Chapter Two

"How does this compared to Seattle?" Tyler asked as we drove into the city, the large buildings loomed overhead with dark clouds around them. For a while the only sound between Tyler and I was the quiet radio playing classical pieces, I recognized a few of them; Sonata in D major, 1812 overture, and Boléro.

I couldn't speak, everything was jumbled up inside me. My head couldn't formulate a word, a thought, a sentence, an action. I felt hopeless. And lost. And broken. I was in a different place, somewhere I haven't been in half a decade. Tyler knew. He felt my distress, he felt my hopelessness and despair. He felt my sadness.

"You'll be alright, Luna." Tyler's voiced echoed off the empty walls of my head. My vision began to come in and out of focus quickly, messing with my head.

"Luna?" I heard Tyler's voice but it was far away and distant, too far to reach but close enough for him to be in earshot. Everything came back into focus with Tyler's strong voice saying my name over and over again. A firm hand clenched mine when everything stopped moving and I could see his concerned face.

"I'm fine." I lied barely able breathe. I didn't look into his eyes, I didn't let go of his hand, and I breathed ever so slightly. The scenery around me didn't move, we must've been stopped. I was so unaware of everything that was happening around me, my head was cloudy and my eyes and cheeks were wet.

"Breathe, Luna, breathe. Get a hold of yourself and breathe. It shouldn't be hard... then why does it seem so difficult?" More tears streamed down my face as I stared blankly at the white dashed road.

"I can't breath." The breath I was holding in finally released its self as I leaned back into the leather seat of Tyler's Chrysler Capital. Tyler. The hand that's holding mine, the one in the driver's seat looking at me. I opened my mouth slightly to speak and hesitated momentarily.

"I'm fine." I whispered pushing the last tear out, unable to peel my eyes from the road.

"Maybe right away wasn't a good idea, I'll call Rick and tell him to plan on later this week." Tyler started the car again. I took his hand and slowly turned my head towards him which got his attention after the episode I just had.

"No, I'm fine, really. I can do it, it's just..." I didn't want to tell him what happened since I left, what I was diagnosed with, what I did, where I was. Everything is kinda dark, it could scare him as much as it scares me.

"I know." He mumbled and started driving.

"What?" Things started spinning again, I guess it must have been the lack of sleep over the last few months.

"I've learned a lot of things since you left, one of them is how to deduce people. It's part of being successful in business world." Tyler's voice strayed further away, as if he was being thrown back five years ago. I watched as that soft glow in his eyes seemed to fade away as he remembered what must have been a sad or difficult time.

"Who taught you?" My mind was so dumb, thinking of questions like that. Of course I knew who taught him, he was the smartest man alive and he gave Tyler that luxury of his knowledge.

"The smartest man I knew." He glanced at me and smiled slightly and took my hand gently.

"How many have there been since I left?" I asked trying to ignore everything sad and hopeless. I focused on something I've wanted to know since the day I left. How many girls? I didn't think he understood what I meant and I prepared to explain.

"I don't know, two or three maybe. I have no idea where they are now though, and to be honest I really don't care." Without a doubt he hated them, I don't dare to ask why. Instead I stared at him, observing his behavior and his face that I had forgotten after so long.

It was new to me, all of it. His eyes, his smile, his forehead, and his voice. They were all new, I barely recognized him now. It was almost like he was a different person now, no longer the boy I once knew five and a half years ago. I don't know if I missed it or not.