Farm Girl Has Bad Boy (#3)

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Because I thought it was silly and when I saw what was going on between you two, I just couldn’t do that to you.” She meets my eyes and gives a sad smile.

“Then why the baby shower?”

“I didn’t mean to tell you.” She starts pacing the length of the stall with her hands fidgeting in front of her. “I just felt pushed to the edge and it’s not like I could have ever told Emery. He barely talks to me and the way he looks at you…It’s enough to know that it’s pointless for him to know.”

“What about Daniel?” I ask through clenched teeth, trying to hide my disgust.

Mary rolls her eyes and exhales noisily, stopping a few feet away from me. “I’ve been ignoring him ever since the baby shower.” She gives me another smile but I can see that underneath it, she’s still hurting about him. She really liked him before she realized what a jerk he is. “So what about us?”

I chew on my bottom lip. I want things to go back to normal again, but there’s just too much going on right now for things to ever be normal. However having Mary by my side would make it easier.

“I’m really sorry, River.” Mary reaches in the space between us and grabs my hand tightly. “I’m getting over it and I want nothing more than for us to still have our friendship.”

I give her a half smile and squeeze her hand. “I want that to.” Before I know it, Mary’s squealing and running towards me, almost knocking me to the ground as she wraps her arms around me.

“Wow,” Mary sighs, pulling back. “The clothes; the smell…It’s like you’re really her.”

I move my gaze to the ground. “I know. But I guess it isn’t enough for Patch.” We both look towards the scrawny horse that’s pawing at the ground with his hooves.

“Let me try,” Mary murmurs, grabbing the bucket of grain off the ground and gently raising it to Patch. “It’s okay,” she says, stroking his neck. She almost gets the bucket to his mouth but he starts rearing his head and stepping backwards away from it.

“I guess all we have to do is wait.”

Three Hours Later:

“River,” a deep voice murmurs.

My eyes begin to flutter and my hands start to feel the fabric beneath them of a blanket. Slowly, I open my eyes and yawn, only to see Emery’s face right in front of mine.

“You fell asleep.” He looks tired as he takes my hand. Slowly, I push myself off the hay I had been sitting it, leaning against the stall when I fell asleep waiting on Patch to eat. Emery helps me to my feet and I start to brush myself off, feeling more asleep than awake.

“Mary, wake up.” I nudge her with my shoe and she starts to stir out of her feet. She gives me a confused expression as I help her stand. “We fell asleep.”

Mary’s eyes grow wide and she quickly starts smoothing over her hair. Checking her phone, her mouth falls open.

“I was supposed to be home an hour ago!” She starts picking hay out of her clothes and hurries out of the stall. “My dad is going to kill me!”

She gives a brief goodbye before sprinting out of the barn and into the night. Emery and I don’t say anything until long after we hear truck tires speeding over gravel.

“You should come to bed,” Emery sighs, picking a piece of hay out of my hair. “It’s late and it can’t be good for you and the baby sleeping out here on the ground.”

I look to Patch who’s lightly rubbing his head against the side of the stall. He looks half awake and strained from not eating.

“I can’t,” I whisper, reaching for the bucket on the ground. Before I can wrap my fingers around it, Emery snatches it and moves it out of reach. “Emery!” I stomp my foot on the ground, feeling frustrating.

“River, it’s early in the morning.” He gives me a sympathetic look and reaches for my hand. “You can try again in the morning.”

I avoid is gaze. “What if it’s too late then?”

“River,” Emery whines, tugging on my arm. I jerk away from him and fold my arms across my chest. “Just go inside. You’re being stubborn.”

“I’m staying out here and helping my sister’s horse,” I snap, taking a step away from him. “I don’t care if I’m being stubborn.”

“I don’t understand,” Emery shouts, throwing his hands up in the air. “It’s just a horse!”

My mouth falls open as my hands clench into trembling fists. How dare he say that! How could he not understand how important Patch is to my family and isn’t just another pet to us?

“What is wrong with you?” I ask through clenched teeth. “How could you say something like that to me?!”

I watch as recognition flashes across his eyes for a brief moment. Then, as if it never happened, his eyes narrow into angry slits.

“You’re being impossible, River! Just let go already!”

I take a step away from him, shaking my head. “All you do is hurt me,” I cry, feeling tears stream down my cheeks. “Why do you hurt me?”

“I’m not trying to!” His hands ball into fists as he sighs agitatedly. “It’s just a horse and you need to move on already!”

Before I realize what I’m doing, I’m picking up one of the buckets full of grain. Through blurry eyes I glare at Emery and don’t understand how he can do this to me.

“Asshole!” I snap, throwing the bucket at him. It splatters Emery with horse food and the bucket lies on the ground a few feet away.

I don’t see him until he’s directly in front of me, grabbing my wrists and holding them beside my head so I can’t move or try to hit him. I can feel his breath as it comes through his clenched teeth in angry gusts. Staring into his eyes, I see the same look in them that Emery had the day when I slapped him for throwing my laptop out the window.

“Don’t ever call me an asshole again, or you will regret it.”

“So first you hurt me and now you’re threatening your pregnant girlfriend?” I say through deep breaths. Even though I’m scared, a small part of me knows Emery never could hurt me. However I always thought that he’d changed, but staring up into his eyes now tells me different.

“I’m leaving,” Emery snaps, pushing my arms backwards as I let go. I wince at the pain as I stumble backwards and just as I catch my footing, I realize Emery really is leaving. He’s halfway out of the barn when he lights a cigarette, not caring that the smoke is definitely not good for Patch right now.

“You’re just going to leave me?” At first my voice is angry, and then it’s filled with regret. I wish I hadn’t said anything and neither had he. I trail after him, trying to catch up as fast as a pregnant teenager can. “Where are you going to go? When are you going to be back?” I don’t mean to sound desperate, but I can’t help it. I shouldn’t have called him an asshole or threw the bucket at it and I’m not sure whether blaming it on pregnancy mood swings will fix things between us.

“I think you know.” His voice is monotone as Emery climbs on his motorcycle and slides on his helmet.

“We have a stupid fight and you’re going to run to Alana?” I can’t hide the hurt in my voice as I head towards him. I wish the darkness didn’t hide my tears so he can see how sorry I am.

“It’s better than staying here.”

Then before I can respond, he starts up his motorcycle. It’s too loud for me to call back so I run towards him. I know he sees me, but instead of waiting for me to reach him, he speeds off out of the driveway and onto the road.

I stand there alone in the darkness, listening to the sound of his motorcycle fade away in the distance and realize that he isn’t planning on turning around. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I also realize that he never told me when he was planning on coming back. Or if he even was.