Page 39 of Forgotten Pieces

She breathes a sigh of relief and nods. “I would like that.”

“I moved back here because my mom finally left my stepdad. But she is sick and I am afraid I will lose her,” I tell her, my voice breaking on the end of the sentence.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“ALS. She never thought much of her symptoms when it started. She was an alcoholic and thought it was either withdrawal or side effects from my stepdad abusing her. It wasn’t until she started to lose her ability to walk that we realized it was actually a disease.”

Tacoma reaches over and grabs my hand. “I’m sorry Ryder. It’s hard to watch that happen. It’s hard to lose a parent.”

“Have you lost one?”

She grabs the whiskey from me and takes a healthy swig before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Both of them. Drunk driver.”

I am speechless. I had no idea she lost her parents. I squeeze her hand back after I realize our fingers are still locked.

“It was a while ago. A little over three years. I’ve dealt with it. Easton, my brother, is now my parent. He got custody of us, my sister and I, when it happened. My sister, Raelynn, was only eleven when it happened. She still struggles with the loss. She was so young and our parent’s favorite. She took it so hard.”

She blinks back tears and I scoot closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

She wipes away the few tears that fall down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I try not to let it get to me. I have days where I get excited and want to tell my mom something. I rush into the kitchen and then remember she’s gone. I try to be strong for my brother so he has one less person to worry about. I need to be strong for Raelynn, she needs a mother figure. God knows Ashton isn’t one.”

“Who’s Ashton?”

Tacoma groans and gets up off the rock, grabbing the whiskey as she goes and starts pacing. “My stupid brother’s bitch ass wife.” She takes a swig of whiskey before continuing. “He’s so stupid for marrying her. She was his high school sweetheart but she just up and left him in the dust after they graduated from high school to go to college. And I am sure she slept around; she was such a flirt with everyone. I don’t care if I was only ten when they started dating. This is a small ass town and I knew what flirting was. Anyway, when my parents died, she came back here to comfort Easton. She moved back here permanently a few months later when she graduated college. They got married six months after that. And now she just acts like a total bitch to me. She thinks she can boss me around but she ain’t my mother.”

I can’t help the grin that slides over my face as I hear her rant about Easton’s wife. It’s cute. Even though I shouldn’t think it is. Hell, I’m a year older than her brother. This is definitely wrong.

“And then I try to tell Easton I want to go away to school and she has to butt her opinion in and say I should stay here for Raelynn. Like bitch you are not my mother, you have no say in where I go to school.” She looks up at me and sees the smile on my face. “This isn’t funny.”

“I’m not laughing at you,” I say with my hands up in surrender.

“You totally are,” she responds, frowning at me.

I shake my head. “I just think it’s cute.” I realize my slip too late.

She puts her hands on her hips, whiskey bottle still in one hand. “You think I’m cute?”

“I think your ranting is cute.”

“Nuh uh Ryder. You totally think I’m cute. Do you have a crush on me?” she asks as she bats her eyelashes.

I stand up and grab the whiskey out of her hand. “I’m older than your brother. I don’t have a crush on you. And I think you’ve had enough to drink.”

“Ughh, men,” she says as she walks behind me and grabs the blanket off the rock, shoving it into her bag. She stumbles a bit as she storms off toward the path to the parking lot.

I remember that she had been drinking before she came here and worry about her getting home.

I chase after her and grab her arm. “How are you getting home?”

“My bicycle. Don’t worry about me.”

“I’ll drive you.”

She shakes my arm off her and walks to the tree line, where I see her bike. “I am more than capable of riding my bike.”

I watch her get on and then nearly fall a few feet later. I walk over to her and grab her bag off her shoulder. “Come on, I’ll drive you.”

She rolls her eyes at me but doesn’t protest.

---