Bring It On

Chapter 22

Anna-Lee's POV

Tanner and Reaper went with my dad to the hardware store to get what they needed to fix one of the fence posts they noticed was messed up thanks to the cows. I decided to enjoy a nice blunt in the loft of the barn. I had just lit it when my mom came into the barn, "Anna-Lee you in here." 

I quickly hid the blunt, "Yeah." She then came up the stairs, "Honestly, you kids need to find a better place to smoke." 

"What are you talking about," I asked her, feigning confusion. 

She held her hand out, "Pass the blunt." 

I unhid it and she shocked the hell out of me when she took a hit from it. When she blew out the smoke she sat beside me. "Your father and I were kids once like you and Tanner," she told me. "Of course when you moved out, we didn't know where to go for it so it's been a little while since we've had a good smoke." 

Who the hell was this and where the hell did my mother go? 

She passed it back to me and I took a hit as I looked at her slightly wide eyed. 

"I want to apologize to you Anna-Lee," she confessed to me. "Your father and I haven't been the best of parents to you. When you came home, we were at a loss on how to help you. I bought so many books, trying to read about things like PTSD and such, but I feel that all those hours of reading were wasted because I still failed to help you. I didn't get a professional until it was almost too late." 

Her eyes teared up. "Don't start crying," I told her. "We don't cry when smoke is being passed, it ruins a good high." 

She laughed softly as she shook her head as she took the blunt from me. As she took a hit from it, I thought back to before I tried over dosing. She did try to talk to me, but I never wanted too, and I was always so mean to her. 

"It's not entirely your fault," I confessed to her. "Thanks to my severe case of survivor's guilt, I didn't think I deserved help. There wasn't help for my friends when they needed it, which I felt wasn't fair. At least at the time." 

She passed me back the blunt, "We lied to everyone because we knew that if the town found out, they would have looked at you with pity, and we knew you would have hated it. We were worried their pity would piss you off more and maybe send you down a wrong path that we didn't want you going down. We didn't tell your brother because he's always been over protective of you and would have come back home. We wanted to properly sell the lie for your sake. Of course he was pissed when he talked to us yesterday, but by the end he understood." 

As she told me how she knew how the town would have reacted, I had to agree , I wouldn't have appreciated it. I may have really done something stupid. 

"We had no clue why you were sent home or what had happened," she told us. "We tried to get answers but we were told it was classified and that was it. Then after you got out of the psych ward you fell into some unhealthy coping. I understood why you coped the way you did. I just wanted you to find someone that wasn't a stranger in a bar that could impact your health with some STD, which is why I kept trying to set you up with people." 

I passed her the blunt, "Yeah well, two of the guys you tried setting me up with had STDs." 

She shook her head as she rolled her eyes while holding in her hit. When she blew it out she sighed, "That's not all that surprising to be honest. The men in this town have always been whores. Even your father when we were younger." 

I laughed as I held the blunt, "Dad?" 

She nodded, "Yep. Junior year in high school he actually cheated on me with Melody Branshaw. I dumped him when I found out. It wasn't until I was twenty one, having a drink at Creek View Tab, that I saw him again. He apologized and we tried it again. It was a few months after we got back together that I got pregnant with Tanner. We had a rather quick wedding, but I don't regret a thing." 

I shook my head, "I never could understand your hate for her. I guess it makes sense now." 

She gave me a small smile, "I never once saw you as a disappointment. I never cared about any of the tattoos or piercings that you got. I tried to teach you how to be a lady, because I didn't know where in life you were going to end up and what skills you were going to need. Being a lady and having manners can get you pretty far, but I was also proud that you knew when to speak up for yourself. I never thought you'd become a Marine, but I was never against the idea, I just prayed I wasn't going to get a visit telling me something happened to you. It's just like I'm not against Tanner being in a motorcycle club." 

"Wait, you know," I asked her. 

She nodded, "I saw his home screen on his phone with him and a few others wearing their cuts. I take it Blaise is in the club as well?" 

I nodded, "Believe it or not, Blaise is his real name. His road name is Reaper. Tanner is Ranger." 

"Walker Texas Ranger," she asked with a giggle. 

I nodded as I laughed, "Yeah." 

"You kids be careful," she told me. "I just want you both to be happy and living the best life." 

I smiled softly, "We will." 

She kissed my temple before we began to finish off the blunt. 

When the guys found us we were feeling amazing and in need of food. We looked down at them from the loft. Dad shook his head at us and we smiled. She made her way down the steps of the ladder, "I think we'll order pizza for dinner." 

She and dad made their way to the house while Tanner and Reaper came up the ladder. "I can't believe mom smoked a blunt with you," Tanner said with a chuckle. 

"It was actually nice," I admitted to them as I leaned against Reaper who moved his arm to be around me. 

Soon mom was in barn, "Ranger, Reaper, what do you want on your pizzas?" 

The guys looked at me. "She saw your phone wallpaper," I said to Tanner. "Idiot," Reaper muttered as Tanner's face became red. 

They gave her their answers. "Anna-Lee you still want meat lovers," she asked me. 

"Yes ma'am," I replied and she then left the barn. 

I then looked at Tanner, "We're gonna have to make sure our parents have our hookup before we leave so they can have their own supply instead of waiting for us to come visit." 

Tanner chuckled, "Y'know, I was not expecting to find this kind of stuff out about our parents when we came home." 

I wasn't either, but now I'm glad we did come home.