That was the first time in Adam's life that he broke a promise to one of his family members. Jenna was questioned by the police then whisked off into FBI custody before anyone could blink.
Both Jonas and Sarah offered to go into the program with her so she didn't have to be alone but she said it would be fine because it would only be for a few months until the trial was over. And that was that. Jenna was gone and her only contact was phone calls to their mom once a week and letters through a secure channel.
"Where's Aunt Jenna?" Eli asked uncomprehendingly the following Sunday when she wasn't there at dinner.
"She had to go away for a while to be safe. But she'll be home soon. Why don't you and Anna draw some pictures for us to send her? I know that will make her happy," Adam said with a lump in his throat, trying very hard not to cry.
"Okay, Daddy!"
When they went home and put the kids to bed, he collapsed exhaustedly on the couch and Erica crawled onto his lap and caressed his face. "It's going to be okay, Adam."
"How could it possibly be okay? My baby sister got shot and is now in the Witness Protection Program! She says she's fine according to Mom but I know that's a lie. She's in pain and doesn't have anyone to support her. How could she possibly be okay?"
"She won't be gone for long, like you said. This will all be over soon. It'll be nothing but a nightmare in just a few months."
Adam wanted to believe that but it became more difficult as the trial was pushed back multiple times. Jenna missed so much. Evan proposing to Katie. Lila's first steps. Colton's second bakery opening and getting an offer to franchise out of state.
Everyone felt her absence with how much they loved her but Jonas was inconsolable. They all spent a lot of time trying to get him to cheer up but nothing worked. Of course it didn't. His other half was gone.
Then they got the news that they lost the trial and Jenna wouldn't be coming home. Ever.
It had been bad enough thinking they were going to be apart for a few months but forever? Living out there by herself not knowing what happened to her? That was even worse than losing Darren in a way.
Jonas wasn't the only one who was inconsolable this time, though he was still the worst off. Everyone was a wreck and Adam did his best to hold himself together for his mom, brothers, and children but he didn't have to do that in front of Erica. She knew that he was just as upset as everyone else and encouraged him to let it all out as he sobbed in her arms after the kids were asleep.
Horrible as it was, everyone had to find a way to live without her. Just like they had after Darren died.
Adam and Colton were pretty busy with their kids, Evan had a wedding to plan, Peter drowned himself in video games, and Sarah focused on babysitting her grandkids and her hobbies but Jonas…he was an empty shell.
Seeing him be so lifeless was almost as bad as Jenna's absence. No one had ever seen him like this before and everyone was worried sick about him.
Oddly, he did perk up a bit after Colton took him on a business trip to California. But they didn't realize why that was until Sarah got her second call from the FBI that one of her children was being taken into protective custody.
When she told Adam was happened, he was so furious at his idiot baby brother that he ended up dropping the glass he was holding and it shattered on the floor. "What was he thinking?!"
"Probably that he would be able to have minimal contact with Jenna again," Erica said mildly despite how upset her expression was. "Is he okay?"
"They said he'll recover and at least they'll be together now but my poor babies! How did any of this happen?" Sarah asked before bursting into tears.
Adam calmed down enough to console his mother. That much was true. They WERE together now. Terrible as it was that they were losing Jonas too, wasn't it better that they were together? They had both been so miserable without their other half.
Everyone else had clearly heard the news by Sunday because it was a hot topic at dinner that week. Evan joked that now he had to get a cardboard cutout of Jonas made for the wedding too and Adam was so annoyed that he smacked him upside the head. Coping mechanism or not, now was not the time for such jokes when everyone else was upset.
Colton was especially miserable because he knew what Jonas was up to and hadn't been able to stop him. No one blamed him though because they knew what Jonas was like. The only one capable of stopping him was Jenna and she hadn't.
No one could have done anything about it. All they could do now was try to adjust to being down another family member.
As a kid, Adam never would have been able to imagine losing not only his dad but the twins. And for such a horrible reason too. A brain aneurysm couldn't have been prevented but the twins were alive out there somewhere away from the rest of the family because of someone else's selfish actions. It really pissed him off.
They missed far more than they should. Holidays. Evan and Katie's wedding. More babies being born. They would never meet Adam and Erica's son Eason, Colton and Alison's son Kingston, Evan and Katie's daughter Marcy, or anyone who came after.
Adam was miserable without them. Everyone was. Once a month letters weren't nearly enough to get by on and they had minimal detail in them because of security reasons.
The twins' lives had been ruined. They didn't even know if Jenna would ever be able to go to vet school. She had wanted to do that since she was a little kid. The very thought made him want to cry.
Were they really okay out there by themselves? Would he ever stop driving himself mad wondering what was happening to his youngest siblings?
Some days were harder than others, just like when he lost his dad. But he had to carry on for the sake of the rest of the people he loved. Jenna and Jonas may be out of reach but the rest were still here. He had to be a good husband, father, brother, and son no matter what he was feeling.