My Country Love Story

55- Bad dream better reality

As we got inside we were greeted by my momma.

Momma: “Hey guys, Blake time for you to go home. School for the both of you starts tomorrow and you need to get a good amount of sleep.”

Blake: “Ok Claire, have a goodnight.”

He gave my momma a quick hug then one to me as well. I heard his truck start from my room, as he pulled away.

I went to bed as I was told to do. I can’t believe that I’m going to be a sophomore tomorrow; just yesterday it felt like we were moving in here.

--

~Leah’s Dream~

LEAH GET YOUR F*CKING A** DOWN HERE!

My eyes shot open and I instantly sat up and walked to my bedroom door. The frame changed and I was suddenly dressed and ready for school. I walked down to the living room and found my house all messy. My momma looked terrible her hair was a mess and she had gained a ton of weight. She was sitting on the couch with a bag of potato chips early that morning.

Momma: “Leah go to school already because I don’t want you here anymore.”

I was shocked. I never thought I’d hear those words out of her mouth. I ran out to my barn crying. I went to flip the light switch and it didn’t work. I turned my flashlight on, on my phone and the barn wasn’t like it used to be. It was piled with junk and looked the way it did when we first moved in.

I heard Blake’s truck rumbling up the road. I walked to the end of my driveway waiting for him to pick me up. Just as he looked like he was going to pull over he sped by throwing muddy water from his tires all over me. He yelled out the window: “F*CKING B*TCH!”

I lost it!

~End of Dream~

I woke up that night crying my eyes out. No one came into to check on me and I just kept sobbing. I was afraid to go back to sleep because I didn’t want to see any of that ever again.

I threw my makeshift rope ladder out my window and slid on my boots. Once I made it down to the barn, I flipped the light switch and it worked. I was greeted by the happy nickers of my boys.

Me: “Thank God you two are still here.”

They both nickered back in response.

Me: “Why am I talking when neither of you can understand me?”

Cosmo stared at me and snorted. I just rolled my eyes and walked up to the loft with a few old horse blankets. I laid one over some bales of hay and rolled another up as my pillow. The third one was used as a blanket for me.

The next morning I was woken up to my momma calling me but she sounded like she was upset.

Momma: “Leah honey where are you!?!”

Me: “Momma? I’m in the loft.”

I heard her walk into the barn and up the stairs.

Momma: “Honey what are you doing up here?”

Me: “Momma I had a terrible dream last night and I came out here because it upset me and I guess I just fell asleep.”

Momma: “Do you need you need to talk about it?”

Me: “I woke up for school the house was a mess you were sitting on the couch with a bag of potato chips. You were about 100 pounds heavier and you were cursing at me to go to school because you didn’t want to see me any longer. I came out here and the barn was like it was when we moved in. I turned around crying and I heard the sound of Blake’s truck and I walked to the end of the driveway where he usually picks me up for school. Momma excuse my language but he yelled and called me a fucking bitch and sprayed me with muddy water from the road.”

Momma: “Leah honey…” She wrapped her arms around me and we stayed like that for quite a while. “None of that happened. You have us forever and always. Your boys are here and Blake and you are still together, I promise.”

By then I was crying again, but this time it was happy tears.

Momma: “Leah wipe those tears off your face. I’ll take care of feeding your guys their breakfast; you go inside and get dressed. I made blueberry muffins if you wanna grab one before leaving for school.”

Me: “Okay thank you Momma.”

I ran inside and opened the door to the scent of my Momma’s muffins filling the house. I smiled and bolted for my room. I threw on a white tank top, my favorite blue and green plaid shirt, a pair of new blue jeans and I laced up my brown Chippewa boots. I clomped my way back downstairs after brushing all of the hay out of my hair. I put on deodorant and a spritz of my Momma’s perfume, since I don’t own any, and I grabbed a nice warm muffin from a plate of the stove.

I walked back out to the barn to help her put the boys out to pasture for the day. Just like on cue I heard Blake’s truck come rumbling up the road.

I locked the gate and expertly slid between the electric fence wires without shocking myself. I walked to the end of my driveway where Blake was stopped, like always. He reached across his bench seat and opened my door. I quickened my step and jumped and swung into his cab, closing the door behind me.

Blake: “Well good morning there my beautiful.” He added a totally fake twang to his real twang and it made me laugh.

Me: “How are you this morning?”

Blake: “Great how about you?”

Me: “Much better now.”

I split my muffin in half and handed some of it to him.

Blake: “Much better now? Why did you have a bad dream?”

Me: “One like you would never believe.” I told him the same story I told my momma earlier this morning.

Blake: “Wow. There’s no way any of that would ever happen. I’m still here for you and I know your parents aren’t going anywhere either.”

I scooted over next to him for the rest of the ride to school.