Cowgirl Tough

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

“You know you should still be in bed,” Zeke commented as he rested his arm on the steering wheel of his new teal blue CRV.

            I glared at my brother from behind a pair of dark sunglasses.  I had looked in the mirror that morning and the sight that had greeted me hadn’t been pretty.  My topaz eyes were puffy and the gash that had required 6 stitches down the side of my head was ugly looking.  Thankfully my bangs covered that for the most part and makeup had helped cover the shadows on my face and my split lip.  My ribs were still sore and it was hard to breathe at times as I had sustained two cracked ribs from my encounter.  I’m just thankfully that that was all I received.  Three days in the hospital floating in and out of consciousness and having a ton of tests run was more then enough for me.

            “I was ready to pull my hair out at the hospital,” I argued with my brother.  “Besides, where will I get more rest then at home?”

            Zeke raised a dark brow.  “Are we talking about the same house?  You know the ranch is never quiet.  Speaking of, have you told mom and dad yet?”

            “No,” I answered quickly.  “And you will not say anything either.”

            “Cam…” he started.

            “Zeke, don’t.  You know they’ll only overreact.  Especially since they heard that Cody had been paroled on apparently good behavior.  I’m all right.  I just need rest.”

            Zeke shook his head.  I could tell by the set of his jaw that he wasn’t happy with me.  He didn’t seem to think that the attack had been just random.  I kept arguing it was.  Besides, it wasn’t like I had any enemies. Well, Rex perhaps.  We had had a major falling out while I had been in the hospital.  He had stopped by and brought roses and a stuffed teddy bear to cheer me up.  It had until he had hinted at the fact that with time he was sure that the two of us could have a good time together and still not go against my vow completely.  Needless to say I dropped him quick.  So much for the perfect guy that I thought he was.  He was just like the other guys I had met.  All they wanted was a one-night stand.

            I sighed softly and leaned my head against the cool window.  Since I got out of the hospital I had been having headaches quite frequently.  The doctor had said that was to be expected and that they would go away with time, but that didn’t mean I had to like them.  I felt like my head was constantly pounding and I found myself this morning dressing in as many layers as I could.  I had chosen a black T-shirt, purple and gray flannel, and my old jeans and boots.  Okay, so the whole nearly losing my virginity to a monster was still getting to me.  Who could blame me?  It had been frightening.

            That first night in the hospital I had sobbed for hours on Zeke’s shoulder.  The two of us had always been close and this was one time that I was extremely thankful that he hadn’t been far away.  He had told me that Alexis had started to get worried when I hadn’t come back to the dorm and the two had instantly gone looking for me.  If they hadn’t shown up when they had things could have been a lot worse.  I try not to dwell on that, but I still find myself crying quite frequently.

            “So, there’s a little cyber café at the next exit.  How bout a quick bite and some coffee?  Or tea in your case,” Zeke suggested, humor in his voice.

            Good ole Zeke.  He was always trying to make me smile.  I think he takes after our dad in that respect.  I may resemble my dad with the tawny brown hair and topaz eyes, but I have my mother’s temper and hardheadness.  Zeke on the other hand has dark brown hair that any guy would die for and drop dead gorgeous hazel eyes if I do say so myself.  He’s always laughing and making people feel better.