he slept through all of those? He then realized he had put his phone on silent. Two of them were from Matt, but the other five were from James. The calls from James came at three in the morning. That was weird. He had two new voicemails as well. "Hey Cameron, it's me," It was Matt. "I'm on my way back from my little camping trip, and I just wanted to call and say hi. So hi! So, all of our food got eaten in the middle of the night by raccoons. Because Sam forgot to zip lock everything. Yeah so I'm really hungry and...yeah. I'll probably be back around three or something, so please be around, I want to see you. Love you." Great, as if he didn't feel guilty enough. It was nice to hear the sound of Matt's voice, however, the next message brought back more guilt. "Hey Cameron, its James." Cameron felt his heart tremble. " I really need to talk to you, please call me. It's really important. You know my number." That was a mysterious message. Cameron assumed that James just wanted to apologize or something about last night. Honestly, Cameron didn't feel like dealing with any of it right now, which was why he put his phone down and headed downstairs to the kitchen where the smells of fresh bacon was coming from. He entered the kitchen wearing only his boxers and scratching his head. His mother, Laura, was cooking an absurdly nice breakfast. Cameron was confused, because although his mother was superb his many areas, she rarely ever cooked. "What's all this?" Cameron questioned. Laura turned around surprised to see him. "Hey honey!" She said cheerily. "Nothing, just a little breakfast." "Mom, you're acting like this is a normal occurrence..." Cameron smiled. "What's the occasion?" "Okay, you caught me." Laura cracked a smile. "I just kind of freaked out last night while you were out. I realized that I'm going to be all alone this summer, and that you're leaving in a day." "You won't be all alone, Mom. You have Dad." Cameron reminded her. "Plus I'm only like a couple hours away. We can get dinner and stuff all the time." "Yeah, I know..." Laura said, unconvinced. "Anyways, how was last night?" "It was uh...interesting." Cameron said as he sat down at the kitchen table. "Interesting how?" Laura asked as she fished out a plate and began putting some bacon and eggs on it. "Did you and Alex kiss?" "No, mom!" Cameron groaned. "I told you we're just friends." "I don't know why. She's gorgeous, you're handsome..." Laura set down the plate in front of him. "Eat, eat, eat." "We're just friends, Mom." Cameron said as he took a bite. "Yeah, okay." Laura sat down next to him. "So what was interesting about it? Any girls fighting over you?" "Kind of..." Cameron swallowed down another spoonful of eggs. "Anyone I know?" Laura moved forward. She was interested. "Nope," Cameron looked away, then started to change the subject. "Oh, by the way I need to pack." "You haven't packed yet?" Laura groaned. Cameron was then lectured and then forced to pack for the next hour. At least it got things off his mind. ... Travis woke up fully clothed in Marissa's arms on Saturday morning. The T.V. was still on, and the DVD menu for Dirty Dancing was playing over and over again. He got up and turned it off, then tried to slowly snuggle with Marissa without waking her up. He failed almost immediately. Her eyes cracked open and she looked at him and smiled. He frowned back at her. "Sorry, baby, I didn't mean to wake you up, I was just..." Travis started to explain himself, but Marissa didn't seem to care. "It's okay, I should probably be getting up anyway." She stretched her arms out and yawned. "What time is it?" "About tweleve," Travis guessed. "Hm, alright." Marissa got up and headed over to her mirror. She inspected her face. She didn't look as bad as she thought she would. She wasn't wearing any make up or anything. "Do you have to be somewhere or something?" Travis asked. "Nope," Marissa realized and then laid back into bed with Travis. They lay there for a moment without speaking. Marissa sighed. "What?" Travis interpreted the sigh as something more than it actually was. "Nothing," Marissa laughed. "I'm just tired." "You should go back to bed," Travis warned. "I mean, if you don't have anything else to do today then why not?" "Yeah, I guess you're right." Marissa nuzzled her nose into Travis' shoulder. She placed a hand on his chest and began rubbing the fabric of his t-shirt. "I'm happy." "What?" Travis asked. He had heard her, but the randomness of the statement had caught him by surprise. "I said `I'm happy.'" Marissa repeated. "Oh...that's good." Travis wasn't really sure how to respond to that. "Are you happy?" Marissa asked. "Yeah, I am." Travis agreed. "I've just lived all my life filled with all this...bull shit. Just listening to who hooked up with who, who called who a bitch. I was sick of it. I was tired of getting wasted every Friday night and waking up hung over." Marissa began. "With you it's not like that." "I guess I feel the same way," Travis thought for a moment. "I mean before I met you I just was kind of drifting through everything. My focus was on how much bud I could get and when I could smoke it. I mean not that I'm going to stop smoking, it's just I don't care about it as much." "Are you just saying that?" Marissa asked. "What?" Travis didn't understand. "I mean, I don't know." Marissa sat up. "Look, I really care about you, but sometimes I feel like...I don't know." "No, talk to me." Travis asked. "I don't know what I'm trying to say," Marissa pondered for a second longer. "You freaking out about the possible pregnancy was not okay. I want you to know that." "I know," Travis agreed. "If you do anything like that again, I won't even think before I break up with you," Marissa warned. "I know," Travis nodded. "I just..." "I know, you already explained it. I'm just letting you know." Marissa cuddled up next to him again. "I love you." "I love you too," Travis said. And he meant it. ... James Winters had been calling Cameron all morning to no avail. He had heard Cameron's answering machine at least ten times in the past hour. Why wasn't Cameron answering his calls? Well, he knew exactly why. He thought that James wanted to talk about the kiss. Well, James did want to talk about it, but the whole Max issue had taken over. Max had murdered Kieran Wilmur. Max was a murderer. Cameron was the only person who would understand what that meant. He had been there with James. He had seen it happen. He needed to talk to Cameron to find out what to do next. Should he call the police? Should he tell the Wilmur family? First, he needed to get out of his house and find Cameron. Unfortunately for him, he was still grounded for getting kicked out of prom for fighting with Kevin. James' parents usually watched the Sunday morning talk shows. He opened the door and down the hall he could hear the T.V. playing. He quietly closed the door to his room and crept down the stairs. This plan was completely flawed and James knew it. He knew that his parents would probably check on him within the next twenty minutes. James didn't care, as long as he got to talk to Cameron. He swung the door open to see that he was facing Max Greco. Max did not look happy. "I need to talk to you," Max said with a stone cold face. "What do you want?" James' face got red. "You know what I want," Max pushed past James and into the front hallway. "What I said last night wasn't true." "Oh come on," James rolled his eyes. "Don't lie to..." "I'm not fucking..." Max started to yell before James cupped his hand over Max' mouth. "I'm grounded, keep your voice down!" James whispered. "Now look, I'm not stupid. Don't lie to me. I know what you said, and..." "Listen to me you little faggot," Max grabbed James by the collar. "If you even think about saying anything to anyone, I will tell everyone that you like to stick it up other dudes asses." "I could do the same back to you," James pointed out. "If you rat me out, I'll have nothing to lose," Max reminded him. "You will." "Look, I don't know what I'm going to..." James began to think things through. He really did not want to be outed, but he wondered if Max would actually do it. Before he could even think about it, James' mother came walking down the stairs. "James, you're supposed to be in your room..." She looked concerned. "Max, what are you doing here?" "Oh, Hi Mrs. Winters! Just stopped by to say hello..." Max backed off of James and smiled at his mother. "Well, you'll have to leave. James is grounded." Mrs. Winters explained. "Oh wow, okay. Sorry Mrs. Winters. I wouldn't want James to get in any trouble, I'll leave." Max smiled and headed for the door, but stopped once he reached it. "Oh and James, if you want me to tell everyone that thing for you, just let me know. It'd be my pleasure." With that Max closed the door behind him leaving James to go back to his room and think about the decision he was forced to make. ... Alex woke up early on Saturday morning and just lay in bed. She hated drama normally. However, the events that occurred on Friday night actually made her feel happy. Kevin had fought for her. Literally. Well actually not so literally, because the boy he had fought for her with was Cameron. But still, it was cute. Suddenly she caught herself thinking like this. This wasn't who she was. She was the badass chick who didn't care about anything like this. She didn't care about boys like Kevin Trainer. She cared about music, and films, and history. Kevin didn't like any of those things. He was a stupid dumb jock. Alex got out of bed and turned on her Ipod speakers and flipped over to some Sex Pistols. She needed to have some angry music time. It just helped her clear her head. "A no feelings, A no feelings, A no feelings, for anybody else!" She shouted the lyrics. In her head she began to convince herself that Kevin was an asshole. Everything he did he did for himself not for her. She had finally come to this conclusion when someone knocked at her door. She opened it to non other than Kevin Trainer. Great. "Hey," Kevin smiled rubbing the back of his neck. "You said that we'd talk in the morning so...here I am." "Yeah, come in." Alex gestured. Her place was a mess, but Kevin didn't look like he minded. He took a seat on the couch, pushing aside some dirty clothes. Alex stood above him thinking for a moment. "Can I get you a drink or..." "No, I'm good thanks," Kevin shook his head. Alex took a seat down next to him. "I firstly want to apologize for last night, I was a complete mess and I know that..." "You don't need to apologize," Alex looked down at the ground. "Okay, maybe you do actually, but still, it's really okay. I'm not mad. I mean, it's not okay that you tried to fight Cameron. It's really not, he's my best friend, but you were drunk. I've done some stupid stuff when I was drunk before too." "Yeah," Kevin looked down. "I still think that Cameron has a thing for you, but whatever." "Trust me, he doesn't. Oh, and don't worry, I won't take anything you said seriously," Alex laughed. "Since you were slurring your words." "Well, I meant what I said, if that's what your saying..." Kevin trailed off. "Meant what you said about what?" Alex asked. "I like you, Alex." Kevin looked into Alex eyes without hesitation. It made her uncomfortable and she looked away. "I know I can't be a dick, or whatever, but I do like you a lot." Alex wasn't sure what to say. "Okay..." Alex blushed. She couldn't believe she was blushing over a stupid guy. The thought of that was embarrassing, which made her blush even more. "I mean, would you want to...hang out with me?" Kevin asked. "Like a date?" Alex asked but immediately regretted it. Obviously it was a date. "It can be whatever you want," Kevin smiled. "I mean we can just hang out like go to a movie, or go to a party together, or you can give me a blow job and..." "You're such an asshole," Alex hit him and laughed. "I know," Kevin laughed back. "But I'm being serious." He then realized what that sounded like. "Not about the blow job, about hanging out." "Okay..." Alex thought for a moment. "I'll see a movie." "Now?" Kevin asked. "Um, I have some cleaning to do, as you can see..." Alex thought for a moment. "But how about tonight?" ... Cameron was on his way over to Matt's house. It was five twenty five, and Matt had just called him telling him that he was back from his trip. Matt had said he'd hit some traffic and that it had taken longer to get back than it would normally. Cameron had still not answered any of James' calls, and wasn't planning on doing so anytime soon. His logic was that if he could avoid the issue until he left for Matt's summer house, then it would go away. He parked his car right in front Matt's house and walked right in. He greeted both of Matt's parents and headed up the stairs into his room. Matt was packing his clothes in a big red duffle bag; he wasn't wearing a shirt and was wearing these brown plaid shorts. He was bending down digging through his clothes when Cameron walked in. Matt turned around with a big smile on his face. "Hey!" Matt smiled and walked over to Cameron and kissed him. "I missed you!" "I missed you too," Cameron smiled. He felt uncomfortable being around Matt for some reason. Something didn't seem right. He realized just then that he had technically cheated on him, and he felt extremely guilty. He sat down on Matt's bed. "How was the trip? "It was a lot of fun," Matt went back to packing. "It was nice to spend some time with everyone before I left. I mean, I'm not going to see anyone for a really long time. By the time we come back from the summer house, I'll go straight to college, you know?" "Yeah..." Cameron was listening, but he wasn't really there. His kiss with James kept replaying in his mind. He felt extreme guilt. "How was prom?" Matt asked. The question felt like a knife in the heart. "It was...okay," Cameron couldn't face Matt. "What's wrong?" Matt walked over to the bed where Cameron was sitting and placed a hand on Cameron's lap as he sat down. "Nothing, nothing," Cameron forced a smile. "Look, I know you're mad about the whole Jeremy thing," Matt started to say. Cameron had completely forgotten about Jeremy. Now he felt even more guilty. He had made Matt feel like a complete asshole when he had done nothing wrong. "I just want you to know that absolutely nothing happened. I barely spoke to him." "No, I'm just thinking about leaving tomorrow is all," Cameron couldn't look at Matt. "Are you having second thoughts?" Matt asked. "Because you really don't need to come if you don't want to. You can come out for a few weekends and..." "No, I want to come." Cameron smiled. All of a sudden Cameron felt a vibration in his pocket. He pulled his phone out and saw that it was James calling again. He ignored the call. "Who was that?" Matt asked. "Oh, Alex," Cameron lied. "I'm supposed to hang out with her tonight. To say goodbye." That part wasn't a lie, he really did have plans with her. "Oh, okay," Matt smiled. "You can head over there now; I mean I have a lot of packing to do. I'll see you tomorrow for graduation. My parents will pick you up at ten." Cameron kissed Matt on the cheek and then quickly left. His heart was racing. Things he hadn't even thought of before were now entering his mind. James, primarily. Everything was so confusing, his head was spinning. He hopped in his car and headed over to Alex's house. He needed to talk to someone. He arrived at Alex's apartment and quickly pounded on the door. It took her a few seconds to answer, but each second made Cameron more and more antsy. When she finally did answer the door, Cameron pushed past her and collapsed onto the couch. "What's wrong with you?" Alex asked and then closed the door behind her. "Everything," Cameron mumbled. "Oh, wow," Alex plopped down next to him. "Specific." "I don't even know where to begin," Cameron rolled over. He then began to explain everything to her. From meeting James and the car accident with Kieran, to meeting Matt, to James teaching him how to swim (however, he left out why he had stopped swimming), to the kiss the night before. Everything. "Fuck," Alex smiled with wide eyes. "Yeah," Cameron agreed. "Well, do you...like James?" Alex asked. "I don't know," Cameron thought for a moment. "Kind of, maybe, but no. I don't know. It's so complicated. A couple months ago I hadn't even had my first kiss and now here I am with two amazing guys." "Yeah, I feel so bad for you" Alex sarcastically sighed. "Oh , shut up," Cameron nudged her. "What do I do?" "I don't know," Alex thought for a second before continuing. "You have to make a choice. You can't keep James in limbo like this, not answering his phone calls. You can't have both guys. You have to choose." "Yeah, I was afraid that was the case." Cameron groaned. "I just...I mean logically I should pick Matt, right? He's an amazing guy, he's really cute and really funny and...James is...great, he's been an amazing friend and...James isn't a sure bet you know? We're very different people. He's a lacrosse player and party's a lot and...I don't know." "Well, you have to," Alex explained. "Like soon. Like right now." "Yeah," Cameron wiped his eyes. "I mean, are you sure you want to go away with Matt?" She asked. "It's an entire summer and if you're having these doubts then..." "Yeah, I guess." Cameron thought for a moment. "All right, I'm going to home and think things over." He headed over towards the door. "Okay, good. I have a date anyway," Alex casually stated.. "A date?" Cameron stopped at the door. "With who?" Alex paused before speaking. "Kevin Trainer, and look don't be mad..." Alex tried to defend herself. "Kevin Trainer?!" Cameron burst out laughing. "You're going on a date with Kevin Trainer?" "Shut the fuck up," Alex laughed as she pushed him out the door. Alex lay back down, when she heard another knock at he door. It was Cameron. "I just realized I'm not going to see you for three months," Cameron laughed. "Oh fuck, you're right!" She smiled. They embraced for a few moments before Alex kicked him out so that she could get ready for her date. ... James lay on his bed defeated. It was already seven o'clock- he couldn't believe that Cameron had ignored all of his phone calls. He didn't even know what to do next. He needed some sort of guidance. He had to decide what to do about Max. He had no one to talk to, no one would understand. Just as he felt that nothing was going right, he heard a knock on his door. He was surprised to see Cameron open it with his head held low. "Hey," Cameron smiled meekly. "I told your parents I had to give you your notes back from finals." "What are you doing here?" James sat up and moved to the side of the bed. "I...I came here to talk," Cameron started. "Look, I need to tell you something," James interrupted. "No, I know, James," Cameron sat down next to him. "I've been thinking a lot about you and...me since last night, and..." "Max Greco killed Kieran Wilmur," James revealed. "What?" Cameron was taken aback. "He came here last night after prom and told me when he was drunk," James explained. "He was driving the car that killed Kieran that night." "What do you..." Cameron was processing the information. "I can't believe this. We have to call the police." "That's the thing," James explained. "He said he's going to out me if I rat him out." Cameron looked extremely flustered. It was hard for him to process all of this. "Oh my god," Cameron mumbled as he placed his head in his hands. "What do we do?" "I don't know," James said. "I think there's a good chance that he won't out me, but I don't know if I'm willing to risk it. I mean...it would change everything." They sat in silence for a few moments. "You have to tell the police," Cameron finally said. "You think so?" James asked. "I mean it's the right thing to do, right?" Cameron thought aloud. "Yeah," James was quiet for a moment. "You're leaving tomorrow right?" "Yeah," Cameron nodded. "But you can call me and ask me advice about everything, I hate to leave you with this horrible dilemma..." "Yeah," James muttered. They both were quiet once again. "About last night..." Cameron started to talk but James quickly stopped him. "Don't..." James stated abruptly. "You don't have to try and apologize to me. It's fine. I get it." "What do you mean you `get it'?" Cameron asked. "Look, you really are an amazing friend to me, I'm so incredibly happy I have you in my life. It's just...Matt's my boyfriend, you know?" "Yeah," James faked a smile. Three minutes of silence passed. "I should probably get back to my house and start packing for tomorrow," Cameron said and headed towards the door. He stopped himself and turned around. "I almost forgot to say goodbye." "Oh right," James got up. James wrapped his arms around Cameron and embraced him. Cameron placed his hands on James back. He could smell James' Axe deodorant. He was going to miss him. James pulled out of the hug and looked into Cameron's eyes. Their lips were only a few inches from each other. Cameron had to pull himself back. "Okay, so I'll see you in September," Cameron smiled and headed to the door. "Wait, Cameron," James said. Cameron turned around. "Yeah?" Cameron waited for James to say something. "Look, this is the last time I'll say anything to you," James started. "But I meant everything I said last night, and I think you feel something between us too. Am I making this up or...or is there something here? Do you feel anything?" Cameron didn't know how to respond. Over the past hour he had realized that there in fact was something between them. It was different than what he had with Matt, but he didn't exactly know how. But things were complicated. He knew exactly how to answer the question. "I'm sorry," Cameron lied. "You're a great friend." With that, Cameron turned and left. ... Cameron woke up early the next morning and took a shower. Matt's parents were picking him up in an hour and driving him to Matt's graduation, then they were going to stop at Cameron's and pick up his stuff and then leave for the summer house. He couldn't believe that the day was finally here. Last night after Cameron spoke to James he had finished packing and then gone to bed. He had so many memories to block out now. The kiss with James, lying to Matt, the talk last night, the man on the boat. He couldn't think about anything without feeling guilty or scared. It took him almost two hours to fall asleep. Cameron stood in the bathroom in a towel looking at himself in the mirror. He knew he was relatively attractive. He didn't work out but he had a natural physique. However, he couldn't believe that two guys were both in love with him. It seemed like just yesterday that he was completely alone. So much had changed in the last couple months. Things were so...complicated. He quickly got dressed in a dress shirt, tie, and khakis and walked down to the kitchen. Both his parents were already waiting for him. His father, Steve, had gotten him bagels. "Hey there sports fan," Steve smiled as Cameron walked down the stairs. "Don't call me that, I don't even like sports," Cameron smirked. "It's from a movie," Steve explained, but Cameron wasn't listening. He had walked over to where the bagels were and was beginning to make one for himself. "So you excited?" "Yeah," Cameron muttered. "It'll be a fun summer." "We're going to miss you so much," Laura placed a hand on Cameron's back. "So, this kid Matt, he's a good guy, right?" Steve asked. "Yeah," Cameron blushed. "It's just weird, I never heard you talk about him before this year and now your going to spend a whole summer with him," Steve stated. "His mother sounds really nice, I spoke to her on the phone," Laura calmed him. "Where's Travis? I haven't seen him around in a while..." Steve asked. Cameron had taken a seat at the kitchen table. "He's got a girlfriend now," Cameron explained. "Hm," Steve thought for a moment. "So when are you going to get a girlfriend, Cam?" "I don't know, Dad." Cameron did not want to talk about this. This just reminded him how happy he was to get away for the summer. "What about Alexis?" Laura asked. "I think you two would make such a great couple." "Yeah, maybe." Cameron nodded. They spoke for what seemed to be another two hours, but in reality it was only half an hour before Matt's parents honked outside. Cameron hopped up and said he'd be by in a couple hours to pick up his stuff. He had told them that he was going to get camping equipment with Matt's family before they left; he figured it would seem very suspicious if he told them he was going to Matt's graduation. The graduation ceremony seemed to drag on forever. Matt's parents were very friendly people, but sitting next to them while Matt was on stage for two hours was incredibly awkward. However, it was nice to see a pair of parents who didn't care in the slightest that their son was gay. They were cheering louder than any other parent there when Matt was called up to receive his diploma. And Matt looked extremely cute in his cap and gown. After the ceremony, Cameron watched as Matt said goodbye to all of his friends. It was weird; Cameron had almost forgotten that Matt had this whole other life before him. He was joking around with a couple guys, and kissing girls on cheeks. Cameron felt like an outsider. He stood next to Matt's parents for a while watching this, but soon Matt's parents began talking to someone else. He was alone. Suddenly, Cameron saw Kate Winters, James' sister. He had completely forgot that she was in Matt's year. He hid his face quickly behind a plant. James, however, was no where to be found. Weird. He then remembered that James was grounded and his parents probably wouldn't let him go. This made him laugh because knowing James, he was probably happy that he didn't have to go. He imagined James sitting in his room probably bored out of his mind, sitting throwing a lacrosse ball against the wall. He suddenly missed James. He realized that things would never be the same between the two of them. Before he could think any further, Matt pressed his hand against his shoulder and told him that they were leaving. They dropped Cameron off to get his things, and they drove back to there house to get their own luggage. Cameron went inside and pulled down all of his luggage. He set it up in the front hallway ready to go. His parents, Laura and Steve, walked down the stairs and kissed him. "Have fun, sportsfan, okay?" Steve smiled. Cameron nodded. "And we'll be up to see you in three weeks, so just in case you aren't having fun we can take you home," Laura smiled and kissed him. A car horn sounded outside. "All right guys, I love you, I'll see you soon," Cameron smiled and hugged them both. They helped move his bags to the car. "Pretty nice car you got here," Steve waved to Matt's parents. "Dad, please don't..." Cameron held his head down, embarrassed. Soon the two parents got to talking, while Cameron moved his stuff into the car trunk. He wanted to get out of there. He wanted to be on his way because then he would've made the decision and there would be no turning back. Matt nudged him and smile as Cameron sat down in the back seat. Time seemed to be going in slow motion as the two parents conversed. Cameron began thinking of James again. His lips. His hair. His chest. His smile. Everything came flooding back. Was he making the wrong decision? He wasn't sure. Everything seemed to be going so fast. Suddenly, he turned to his left and his parents were walking back into the house, waving and blowing kisses. The time that passed so slowly was now gone. They were leaving. There was no turning back now. Cameron gripped his seat. The car started. Matt's father put the car into gear. He put his foot on the gas. The car began moving. It was over. He couldn't turn back. "You okay?" Matt smiled as he placed his hand over Cameron's. He looked at Matt, and smiled. "Yeah," Cameron smirked. The car drove off as the sun set. The End. Well, sort of. This is technically the end to the Diving In story. There will be a sequel soon. I hope you enjoyed the series, and I hope you're not too mad with this ending. There is much more story to tell. The next story will focus on new issues in the characters lives. Let me know your thoughts, suggestions, comments at ryanwest25@yahoo.com.