Take Me Home | ✔

Chapter Thirty-Nine

EVEN IF I WASN’T THE ONE WHO FELL OFF the horse, I might as well have been, considering the sudden throbbing ache in my chest and the sudden realization that the air was knocked out of my lungs.

Well shite.

When the sun hit Vienna Dawson’s face and the wind threw her shortened hair back, it gave me a clear view of the person I somehow dreaded to see. I felt sick to my stomach, and my mind went into overdrive.

Abort, abort! Unknown territory!

“Vienna?”

“…Elliot?”

It took me seconds to remember to shut my mouth before I started drooling. But I was just so… unprepared. If she was thinking the same thing I was, it was that neither of us expected to see each other for a long time; if never. I was pretty sure that when I yelled at her to go home and go away that night at the hospital, that night Sam died, that I had made a nonrefundable mistake. I couldn’t take it back, and it’s already been a year.

I offered her a hand onto Atlas. “Uh…need some help?”

Need some help? A whole freaking year of not seeing her and that’s all I say?

Vienna could only stare at my hand blankly. She wouldn’t get on the horse and she wouldn’t say anything. If anything, she looked more shocked than I was, her eyes wide and unblinking.  

I cleared my throat. “A-Are you hurt? Do you need me to—“ I started getting off of Atlas, ready to help her stand if she was still in pain from being kicked off a horse, but she refused.

“No!” she said suddenly, recoiling. “Uh, I-I mean,” her voice turned soft, “I can make it back to the house, on my own.”

Skepticism clouded my eyes. “Are you sure?”

She gave me a hard look. “Positive.”

I take back my hand, and look towards the horizon, towards the barn and the ranch house. Against the horizon, it looked like a speck of dust in the sky. We were already far out in the acres surrounding Uncle T’s ranch. It easily seemed like ten minutes on foot, and Vienna had to be crazy if she thought I didn’t notice her wincing when she moved her leg.

“No,” I said then. “I’ll take you back to the house. I don’t think Tess would appreciate me leaving you behind. You can ride Atlas, if you want.”

She cocked her head, flickering from my face to Atlas quickly. “The horse? Oh. Oh. I’m good, thanks.”

I let out a heavy sigh. “Atlas is one of the best horses here, if not the best. And he’s not a young mare, like the one that threw you off. He’s chill and calm, trust me, you won’t fall off.” I patted Atlas’ neck and he whinnied softly in response, turning his head towards Vienna. When he did, Vienna inched back warily, wincing in pain. It was something with her leg; I could just tell something was sprained by the angle of it.

Something told me I had to make a good impression. And with Vienna, I didn’t care what I had to do. As long as she stopped acting scared of touching me or even looking at me, I’d do practically anything. I swung a leg over Atlas and hopped off, offering Vienna my hand again.

Her eyes locked on it for the longest time, before she huffed a heavy sigh and grabbed it. I heaved her up so she could stand, and when she got onto her feet, she quickly took her hand away, like my hand was dipped in poison or something. My stomach sank right down to my toes. She kept her eyes veered down to the ground, but I already knew what she was thinking, how she was feeling. And the thing I hated about that was how I was the reason behind it.