Fanboy (boyxboy)

Stingray Affliction

It seemed to take no time at all before Brent called to tell Adam they officially had a baby on the way. Brent was just as happy as he'd been every other time and it got Adam thinking. He'd always planned to adopt but that was because he never thought about actually making a baby. Eli was only just starting to talk about their wedding so Adam knew talking about babies wouldn't get him very far but he definitely wondered.

He also wondered exactly what the hell he was thinking telling his biological father and stepmother that he and Eli were going to visit. Since they'd picked a date Adam could barely get through a day without a text from Mindy, asking some stupid question. All he wanted was to get the whole thing over with as fast as possible.

Eli and Adam flew to Missouri one morning, booking the closest hotel room to his parents house where they could still use frequent flyer points to pay for everything. Adam was past all of his money worries but he still couldn't bring himself to spend money on the trip he wished they weren't taking.

"Adam?" Eli looked worried as he came out of the bathroom. "Is my shirt too wrinkled?"

"No," Adam smiled. "You're beautiful. As always."

"Stop, I'm serious," Eli shook his head. "You would tell me, right?"

"I would," Adam didn't have the heart to tell Eli it didn't matter how hard he tried to impress his parents. "And I was serious. You're gorgeous and I'm so lucky to have you."

"Thank you," Eli gave him a tight smile. "We should go, we can't be late."

"Yeah, I know," Adam took a deep breath and checked his own reflection one more time. Not that it mattered, his father was sure to find something wrong with him no matter what he looked like.

Adam felt Eli squeezing his hand as they drove out of town and onto the winding country highway that would take them to where his dad and stepmother lived. His stepmother offered to let them stay at the house but Adam insisted, despite much arguing from Eli, that they stay at a hotel instead.

"It's not going to be like when we visited your family," Adam warned Eli again. "This might be really ugly."

"We'll just do our best," Eli was stubbornly hopeful. "If they make it awful that's their fault."

"Yeah," Adam wanted to agree. He knew Eli was trying but that scared him too. The last thing Adam wanted was for Eli to get hurt.

At first it seemed like the right thing to do to visit his family after so many years of avoiding them. Cutting himself off from this family completely had been impossible thanks to Pastor Ben insisting Adam try to forgive them. Even after all the hell they'd put each other through, one of his parents was always texting or calling for some stupid reason. Adam told himself it was just so they could get his money but Cole always insisted they really cared about him.

That was the only reason Adam stayed in touch. He was stunned when his stepmom sent flowers for Cole's funeral. His parents spent so much time trying to pray him straight that Adam figured they would celebrate when Cole died. Maybe they had.

The closer they got to the house, the harder it was for Adam to keep driving. Why had he brought Eli halfway across the country for something that was bound to go so wrong? What was he thinking? The trip could only end in disaster.

"Babe, take a deep breath," Eli rubbed his leg. "They want to see you or they wouldn't have invited us to stay at the house."

"I really want you to be right," Adam couldn't get his jaw to unclench.

After an hour of driving they pulled off the road onto the rural route that was mostly gravel. Nothing had changed since Adam was there last. He was pretty sure even the cows were grazing the same spots they'd been when he left.