Wherever the Road Takes Us

Wherever The Road Takes Us

by

K. Martin

Wherever the Road Takes Us

By: Kyjuan Martin

Published by True Vine Publishing Co.

P.O. Box 22448

Nashville, TN 37202

www.TrueVinePublishing.org

ISBN: 978-1-7366672-5-5

Copyright © 2021 by Kyjuan Martin

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

Contents

Prologue:

Part 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Part 2

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Part 3

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Epilogue

Author Notes:

Prologue:

The gentle wind breezed past my wrinkled skin and through the grass beneath me. I squinted to get a glimpse of the sun creeping below the grey sky and above the horizon. The setting did the courtesy of reminding me of a time when life was different. Long ago when the grass wasn’t green, the wind was cold, and the sun never showed itself. It’s become a bit of a struggle to stand and make my way to my front door, due to my declining years of course, but I managed. Making my way through our living room, a flicker of light from my peripheral caught my attention. My hands grabbed the picture frame and I analyzed it sentimentally. It was the four of us sitting down in that old diner, laughing until we couldn’t breathe anymore. It was a million years ago, yet my feelings indicated that these events were yesterday. And of all the things going on in this picture, she stood above them all. The tenderness of her smile and the life in her eyes. The ones which changed my life.

To everyone who never had a chance.

Wherever The Road Takes Us

Part 1

Chapter 1

Sunlight crept through the window blinds as my eyes opened. I rose out of bed slowly, pushing the dark grey sheets away and mentally preparing myself for another day of Jaxson’s Fantastic Life. Loaded to the top with a hypocritical and alcoholic dad, who has a hard time keeping his hands to himself. And a narcissistic, gullible, and pitiful mother. She may be a college graduate but don’t let that fool you; she’s as simple as simpletons get. These two magnificent people are my foster parents. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Foster Care’s best stab at,

Doing their job.

Looking in the mirror, I spread the light blue toothpaste across my toothbrush and scrubbed it along my teeth, making sure to move up and down, as well as side to side. When done, I spat out the paste, washed my curly hair, moisturized my caramel skin, and then proceeded to get dressed for school. I hoped one day I’d be met with the smell of breakfast as I stepped down the rosewood staircase. And every day I met nothing except the same damn creaks in every step. They were consistently loud, irritating, and made me consider trying out the window for a change.

Entering the kitchen, I immediately noticed a collection of empty beer bottles spread across the marble counter. Mondays, I mumbled, picking them up and disposing of them in the dark grey trash can nearby. That explained why Mark was nowhere to be found. However, the question still lingered, ‘Where’s Julia?’ Then a thought came across my mind, Do I care? The black, round bowl scraped against the wooden cabinet’s interior as I pulled it out in preparation for a bowl of cereal. Savoring the crunch of Honey Nut Cheerios, I stared at my dark blue Under Armour backpack.

Time for another day of Sycamore High School, which wasn’t that bad. Unlike the other kids, I rushed to get ready for school and dreaded going home. The oven clock read 8:43. I prayed it was wrong, because school started at 9:00 and I wasn’t even done with breakfast. Flipping out my phone, it read 8:44. I gobbled down a few more spoonsful of cereal before draining the milk in the sink, and pushing what was left of the soggy cereal into the garbage can.

After promptly exiting through the back door, I realized the chance of me being late to class was becoming more and more of a reality while I was walking down the broad sidewalk. That wouldn’t be the case if I had a car. I had the license, but when you don’t have parents who care, that doesn’t matter. The autumn breeze made me lose my train of thought as it slowly seeped its way through the leaves. There was something different about today; I just couldn’t put my finger on it. It was as if no one in the world existed on this short walk to school, and the sun seemed to only care about me. There was something freeing about these kinds of moments to me, and instead of questioning it, I began to simply enjoy it. This was short-lived when a ring, followed by an annoying vibration, came from my right pocket.

Before I even reached into my pocket, I knew who it was. Jimmy Delgado, I thought to myself with a smirk. See, some people like to call us Partners in Crime, and we wish just about everyone else in the world would. I’ve been running with Jimmy since 7th grade. We’ve gone as far from terrorizing our next-door neighbors to trying the people down the block for once, which wasn’t as satisfying as we thought it would be. Jimmy has always been a constant in my life. He was a redhead, with freckles covering both of his cheeks. From what I knew, Jimmy was a mix of European and Mexican; his mom being Mexican and his dad being European.

He came from a single-parent household with his mother, who probably has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen. She’s even let me spend the night at Jimmy’s house, possibly more times than she should’ve, when I got kicked out by my parents. And as far as his father, Jimmy avoids that topic. I’ve tried to bring it up a couple of times in the past, and whenever I did, he just changed the subject. The only thing I knew was that his father was a big boxer at one point. Which, I can infer, is why Jimmy literally eats, sleep, and breathes boxing. I guess he’s to thank for my physique, because I wouldn’t have exercised if he hadn’t made me join the school’s boxing team: Sycamore’s Shockers. Escaping my thoughts, I retrieved my phone from my pocket and finally answered.

Hello.

Yo Jax, you heading to school?

Where else would I be heading on a Monday morning?

I don’t know, maybe the tracks perhaps?

The tracks - somewhat of a safe zone for the teenagers of Sycamore, Illinois. Last year the graduating class of seniors decorated and cleaned out two abandoned freight trains. They were abandoned by a rail service that had been shut down years ago. It’s mainly used as a safe space for teens to do frankly whatever they want, and it’s crazy to think that not that many people know about it.

Are you just trying to get out of first-period or are you taking a day off? I questioned.

The four of us will be taking a day off.

Four? Jimmy and I alone made two, and I’m pretty sure his girlfriend Angela was going to be tagging along.

"Who’s the fourth?

One Victoria Summers.

Knowing Jimmy, I was 95% sure he said this with a smile on his face. Victoria, who Jimmy thinks I’ve had a crush on since freshman year, is a girl who I’ve always wanted to talk to more. And just so coincidentally she’s best friends with Angela, who is Jimmy’s current girlfriend. Being around Victoria wasn’t the reason I decided to take Jimmy up on this offer; at least for the most part it wasn’t. What persuaded me the most was that the days of Jimmy and I painting the town red were coming to an end, and he had no idea. Even as close as we were, he was unaware of my intentions.

The intention to attempt to take control of my life. Which was a nice way of saying simply running away. Yo Jaxson, you there? His voice snapped me out of my thoughts instantly. I took a deep breath and asked, Where are you now?

The clock now read 9:13, exactly thirteen minutes after the time Jimmy swore he’d be here. Jimmy Delgado is the only person I know who consistently picks a time to match his convenience, and still manages to be late. This gave me more time to admire the inside of Joe’s Diner. Its walls were covered with chipped light blue paint. I was considering ordering breakfast, and probably would have done if I hadn’t recognized the horrible screech of Jimmy’s front tires pull up in the driveway. He seriously needed to get those checked out. I studied the rusted teal walls and the marble tables before I rose from my leather seat and headed towards the door. Now hold up; don’t be in such a rush to leave just yet.

I recognized the voice immediately. Old man Joe. Joe’s around his early fifties but I like to make him feel like he’s a hundred. Joe’s always been good to me, and I’m pretty sure it’s because he’s one of the few people who knows how life is for me at home. He learned about it when the Palmer family had the infamous trip to his diner one night, years ago. It’s undoubtedly still the worst night Mark has ruined. I grinned before turning around.

Old man Joe! I shouted, hoping he wouldn’t wonder why I wasn’t in school.

Shouldn’t you be in school by now?

Shouldn’t you be retired by now? I remarked.

Nice one, he smirked. He stepped a bit closer.

But seriously, how are you doing nowadays? he said.

I’m alright, I replied.

He moved in a bit closer and lowered his voice, in order to prevent anyone from hearing the words he would say next. Well, if you ever need anything-

You’re always here, I know I know, I cut him off. He repeated the statement every time we crossed paths. That didn’t mean I was unappreciative of it. I walked towards the door and grabbed its steel handle.

"Thanks Joe, it means a lot. And tell Katherine I said Hi.’’

Will do; be safe out there Jaxson. I nodded my head, exiting the diner. The redness of Jimmy’s GMC truck stuck out like a sore thumb in the driveway. Jimmy’s face lit up the moment he spotted me. Angela was too busy with what seemed to be finding a radio station to notice my approach. I couldn’t help my eyes as they wandered right past the two and on to the hazel-eyed, lightly brown-haired, freckled face in the backseat, gazing out of the back window.

Every step I took was accompanied by a bit of nervousness and somewhat excitement. Victoria Summers; I’ve always seen her as a Wonder Girl. We’ve talked before, and we’ve always known of each other, we’ve just never really hung out. The last time I talked to her was sophomore year. The two of us were partnered for a presentation in English. From what I remember we bombed it badly.

It wasn’t long before I made my way to the back door and opened it. There she was. Her caramel skin, covered by a bright yellow, long-sleeve hoodie and a pair of light ripped jeans. Her eyes the color of spring leaves, and a sweet perfume which floated across the black car seats and into my nostrils.

I tried my best not to look for too long as she looked over, back at me. Hey, followed with a simple smile. However, for some reason it felt like much more. Hi, I did my best not to stumble over my words. After sitting down, I immediately began to rethink a million different approaches I could’ve gone through with besides a simple Hey. First impressions are everything, after all. After I greeted Jimmy and Angela, the car ride fell silent, and the only noises being made were from the dangling of Jimmy’s boxing necklace hanging from his interior window and the occasional bump in the road.

Throughout the duration of the ten-minute ride, I found myself gazing out of my passenger window. Artless scenery passed me by and now, instead of stopping in the old desolate junkyard, I was hoping we ended up somewhere thousands of miles from here. It didn’t matter where or how far, as long as it wasn’t this one-star town. Oh, babe look! Angela propped herself up in her seat, releasing some of her blond hair from being squished in between her back and the seat. There was another robbery last night. She’d held up her phone to show him, but Jimmy hadn’t seemed the least bit interested.

The car came to a halt without me noticing it. When we exited the car, Jimmy and Angela wasted no time bundling up, and they began to walk around the junkyard. His arm wrapped around her shoulder and over her light purple tank top. He pulled her closer and whispered something in her ear that broke her out into laughter. The two weren’t like most teenage couples. They didn’t date for a couple of months and break up once every two-three weeks. No, those two were consistent, which is pretty rare nowadays.

We followed them around the abandoned junkyard and into the forest behind. The crunching of the leaves underneath us seemed to be amplified by the silence. Halfway through the walk Angela slipped, possibly because of the uneven ground, and almost fell on a log. Lucky for her, Jimmy caught her. She then proceeded to make a big deal about it, as if she actually did slip and fall onto the log. As Jimmy and Angela got caught up in their ramblings I heard a voice to my left that snapped me out of my amusement. Isn’t it beautiful? My attention shifted over to Victoria, taking notice of her tanned skin as she gazed upwards.

Out of curiosity, I decided to join her and look up. The various colors of the autumn trees lit up the wooden area. The feel of the breeze and slight shine of the sun, covered by trees, complemented it all so well. If it wasn’t