Back Roads | ✅ completed

Chapter 35

"Jazz," Carter cheered as he caught sight of his sister entering the bar. She was shaking the snow from her hair and patting it free from her coat. She groaned inwardly as she recognized her brother's voice and at what level into the night he was at. Underaged drinking wasn't uncommon, and Jasmine had been with her brother on several occasions. She knew his tolerance, levels of drunkenness and everything in between.

Currently, Carter was at his happy-go-lucky point. Everyone is his friend, and drinks are on him. His birthday meant the roles were reversed; everyone was buying him drinks. Abigail sat in one of the out of place reading chairs near the window, watching the party rather than participating.

"Hey," Jasmine called to her sister over the music. "How long have you guys been here?"

"An hour," Abigail sighed, her eyes falling on their young brother as he weaved through the crowd. "Brace yourself. He's in a hugging mood."

"Sister," Carter cheered again as his arms opened wide before wrapping around Jasmine. She tried to wiggle free and looked to Abigail for help. Her sister smiled, tipped her drink in their direction and walked away.

"Happy birthday, Carter," Jasmine shouted, and her brother fell backwards a little. His lazy grin was proof her brother was nearing the end of his night. "I'm sorry I'm so late. The Skype call with Garrett went longer than I thought it would."

"How is the soldier boy?"

"He's good. They're getting ready to move out to a new location," a shiver ran up her spine thinking about the long trek Garrett was telling her about earlier. Jasmine shook the concern from her head and changed the topic, "How far behind am I?"

"You don't want to know," Carter's lazy smile doubled in size. He slung his arm over her shoulders then, stumbling, lead her to the crowd of friends near the bar.

Daisy and David had taken a table just on the outside of the crowd. Her parents were standing on one side of it as if they couldn't decide if they should join her friends or not. David and her father were talking about the upcoming super bowl. Daisy and her mother stirred their drinks absentmindedly making small talk of the worst kind; the weather.

"They did say that February is supposed to be rough one," Teresa started, watching her drink swirl around the tiny straw.

"By March we'll be wishing for the snow," Daisy countered. She watched her mother nod in agreeance before stepping closer and shrugging out of her jacket.

"You made it," her mother smiled, hugging her with her free arm.

"Looks like I'm just in time for him to pass out near a trash can," Jasmine looked in the direction of her brother as he did another shot. She shook her head and sat in the chair beside Daisy.

"Were you able to get in touch with him," Her friend asked as she flagged down one of the waitresses.

"Yeah. He's good. Sends wishes and apologies." She felt as if she says those words a lot since he left. They were an automatic reply now. It had been six months since she watched him vanish past security at the airport. She inwardly scuffed at the irony of winter being the first season to wreak havoc on their town since he left.

Chilled winds, fluffy snowflakes, and waiting patches of black ice. It was bleak this year, and she felt her mother was on to something with her forecasting assumption. It was going to be a frozen, gloomy place for a long time.

To Jasmine, it was no different than the end of August and won't be until Garrett got home. The mental list she kept of everything he was missing had grown with the two passing holidays and now Carter's twenty-first birthday. Her mother's hand fell on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze of reassurance.