this is one of my favorite excerpts from "escape". (: love it.

"This was once my absolute favorite spot on earth; I thought. I had had many of those - favorite spots - in the past. One had been a tree-house-ship in my backyard. And another had been a specific spot on Sandy Hook that had the whitest, softest sand. James and I had spent years trying to find that spot, and once we did, we never forgot it. But this spot. This one, I would remember for an entirely different reason. It embodied youth, and summer, and the exact way that a windy day in New Jersey could tangle your hair to the point that brushing it out was useless. The tan, leather seats with holes and frazzles seemed to be the most comfortable seats in the world. Not to mention they had heard, and shared more of my secrets than probably anyone else. The crack in the windshield from a pebble that grew larger by the day had began to look more like a work of art than an accident. The camo-print bandana from the football state championship game my sophomore year and a Cranbury High parking tag had seen me cry my eyes out on some occasions, and laugh my guts up on others. The initials "SLR" had been written on the rear-view mirror in eyeliner, and one of my bright-pink pony tail holders hung from the ignition. I loved this Mustang; really, I did. I loved how in the winter, Kaden and I had spent many nights with the top up, like we were in our own personal cave, parked at our park, snuggling to keep warm, though, because we couldn't afford to leave the car running for the heater. Or in the summertime, with a high of seventy-two and a breeze, we would drive around with the top down and sing Journey lyrics until we laughed so hard we had to pull over. I had spent many, many a memory here. Many a kiss. Many a hug. Many an un-wanted goodbye. But perhaps one of the strangest feelings in the world, was sitting in this seat, right now, and not feeling anything at all. Those were memories; past memories, and I didn't think anymore like them were headed our way. Yes, I was going to give him a chance, but the I’m-barely-old-enough-to-drive-this-car-Kaden, and the I’ll-go-wherever-you-take-me-Sam didn’t exist anymore. They had faded like the sun-worn leather seats, became something different. Although they would still hold the same secrets and memories, and even smells, they didn’t feel the same to sit in. They were no longer comfortable."