Before the Darkest Storm

Chapter 22

Not edited :(

Chapter 22

After my shower I pulled on a pair of gray shorts and an old long sleeved shirt. It had taken me a lot longer than I had anticipated to get all the mud off of my body. I had washed my hair twice with my favorite shampoo and scrubbed my whole body, well except for my leg which was covered in a plastic wrapping, until it was red. The tears were still dampening my face as I crawled into bed. I couldn't be sure what I was crying about, it think it was a mix of things. I was crying because I realized how much I truly missed my mom for the first time, I was crying because of the fear that entered me when I thought of what might have happened if I was just a few seconds late out of the stables tonight, and I was crying because hearing the way Julie called out to Seb confirmed my thoughts about both of them.

I pulled the blanket over me, being careful not to brush it against my knee and grabbed my laptop off my bedside table. I was just about to open up my e-mail when a knock sounded on my door. I knew exactly who it was and chose to ignore it. I typed in my passwords and watched the window pull up all my unread messages when the knock sounded again. Groaning, I ignored it once again and clicked open an email for Dayton, one of my friends from boarding school. He was a few years younger than me, but he and Chance were two of the best players of the football team so they hung out a lot. The email had an attachment of an old picture of us. I clicked it open and smiled at the image of all of us just after a football game.

"Ana, I know you are awake, open the door." Seb's husky voice came through the large wooden panel that was separating me my room from him.

"Go away." I yelled at him, I didn't want to see him especially with these stupid tears on my face.

"Ana, open the door." Seb said again a little softer this time.

I shook my head even though he couldn't see me. "Go away Seb." I told him once again, and looked back at the picture in front of me.

"I'm not leaving until you open this door." Seb warned me and I frowned. Knowing him I knew that he would stay out there till the sun came up if he had to.

Groaning out loud I pulled the sleeves of my shirt into my palm and tried to brush away most of the tears. I put my computer back on the table and gingerly got off my bad. I walked over to the door and threw it open.

"What do you want?" I demanded with more anger than I had intended.

Seb's eyes scanned my face and a deep frown embedded itself onto his face. "You've been crying." It wasn't a question but rather a statement.

I sniffed my nose and glared at him. "So?" I demanded crossing my arms across my chest.

Seb stepped into my room, his eyes still planted on my face. "Why have you been crying?" He asked a little too gently for my liking. I wanted him to scream at me some more so I could turn my sadness into anger.

"You yelled at me." I reminded him, hoping that he would assume that was the reason for my tears.

Seb's eyes darkened as he shook his head. "I have yelled at you before Ana, even called you some horrible names and you've never cried before."

I pouted my lips at him. "Maybe I have finally hit my limit." I told him grumpily.

Seb shook his dark head again. "You are too strong to cry because I've yelled at you. Why don't you tell me why you're really crying?" He asked and then to my surprise he reached out to my face and brushed away a few unwanted tears from my cheek.

"I don't want to talk about it." I told him and turned away from his touch. Having him touch me when I felt so vulnerable was too much. I walked over to my window and looked out at the city below. The lights were blurry to my tear filled eyes, but the city was still mesmerizing. "Just go away." I pleaded with him.