I Kissed The Scars On His Skin (Vic's Kid)

Chapter 15

Jack and I have been going strong for 2 years now. I've gone completely through transition. Jack left last night for tour leaving me alone with the animals. I have decided I'm going to give horseback riding lessons.

I already have all 56 slots filled which is incredible. I walk out to the horse stalls at 4 am. My first lesson is at 10 which gives me plenty of time to take care of all of the horses and other animals before.

I finish everything at 8:30 and go back inside the house. I get ready for the lessons and prepare breakfast. I hear a knock on the door and I let Lisa in. It has became routine when Alex and Jack aren't here that Lisa and I will eat breakfast and dinner together.

"So, you have your first lessons today?" "Yep. A few beginners and a couple more advanced riders." "Are you still up for riding after dinner tonight?" "Yeah." "How long have you been up already?" "Is that relevant?" "Yes." "I woke up at about 4." "You know you could get a stable hand or I could help." I shrug. "I like being busy. Besides, I have a really good steady income."

"Only getting 6 hours of sleep a night isn't good for you." "I get to live my passions though. 6 hours of stable work, 8 hours of $55 an hour pay, 2 hours including riding and dinner, and 2 hours of guitar lessons for $50 an hour." She sighs. "Y'know Jack won't be happy when he finds out you are working that much."

"I know but I don't want to be just spending all his money. Besides, even though I know my job is unstable as well, I need to have something to ensure we won't fall broke and lose everything. Most of this money is going into a separate account which will only be touched for necessities such as food." She nods.

"I understand that. I keep separate money for that reason as well." "I'm making so much that even setting aside $1,000 a month excluding the money I spend on the animals I'll be making $109,000 a year. That's not including the fact that in the lessons contract it states that if there is a competition, they have to pay $55 a day for the horse as well as 10% of whatever winning."

"That's a good process. That's when you want me to help, right?" "Yeah. Although, if you want, we could add your horses into the mix and we could both be doing lessons." She smiles. "That actually might be fun. I'll think about it. Now, it's about 10 so you might want to bring out your first horse. Do you mind if I watch?"

"Not at all. C'mon." We go outside and I hook Drew onto the tree. The first rider is brand new. I show her how to groom the horse and I let her help me. I explain the different tack to her and have her help me tack up Drew. We walk him around the riding arena.

"Okay, I'm gonna help you mount and then I'll walk you around the arena after correcting your posture." She nods. I lead her over to the mounting block and help her on. After correcting her posture, I walk her around the arena.

The rest of the day continues mostly the same with me adjusting the lessons based on what they already know. Lisa and I eat dinner before going back out. I mount Midnight. We ride around for a while. "Do you want to do a competition type race?" "As long as you put on a helmet." I nod and set up some jumps in my surfaced gallop.

We line up at the start. Jack and I set up a lot of competition practice fields. We both take off.  I end up easily in the lead. I get to the last jump which is higher than I am used to. I fall backwards off Midnight, my shoulder pulling as I do so. My head hits the ground. Midnight stops on the other side. Lisa gets off Maverick quickly.

"Ray, are you okay?" "Yeah." "Okay, please stay still." She brings the horses back and ties them up. She returns to me. "Ray, I want you to tell me what just happened." "We were racing and I fell off the horse. I hit my head and I think I hurt my shoulder." She nods.

"What year is it?" "2023." She nods. "What hurts?" "My head, shoulder, and back." "How bad do they hurt?" "My shoulder hurts the most. I can't move it." She nods. "Can you move your fingers and toes?" I try. "Yeah." She nods.

I watch her call something. "Okay, Ray. An ambulance is coming. Do you want me to call Jack?" "Yes please. I'm scared." She nods. I watch her call Jack. "Jack, Ray got hurt. An ambulance is coming to take him to the hospital but he is scared and wanted to talk to you."

"Ray, what happened?" "I was riding and doing jumps. I went over one that was higher than normal and I fell backwards off. I think I hit my head, did something to my shoulder, and potentially something to my back."

I hear an ambulance. "Jack, I'll text you later at the hospital." "Okay, bye." "Bye." I move a little and take a sharp inhale at the pain. It gets harder to breathe. A few paramedics come over. "Kid, are you able to breathe?" I shake my head a little.

"We need to get him to the hospital quickly." I feel my vision begin to go spotty. "Kid, I need you to try to stay awake." They put a neck brace on me and with the backboard, they place me on the stretcher. I feel an oxygen mask go over my face.

There is a sharp poke of the IV. My vision begins fading more and more before I can't hold on any longer. I fade into unconsciousness.