I felt the warm summer breeze tickle the freckled skin on my cheeks, the smell of fresh grass filling my nostrils as I gazed up at the bright blue sky; not a cloud in sight. I felt the corners of my mouth being pulled up into a large smile as I peered back down at the animal before me.
"Georgie!"
The voice boomed from behind me, startling me and knocking me out of my trance.
I spun on my heel to face the sound seeing my father approaching with a small saddle and bridle; it would fit a pony, not a horse.
"C'mon dad, that tack ain't gonna fit 'Ol Boy!" I yelled back in response, my father's eyes widening before his eyebrows knitted together in a frown.
The summer breeze wafted his scent in my direction, the smell of sweat filling my nostrils and replacing the sweeter smell of grass. I could smell the freshly made saddle, the leather appearing cleaner than ever could be.
"Just try it, for me," My father smiled, handing me the leather tack.
I looked down at it seeing how each indentation would most likely fit me perfectly and I couldn't help but feel a sting of guilt for my father. He was a saddler and had handcrafted this saddle especially for his daughter; who was truly grateful by the way.
I placed the tack gently on the dusty ground beneath us before wrapping my short, childlike arms around my father's torso, "Thank you," I whispered into his chest.
I felt the vibrations move throughout his chest as he chuckled at my sudden change in mood before he placed a large, comforting hand on my back, "You're welcome, sweetheart,"
"Georgia!"
I let out a short grumble before rolling on my side to face the bedroom wall, the sheets covering me sitting just above my waist. I leaned back slightly, misjudging where my bed ended and slipping from under the warm bed sheets and onto the freezing wooden floorboards with a soft thud.
"Ow," I let slip a grunt whilst rubbing my head which had been the first to hit the floor.
Just as I stood to my feet, rubbing my hazel eyes awake, my bedroom door slammed open and I was greeted with a not-so-nice face filled with anger.
She looked me up and down before speaking, "Our appointment is at nine o'clock!" My mother barked at me, a heavy frown on her face.
Her bleached blonde hair, which appeared dryer than a bale of straw, sitting just above her shoulders, dull bluey-grey eyes which scanned me over and over again, and her lips screwed together tightly; I don't know which one was more unsettling to see on your own mother.
I couldn't help but glance down at her clothes, or what she called "clothes" were really ancient rags she'd bought from a charity store, the colours had faded out of them long ago, probably back in the 17th century. To make it worse, she had little to no body fat as she'd been abusing drugs for so many years; the cloth hung from her frame like a skeleton wrapped in bandages.
She raised her hands which made me flinch before slapping them together in a swift motion, "Georgia! Put some clothes on girl," She commented before spinning quickly on her heel and exiting the tiny room, slamming the door behind her. It was remarkable how the whole building didn't just collapse right there and then.
I sighed before peered down at my body; she was right. I was standing there like a lemon in my underwear and bra, nothing else. We were never a wealthy family, but we did have money, just not enough for decent clothing or a place with a higher rent.
I quickly ran around the room, desperately trying to find some clothes to throw on. I did manage to find a pair of old, light blue faded denim jeans, the downside was that they had holes in them, two large ones on each knee to be exact. I cursed under my breath, something my mother would beat me for, but pulled them on anyway before finding a black and white flannel shirt, buttoning it all of the way up.
I grabbed my key from my dresser, not bothering to style my uncombed hair before exiting my bedroom.
I traipsed down the hallway, passing my mothers bedroom to the right and the bathroom to my left. I ignored the empty picture frames as I walked past them, turning to my right into the kitchen to grab my black converse.
"How do you think you could possibly get a job with this attitude?" My mother commented as she entered the kitchen, anger coating her tone.
I glanced up at her briefly before continuing to tie my shoelaces, pushing the chair back slightly from underneath me so I was able to stretch down easier, "What attitude?"
After I had made that comment I knew I'd instantly regret it. My mother was never one for what she called "back-chatting" or "sarcasm", even though we all know it was never either.
I swallowed hard before standing to my feet, luckily both shoes were tied already. I faced my red-faced mother who had a belt in hand. She approached me as she wrapped it around her fist, clenching it tightly before raising it above her head.
Here's a thing to know, my mother was a very petite woman, not teetering above 5'2, but boy did she have a temper. If you crossed her, you knew about it. I wasn't one for taking shit from anyone either, but I had no choice but to obey her as she would disown me with a reason if I did so, and she could be a heartless piece of work.
"What did I tell you about speaking back to me?" My mother's angry tone rang in my ears as the leather belt ripped the skin on my forearms.
Oh yeah, she wasn't exactly afraid to draw blood or leave scars marking my pale skin.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I couldn't help but repeat apology after apology as I cowered in the corner behind a chair like a coward.
"As you should be," My mother's snide comment made me want to cry like a baby, but I held back as that was probably just what she wanted to see.
I peered up at the small woman as she placed the belt back around her waist, looping in in each loophole on her denim jeans before tightening it to the first hole, lord was she skinny.
"Get up and get in the car,"
---
After we'd arrived at the therapist's office, my mother forced me out of the car and into the reception doors with her, even though it was her appointment, not mine.
I walked beside her, not wanting to look at her at all, I kept finding myself glancing over to my right across the parking lot. In between the cars, I noticed a boy, a woman by his side.
He was dressed in what appeared to be a school blazer, him being too far away for me to see the logo design on the left side of his chest. He wore a tie and white shirt underneath the blue blazer, black tailored trousers, and black shoes to match.
As he got closer to the building, and so did my mother and me, he noticed me.
I watched in awe as the boy's hair swayed in the wind, his dirty blonde locks brushing lightly against his forehead. I gazed at his ocean blue eyes which began studying me with what seemed to be malicious intent if I had to guess. His pupils dilated at the sight of me. I felt gooseflesh rise my spine as he paced towards the building almost beside me, his perfectly white teeth pinching his lower lip as he bit down on it.
I felt my mother whack my arm to my left, "Don't stare," She whispered.
I cleared my throat, looking away from the boy and the older, neatly dressed woman beside him; she had to have been his mother.
I could feel his blue eyes pierce my skin as he stared intently at me, a small grin creeping onto his face. I gulped; this wasn't the first time I had been looked at like this.
The boy was the first out of the four of us to reach the glass doors, yanking at the pull bar as he leaned back and stepped to the side. I looked at the open door, then towards his mother.
"Oh please, you first," The kind words left her mouth easily like she hadn't even felt the need to think about what she was about to say. I glanced down at her hand his was waving towards the open door, the young boy still holding it open for my mother and me.
"Ladies first," The comment flew from the teen's mouth and before I had a chance to thank either of them, my mother had already grabbed my wrist and dragged me through the open door.
"Go sit," My mother waved her hand at me, gesturing, I think, to the empty seating area.
I sighed and sat right in the centre of the seats, leaving room literally all around me for anyone to sit and make themselves comfortable.
My back was to the main desk which led me to turn around and look at my mother as she spoke, "Back in about an hours, don't leave this area," She ordered as she wandered down the long corridor and disappeared out of sight in the matter of a few seconds.
I exhaled in relief as I slumped back into the comfy chair, the mesh wrapping around my backside better than my own bed did.
Before I was able to relax, I heard the woman from before speaking at the front desk, "Yes, my appointment is supposed to be in ten minutes," She said, her voice still sounding kind and warming to me.
I looked around myself, not making it obvious that I was looking at the woman at the desk, but something else caught my eye instead, distracting me from my previous objective; the boy.
He was stood beside his mother, but leaning his back on the desk and facing me. I looked at his deep blue eyes which were staring right back at me, the hair on the back of my neck alerting me of this. I watched as his eyes went from mine to my lips, then my body. He trailed back up before holding a smirk on his face, not taking his eyes off of me for a second, even when his mother walked away, telling him that she'd also be around one hour and to wait for her here.
I huffed before slumping back down in my seat, facing the correct way. I could feel the boy's gaze burning the back of my head, then his footsteps approach me.
I tensed as I realized the desk clerk had left her station and didn't seem at all interested in her job anyway, leaving me alone with this stranger who seemed to have a staring problem.
I felt warm air on the back of my neck as I remained still in the chair, keeping my eyes fixed on the empty room ahead of me. I was sat up straight with noticing at first, but the presence directly behind me made that position unbearable to sit in.
"Boo,"
The voice wasn't raspy or boy-like like I thought it would have been, it was smooth and melodious and quite enjoyable to hear, but it still startled me.
I jumped out of my seat, my reflexes being spot on after years of physical abuse, and spun on my heel to face the boy.
I studied his expression immediately, it was a mixture of confusion and enjoyment.
He raised his eyebrows, "Sorry, didn't think you'd scare easily,"
He had perfectly straight and white teeth, his lips were pink and moist, not dry at all. His skin was paler than my own, lacking freckles or any kind of scars.
"What makes you say that?" I questioned him, wanting to know what he meant.
I'd been told in the past that I appeared rough on the outside, but not the type to "disobey", but really, I was the complete opposite of both.
He let out a chuckle before responding, subtly placing his hands on the back of the chair I was previously sat on, "I don't think I need to explain," He stated, continuing to look me up and down.
"Yeah, don't judge a book by its cover," I simply stated, sitting back down in the chair, not even caring that his hands remained on the back of it.
He let out yet another laugh, "I like you," He breathed out, his hot breath colliding with the top of my head.
He continued to lean his weight on the chair, his chest pressing lightly against the back of my head. I felt a tingling sensation rising in the pit of my stomach but quickly pushed the feeling down before it overtook me.
I chose to ignore the boy, not even bothering to ask his name or continue to acknowledge the fact that he was continuing to stare down at me, that was when I felt his warm hands land on my shoulders, making my whole body shudder.
I refused to look up at him as I knew he just wanted my attention, nothing less than that anyway.
"Hey," He muttered, his breath colliding with my forehead as he leaned right over me, trying his hardest to get my attention. He began snapping his fingers next to my face as a child would.
I sighed, knowing I'd cave and being defeated so soon, "Can't you tell I ain't interested?"
I moved my head back so I was staring up at his upside-down face. He was breathing heavily through his nose, the air hitting my neck instead which caused hairs to rise at the feeling. My attention was immediately brought to his ocean blue eyes, except they were fully dilated by this point and his nostrils appeared flared.
A small smile was growing on the boy's face as he suddenly shot around the chair and sat on the small table directly in front of me. I glanced down at his hand which was held out towards me.
"Name's Jim Carroll,"