Chapter 2

Chapter 2: End of the road.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Port Charles. Thank you for choosing Greyhound."

Lucky sighed and leaned back against the seat, closing his eyes against another wave of uncertainty that gripped his heart.

His mother's face came to him while his eyes were closed. One moment she was smiling and the next, she was frowning. Crying, laughing, thoughtful, worried, all the expressions he saw on her face at one point or another in the life he spent with her began to show themselves on her face as he watched her. He also saw his sister's tearful face, the memory of how she looked when he told her that he was leaving and he wasn't sure when -- or if-- he was coming back.

His little sister had begged him not to leave. She had cried, and screamed, and threatened, and begged again. Each of her tears had been like a knife through his already too bruised heart, but he had stood his ground. She didn't understand that, even though he hadn't wanted to do this anymore, to go out and find his real parents, he didn't have a choice any longer.

Lucky had left the hospital after he realized that his father was not going to wake up. He had known then, that he had to do exactly as he HAD told his father he would do, which was to go find his birth parents. Lucky had decided that he had no other choice, for if he didn't do what he'd said he would, then his father would have died for nothing. Lucky knew without a doubt that his words to his father, the hateful "you know what, I think that I might just give you what you want. I'm going to go out there and find my real parents" had been what had caused his father's heart go give up and stop beating. For that, Lucky would always carry the guilt.

So, his soul heavy with the knowledge that his temper had made him talk before he thought, his heart eaten away with guilt for killing his father, the only father he had ever known. The man that had been his role-model, his hero, he had gone to the bank and withdrew the money he had been putting aside for the car of his dreams. All 5220$ of it, before going home to confront his mother.

Lucky looked up, interrupting his thoughts, as someone cleared his throat in the alley next to him. "Everybody's out, kid," the driver said. "This is the end of the road."

"I sure hope not," Lucky said with a nervous chuckle, but got up nonetheless. "Do you know where I can find a restaurant around here?" he asked as he scratched the back of his head, a nervous tick he hadn't been able to stop doing no matter how hard he tried.

"There is a restaurant about two blocks from here. Take A left on Crescent and follow it until you see it. You can't miss it."

Lucky's arm fell suddenly, slapping his thigh in a nervous gesture. "All right, thanks." He reached and took his bag from the overhead compartment,and got off the bus. He looked around nervously as he stood there, alone in a strange town. Aside from the restaurant, he would have to find logging that was not too expensive. Even though he had a lot of money now, he didn't know how long it would take him to find his parents. He had to make sure he had plenty of money in case the search took a long time.

Lucky put his backpack over both his shoulders, and grabbed his other bags before he started walking in the direction the driver had told him. Luckily, the bags weren't too heavy. He was glad that he had packed light. A couple of shirts, could of pants, underwear and socks were all that he had taken with him and it was all that he needed. He had brought his shaving kit, along with his toothbrush and comb, because those were also necessities. In addition, his Cds and discman were in his backpack, along with a book he hadn't been able to read. Whatever else he could possibly need, he'd buy later

Lucky had always known what to pack and what to leave behind. Years of moving in the middle of the night had taught him what was important and what wasn't. His whole life could fit in two bags, and sometimes even only one. Even though he had always planned on going back to his mother, his adoptive mother,he didn't know if his family would still be there when the time came. He never really knew why, but they had always moved around. Sometimes in the middle of the night, sometimes when he and his siblings had come home from school, sometimes during the weekend. When he had asked the reason for all those moves, his parents had always only said that his father had lost his job and it was time to go to another city to find another one.

Lucky had always known that his parents were lying when they'd explained why they had to move so much. Perhaps they hadn't really been lying, since his father had always had to find another job wherever they had ended up. However Lucky hadn't asked too many questions because his mother's eyes had clouded over every time he had asked those hard questions. Whatever the reason they moved, at least they were together when they did, which had been the only important thing to him at the time. At least, his adoptive parents hadn't left him behind like his real parents had done. Wherever he was when his father lost his job -- or whatever the reason why they had to move so suddenly-- they had always waited for him to come home. He might have not been blood related to them, but they had loved him nonetheless.

Something caught Lucky's eye as he was leaving the bus station. When he paid attention, he noticed The old lady that has sat across from him during his trip. The one that had reminded him a little of his grandmother. There she stood in front of him, hugging a young man that looked a little bit older than him. Behind them stood what looked like other grandchildren and who he guessed where their parents. It was a nice and happy family reunion.

Family. The word caught in his throat. What did family mean to him, anymore? Where was his family anyway?

After several minutes of walking. Lucky finally found the restaurant. He stopped in front of it while he carefully read the name. It was called Matinee. Oh, great, he thought, Matinee meant mornings. They probably only served breakfast type of meals. Right now, he needed a dinner type of meal. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning, and it was already late in the evening. He put one bag on the ground and tried the door, sighing in relief when he found it unlocked. With his luck, he had believed that the restaurant would be closed and he would go without eating until he found another one. He was releived that it hadn't turned out that way. Putting his foot in the way to hold the door open, he reached down and took the bag, before he walked in and dropped everything near the first table he saw. He dropped his backpack on the floor and reached for the menu, opening it fast. The earlier he ordered, the faster he would eat. His stomach was not in a good mood, haven been awakened by all of the nice smells coming from the food on the numerous other tables.

"Hello, welcome to Matinee, my name is Emily and I'll be your waitress. Are you ready to order or do you need more time?"

Lucky looked up at the voice and smiled tiredly. The young girl seemed to be about his age, with long brown hair and a welcoming smile. She wore an apron over her jeans and tee shirt with the logo of the restaurant. "Hum..." he said and cleared his throat, looking down at the menu again. "What do you suggest?"

"You're new here, aren't you?" The girl named Emily laughed and looked him over. He looked tired. "Well, you seem like a burger kind of guy. How hungry are you?" she asked with a smile in her voice.

"Like I could eat the whole cow!" Lucky laughed as he sat back on the chair and looked up at her. "Yeah, I'm new here," he said, finally answering her question. "I came from the bus station and after spending more than 24 hours in a bus, believe me, I'm starved."

"Well, I think that you could go for the double-cheeseburger with an order of fries. Iced tea would be good with it, too." Emily said, and, without waiting for his approval, wrote his order down on her little pad.

"Sounds good to me!" Lucky laughed. He told her what he wanted in his burger and watched her leave, her hair bouncing on her back. Looking around, he saw that the restaurant wasn't that big, but it still had a couple of booths and several tables with only chairs. Pictures of sunrises and sunsets were painted on the wall. He smiled and reached into his pocket just to make sure that the paper with the name written on it was still there. He didn't need it to remember the name of the woman he would be seeking, but he wanted to keep it to show it to the woman if she asked for proof that he was who he said he was. Maybe she would recognize the handwriting. It was a long shot, but the only shot he had right now.

Emily came back with two glasses full of iced tea and put one on the table in front of him. She reached for the other chair and sat down, putting the other glass in front of her. "So, where you from?" She asked as she put the straw in her mouth and took a sip.

Lucky did the same, watching her with a smile. It wasn't every day that he found himself seated with the waitress you just met. But it was kind of nice, because he needed someone to talk to. He didn't need the companionship to unload all of his problems, he needed it to be able to just act normal. He craved normal ever since the whole mess with his parents had happened. "Here and there," he finally said. "I moved around a lot."

"Are you here alone?" Emily asked as she played with the straw in her glass. "I don't mean to pry or anything, but this is such a small town that I'm curious about everyone that comes through it."

"Yeah," Lucky said, looking down at his glass for a moment. Emily felt bad for asking him the question, because it looked like it was a painful topic for him as his blue eyes clouded over and he looked away. "How small is this town?"

"Oh, it's not that small, you know. We do have buses and everything," she said with a wave of her hand, "but I've been here since I was 11, so I kind of know almost everybody. Working here, I met the people I hadn't met before, you know."

"Yeah, I do," Lucky said with a smile. He had lived in a small town a couple of times, and he knew how everybody knew everybody. "I'm Lucky, by the way," he said as he extended his hand to her.

"You're lucky about what?" Emily asked with a small frown of confusion, staring at his hand.

Lucky couldn't help it, so he burst out laughing. Granted, the way that he had said his name could lead to confusion, but it was still amusing to him. "I mean," he said with a teasing smile, "that my name is Lucky."

"Oh," the cheerful girl said with a laugh. "Sorry." She wiped her hand on her apron and reached over the table to shake his. "I'm Emily. But you already knew that."

Lucky was about to answer when he heard a bell. "Your order is ready," Emily said as she bounced up out of her chair and walked to the counter to get the order. She came back with a monstrous burger and a pile of fries that nearly fell out of the plate. "If you are still hungry after that," she said with a teasing smile,clearly thinking that he wouldn't be, "we have a selection of pies that will make your mouth sing happily. Enjoy!"

Before Lucky could say anything else, she was gone and he found himself staring at his double-cheeseburger. His stomach gave another round of hungry rumbles, making him wince in embarassment at the noise. With a smile, he reached down and grabbed the burger, before he took a bite out of it and nearly moaned out of sheer pleasure. God, food was good. This food was good. He would have to remember where this place was located and come back while he was in town. Aside from the food, the company was nice, too.

Lucky tried not to wonder what his mother and siblings were doing at that moment, concentrating only on the food that went from his mouth to his stomach. It wasn't an easy task, but he was able to do it. He would call his mother to let her know that he had safely reached his destination, but that was it. He didn't want to go another round with his family about the decision he had made to come here in the first place. It was done, he was here, and might as well find what he had come looking for.

When he was done with the food on his plate, he walked up to the counter and knocked on it to get Emily's attention. The girl's back was turned to him and she jumped when she heard the sound. "Oh, sorry," she smiled, "I was making coffee. Are you done? Do you need anything?"

"Yes, I'm done. It was really good," Lucky said as he patted his stomach playfully. "My stomach and I thank you."

"Well, you're welcome," she laughed. "Do you want a slice of pie?"

"God, no!" Lucky laughed. "I still have to find a place to stay for the night and if I eat more, you'll have to wheel me out! Do you know of a place that isn't expensive and has rooms available? I'm kind of on a limited budget here."

"As a matter of fact, I do," Emily agreed and took a piece of paper from a pad on the counter. She wrote something on it and gave it to him. "Go there. They are really cool, and they aren't expensive."

"Well, thank you for everything," Lucky said with a smile and he saw her eyes leave him to settle on the door. He turned around to see what Emily was looking at. He saw a dark haired teen walk in and walk straight to the counter. The young man smiled at Emily and she smiled back. Lucky suddenly felt like the outsider he was and stepped on the side. His movements brought Emily's attention back to him, and she smiled sheepishly at him. "Sorry. Here, let me make the introductions. If you're going to be here for a while," she said, not wanting to sound like she was fishing for information, even though she was. She really liked Lucky and there weren't too many teens her age that she liked around here. When he didn't answer her question, whether he wasn't sure it was a question, or he just didn't want to answer it, "Nick, this is my new friend Lucky." she said, putting a hand on the new comer's chest. "Lucky, my boyfriend Nicholas."

"Hey, Lucky," the guy named Nick said, extending his hand. "Are you new around here?"

"Yeah, I am," Lucky answered, shaking the guy's hand. "Nice to meet you. Thanks for everything, Emily, but I need to get going." The guy gave Lucky the creeps and he didn't know why. Well, not the creeps as in scared of him, but more like a sensation he didn't understand, and it was making him edgy. He stepped down and started to walk away, before he stopped and turned around, smiling sheepishly. "How much do I owe you?"

"Oh!" Emily said with a small laugh, clearly indicating that she had forgotten about the check, too. "Give me a second!"

She walked from behind the counter and into the kitchen. There was a silence between the two guys, before Lucky broke it. "Nice girl."

"Yeah," Nicholas answered, looking at the door where Emily had disappeared to. "I love her to death."

Lucky wasn't sure, but he thought that he heard a warning in the guy's voice. Stay away from my girl, the other teen seemed to be saying with his tone. Well, no worries there. Lucky had no intention of staying long enough to fall in love. Especially not with another guy's girl. He wasn't that self-destructive. Emily walked back out before he had time to answer and gave him the check. Lucky looked at the amount he owed and took some money out of his pocket, before he paid her. He knew that he was leaving a big tip, but she made him feel better, and this was his way of thanking her without letting her know how much she had done for his state of mind. "Well, I'll see you around, I guess," he said as he put the rest of his money into his pocket.

"Come back to let me know where you are staying. We'll do something while you're in town." Emily said, putting her hand in Nicholas', clearly indicating who 'we' was.

"I will," Lucky nodded and walked out, but not before he heard Emily's boyfriend ask her "Who was that guy?"

Lucky chuckled as he reached into his pocket to retrieve the name and address of the place Emily had written down. If she was right and it was inexpensive, she would've helped in more than she knew. "Okay, let's see," he said as he opened the paper.

"Kelly's, here I come"