Love is Silent

Chapter 5

I ran the brush slowly down Justice’s side. My crutches were propped against the stall wall and I was using Justice to keep me upright. It was a very slow process, but Justice was patient with me and he didn’t move. This was the fourth night that I’d come down to the stables, but it was the first time I’d tried brushing him.

            I patted him and then cautiously ducked under his neck so I could brush his other side, continuing the story I was telling him as I did so. “I haven’t heard Chase speak since he said thanks to the teacher. I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I think I might soon. I have a feeling that I would be able to talk to him without worrying about him asking me about things that I don’t want to talk about.”

            I hobbled back to the grooming kit and grabbed another brush. “Adam hasn’t tried to talk to me since Chase grabbed his wrist. I’m not entirely sure what that was about, but I’m guessing Adam was going to put his hand on my shoulder or something and Chase stopped him.” I paused for a moment. “I wonder why he did that,” I murmured and then shrugged it off. “I’m sure he has his reasons. I sometimes wonder what his story is. I know he lives with foster parents, but that’s about it. Maybe one day I’ll find out, but I’m not going to push him.”

            I fell silent and finished brushing him, then grabbed my crutches. I gave Justice a last pat before I let myself out of the stall. “I’ll see you tomorrow night boy.” I put the grooming kit back in the tack room and then left the building to head back up to the house.

            Once back inside, I changed into my pajamas and crawled under my covers without taking my sleeping pills once again. I hadn’t taken them all week and the nightmares hadn’t bothered me. I hadn’t told my parents yet that I’d stopped taking them, but I was planning on telling them soon.

            When I woke up the next morning, my leg was feeling better than it had since the accident. As I made my way into the kitchen, I decided that it must be partially because of the extra exercise that I’d been getting every night by going down to the stables. My physical therapist was constantly telling me that exercise would make my leg stronger, but I’d never really listened to her, since I had no desire to strengthen it. But now that I had promised Luke that I would look after his horse, maybe I should actually concentrate on my physical therapy a little more.

            I greeted my parents when I got to the kitchen. They stopped talking when I came in, which instantly made me suspicious. I made myself a bowl of cereal and sat at the table, knowing that if they wanted to tell me what they were talking about, they would. I ate my breakfast quietly and once I’d put my bow in the sink, my dad finally told me what they’d been talking about. “Dana, can you sit down for a moment?”

            I sat back down at the table and looked at him expectantly. He blew out a breath and glanced at my mother before speaking again. “We were thinking of selling Destiny.”

            I was a little surprised at his words. They wanted to sell Destiny? I was quiet for a moment as I thought about how that made me feel. I’d only had her for about three months before the accident, so I hadn’t had time to form too much of a bond with her. I’d always enjoyed riding her, but I knew that it wasn’t fair to keep her when I wasn’t doing anything with her. I looked at my dad and shrugged. “Okay.”