Her father's beat up Ford pickup truck, with various shades of rust and aged cherry red, came down the gravel driveway, passing by Peter's bus that had just dropped him off. He was already in the house now, having grasped something was off the moment he spotted the mint and fruit mimosa in his sister's hand.

The men had left to go get steaks; her father having stopped drinking by noon. It was her father's theory that the more people who saw their alliance, the better. No teacher who was sleeping with a student would hang out with her father after such an allegation was made public.

The creaking of the old door as it opened filled the desolate silence. As Tom exited the truck, he appeared as if he'd aged a year since leaving an hour ago. No doubt he'd fallen victim to the stares and whispers she'd suffered through in the halls of the school. He gave her a long look and a weary smile before slamming the door shut behind him, knocking off a piece of rust.

Her father's boots struck the porch and paused for only a note before continuing. "I'll go start the grill."

Tom didn't move from the first step until the front door closed. Even then, each step appeared to require most of his energy, and there wasn't much to spare. The porch swing rattled and jerked as he plopped beside her.

"That sucked," he groaned.

Ada didn't doubt she'd take it all back if she could. It would be tragic to say goodbye to the memories, but she'd do it for him. She would change the night where she went to his place, instead she'd go home, eliminating all the hardship she'd done to his life. Gone would be the night they'd talked into the early morning, and the decision to seek him out when she needed to get out of town. Gone would be his irritation with expensive furniture, which would no longer be delivered tomorrow, and their lunch and her list of exciting things she had to do that summer.

And because those things she cherished were erased from existence, gone would be the public confrontation he had with her father that sent everything crashing on top of them. Amazing how so much had changed between them and in their own lives in a few quick days.

Whether she'd drifted off in thought for too long or he just wanted a change of topic, Tom continued. "It's incredible here, isn't?" His voice was peaceful now.

Ada looked around her. He'd found calm in their surroundings. Though the porch faced the road, few cars passed by. There were only three houses on this road; theirs, her grandmother's and an older couple who only came to town in the summer and an occasional Christmas.

The main road was too far away to hear the cars pass. Other farms in the area were miles away, enough distance where their smells didn't float into their peaceful front yard.

The backyard was more peaceful yet. The river carried with it wildlife, producing the perfect picture and the perfect symphony of sounds. There was a willow tree with a tire swing and a larger garden of vegetables that the wildlife got to before they could, no matter how high a fence they put up.

"When you told me you weren't going to college," Tom continued, "I was damn pissed. I mean, it was a relief I wouldn't have to say goodbye, but I still wanted to scream. You were giving up this incredible future, and for what?"

Ada grabbed his hand. "Tom-"

"And then I came here and met your parents and saw all of this. This is why it was so easy to make peace with your choice. I guess I didn't get it because I've never been all that close to my family. I love 'em, don't get me wrong, but I've never had this, whatever the fuck this is. Your family's sort of like The Brady Bunch on acid."

Ada laughed. "Pretty sure most of the cast was on acid during The Brady Bunch."

"You know what I mean."

"I know. We're dysfunctionally perfect." Tom lit up at that the words. "That's what Britt used to call us."

Just as she spoke her name, Ada spotted her car turn into her driveway. "Speak of the devil."

Tom looked in the same direction. "I'll make myself scarce." He gave her a sympathetic look and her hand a delicate squeeze before releasing it and headed inside.

Britt parked her Prius behind her dad's truck and killed the engine, taking her sweet time getting out of the car. Each movement took twice as long as it needed to, and Ada knew Britt was dreading this conversation as much as she was.

"Was that Mr. B?" she questioned after reaching the porch steps.

Ada confirmed her suspicions with a nod. "He spent the day getting drunk with my dad, then they destroyed a bunch of shit."

"Kind of weird alliance, isn't it?" Britt asked.

It was weird, but the two of them were a better fit than Ada realized. Ada sensed a blossoming bromance and wasn't about to stop it. Not only was it amusing as hell, but if it kept Tom coming over and hanging out with her, she welcomed it with open arms. He was nice having around.

"Weird considering he was threatening to decapitate him and throw him in the lake less than twenty-four hours ago."

Britt smiled at the comment. "That sounds like your dad. I can't imagine Mr. B drunk."

"By the time I saw him, it'd kind of worn off. It looked like an interesting baseball game though," Ada said before taking a drink.

"I'd ask if I can have one of those, but I know the rules."

Her mother let Ada drink, sometimes even encouraged it. But they allowed none of her underage friends to drink. She said if she wanted people to respect her parenting choices, she had to respect theirs.

"So, how terrible was today?" Ada asked.

Britt didn't hesitate. "Not good. Some people think it's bullshit, some people think it's true. A few people are claiming to have seen some.... sexy moments between the two of you. Rayna says she wasn't at all surprised because that the two of you are always flirting."

"Rayna can go fuck herself." Ada was friendly with him because they were friends, but she'd never flirted with him as far as she could recall, and he never flirted with her. She did just call him gorgeous, however. To his face. But that was stating a fact. That wasn't flirting so much as word vomit.

"I've told everyone who brought it up to me it was just a misunderstanding, but this rumor is out of my control."

If Rayna made bullshit comments to Britt about all of this, she could only imagine the level she was stooping with the rest of the school. Hell, she was likely headed of the lynch mob.

Though none of that would surprise her, it still caused her hands to turn into fists. An uneasy laugh escaped her lips, causing a shakiness in her voice. "I can't fucking believe this."

"Everyone's saying Principal Harris put him on leave."

"Yup," Ada confirmed. "Except he called it a few days off. He doesn't believe it, but the school still needs to investigate. He thinks everyone will talk about something else in a couple of days and forget about this, but an affair between a teacher and a student isn't something people forget."

"Something big would have to happen," Britt agreed.

Ada grabbed her drink from the table and frowned when she noticed it was empty. "People don't understand that gossip can ruin people's lives. This one rumor can take away his career and make him a social outcast in this town. I mean, he'd probably have to move."

"It's that bad?" Britt asked.

Ada nodded again. "This could ruin everything for him. Yeah, It's that bad."

Britt slumped on the swing so she could reach the porch railing with her feet and pushed off to rock them. "Is it as bad as what was going on with you before?"

Ada sucked in a sharp breath. "It's a different kind of bad, but no, it isn't as bad."

"Will you tell me?" Her voice was small and composed, very different from the anxiety she'd heard in it on Monday. Ada looked at her friend she hadn't been particularly close to since eighth grade. A best friend by default now, Britt's expression reminded Ada of the adolescent girl she once shared the deepest of secrets with, and the secrets that were insignificant, but felt greater than all the universe.

"Please," Britt pleaded. Ada imagined the girl she once was, sitting on the porch swing like they'd done since first grade. It was as if she'd transformed, looking so small to Ada. She spoke the word through a heavy, slow breath, looking up at Ada through hopeful and desperate eyes.

"My mom has Huntington's," she whispered. The words were easier to say than when she'd spoken them to Tom. They still caused a shiver to run down her spine, but the words didn't fight her coming out as much. "It's a disease that cripples your mind and body and more or less turns you into a vegetable. You can still think, but you're sort of trapped in yourself. It starts small, but keeps going until it takes away your ability to move or speak. Then you die from something or another too early." The last word came out a stutter and broke her to say.

Britt's feet dropped from the railing and Ada looked over to see her clutch at her stomach, her entire body shaking.

"My mother got it from her mother, so there's a fair chance at least one of us has it too," Ada finished.

Britt struggled to stand, needing to grasp the railing and lean on it for support. A small gasp escaped her throat as she seemed to struggle for breath, her eyes glistening with tears.

Ada looked down, giving her friend a few moments to allow everything to sink in. She expected to cry with her, to have her own eyes fill with tears so she could have the breakdown she feared would come when she told her best friend the truth.

But the tears didn't come, and neither did her breaking point. Instead, her eyes drifted off into nothingness, her blonde hair falling in front of them. Her hands fidgeted with a splinter of wood from the swing.

After about five minutes, Britt wiped the tears from her face enough to give Ada a long, sad look. "But there's a cure, right?"

Ada rocked her head back and forth, the weight of the insignificant gesture bordering on unbearable.

Britt looked away then, her eyes focusing on the green field between her house and her grandmothers. She swiped her index finger beneath her eyes every now and again, placing the hand back on the seat of the swing, only to lift it again a few moments later to repeat the action. Ada noticed the stain of Britt's mascara growing against the whiteness of the swing each time.

"Britt?"

Her head dropped then, her shoulders slouched as Ada noticed them rise and fall with each of Britt's heavy, shuddering breaths. Ada could hear a slight squeak from the Britt's small frame. Britt wasn't small by any means; she was taller than Ada by at least a few inches. But since Ada made her confession, she looked so small and fragile.

Her arm quivered when Ada placed her hand upon it and Britt slowed her breaths, raising her head a little each time.

"I'm sorry it took so long to tell you."

Britt shook her head. "I get it," Britt muttered, her voice coming out small and weak. "I just don't know why you told Mr. B."

It was a question Tom asked her as well only a few days ago, right after her confession. "I guess I needed to work my way up to telling you. You love my mom so much."

"That makes sense." Britt wiped at her face again, looking at Ada with raccoon eyes.

Ada had to fight back her smile. "I should get inside. My dad and Tom are making steaks on the grill. Did you want to stay for dinner?"

"Tom? What happened to 'Mr. B'?"

Ada shrugged. There were so many ways to answer that question. "Formalities are shot to shit at this point. So, dinner?"

"No thanks. I think I'll need a few days before I can face your mom."

Ada nodded. It was something she also had trouble with. Luckily, her mother was a strong woman and rarely let her fear show. Her explanation was that life was too short and precious to weigh it down with pain. It was a motto Ada would do her best to live by.

"You going to be okay?"

With a closed lipped smile, Britt shrugged. "I'll have to get back to you on that. You going to school tomorrow?"

It was Ada's turn to shrug. "I'll have to get back to you on that."

Britt laughed and gave her a quick hug and left before the tears could return. After her car disappeared into the distance, Ada stood and went inside.