✔Vengeful Valentine

Twenty Five: Everly

Only the soft music from the car radio played that morning. When Adam told his family about what happened with the dirty needle, they insisted he come stay with them for a while. His sergeant thought it was a good idea from him to get away too. I had planned to stay with the Voiceless Rebels, but Adam wanted me to drive him down there. The drugs they had him on were really kicking his butt.

Even Archie got concerned and dropped by to visit us. When he learned we were heading out to Crittendale County, he wanted to come with us. So we all piled into Adam's truck that chilly morning and set out to the farmhouse they grew up in.

The road to Adam's hometown stretched out like a ribbon with a few jagged potholes. I was terrified of meeting his mother. Something always came up when we'd plan to meet. It never was intentional though. We just got too busy with our lives. I'm surprised we spent Thanksgiving with my folks last year.

I just felt like Ms. Lindel would hate me the moment she laid eyes on me. I probably wasn't the kind of woman she wanted Adam to be with. Sure, I was probably being paranoid, but part of me knew she'd never want her son with someone like me. If she knew about the drug dealing I did with Emmett...

Shaking aside such awful thoughts, I gripped the steering wheel and focused on the road ahead of us. I needed to be there for Adam.

Crittendale differed greatly from New Syracuse. For starters, I wasn't worried about murderers and gangsters at every corner. It wasn't as dirty either. Despite how it snowed, morning commuters still filled the sidewalks downtown. Their businesses weren't condemned or hiding homeless gangsters. They flourished with life.

Patches of morning sunlight spilled from the gray clouds as I pulled my sun visor down. Ahead of us, snow-capped mountains stretched out endlessly behind the buildings.

"It's been a while since I've been here," Archie said. "I really miss it."

"Why don't you move back?" Adam asked him. "New Syracuse is no place for recovery, you know. I'm sure momma wouldn't mind if you moved back in."

"I ain't gonna be like Adrian, still living at home in his fucking thirties," Archie snapped.

Adam sighed. "You know he stays there to help around the farm. Momma isn't as young as she used to be. She can't keep up with the place by herself."

"Adrian's always gotten what he wants. He's a spoiled brat who gets everything handed to him," Archie grumbled. "Hell, he even got accepted into the police department that you dreamed of being a cop in. Doesn't that piss you off? Think about it this way. Had you become a cop here, you wouldn't have got stuck with that needle."

"Shut up." Adam groaned. "Stop trying to start shit. You know I'm disappointed in you so you're trying to make me angry at Adrian. You're like a little fucking kid, you know that?"

I sighed. "Come on, guys. Don't start arguing again."

"Your boyfriend started it," Archie muttered.

I had a long drive ahead of me. The arguing didn't die down either, but the volume of the radio went up.

"Make a right just ahead," Adam said. "Our old home's just a little way's down the road from here. You can't miss it. She'll have all kinds of Valentine decorations out in the yard."

The farmhouse that came into view was winter-beat and tired from the life that lived inside over the years. History was clearly made in the rusty nails that held the hardships they faced and the times they shared together as a family. I only hoped someday me and Adam could have our own family and cozy little home to share.