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Dedication: Alpacalypse98 because YOU BETTER GET READY. PREPARE YOURSELF. It's allllllmost over!

Chapter 18

After what was an abysmally normal day and some time spent packing our belongings, we met in Steven's room to organize the plans for our midnight shenanigans. In so many ways, we owed our lives to Rich. If everything had continued the way they were going originally, the four of us would have gone down a path that some of us maybe wouldn't have survived.

"So, I think the main problem we have right now is getting past the guard dog, right?" Geoffrey asked as he raked a wide toothed comb through his locks. "Anyone have some ideas?" He finished by throwing his hair into a messy bun. Like usual, the boy was wearing all black, silk pajamas.

He always looked so glamorous.

For a straight boy.

"He's never far away from us, but I bet we could slip past him pretty easily," Steven chimed in from his throne made of piled blankets.

Geoffrey scoffed. "That man pops up wherever we are. Honestly, we would be better off slipping him a sleeping pill in some tea or something."

"How do we get our hands on sleeping pills let alone convince him to drink something we made him," Steven inquired.

I rolled my eyes from the edge of Steven's bed. "Guys, we can't go around drugging whoever we want."

"Well, what are your ideas?" Geoffrey raised a brow at me quizzically.

I shrugged. "Why don't we just ask him if he minds letting us slip out for a little while. It's not like we're running away or anything. Our last day is tomorrow."

Geoffrey and Steven exchanged glances. "I don't think it's going to be that easy," Geoffrey added.

"You guys need to have a little bit more faith in the guy," I began as I pushed myself to my feet. "I think you'll be surprised."

Their eyes followed me as I made my way to the bedroom door. Poking my head out, I found Terry in his usual place just a bit farther down the hallway; however, this time, the guard was on tapping the screen of his phone. "Psst," I whispered, instantly catching the guard's attention.

He jerked upright, turned his attention to me, straightening his back, and quickly stuffing his phone into his pocket. His mouth opened as if he were about to speak, but I placed a single finger over my lips in an effort to silence him.

Terry quietly made his way over to me, and when he was in whispering distance, he spoke. "What's up?" He leaned down slightly.

"Think I could get a favor from you?"

Lights seemed to briefly dance through his eyes as a smile threatened to pull at the corner of his lips; however, he cleared his throat, successfully stifling the grin before it could emerge. "That really depends on what the favor is."

I ran a hand through my hair, moving my bangs from my eyes; It had been awhile since my hair was long enough to do that. "Me and the other's want to sneak out tonight and have a little get together for Rich since it's our last full night in the house." I left the whole running-naked bit out.

I heard my friends snicker behind me, but I kept my attention on Terry. He raised a brow questioningly. "You're asking me to let you all just walk out the front door in the middle of the night without any supervision?"

"Well, when you say it like that it sounds bad, but honestly, we just want to honor our friend before we're all split up." I paused then added, "It's the least we can do for him, and we would probably go through the back door. You know, since we don't want to get caught and all that."

Something flashed across Terry's rich gaze, but I couldn't put a finger on exactly what it was. I guessed it was understanding because he straightened his back and ran his hand down his chin. "That makes more sense." He fell silent for a moment then continued, "How about this. At midnight, I'll step away for five minutes to have a little bathroom break, and if I don't see you go, then who am I to say that you three weren't sleeping like the good boys we all know you to be."

I smiled and put a hand on my hip. "What about when we come back?"

Terry smirked and sucked his teeth. "I would advise that you be very quiet and tiptoe back up the stairs because if Ruth wakes up and catches you all, I'm throwing you guys under the bus."

His grin became infectious, and all too quickly I felt my own cheeks pull into a wide smile. "I think we can manage that."

"Just be careful," he warned. "Remember to be quiet."

I nodded and grinned. "Yes, sir."

Terry looked me up and down once more before shaking his head slowly while still smiling. He made his way back to his usual position, and immediately pulled his phone out of his pocket's depths. Before turning his attention fully to his phone, he offered a quick wink.

I saluted him with a quick flick of my wrist to my forehead as if I were in the military. When I turned my back to him, my fellow housemates where sitting in complete silence. Steven's eyes were wide, and Geoffrey sat on the bed while using an arm to prop his chin up. "See. Not everything in life has to be so complicated," I stated simply.

"Well, I can't believe that actually worked," Steven added as he leaned back against the base of the bed. "Too bad everything in life isn't that simple.

When midnight approached, I poked my head out to check if Terry kept his word, and unsurprisingly, he wasn't at his post. Turning back to my friends, I gave them a thumbs up, and we all began tiptoeing our way across the hallway,and down the stairs.

At the last step, Steven looked left, and I focused my attention to the right; The coast was clear, so we quickly scurried to the back of the house. When we made it to the locked back door, I turned the lock and pushed the door open.

We were instantly greeted by air that wasn't too cold but definitely colder than chilly. Instantly, the hairs on my arms puckered, sending a chill reverberating down my spine. Geoffrey crossed his arms against his chest and shivered.

"Ok, was it this cold last year?" He asked through chattering teeth.

Steven chuckled as he ripped his shirt over his head. "Don't tell me that after all that, you babies are too cold."

Despite my own teeth chattering, I followed after Steven. Tossing my shirt beside where I stood, I began to step out of my pajama pants.

"If I get sick, I'm going to be so mad at both of you!" Geoffrey complained as he did the same.

"You'll survive," I mocked as I slipped out of my remaining clothes. "The last one naked is a loser!" With that, I took off running. As I ran, slowly speeding up, I no longer felt cold, and the sound of our laughter through the night seemed to chase away the chill in the air.

There was a freedom that flowed through my veins, and with it, a calmness settled through my being. Before I even realized it, frigid tears burned their way down my cheeks. They weren't tears of sadness; instead, they were born from happiness.

My bare feet slapping against the hard, cold ground suddenly became the only noise in the universe. Even the sound of my breathing faded into nonexistence. I ran harder and faster than I had in years, and for the first time, my body didn't give out from under me.

Glancing over my shoulder, I found my friends also running for their lives. It felt as if everything around me was moving in slow motion. I could see the strain on Geoffrey's face in vivid detail as he stepped past Steven. His long legs carried him gracefully like a gazelle darting through the wild.

Steven's face was twisted in determination as if he were also testing his bodies new limits. So, for that moment, we just ran in silence.

We ran not only for Rich but also for ourselves.

We ran because for the first time since the skinny boy house became our home, we were capable of more than just existing in the tormented bubbles of our lives.

We were free.

Our breathing was ragged, sending large white clouds into the air that the wind quickly disbursed. When I finally skidded to a stop, I bent over, proping my elbows on my knees to keep my balance as I drug deep breaths into my burning lungs.

Steven collapsed to the ground, yet still managed to laugh through his wheezing. Geoffrey bounced over, raking his fingers through the loose strands of hair that escaped from his bun. "Damn, I'm out of shape," he gasped as he extended his arms above his head. He took several deep breaths, gradually slowing his breathing.

As my own breathing returned to normal, I became increasingly aware of the fact that my body was coated in a thin layer of sweat, sweat that I couldn't feel on my numb flesh. Hurriedly, I made my way to the pile of my clothes and quickly dressed. My friends did the same.

"That felt great," Steven exclaimed when he caught his breath. "I haven't ran in so long."

I nodded and the smile that grew on my lips was uncontrollable.

"As soon as I'm home, I'm getting a gym membership." Geoffrey finished dressing then added, "I used to run four miles every morning."

"Just make sure you are taking care of yourself and not over doing it," Steven offered.

Geoffrey rolled his eyes yet smiled down at him. "Thanks, Mom. I plan on it. No offense to any of you, but I never want to step foot in this house again, and if that means I have to stay healthy, that's fine by me."

"You can say that again." The last thing I wanted was to come back here. When I left this place, I wouldn't even look back.

"Can we please go inside now? My lips are turning blue, and don't even get me started on my manhood," Steven's lips trembled as he spoke.

I spoke up. "We can in just a minute." I turned away from my friends and stared up at the sky. Despite the chill in the air, the sky was clear. Stars blinked and twinkled in the distance and the moon shone high and bright in its place. Closing my eyes, I spoke to the night. "Rich, I wish desperately that you were here with us right now, but I wanted to let you know that you gave them hell. I'll never forget you."

Geoffrey chuckled. "I'm sure that asshole is enjoying himself without us to bother him."

Tears dripped through my closed lids. "I wish things would have ended differently for you," I paused as my throat tightened, "but I also want to thank you for opening my eyes." The words came out strained and much quieter. "Thank you for making me realize how much I wanted to live; thank you for making me remember how fragile our lives are."

Steven appeared at my side, instantly wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side. Geoffrey stood on my other side; he wrapped an arm behind both of us.

"Thank you for everything you ever did for me, Rich. If I wouldn't have met you, I wouldn't be the person I am now, and I know that with absolute certainty. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have the opportunity to give start over." Tears flowed freely from my eyes as I stared up at the moon.

"You were the light in my life," Geoffrey sniffled. "You were the best friend I ever had."

Steven tightened his grip on my shoulders. "We butted heads more often than not, but you had a way of captivating us and everyone around you; there wasn't a soul that came in contact with you that didn't fall completely head-over-heels in love with you." Steven laughed then sighed. "I was one of those people, Rich. I think we all were."

For a moment, we all stood in silence as the wind whipped around us. I wasn't deluded enough to believe in an afterlife, but I liked to think that if Rich could see us, he would have been proud of us.

Though, he would probably make some obscene joke afterwards, but still, he would be missed.

"I'll miss you," I breathed into the night air.

"Bye, buddy," Geoffrey added.

"Until we meet again," Steven mumbled.

Shivering and sweating all at the same time, we tiptoed back into the house, and on our way up the stairs, we ran into Terry. "You boys look cold."

My teeth chattered painfully as I nodded at him. "Thank you, Terry. You're always so attuned to the obvious."I offered a quick wink back at the guard.

Steven nodded. "I think I'll miss your hovering the most."

Geoffrey scoffed, breaking away from us and stopping at Steven's doorway. "It's been nice, but I will definitely enjoy not having you around, guard dog." He grinned. "No offense."

Terry laughed quietly. "None taken. Now, you all get to sleep before Ruth wakes up."

"Yeah; yeah," Geoffrey mocked, waving a hand dismissively at him.

"Goodnight, Terry," I said with a nod as Steven and I made our way to his room.

"Goodnight, boys. I'll see you in the morning bright and early."

Sleep came easily; it was a peaceful sleep. There were no dreams, no nightmares. 

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This chapter ended up shorter than originally planned. Originally, this was going to be the final chapter + an epilogue; however, after I wrote it, I decided to split the chapter since the latter half has quite a bit of important bits. So THERE WILL BE ONE MORE FULL CHAPTER AFTER THIS ONE and then an epilogue.

So, our journey with the skinny boys is coming to an end. It's hard to believe that everything is finally wrapping up, but I will warn you. It isn't going to be all rainbows and lollipops forever.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who leaves me wonderful messages. You are all so kind and beautiful and talented human beings. My followers are really the best, and I have no idea what I did to deserve you all.

As always, please take the time to vote for this chapter. It IS almost over after all. I also appreciate reading your comments and talking to all of you.

I will choose the chapter dedication from the comments section, so if you want it, you have to comment! 

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