She's Broken

Chapter 25

 

                Court went by in slots. Some moments were rushed and barely remembered, others were so excruciatingly slow that I could only wish to forget them. There was one thing I could remember, though. A small victory, a little bit of freedom.

 

                “Mr Finn Price, you have been found guilty of first degree rape on two occasions. As a result, you shall spend fifteen years in Truro custody centre.”

                Eli huffed, slumping down on the floor next to me with a sour look on his face. I chuckled, raising both of my eyebrows. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and exaggerated a huff again, clearly trying to get my attention. I took the bait after he did the gesture once more, reminding me of Carter.

                “Alright, I’ll bite. What’s the matter?” I asked. He angled his body towards me, nodding at Tempest.

                “The little devil gave my mum a petting session and now won’t even let me put my foot in the stirrup!” he exclaimed. I let out a bark of laughter, shaking my head in amusement.

                “They say that horses can sense things, maybe she sensed something about your mum?” I offered. Eli’s broad shoulders slumped again, one of his arms tentatively coming around my shoulder to pull me to him. I went relaxed, used to the way he was around me and listened to his calm, beating heart.

                “Maybe. I think she did it just to spite me,” he confessed, rubbing the nape of his neck. Chuckling, I stretched my legs out in front of me, enjoying the feeling of my muscles stretching as the ground groaned beneath us.

                “That sounds more like it. You’re bugging her, she likes to be left alone,” I mocked, moving away from his arm, which he let drop onto the floor.

                “Ouch, turning my own horse against me? I didn’t know that you could be this bitter,” he sniffed, pushing himself to his feet with a grunt.

                “You’re one insult away from losing your wedding ticket,” I taunted, also getting up. He gave me one look and smirked, turning on his heels towards his horse.

                “Wouldn’t want to go to a wedding with someone like you, anyway,” he muttered, feigning offended as we walked back over to Tempest’s field.

                “You’re a real self esteem builder, aren’t you?” I asked sweetly. He looked back at me, doing a poor job of stifling his laughter.

                “You’re my girlfriend, aren’t you meant to be nice to me and big up my ego?”

                “You give what you get, Eli, you give what you get,” I said, greeting Harley with a pat on the muzzle. Eli chuckled under his breath, glancing over at Tempest. She snorted, flicking her mane around before running off towards the other end of the field. Eli looked after her, annoyance and disappointment on his face as he hopped up onto the fence.