⚠️TW:⚠️ none, maybe a slight mention of panic attacks———————————————
We spent the evening watching a movie, cuddled up to each other. Every time Nova would nuzzle further into me, my body erupted into butterflies.
She was completely relaxed in my embrace, focused on the movie. I couldn't focus on the movie, I was taking in this beautiful moment with my new daughter.
-Time skip to Friday-
Nova's pov:
It was finally Friday. Ally and I were currently in the process of packing the horsebox (trailer, van, whatever you call it). It was organized chaos as both of us tried to pack everything we would need for the weekend. Tack, brushes, hay, shavings, feed, competition clothes, food, sleeping stuff, the list goes on.
The past week had been weird, to say the least. I had gotten up at my normal time every day and gone to the barn. When I got back, both Lizzie and Robbie had usually left for work. I did my schoolwork and Lizzie helped me if necessary.
We would eat dinner together and do something in the evening. Usually board games or a movie. I also went to the gym a couple of times. Lizzie still hadn't had the time to come with me which I didn't really mind.
I hadn't had any more urges, just a couple of nightmares and panic attacks here and there, nothing new. Robbie had been really nice to me, and I think I was slowly warming up to him. I still wasn't comfortable being alone with him, but when Lizzie was there, I was fine.
Ally and I had finally gotten everything onto the horsebox. We quickly brushed the horses before loading them up as well. Ally's parents were driving us, as Lizzie was coming tomorrow. She had asked if she should come with us today, but I had said that she didn't need to, she'd come with her family and friends tomorrow to watch.
Yeah, both the twins and Scarlett freaking Johansson were coming. I got a bit anxious thinking about it, but I figured everything would be fine. The drive to Northampton wasn't very long, so we arrived pretty quickly.
We checked in before being allowed to put the horses in their new stables for the weekend. They got a bit of time to graze first, before we put them into their stables.
"What do you want to do now?" Ally asked. "I don't know. Maybe we should walk the cross-county course?" I suggested with a shrug. "Sure, this seems like a pretty good time to do it."
So yeah, we ended up walking the course. (Little authors note, walking the course is literally what it sounds like. You walk the course and check out the striding (how long it is in between each fence) and how you want to ride it. Also so that you remember where you're supposed to go).
Ally and I weren't competing in the same classes, but the cross-country courses were pretty similar. She was riding the 100cm and I was doing the 120cm. I had checked out my competitors, and they were all almost twice my age.
Anyway, the course seemed manageable, so I wasn't too worried. We ate a little something before doing a quick ride. I walked Luna around the arena and around the grounds to get her used to the environment.
She tends to get stressed if she hasn't been in the arena before the round starts. Luna was really good, only showing a bit of sass which was normal. The horses got their dinner before we called it a night, having to get up quite early the next morning.
I texted Lizzie goodnight before going to bed.
We were really lucky to be able to use one of the barn's horseboxes as it had some living in it, so we didn't have to rent a hotel room or anything like that. I slept pretty well, and we got up early to feed the horses.
The course walk for the showjumping was at 8 am, so we did that before we had to start getting ready. Ally had dressage before me, so I helped her get ready. She was a nervous wreck after warming up like always.
"It's gonna be fine Als, just go out there, be in the zone, if it goes shit, it goes shit, live with it", I gave her my incredible words of wisdom and a pat on her leg as I couldn't reach her back given she was sitting on Crystal.
"Thanks for those inspiring words", Ally replied sarcastically before going to do her test. She ended up doing pretty well, just some minor mistakes here and there. Overall, we were both happy with how she did, and she was a lot more relaxed afterward.
It was suddenly a pretty tight time crunch for me to get ready, but with some team effort from Ally's parents, we made it just in time. Lizzie had texted me saying they were here and waiting by the dressage arena.
We would be meeting up after my test as they couldn't get "backstage" to where the horses were without me. I warmed Luna up quickly, and I could feel the nerves coming.
I was wearing my dressage outfit. Black showjacket, white showshirt, white breeches (pants), black, polished boots, white gloves and my hair was up in a bun in my hairnet under the black helmet. Ally gave me some words of assurance, before I made my way to the arena.
I didn't want to look around for Lizzie as I didn't want to get distracted. As I heard the bell, my nerves flared up more than usual. First of all SCARLETT JOHANSSON was watching me. Even though I doubted she knew much about horses, MK did and would probably judge me if I did something wrong.
I heard a little girl squeal and a woman calm her down when I entered the arena. That was probably Rose. The center line ended up being a bit wonky due to my nerves, but as soon as I got started, my nerves faded and I got in the zone.
—————————————
Hi! How are we feeling today? Thank you so much for all of your stories last week, I enjoyed reading them all :)
Make sure you take care of yourself, love you <3
Love, Frida xx
ВИ ЧИТАЄТЕ
𝐼'𝓋𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 [ Adopted by Elizabeth Olsen ]
ФанфікиNova is a 16-year-old orphan, just waiting to become 18 so that she can finally get out of the orphanage. With horses being her only escape from the harsh reality, she meets someone special at the barn. ⚠️THIS BOOK WILL CONTAIN TRIGGERING SUBJECTS...