Blood Wrong

** All characters portrayed in this story involved in any kind of sexual act are 18 years of age or older. **

Note: This is a work of pure fiction. Any persons, places or events that may seem familiar are purely by coincidence.

*

The sound, frogs croaking and of millions of crickets tuning up their legs for the same night time symphony that is played on most every night out here by the big pond. The occasional sound of a bird or two calling as they flit about the cattails before settling in for the night was familiar too. So peaceful out here. Out where the skies open up and there are no street lights or neon signs advertising anything and everything. The heavens alight with the entire milky way and sometimes the moon in one phase or another. This was a safe haven for so many years. Now it just seemed like a memory really, even with the frogs and the crickets and other familiar sounds.

The long neck bottle had long since lost its chill even if the contents were only half gone. It seemed like a good idea earlier, to grab a few beers and drive out to the big pond and drop the tailgate and sit a spell. To watch the sunset over the water and welcome in the night. The feel of the rusty tailgate under me, the creaky sounds the old truck made when I sat down or moved any at all really. Yeah, it was a good idea... until reality set in, and the memories came calling. Oh sure, some memories were good, so many good times spent here at this place, growing up. But we did grow up. Grow up and grow apart. Life can really be fucked up sometimes. Ours definitely were, thought Tom.

Tipping the bottle over and watching the lukewarm contents pour out into the grass at the edge of the pond... until it was only a sad slow drip or two. Too often that same elixir had deadened the pain, pushed it aside so that it could be forgotten, if only for a little while. It made it easier to do things that were hard to do when the mind wasn't fogged with alcohol, like forget and pretend. Pretend that what happened hadn't happened, that it was all just imagination or a bad dream. Yeah... but it was neither, it was all true and too real to keep pushing away and forgetting. Sobriety, like the sunrise of the new day always brought back the clarity and the pain.

Tom drew back his arm as if to throw the empty bottle into the pond. He took a heavy breath and sighed, and instead half turned on the tailgate and dropped the bottle into a wooden box in the bed of the old pick-up truck. The empty bottle clinked against the two other empties that had been drunk earlier. Some things seem to stick with us, like the old man's declarations of keeping the place clean and tidy. The old farm still looked good even after so many years of neglect. Sure, there could be work done like cleaning up the fence rows and knocking down some weeds and tall grass around the barn and the outbuildings. The old house was still in good shape mostly though. Of course, it was lived in until the old man died. If you can call that living.

The word that the doctors gave was that the old man had died from the cancer, it ate him up on the inside and finally the shell just gave up and he stopped living. Tom knew there was far more to it than that simple explanation though. Yes, the old man was eaten up on the inside but the cancer was barely a whisper compared to the secrets that he had kept for so many years. Secrets, some of which Tom was only learning of now that the old man was dead and gone. Some that had rocked Tom to the core and made him rethink his entire world and beliefs... and the events of his life leading up to this point. So many things in the past could have been... would have been... different. Life could have been so much easier and happier. If only he had known then what he knew now. The pain was still there, the past would not change.

Turning back around to resume his statue like perch on the tailgate, Tom gazed off across the water of the big pond. He wasn't seeing the ripples on the water, or the shooting star reflected in surface of the water. Tom was seeing the past, better times when life was simpler as a child. All of the world was wonder and exciting to explore.

"Aint Deeny I'm hungry!" little Tommy whined as he sat and fidgeted on the uncomfortable wooden pew of the little old country church.

The little old country church was sweltering that day. Tommy tugged again at the tight collar trying to loosen the little red necktie that his momma had put on him that morning. Momma was all dressed up in a pretty light blue dress. She was upset that she couldn't wear a white dress for some reason but Tommy couldn't figure out why. His aunt Deeny had come to visit today and told him that he was going to go home with her for a day or two cause his momma and Mr. Richard were going to have a celebration at their house. That was something else little Tommy couldn't understand. But aunt Deeny promised him ice cream this weekend so that he was excited about. But going to church was never fun and it was just too hot, and he was hungry.

"Hush Tommy, we'll go get something to eat in just a little bit. Now be a good boy and be quiet, your momma and Mr. Richard are saying their vows." Geraldine Simmons whispered in little Tommy's ear as she gently pulled his little hands away from tugging at his cute little neck tie. Tommy sat back and pouted a bit more.

Geraldine Simmons, or "Aint Deeny" was Tommy's mother's older sister. This was the second time that she had been in attendance at this little country church for her younger sister's wedding. Her younger sister Lee, Juanita Lee, had been wed here once before two years ago. It had been a small service then as well. Lee had been two months pregnant with Tommy at the time. Tommy's daddy was about to ship out to boot camp with the army. He had been drafted two days before he found out that Lee was expecting. Deen thought that it was honorable of the boy to marry her sister, but she never did like him much. Sadly, it didn't matter in the end.

Lee's new husband and the father of her unborn child was killed in a training accident in boot camp. The details never were very clear but that didn't matter much either. What mattered was that Lee was pregnant and now a widow at a very tender age of 19 years old. She had barely finished high school six months before and now she was a mother to be and a widow.

Tommy came into this world kicking and screaming, but he was healthy even if he was a little on the small side of average newborns. Lee lived with her folks and worked whatever hours she could get at the little diner out by the exit coming into Helton Missouri, just off of Interstate 35. The diner was one of only a few businesses in the small town of Helton. Somewhere between Plattsburg and Lawson, there just wasn't much else around except farm land.

Most of the customers at the diner were travelers who got off the interstate for gas at the Sunoco across the road from the diner. Oh sure, locals ate there occasionally too, at least the food was decent, and the coffee was good. It was one of the locals that eventually took a liking to Lee, he became a regular customer at the diner. It wasn't the food that kept him coming back though, it was Lee. Enter Richard Alva Burton. Rich fell head over heels in love with the young girl. He didn't even flinch when she told him about her baby boy. It was less than six months before he asked her to marry him and she said yes. So here we were, back in this same little country church, Lee getting married again. Deen prayed that things would work out better for her younger sister this time.

Little Tommy stayed with his aunt Deeny after the wedding and all that weekend. It was a happy time for him. It was a happy time for his momma too. Life was looking up for her finally. Sadly, it wasn't for long though. One year to the day of her wedding they were back in that same little country church again but the ceremony this time was far sadder. Juanita Lee Burton was being told goodbye by her friends and family. She had passed away from cervical cancer that had not been caught before it was too late. Two weeks after being diagnosed by a doctor in Kansas City, she was being laid to rest. Little Tommy was quiet and sad. He sat between his beloved aunt Deeny and his new dad Mr. Rich.

Richard Alva Burton was heartbroken to say the least. When asked what he was going to do about the boy, he told anyone asking that he made a promise to the boy's mother. He would care for him as his own, and that he did. Richard went on to eventually meet and fall in love again. Enter Teresa Mae Singleton.

Teresa was the granddaughter of the owner of the local hardware store where Richard bought everything he needed for his small farm. She had been in Helton visiting her grandparents that fateful day. Richard was struck by her self-confidence and outgoing personality. She was cute too, in his eyes, which didn't hurt. Standing five foot four next to his gangly six foot two, she might as well have been ten feet tall though for the impact she had on Richard. She was fair skinned with a light dusting of freckles on her bare arms and across the cheeks and nose on her face. Startling bright blue eyes and curly red hair made it hard for Richard to even make a complete sentence when speaking with her. And likewise, Teresa, a city girl from Kentucky, was quite taken by this tall gangly man. It was something about his sad deep brown eyes yet he still had a warm sweet if shy smile. His gentle demeanor and the way he looked at her made her heart swell.

The two weeks visit that Teresa had originally planned on turned into a month, then two. Richard would find any reason he could to come to town and the hardware store if just to see Teresa and talk with her a spell. Being a single dad, Richard always brought along little Tommy of course. For her credit, Teresa fell in love with Richard despite the fact that he had a child. She adored little Tommy and they became fast friends. Teresa eventually had to return home to Kentucky, Richard was despondent the day she left for home. They wrote letters to each other almost daily for two months after that. Tommy didn't understand why Teresa had to go away, he was just too young at three years old.

Teresa did return however, reasons were never clear or even talked about, but return she did. She moved in with her grandparents and was again helping in the hardware store. It wasn't long before Richard and Teresa were inseparable. Soon they were engaged, and not long after that they were wed.

Another wedding in that small country church. Deeny was there again with little Tommy, she would again have him stay with her for a couple of days after the wedding. But then he would be going home with his new momma. At first Deeny was a little leery of Teresa, but she soon warmed to the younger woman and even grew to like her. The fact that Teresa and Richard, both welcomed her any time she visited the farm, and that they both loved and adored little Tommy certainly helped. Deeny would also come to love and adore the new addition to the little Burton family seven months later. It would seem that Rich and Teresa hadn't waited to be wed before consummating their love for one another.

Into the world came a little bundle of joy and wonder, Richard and Teresa's first child. They named the little girl Adaliene Rae Burton. When little Tommy met her for the first time, she was but a tiny little wrinkly pink squirming curiosity wrapped in a soft pink blanket. He wasn't sure what to think of this tiny creature, that is until she wrapped her tiny little fingers around one of his and then her little eyes opened up and looked at him. Something changed in little Tommy that instant. He fell in love with this little bundle, his heart swelled and he was speechless. It was a situation that would repeat itself over and over again for the rest of his life... being speechless and lost in those eyes.

Tommy had difficulty pronouncing tiny Adaliene's name, so he called her Addy, and the name stuck. Addy was his baby, his little sister. He loved her so much. They were inseparable growing up on that little farm in Missouri. Wherever Addy went, Tommy was there too, and likewise, wherever Tommy went Addy followed along as well. Chores, playing in the barn or around the farm, exploring the woods and swimming in the pond, or just laying on their backs staring up at the clouds or the stars. Things would change though, they always do, life makes certain of that.

Tommy started school when he turned seven years old. He hated that he couldn't take Addy with him, and she hated that she couldn't go with him too. She did, however, make it a point to get up every day with him as they did the chores before going to school. Addy would walk to the end of the long dirt driveway and stay with him while they waited on the old school bus to come collect him. She would also be there waiting for him when the bus came back later in the day to return him to home. Addy was always excited to hear about his day and adventures away at school, and Tommy always told her all about everything. Three years later they both still made that same walk and waited on the same bus but now Addy was going with Tommy to school too.

Two years after Addy started school Life stepped in and made another change. The day started like any other ordinary day on the farm. Both kids were up with the roosters and doing their chores before getting ready to go to school. On this day however, Tommy had to climb up into the hay loft of the barn to pitch down a bale of hay for the cows. As he was turning to climb back down though he slipped or tripped somehow and fell out of the loft. Addy heard his yelp and the sickening crack of bones breaking when he hit the floor of the barn. Tommy's wind had been knocked out of him and his eyes were bugged out with the pain. Addy screamed and ran to get their Daddy.

It was a long wait for the ambulance to reach the farm. Addy had sat with Tommy holding his hand and telling him everything would be okay. She teased him for trying to get out of going to school that day to avoid a quiz that he had studied for the night before. Teresa had covered him with a blanket and sat with him as well telling and trying to get Tommy to lay still and not move around. She knew enough that he may have broken his back and that moving him could cause more damage than the fall. Richard paced the barn and later ushered the ambulance crew into the barn to help collect Tommy. Teresa rode in the ambulance with Tommy to the hospital in Kansas City. Addy was upset that she couldn't go with him but she and Richard followed the ambulance in the pickup truck. It was a long drive.

Tommy had indeed broken his back when he fell from the loft that morning. Teresa's knowledge not to move him had prevented more serious damage to his spine thankfully but he was still badly hurt. The doctors realigned the broken vertebrae and immobilized them with metal rods. Tommy was encased in a full torso cast and put in traction for the first few days at least. He ended up spending two weeks in the hospital before the doctors said he would be able to go home, as long as he remained in bed and let the bones heal. And so, it was. Addy was by his side almost constantly when she wasn't doing their chores or away at school.

Addy would play board games with Tommy or sit and watch TV for hours. Addy did her homework in Tommy's room and asked for his help when she had trouble with anything. She would tell him all about school and her classmates and teachers. She would also tell him about the outside world, what the weather was like, how big the baby animals were getting. Sometimes they would just talk. Addy would share her dreams with Tommy and he would share his with her. On more than one occasion Teresa or Richard would have to pick up Addy from the chair beside Tommy's bed to carry her to her own bed as she was fast asleep.

One night in late summer, a storm blew up and thunder and lightning raged for what seemed like hours. After the storm had passed and Richard had gotten up to check the house and looked in on Tommy only to find that Addy had snuck in to curl up at Tommy's side so that he would not be frightened by the storm. Or at least, that's what she said later in the morning when asked about it. Tommy ended up missing that whole year of school and it was decided to let him repeat that grade when he recovered from his injuries.

Now only separated by two years in school, Tommy and Addy still rode the same bus the next year but they were only two years apart instead of three. So, when they both made it to high school, Tommy was a junior when Addy began as a freshman. Tommy had recovered from the broken back as a child and all the hard work on the farm had turned him into a sturdy young man, his natural athletic ability made him an integral part of the school's baseball, basketball and even football teams. He may not have been the star quarterback or top man on any of the teams, but he was respected and relied upon all the same. There were a few girls that were infatuated with him but they all seemed to be frustrated that he was pretty shy and reserved. He often talked about this and his own frustrations with Addy of course. She was after all, his best friend.

Addy blossomed in high school herself, she was outgoing and friendly and made friends easily. She was bright and did well in most of her classes, and the ones she struggled with Tommy helped her find her way. Nature was changing Addy as well, her body was developing and changing into that of a young woman. No longer was she that gangly little whisp of a girl, a tomboy if ever there was one. Now she was filling out and curves were appearing where there used to be nothing but straight lines and bony limbs. Her strawberry blond hair was still wild and virtually untamable but it was getting thicker and longer. She had freckles just like her mother, and they both shared the same dazzling electric blue eyes. The slight gap in Addy's front teeth grew to be more and more of a sense of shame and embarrassment for her as she got older and started noticing boys. Not that anyone ever really said anything about it, well, except for Delbert Evans.

Delbert Evans was a bully, plain and simple. He was a spoiled brat and when he saw something he wanted, he thought he was entitled to it, no matter what. And Delbert took a liking to Addy their freshman year. Delbert had moved to Helton the previous summer so he was the new kid amongst the freshman class. At first everyone welcomed him of course, but his personality and his very nature soon earned him enemies and people began to avoid him. Delbert was not exactly handsome. Rather, his eyes were just a little on the beady side, close together and with a slightly pug nose gave him a piggish appearance. It was his constant sneering almost cruel smile that set most people on edge though. Addy wasn't one of those who out and out shunned him, at first, as her nature was to be kind to everyone. That all changed the last week of school that year.

Addy often spent her free time in the library, studying or simply reading while Tommy was at practice for whatever team was in season. They would both ride home in the old pick up that their dad had given Tommy his junior year. It made more sense for Tommy to drive to and from school especially if he had to stay over for practice or a game. Often Addy would still ride the bus home to do chores, but just as often or more often, she would stay and wait for Tom.

Delbert lived not too far from the high school, and he would often loiter about school grounds getting into mischief. One afternoon, after school, knowing that Addy was in the library waiting on Tom, Delbert decided he was going to have some fun. It was a day that would set things in motion that would prove fateful for all involved. Life was about to get complicated.