Thirteen years had softened the memory of that day until it was little more than a movie in his mind; an outrageous and fictional incident that had happened to someone else. He didn't think about it much anymore, not unless he happened to catch sight of the band of dark ink on the inside of his wrist when he was already in a sour mood. On those days, negativity would overwhelm him, drawing secret tears or inciting wall-punching rage. Overall, however, Rabbit had lived through these fits of pique without much fuss, certain that he could never be fixed. But today he had been enlightened. Awakened. There had to be a way to make things right again. It helped that he had nowhere important to be, nothing to distract him from this quest. His job was a joke, beneath him, and he didn't need to speak to Olivia to know that she wanted some time alone.

He left Ashdown with what was already in his pockets when he'd fled the apartment: a pack of Marlboros, a lighter, his phone, and seventeen dollars in cash. Between home and the bus station he managed to pull the Vaughn family emergency credit card out of his back pocket, and even though he was 150% sure he hadn't left home with it that morning, he wasn't about to refuse a gift from the other side when he needed it.

He used the card to buy a one way ticket to New York. No one asked for the identification he didn't have. Once on board, he grabbed a spot in the back of the rattling, piss-scented Peter Pan luxury motorcoach. His seatmate was Melanie Hughes, an elderly woman filled to the brim with stories and always on the lookout for new ones. They chatted the whole way down, resorting to passing lengthy notes like schoolchildren when they attracted too much shushing.

The bus pulled into Port Authority a little after nine that night. Rabbit got all the way out to the street before he turned on his phone, waiting for it to boot up under the glaring lights of 42nd and 8th. Four messages from Liv, all within the same hour. She'd deliberately stopped herself from writing a fifth so she wouldn't seem desperate. He smiled as he tapped out a reply.

Quote:
I'm fine
See you soon

As he crept east to Times Square, Rabbit opened his list of contacts and began carefully texting people he thought might have stuck around Manhattan.

- - - - -

"I can't believe you still have my ********' number, man!"

Lyndon Tambone was a human giant, and when he pulled Rabbit into a hug, he feared he might crack in half from the force. Of the fifteen or so people he'd managed to write to, Lyn had been one of four to reply, and it was truly a lucky turn that he had. Lyndon and Vic had been roommates once, having moved into separate apartments right before Rabbit met them, and even though they hadn't spoken in a couple of years, Lyndon was sure Vic's address hadn't changed.

"Last we talked, he told me he never wanted to see my blimp a** floatin' past his house ever again. Exact words. But if I tell him I got you with me, there's no way he won't reply. Guaranteed."

Rabbit's heart hopped at the thought. "Sounds good." He hid his grin with a cigarette. "What're you waiting for?"