Chapter 41

Laying in bed, Liam kept one hand over his eyes trying to keep the light of the sun away as he tried to parse out the weirdness of his dream. He had been Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz, he was also the Scarecrow, Tinman and Cowardly Lion. Or more accurately Leah was Dorthy and Liam was the other cast members, except for the good witch and the wicked witch, both roles were taken by Miss Megan.

The wicked witch cackled on about being punished, Glenda told the group they would all be fine so long as they remembered to be a good girl. The trip down the path was quick to break up the group, the lion ran back the way he came soon as wicked Megan showed up not wanting to change, the tin man stopped moving all together, stuck where on the path not willing to continue any more down the path and then even the scarecrow was done being ripped apart by flying monkeys as he refused to be a good girl. By the end of the dream himself as Dorthy was left alone to traverse down the golden path. The wicked Megan staying away so long as she smiled, and remembered she was a good girl, find at the end of the road Megan as the good witch Glenda smiling, ready to give a reassuring hug and introduce her to the wizard of Oz, who just happened to be Jeremy ready to give her what she really needed. Not a diploma to be a brain, or a medal to have a heart, but a ruby necklace in the shape of heart to represent giving her his heart.

With a groan Liam rolled out of bed. “Such a weird dream.” Sitting up he covered his face with his hands. Even after rest his mind felt overworked from constantly correcting his own thoughts on being a she rather than a he the other day. Miss Megan wasn’t around she wouldn’t know what he did now, but he also knew on an intellectual level that she never could tell. Yet the thought of being pulled over her lap for another spanking sent shivers down his spine. She promised more punishments to come for what was done and before she left Miss Megan had said what the second piece of it was going to be. Jeremy was turning eighteen next week, she mused how happy the young man was going to be when his girlfriend gave him his first blow job. Initially he had a hard time getting to sleep, his Rohypnol bottle had been empty and it felt wrong to bring that up considering what Miss Megan believed. He had been so mentually exhausted most days recently that he hadn’t needed it, but the thought of having to give a blow job kept bringing thoughts of Lucus back to his mind and how if the blonde wig hadn’t come off it could have happened with daddy too.

Liam shook his head the time was bringing that event closer by the second, it felt like driving towards a brick wall, unable to swerve or slow down, knowing you had **** other than to encounter that wall. Or in this instance Jeremy’s dick. “I am Leah Megan Summers, I am Leah Megan Summers.” She said slapping her cheeks twice to help wake up and to get in the right frame of mind. The wrong frame of mind would bring more such brick walls into the future, she was sure of it

Looking at the clock for the first time Leah saw it was almost nine in the morning. She used to… her uncle used to sleep in until almost noon when he didn’t have to work a Saturday, but he also stayed up much later, while she had to be in bed before eleven. Getting up and ready more and more of the dream slipped from her mind as Leah’s mind bounced around between what to wear today going out and about with Miss Megan, what to do about Jeremy. The answer to what to wear was resolved quickly, as Leah put on a black pleated skirt, a baby blue tank top, little socks that stopped before her ankles and the closest thing she had in her closet to being sneakers. They looked like sneakers, but they still had a built in wedge heel. It was more flirty than sporty, but she didn’t have much of a wardrobe for anything other than trying to look cute.

Still having some time Leah found herself cleaning the house a bit, it was her job now to make sure things stayed picked it. Once she would have balked, but she wasn’t earning any money and daddy was even off on a Saturday to earn more. While busying herself she didn’t take the time to consider how this was one of the few times she was left alone as her thoughts about Jeremy and the letters awakened an idea that connected to the now empty pill bottle.

Finishing with the morning chore, Leah made herself a shake, slipping a thick straw into the glass as she sat down at the dining room table with a piece of paper, ready to get her thoughts out. It took a few tries to get out everything she wanted and then another try remembering that this letter needed to come from Liam to get it right and ready to send. He knew… Liam pressed his lipstick covered lips together, he was doing really well thinking about himself in female terms, but writing the letter threw a wrench into it. Closing his eyes he started to speak in a whisper and then started to repeat himself to say it more and more confidently. “I am Leah Megan Summers. I am Leah Megan Summers. I am Leah Megan Summers. And I am a good girl and proud.” Feeling more centered, Leah reread the letter before slipping it into the envelope.

Dear Bailey,

I know you don’t want to hear from me, it is Liam by the way… but there were a few things I wanted to get off my chest and I hope you will read all of it, you don’t owe me anything, but maybe you would want to know, the whys and hows.

You are beautiful, you know this, your family knows this, everyone who gets a chance to see that smile of yours knows this, and I will miss seeing it when you look at me. We flirted, we both teased one another of the fun we could have together and the night of our first date I smiled seeing you drinking to help ease your anxiety, I could see how nervous you were for the fun we were going to have together that night. The thing is I get nervous too, I get anxiety to the point that it keeps me up at night. For it I take some medication and I gave you some to help you calm down, but I didn’t want you to pass out so I also gave you a little ecstasy. I have taken the two in combination before, but I also didn’t consider how drunk you were.

I thought that night was going to always end in one way, what I gave you was intended to help, but I have also been taking it long enough to not have severe side effects… I’m not doing a good job of this, I can only imagine what you went through. I’m sorry Bailey, for what it is worth, I am sorry I made you feel anything like this for even a second.

Reading the note, just like when she wrote it brought flashes of the man in the linen closet and what could have happened and of his first punishment. Wearing that blonde wig and Lucus thrusting his hips. It didn’t matter her intentions back then, if Bailey felt even a little like she did then it was wrong. Putting some stamps on the envelope and leaving off a return address, Leah put it in the mail box to go out. She didn’t know if an apology would mean anything to the girl, but if it gave her even a little closure then it was worth it. When this summer was over and Liam got to return… Leah knew staying around here would be a bad option with what happened there and just vanishing from work. But all of that was for another time, today there were things to do.

Pulling up into the driveway, Megan reached for her purse to get her cell phone to text Leah to come out. “Let me just text her real fast and then we can go pick up drinks to put in the cooler.” In the back seat of the SUV, Candi opened the door and stepped out quickly. “I will go get her!” the girl said before darting off to the front door.

“She is excitable this morning.” Megan said to her younger sister sitting in the passenger seat. “Weeks ago she talked about wanting to do softball, with how busy everyone has been I’m glad you were able to make that a reality for her.” Megan waved off the comment, even though she was excited herself. Once upon a time she used to help coach her daughter's softball team, but then had to step back to put more hours into work after the divorce, something she always regretted having to do. Amanda had just asked to do a day at the batting cages, but she had much more in mind for them.

“You are going to be her Mom someday soon, it is best she learn I am the fun Aunt sooner rather than later.”

“Meg, Derrick is not going to ask me to marry him. Now you are getting rather close to Chuck’s daughter, do you think wedding bells could be in your future again?” Megan rolled her eyes, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.

“He can be fun in bed, but it isn’t something that can last. Leah… Leah has just needed some guidance, so I’m helping out.”

“Well I wish Bailey told me about Leah years ago, I would have loved to have her around.” Megan almost laughed at the comment, but was able to keep it together.

“You should really see how Bailey has taken to watching over Leah and bringing her into her group of friends.” Amanda nodded thinking about the big changes in her life. “I’m just glad Bailey is happy.”

Megan was going to ask what she meant by that when Leah and Candi came out of the house and into her vehicle. It amused her that Leah was the only one wearing a skirt today when they were going to a baseball field. A thing that wasn’t lost on Leah either, being trained to always look at other girl’s clothes to compare, she saw right away the difference in everyone’s clothes. Miss Megan was wearing tight yoga-like black pants, a gray and black horizontal baseball shirt with one of those long sleeved blue workout shirts underneath. Bailey’s mom was wearing jean shorts and a black t-shirt that hung off one shoulder. Candi wore bike shorts, a pink t-shirt that said ‘Girl’ in black letters, a matching baseball hat, and fingerless baseball batting gloves. The girl even took the time to put on the black makeup some baseball players put under their eyes to keep the glare out.

“Good morning Miss Megan, good morning Miss Best.” Leah said smiling at the two woman in the front of the vehicle, noticing that Bailey didn’t see to be coming with them.

“Good morning to you as well Leah, feel free to call me Amanda.”

“Thank you Miss Amanda, I will! May I ask if Bailey is coming?” It seemed odd to be going somewhere with Candi and Bailey’s mom, but not Bailey. That and the ditzy girl was good company, being dragged down the path to being more girly wasn’t ideal, but the tips she gave always seemed to make Miss Megan happy when she put them into practice.

“She is off with my Daddy, something about panning for gold and going to eat somewhere that all the meat is wrapped in bacon or whatever.” Then the girl leaned to her side to be closer to Leah so only she could hear her whisper. “We are parent trapping our parents.”

Leah had no idea what she was talking about, but she giggled along with Candi when she started to do so. A habit she had started to get into more being around Candi and Bailey, it was always easier to go along with what they were doing then to look left out. Girls giggled, so she had to in order to blend in.

“Bacon wrapped meat.” Leah said feeling like she could almost taste a bite of steak cooked in butter and wrapped in steak.

“I know right, waaaaay too much salt, but don’t worry we will pick up some stuff for lunch that we can enjoy before we hit the field.”

The trip to the store netted them two large burger patties that had blue cheese incorporated into them, a pack of hot dogs and a box of impossible burgers. Leah knew the impossible burger was in her future; Miss Megan wasn’t going to let her cheat on being a vegan. It made her wish Jeremy was coming; he was always okay sharing his food. The best part of the trip to the store was when they went to pick out gatorade where she and Candi went with Miss Amanda, while Miss Megan grabbed some snacks.

“Okay girls, what flavors do you want?” Amanda said, looking at the large selection in the drink aisle.

“Blue is good, but never purple. It is so bad.” Amanda looked at the shelves for what Candi was asking for.

“Cool Blue or Glacier Freeze?” She asked to see two different blue colored bottles on the shelves.” Candi grabbed the bottle labeled cool blue.

“I like think only cops refer to them by their names.” Amanda tilted her head a little at the statement, not sure what to really make of it.

“You took Cool Blue, if you do not use their names how would you separate them?” Candi laughed, unable to keep a straight face.

“Blue and light blue, nice try officer.” Leah laughed along, she didn’t know much about Miss Amanda, but if she was anything like Miss Megan then they were more like wardens than cops.

“Then I guess I will choose red, because only a police officer would call it fruit punch.” Amanda said grabbing the drink. When Amanda saw her sister coming around the corner she held up the red bottle.

“Hey sis, what flavor is this?”

“Fruit Punch, why?” The answer caused all three to start laughing.

“What did I say?” Megan looked between them all confused and feeling like she missed something.

“Candi let us know that calling them by their names instead of their color means you are a police officer.” Amanda grabbed a second bottle of the fruit punch knowing that was her sisters preferred flavor.

“Yeah? Not sure I have time for a second job, but I do feel like I might be missing a few paychecks. Maybe Candi and Leah can help me write a letter to the police chief explaining he owes me back wages for calling red Gatorade Fruit Punch and…” She took a bottle off the shelf reading its name. “And calling the yellow bottle Lemon Lime. When they pay out I can take the both of you to get your nails done.”

“We could all go together sometime soon, I think that would be totally fun.” Candi said smiling at the older woman, really enjoying the time with both her and Amanda. It was halfway through her time here in Nevada and she was going to miss moments like this, or when Megan or Aunt Megan as she let her call her, went to the mall with her and Bailey. The thought of it being close to being over brought a few tears to her eyes.

Leah held in the eye roll that came naturally to her, thinking how the girl of course wanted to get her nails done, reconsidering the thought when she remembered how great it felt to have those people at the salon work on her feet, but then she noticed something was off with Candi. “Are you like, okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just umm I’m going to miss this when I go back home.” She knew her daddy loved Amanda, and it seemed like she loved him too, but that didn’t actually mean they would get married even if she pretended it was a given. She wanted her father to be happy, and thought it a selfish thought to want it to happen so she could be part of the Best family. That was when she felt the hug from the woman she wished would become her mother.

“No sense in missing something when you still have it.” Leah felt herself smiling, and a bit of need deep inside watching them. Candi wasn’t even her daughter, yet they had something he hadn’t had in a long time. It made Liam think of a time his mom went to hug him as she dropped him off for middle school and he had pulled away, not wanting to be embarrassed in front of other students and what he wouldn’t give to have changed that stupid attitude. Before he knew it, Liam felt arms wrap around him in a tight hug. So lost in thought he didn’t know who it was as he hugged the person back, a tear running down his cheek as he blinked.

“Hey, hey it’s okay.” To his surprise it was Miss Megan. “Are you okay sweetheart?” When Megan released the embrace, Candi gave Leah a hug of her own.

“I will miss you too Leah, but like we need to stop it with the tears. If you keep crying I will keep crying, and I keep crying, you will like keep crying.”

“I’m like not crying, your crying.” Holding the pretty girl in his arms, Liam closed his eyes trying to steady himself and remember who he was supposed to be. The memory of his mother pulling him completely out of character and as he went over his mental mantra of being a good girl the hug brought one last vague memory of her mother, something that never happened to his memory of her standing in a church wearing a white dress and getting a hug.

“Well if you aren’t crying then I’m not crying either.” Candi wiped her eyes, knowing she would have to touch up her face.

Those little moments were a lot better than the afternoon at the baseball field Leah thought as she sat on the metal bench. Miss Megan was way into softball, making everyone do stretches and a lap around the field before they actually did anything. The breeze from that morning was still around, but there was little cloud cover to protect them from the sun. With it just being the four of them they couldn’t really play the game, but still Miss Megan took it seriously when she pitched to them. Taking the time between striking them out to show them how to stand, how to hold the bat and how to watch the ball to know when to swing.

Candi went up to bat first, eager to take in the lessons, but asking to go again and again as she swung at every softball that was thrown and missing everyone. Leah couldn’t hear what Miss Megan said when she went up to the girl to give advice, but the very next swing of her bat she hit the ball solidly between first and second base. The ball not hitting the ground to roll till just after the grass started.

Miss Megan even had a few spare baseball gloves, allowing Leah and Amanda to go stand at first and third base, not to guard them, but to try and catch anything that came close and retrieve balls. Then when it was her turn up to bat Leah found just another reason to dislike the activity.

The shoes she was wearing were only technically sneakers, making running not the best activity. Keeping up with everyone wasn’t a problem, nor was breathing with the yoga she has had to do, but the bat just felt heavier then it should. Candi didn’t look like she had trouble with it and it just made her look at her arms in the sleeveless top and really take notice of the now complete lack of any muscle definition or muscle. What little confidence she had going up to bat vanished and she found herself locking up or closing her eyes as the softball came hurling towards her. They never came close to striking her, but her imagination showed it plenty of times. A few weeks ago it would have been laughable to say she would cry if someone spanked her, but the reality was different. Still, even though she did poorly, Miss Megan kept giving advice and Candi kept yelling encouragements from first base.

“Since you're an adult, I’m going to really put some heat behind this one.” Megan said as her sister came up to bat.

“I wish you would not!” Amanda yelled back, she hadn’t held a bat since freshman year of highschool and that had only happened when Megan said she needed practice pitching. The ball zoomed past Amanda.

“Don’t be afraid to take a swing.” Megan teased her little sister.

“If it went across the plate I might!” Pulling her arm back Megan narrowed her eyes. “I will show you across the plate.” She said to herself before pitching the softball as fast as she could. Again, Amanda didn’t try to swing for it, but instead just held the bat out in the ball's path. The bunt caused the ball to fall to the ground only a few feet from the home plate and roll off. The ball didn’t go far, but still Amanda ran for first base at a moderate pace. Her hands in the air as she celebrated the hit like it was a homerun.

Throughout the day they took turns batting and pitching, they even played a colored ball game where Megan would toss two or three colored balls with a soft toss, while a second person would call out one of the colors. The batter has to hit the named colored ball. Megan explained this was a batting practice exercise she used to run to help with concentration. Leah felt embarrassed that she never improved, thinking that she should naturally be better at sports even though she never played it. While the day wasn’t much fun for her, she could see how much enjoyment Candi was having with everyone, her almost constant excitement was infectious. Then there was Miss Megan, who seemed to be in the best mood she had ever seen as she gave out tips on how to do better and never once did she say one condescending.

During the lunch break they fired up one of the grills near the field, and even Leah had to admit the store bought impossible burger was good. Not steak wrapped in bacon good, but much better than expected.

“I am not much of one for baseball or softball, but I had a lot of fun today. Thank you for this, Coach Best.” Amanda said after swallowing a bite of her hotdog.

“I do like the sound of coach best, but I’m willing to bet you wouldn’t be willing to make this a regular thing.” With her mouth full Amanda shook her head vigorously.

“I would!” Candi glanced over at the younger girl next to her. “Though I think I’m like alone on that one.”

The green eyed girl made Megan smile, not for the first or tenth time that day. Doing this felt wonderful, she had even called her daughter earlier in the week to see if she would like to come home for the weekend to join them, so caught up in everything she hadn’t even considered what she would tell her about Bailey. It was for the best really that she said she already had plans, she just wished she could have also shared this day with Becky.

“It does look like you are alone on that one, but your father will not be back till after dinner. So how about everyone comes back to my apartment and we watch that movie A League of their own. It is a fun movie, and fits with the theme of the day.”