Once Upon A Time(77)

“I love you too, Ky.”





KENTUCKY ALWAYS HAD a smell about it, it smelled like the country, of course, but there was always something else mingled within it. I’ve never been able to really pinpoint what it was, but it was always there.

Kylie’s father was more than happy to loan us the jet for the weekend and Phil was amazing enough to give her Monday and Tuesday off to cover the flight back. So, armed with a suitcase each, we flew through the night to Kentucky. Thankfully, the flight was only around fours hours, much better than the eleven hour drive which, I had no doubt would be longer with the traffic on I-64.

I hadn’t called my parents to tell them we were on our way over. I thought we’d surprise them with a visit once we’d checked into our hotel on the outskirts of my hometown. We’d opted to stay in a hotel, not wanting to try to sleep in the cramped, falling apart home where my parents lived.

“I feel so jetlagged.” Kylie moaned as she threw herself onto the bed in our hotel room. I chuckled at her dramatics; we’d only been in Kentucky for two hours and I could already see her old self coming back.

“You slept for the entire flight, not to mention the thirty minutes you dozed in the car on the way over. How can you be jetlagged?”

She moved onto her side, propping her head on her hand.

“It was a long flight!”

“It was four hours. You can drive to Rhode Island in less than four hours. It’s not that far!” I laughed, shaking my head.

“Anyway, do I have enough time to sleep before we head over to your parents' house?”

“Nope, get your ass up. I’m going to shower and throw on something that doesn’t smell like I’ve been on a flight with you drooling all over me.” I giggled, throwing my drool-covered hoodie at her.

“I do not drool!” she shrieked after me as I ran into the bathroom to scrub away the drool and the pain inflicted by Gabriel.

After finally showering and throwing on some lightweight clothes to counteract the heat, we made our way to the car rental place across the street from the hotel. With us both living in the city, we didn’t see the need in driving; no one wants to be caught in the morning gridlock. After signing some documents and getting the keys to the truck, the only thing available, we made our way into town to my parents' house.

“How old is this thing?” Kylie asked, running her finger along the dash and collecting dust. “And Jesus! When was the last time this thing was cleaned? It smells like something died in here.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her little outbursts. Kylie had never met my parents or even stepped foot in the state of Kentucky. It was going to be a real eye opener for the high society queen when we arrived in the sticks.

“Payton, I don’t want to alarm you but there are people on the side of the street selling fruit.” She pointed out the window, her head following the people as we drove past. “Wait, why are we driving on dirt? Where did the road go? Oh my god, I’m going to be covered in dirt!”

“Will you quit your whining? They aren’t selling fruit, they’re selling homemade fruit jam and this is an old town, Ky. Most families have lived here for generations. It’s a small place,” I explained as I turned off the main road and onto my parents' street.

“That doesn’t explain the dirt.” She cringed, wiping her arms as if trying to rid her skin of, clearly not there, dirt.

“Will you please get your head out of the clouds?” I laughed. “This is the country. You’re lucky I didn’t make you buy some cowboy boots on the way in but I didn’t want to be the cause of a stroke.”

Her eyes widened at the remark.

“You’re not funny.”

Yeah, she had no idea how serious I was.

We pulled up to my parents' house a couple of miles off the main road. Pulling onto the drive, I turned off the engine and hopped out. Kylie, on the other hand, was tentatively trying to get out of the truck without touching it or the dirt.

“You’re such a girl.” I laughed, turning towards my parents' house.

Shit. I quickly realized my mom had lied the last time we’d spoke on the phone. The house was far worse than it had been when I last visited. The gutters were a mess and pretty much detached from the roof, and the gate was creaking and no longer straight.

I feared for my best friend's sanity.

“You sure we got the right address?” Kylie asked as she finally got out of the truck and wiped her hands before looking up at the house.

“Yeah, this is it.” I nodded, opening the gate and heading for the front porch.

“Really?”

Before I could set foot on the front porch, out came my mother, Southern whirlwind that she was.