Outside his former apartment, Davis reached the sidewalk and headed east. There was a train station in the uptown area where he could store his bags. He'd also be able to get breakfast at his regular morning spot.

Within minutes, he was navigating his way through a narrow doorway to the train terminal. He opted for the door nearest the lockers. It was a bit cumbersome but more direct than the wider main doors at the front of the building. Once inside, he took a right and was in front of the lockers looking for some available larger units. He found a pair of adjacent lockers, placed a suitcase in each. He plugged in the requisite quarters and stowed his luggage. He then grabbed his backpack and set off for breakfast.

The main entrance was more direct to the main street. He navigated a surge of morning commuters entering the depot. He took a right once outside the wave. Tim's Coffee and Donuts was a half block down. He ordered three glazed donuts and a large iced coffee before finding a table near an outlet. It was still early, so the remote workers and aspiring authors had not yet filled the prime tables. He set up shop in the back corner with his back to the front windows and opened his laptop.

Davis let out a sigh and began his search. This was becoming standard practice. He'd moved six times in the bit over five years since he was released. The first few times, he left out of paranoia. He was fresh from juvenile detention. Every second glance or hushed whisper was his neighbors recognizing him. Everyone was talking about him despite. This was all despite the long odds anyone was aware of what had happened 700 miles and eight years away from there. The city condemned another apartment building he lived in. In his next stop, a neighbor was too creepy. Ironically, he gave off a killer vibe, the exact thing he fought so hard to prevent in his actions.

This was the first time anyone was asking him to leave because of his past. He'd limited his options to those places without a "Have you been convicted of a felony?" question on their rental application. The quality of the buildings made it so none of this struck him as odd.

The first thing he needed would be a place for the night. He opened up a new tab in his browser and typed "extended stay hotels." He clicked on the "extended stay hotels near me" offering in his search bar. Davis was hoping his housing search would be quick, but he did not want to risk a lengthy search. The options were not very diverse, or appealing. The hotels he found ranged from "seedy and depressing" all the way up to "kind of seedy and depressing."

He retrieved his food and drink order at the counter. Returning to his seat, he immediately ate a donut and a half and washed it down with a third of his coffee. His mind then ran over the options on the screen in front of him.

While itching his ear, his head cocked to the right. His eyes found one of the black and white photographs that lined the wall of the restaurant. The one that caught him in a trance was an artistic shot of a distinct roadside attraction. According to the sign, it was the largest donut in the world. Despite dozens of visits, he realized for the first time the photos were of iconic donut shops. The recognition came and went with a shake and a smirk.

Davis returned to that first photo and noticed it was in the middle of nowhere. His mind jumped to family road trips from when he was a little kid and the freedom of the road. He didn't have the car, but he did have the freedom. Freedom from juvie and nothing tying him to this depressing city. He could leave and expand his search to anywhere a train could take him. He did not like the bus and had never been on an airplane.

He had a newfound enthusiasm. He closed the extended-stay hotel tab and went to the Amtrak national map. He was completely untethered by work or other people. He examined each route and considered the possibilities of each stop. He absentmindedly ate his remaining donuts and drank his coffee.

As much as he kept returning to Colorado or Utah, after 90 minutes, Davis opted to head north to Portland, Oregon. He was a bit reluctant to move towards Seatte. He had not interest in returning to where he'd grown up. He felt Portland was far enough away. Plus, if he didn't like it, he'd move to Salt Lake City or Colorado Springs.

With a new city in mind, he made his travel arrangements. There was a 12:57 p.m. train that would get him as far as Sacramento. There, he could need to wait for his connection to Portland. An 11:59 p.m. train would have him in Portland by mid-afternoon the next day. He was not in a rush but chose to get situated back at the train station and pass the time there. He packed up his belongings, got a free refill of his coffee, and headed back to the depot.

When he arrived at the train station, the crowd had thinned considerably. He walked right up to the window and purchased a ticket. He then found a seat and passed the remaining time before boarding by finally setting up his phone. In a larger city, he'll need a ride-sharing app. He'd also like to end the cacophony of vibrations and dings every time his phone wanted to tell him something.

As he looked for more things to configure or update, it dawned on him to check his phone book. He could delete the pizza place and the Chinese food restaurant. Portland was probably well outside their delivery zone, after all. He gave his editor, Jason, a personalized ringtone as he was the only person he'd answer for. This helped him to ignore spam calls.

Then he came to Lucy's entry. Davis paused over the 'delete' option before he had an impulse. He opened the messages and saw their exchange from the previous night. This brought back memories of the phone call. He recalled his feelings this morning when he realized she was not going to understand after all. Disappointing sadness washed over him. He took a deep breath and continued with what he intended to do. He sent her a message:

"I'm sorry about everything. I understand. Moving to Portland. Goodbye."

He hit 'send' and immediately deleted her entry from his phonebook. The sadness waned a bit as he put his phone in his pocket. He figured this was the official end of their relationship. There was closure and, by letting it go, he was ending things on his terms.

That text message would be their last communication. He knew that. But, if she called or texted and wanted to meet for coffee, he'd gladly throw the train ticket in the trash. He was realistic, so he did not hold out hope.

He anticipated the train boarding soon. He decided to get a light lunch and try to people watch for story ideas to take his mind off Lucy.

He grabbed a packaged sandwich and bag of chips for lunch and returned to his bench. He mindlessly chewed a tuna salad sandwich. His attention shifted from passenger to passenger, looking for something identifiable. Davis eavesdropped on conversations and looked for interesting people. He would then fill in the blanks of their life with his own stories. If it was interesting, he would make notes in his idea notepad.

Today, it turned out to be a fruitless exercise. It seemed the men were all fleeing the city because their difficult past had been exposed. The women were each looking to get away from an ex that they just found out was a convicted killer. He was not in the right mindset for this exercise.

He let out a disappointing sigh and put his pen and paper back into his backpack.

The announcement that his train was boarding soon rang out through the terminal. This gave him a thankful reprieve from his futile efforts at creativity. He put the last of his chips in his mouth and quickly moved to collect his luggage from the locker.

He stopped by a newsstand and purchased some activity books for the trip. He collected a stack of logic puzzles, word searches, and movie-themed crossword puzzles. He gave the cashier a $10 bill and told her to keep the $1.23 change. He stowed the books away and walked briskly to the platform.

The first train ride was rather quick. It seemed that way at least. The activity books were an effective distraction. He effectively limited his Lucy thoughts.

Davis arrived in Sacramento in the early afternoon. He stowed his bigger luggage in a locker once again and headed towards the exit. A display of local Sacramento attractions caught his eye. He scanned the pamphlets and postcards for anything nearby. He grabbed a few interesting sites within walking distance. He conferred with an older man at the information desk. Upon his advice, Davis discarded all but one for the California State Railroad Museum. He folded the pamphlet to fit in his back pocket and headed towards the waterfront.

Davis grew restless as the afternoon wore on. He wandered around the waterfront, did a tour of the museum, and loitered in a tattoo shop. As dinner time approached, he realized he still had four hours before his train and he'd already been up for 16 hours. He decided to return to the train station, get dinner nearby and set up shop with his laptop. The thought of doing anything other than planning for Portland seemed like a waste of time. He was also not in the mood for thinking about any phase of his life other than the future.

With a stomach full of Chinese food, he started to scan places to stay in Portland. He skipped past a host of hostels and targeted a couple week-long vacation rentals. Before making any arrangements, he turned his focus to the apartment market. He started on Craigslist. The listings featured fewer corporate buildings, which had questions about felonies. He also came to loath their sterile units.

Davis had a list of eight apartments to look at in Portland when the boarding announcement came. He'd set up appointments at six of the places, with emails still unanswered at the other two. Before closing his laptop, he weighed his vacation rental options. One stood out as it was more central to five of the apartments he was looking at. He fired off an email to the owner. He also wrote down the numbers for a few regular hotels in case he didn't get a response in time.

His computer was packed and he had 10 minutes to board when he realized he'd forgotten his suitcases. He ran to the other side of the main terminal to retrieve his bags, weaving through passengers on the way. He managed to gather his possessions and make it to his train with two minutes to spare. He wiped the sweat from his brow as he found a seat. He leaned his head against the window and quickly fell asleep.