Back to You (Sequel to Take Me Away From Here)

Chapter 26

"You guys will have to send me pictures! I've been wondering if the old house is still there." She remarks, apparently in on the plan. The girls lug their bags toward the door. I should've known by how heavy they packed. I shut my eyes, leaning my head back against the seat. "Oh come on, you need it." Mom says, patting my shoulder. The girls stand on the porch, offering a wave before disappearing inside. They're extremely comfortable over here, since they're here often, so goodbyes aren't exactly formal. Mom shuts my door, before walking inside. She spares us a wave, as she shuts the door, leaving just Faith and I sitting in the car. 

"I wasn't planning on pulling this on you, but I had only talked to Connors about it last night. He said that since you took the day off for the appointment, and since it's a Friday, that we should make a weekend of it." She tries to justify, while I shut my eyes. "I was going to tell you ahead of time, but I know you really don't want to go back there. I figured spawning it on you at the last second would keep you from overthinking." She says, now starting the overthinking portion of my brain. I sigh, feeling my headache as it start to bounce from edge to edge on the scale of rationality. "Please, Tim... I really think I need this." She begs. I glance over at her, seeing her green eyes shine in a way I haven't seen in a long time. I'm not great at saying no to her... I groan, and put the car in drive, making her smile. 

"If this backfires, then it's all your idea." I say, hearing her laugh a bit. I turn up the radio and settle in for the long drive. 

We pull into Star around four in the afternoon. I pull into town, driving past her old Baptist church. She watches it closely, laughing as we pass. 

"I remember the church being much bigger." She says, looking my way. I laugh a little, before glancing toward her. 

"Probably because that's the biggest building in town." I remark, as she continues to watch out the window. I drive for a while, before wondering where to even start. "So what are we doing first?" I ask. She shrugs, seeming to be enjoying the drive itself. She doesn't get out like this often. Normally our trips are quick, and constantly looking over our shoulders for paparazzi, or more frequently now, nosy fans. 

"What about Applegrove?" She asks carefully. I take a deep breath, feeling a little nauseous even bring up that part of our past. Applegrove was a lot of good and a lot of bad. It was the place she first said she loved me, and also the place she told me that she was abused... That's a wide array of emotions for one little shack to hold. "Do you even remember how to get there?" She questions, making me laugh. I could get there in my sleep. 

We follow a system of winding gravel roads, until surprisingly pulling onto asphalt. I turn onto the street, feeling my heart sink as a large farmhouse sits on the field that was in front of the shack. They probably tore it down when they bought the land... I pull up in front of the house, watching the weathervane spin slowly. Faith takes a deep breath, staring at the house, before cracking a smile. 

"What are you smiling about?" I ask, surprised at her reaction. She shakes her head, not wanting to take her eyes off the house. 

"We always talked about building a house here." She says, as a woman walks to the side of the house from the back, a little boy following suit. They walk over to a few garden boxes, investigating their crops, and watering a few. I'm too busy watching them to realize Faith is unbuckling her seatbelt, and getting out of the car. She opens her door, alerting me. 

"What are you doing?" I call, before she shuts the door. I turn off the car, and rush out behind her. "Faith..." I release, as she walks toward the woman. What on earth is she thinking? 

"Miss?" Faith calls out, making the woman turn around toward Faith. "Hi. I used to live down the street, and we'd always come to the wooded lot back there to play. Do you know if there's still a little shack set up back in there?" She asks sweetly, while the woman smiles in response.