A/N: Glad you all liked it thank you so much!
Anna-Maria walked to her car and frowned, she shot Madi a text to meet by the car, she didn't know what she was feeling but she needed her.
Madi sighed, the things she'd do for that girl, luckily the next class was her free period, she headed to the car lots when she noticed Mason staring outside.
"What are you up to Mace?" Madi asked, he was startled and looked at her as if she caught him doing something wrong.
"Nothing." He said, Madi rolled her eyes and looked past him, all she saw was Anna-Maria staring at her phone in her car, she rose her eyebrow.
"You're playing a dangerous game." Madi said
"What?" he said laughing a bit, "What do you mean?"
"You're with Brielle remember?" she said smirking
"I know that." Mace said, he looked back at Anna-Maria then back to Madi
"Be careful Mason." Madi said, she gave him a stern look then walked to her best friend, Anna-Maria rolled down her windows, she had her sunglasses on already.
"Finally." Anna-Maria huffed, "I thought you'd never get here."
"Yes, well I was on my way to my free period Miss. Rebel, what are you doing?"
"Sneaking out, skipping class going for a smoke, wanna come darling?" she cooed, Madi rolled her eyes
"You shouldn't be skipping, especially on the first day and I told you smoking is bad for you."
"Yeah, yeah, you in or what? I could use my best friend right about now." Anna-Maria said, Madi shook her head
"I can't Anna-Maria, I'm the captain now and-"
"No, I get it. It's fine, I'll see you later." Anna-Maria said she rolled up her window
"Anna-Maria, you stop right now." Madi said pounding her fist against the window, Anna-Maria looked away and drove away.
"Shit." Madi sighed, she was always so moody and only so much she could do for her, she composed herself and went back inside the school.
Anna-Maria headed to her favorite spot in the world, ironically where her dad used to take her. The park they used to go to had a lovely pond a little bench. She sat on the bench rolling her eyes in the process, she grabbed a cigarette from her purse and lit it, she took a long drag and blew it out slowly and watched the smoke disappear, it was soothing and oddly beautiful to her. She felt her eyes begin to tear up.
"Fuck." She sighed, she looked at her cigarette and just broke down. This isn't what she wanted, she wanted her dad again, she wanted her mother to know that she loved her so much, that she is so loved but how could she convince her mother of that?
FLASHBACK
Today was just one of those days, it didn't help that it was raining or the fact that today was one of those reoccurring days when he left them. She heard it the minute she went up the stairs, she wasn't supposed to be home until later but she missed her mom especially today.
She opened her mother's bedroom door, she was sobbing again.
"Mom." She whispered, she was 10 now and it pained her to see her mother like this again. Regina jumped and wiped away her tears, fixing herself on the bed.
"Baby, you're home early, what happened, are you alright?" Regina asked, Anna-Maria frowned and joined her mother on the bed, and squeezed her tight.
"I'm sorry mom, maybe if I was a better daughter he would have stayed." Anna-Maria said, Regina shook her head and held her face.
"Baby, none of this is your fault, don't ever feel sorry. You are the most perfect daughter I could ever have; you are all I will ever need." Regina said she kissed her forehead, "I promise you that." Regina spoke. Anna-Maria cuddled up with her mother, deep down she knew that was a half-truth.
"Okay mom."
She looked at the cigarette again and flicked it away.
"Life isn't fair." She mumbled, she must have looked crazy talking to herself in a park but she couldn't begin to care. "God, fate, if you're a real person, I'd kill you if I could." She laughed at herself, "Who does that? Hmm? Who makes a man married for 12 years make him want to leave? Why do that?" she asked, her words disappearing into the air.
"You've made a real mess out of me dad. I don't know what I'm doing." She said shaking her head
"It looks like you're skipping class to me kid." A voice said from behind her, Anna-Maria jumped and shot her head around.
"Sheriff Swan!" Anna-Maria said
"Mayor's kid, what are you doing out of school?" Emma asked
"Skipping, isn't it obvious." Anna-Maria said rolling her eyes, no way was she going to let the Sheriff see her vulnerable.
"Obviously, come on kid, Mayor's office." Emma said
"Seriously." Anna-Maria whined
"Seriously, kid, either listen to me now or I'll handcuff you and we can leave your car here and get it towed.
"Fine." Anna-Maria grumbled, "You're going to make my life harder if you do this."
"Just following rules, try it sometime." Emma said heading to her cruiser, she escorted Anna-Maria to her mother's office and explained the situation to Regina then quickly left, she didn't want to experience the Mills' rage.
"Skipping, on the first day, really?" Regina asked, standing from her desk, she rounded the corner and sat on her desk, Anna-Maria sat on a chair in front of her mother, rolling her eyes.
"Anna-Maria, look at me." Regina snapped, Anna-Maria reluctantly looked up to meet her mother's gaze. "You reek of cigarettes, are you smoking now?"
"What's it to you? I'm eighteen, it's legal for me what the big deal?" Anna-Maria said crossing her arms, Regina was fuming.
"What's it to me? I am not trying to lose my only child to lung cancer, so sorry for caring." Regina said
"Well that's how I cope okay? So what? I'm sure you have your dirty little secrets too mother." Anna-Maria said sternly
"Do not raise your voice young lady and stop with that attitude." Regina said standing up her hands on her hips, Anna-Maria rolled her eyes once again
"I'm trying okay! Jesus Christ, I'm doing the best I can-" Regina started to say
"Well it isn't good enough!" Anna-Maria snapped, Regina blinked shocked
"It isn't enough mom!" Anna-Maria said again, her voice breaking a bit, "I am trying too you know? But I was the one that made him leave, me not you!"
"No, no it wasn't you-"
"Don't lie to me!" Anna-Maria said, "I read it, you can't deny it, don't lie to me and tell me it isn't my fault, you lie and tell me that everything is fine, we're okay. I can't go on pretending like we're fine, you can fool the town but you can't fool me, I hear you crying in the shower, I hear you crying when you think I'm sleeping, I hear it all." She said her emotions wild. "You can't give me what I want and I know that." Regina's own tears began to drop on her cheeks, she sighed and clutched her desk for support.
"I'm sorry I didn't turn out the way you wanted, I'm sorry I look like him, that I am a constant reminder of what you loved. I'm sorry for it all." Anna-Maria said, Regina closed her eyes and let out a breath.
"Your phone, give it to me." Regina said, her eyes still glossy from the tears
"What?" Anna-Maria asked
"You are to go without a phone for three weeks, these are the consequences for skipping and smoking, give it to me." Regina said, Anna-Maria shot her mother death glares, she walked over to her mother and placed her phone on the desk.
"Get back to school, I will have Emma follow you there, don't do it again." Regina said composing herself then returning to her desk.
"Unbelievable." Anna-Maria hissed slamming the doors. Regina finally let all her emotions out, she covered her face with her hands and sobbed silently.
Anna-Maria went back to school and went to the rest of her classes ignoring Madi in the process, but school was finally over and volleyball practice was just about to begin, she walked to the locker room to change, all the other girls looked at her and whispered things, Anna-Maria didn't mind she had a reputation in volleyball as the golden arm, she played outside hitter and when she hit, it was Olympic standards, she'd never tell anyone how she does it but she knows it has to do with her rage and anger issues.
"Okay ladies, warm ups." Anna-Maria said, the rest of the girls nodded and proceeded in their routine warm-ups, her partner was Grace, sheriff Swan's son's girlfriend, she was really skinny but a great setter and really nice, they had been partners since freshman year but nothing more, outside of the court they definitely were not friends.
"How was your first day?" Grace asked
"Alright." Anna-Maria mumbled, "You?"
"Same, another year of high school then we're done, can you believe it?"
"I'm pretty sure it only gets harder."
"Aren't you a Debby downer today." Grace said with a giggle
"Yeah, yeah let's finish up before coach yells at us, I already know she's going to give me hell." She was right, Ruby had made her run extra lines, do all the demonstrations for the freshman team and made her shag all the balls when practice was over, she was overworked, sore and tired after practice, it felt like hell but she loved the feeling of a good work out, she headed out the gym and towards her car.
"Hey, Anna!" a voice called, she rolled her eyes and turned around, what did he want.
"It's Anna-Maria." She snapped
"You wouldn't have turned around if I'd have said it right now would you?" Mason said with a chuckle, he jogged to her, he was really sweaty and gross, she probably looked the same.
"What do you want?" she asked with one hand on her hip, she had her backpack on and her sports bag on one shoulder.
"The project, I texted you but you seem to not have text back, did you want to work on it tonight?" he asked
"I don't have my phone, but if you insist, we can meet at the library or something at 8." Anna-Maria said
"I was thinking your house or mine, since you know the art and everything." Mason said, Anna-Maria frowned, no way was her mother letting her out of the house, she'd probably be pissed that she brought him over too but to hell with it.
"Fine my house at 8, don't be late." Anna-Maria said, she put her stuff away and climbed into her car he was still standing there looking at her with a smug grin on his face she shook her head and headed home, it was about 6:30, her mother was in the kitchen, she went up the stairs and straight to her room to shower and change, she put on black joggers, a really loose white shirt and placed her brown locks into a bun, makeup free, she finished an hour later and went down the stairs to find her mother had just finished cooking her lasagna.
"Foods ready." Regina said
"Not hungry." Anna-Maria said, she passed her mother and went into the fridge snagging a coconut water.
"You need to eat, you just had practice." Regina said sternly, she had her own plate and was sitting on a stool, she was still in her office attire.
"I will later, I have a study session in half an hour, someone is coming over." Anna-Maria said
"You're pushing it." Regina said pausing from eating to look at her daughter
"You only punished me by taking away my phone, you didn't say I could have people over, besides it's for an art project." Anna-Maria said, Regina shook her head.
"Who is it then?" Regina asked
"Mason." She replied
"I don't know a Mason, I'm to believe you both are just studying or working on your art project?" Regina asked
"Yes because he's a total spazz and is going out with Brielle." Anna-Maria snapped
"Anna-Maria you-" Regina stopped when she heard their door bell ring, she walked to the door first which made Anna-Maria groan, she opened the door and smiled, a boy stood in front of her, his hair was up in a man bun, a trend Regina didn't get, he was wearing some tan pants with laced up shoes, a grey t-shirt and a dark blue cardigan, he had some weird taste but it worked in its own way.
"Hello ma'am, I'm here to work on a project with Anna-Maria." He said with a smile
"So I gather, well please come in Mister-"
"James, Mason James, you are Miss Mills right?" he asked
"Yes, well please come in, I expect you two to be done by ten." Regina said leading him to her daughter who was now in their living room.
"Of course, whatever we can't finish tonight I'm sure we can finish at school tomorrow, it isn't due for a while but I like to finish things early ma'am."
"Noted, well I'll be in my office should the two of you need something." Regina said leaving the two
"Thank you." Mason said, Anna-Maria hadn't said a word yet
"No wise remark? Nothing?" he asked sitting next to her on the couch, she shrugged
"This is going to be a long night then."
A/N: Tell me what you guys thought! Leave a review thank yooou!
Xoxo, RM
