When I wake up, my body aches from fatigue. I almost curse getting up last night.
Except I don't.
Because when I wake up, there's a huge smile plastered on my face.
I rode Trigger last night. Trigger, the crazy horse. Trigger, the horse whom I was terrified of when I got here.
So, despite the ache I feel all over, I climb out of bed with a smile on my face.
I tug on a pair of short shorts, a tank that says 'Stop Taking Selfies' and a pair of black converse.
I take a peek at myself in the mirror and smile, before finding my makeup bag and applying a light, natural looking layer.
When I'm done, I leave my room and head out towards the dining room.
I must have slept in a little because everybody already has their food and everything when I get there. Today, we're having waffles.
I fix myself a plate and go to sit between Ivy and Laurel.
"Good morning," I yawn, rubbing my eyes a little.
"Morning," Laurel pipes.
"Did someone stay up too late?" Ivy chuckles, raising an eyebrow.
"What? No," I defend.
"Relax Grace," she laughs. "I got up to get water last night, and I saw you sneaking out. No big deal, I'm not going to tell on you."
I glance down the table to see if anyone is listening. Everyone is focused on their food, so I take a deep breath and turn to back Ivy and Laurel.
"Okay fine. I got up to work with Trigger," I whisper.
I decide not to tell them yet that I rode him, that I want to surprise everyone one day. Not today though. I still need to work with him a little more.
"Alone? Are you crazy? That horse is dangerous, he could hurt you," Laurel warns, jumping in her seat.
"Calm down you guys. I'll tell you all about it later but I don't want anyone to hear. So pipe down," I snap.
They reluctantly agree, settling the matter. For now, at least.
----------------------
I've just finished mucking a stall when my phone starts to ring in my pocket. I quickly whip it out and answer
"Hello?"
"Grace?"
I smile, instantly recognizing the voice.
"Hey Jace. What's going on?"
"I haven't heard from you in a few days and I wanted to know how you're doing," he nonchalantly says.
A lot has gone on in the past few days. Should I tell him about it all? Or should I just keep it to myself.
Probably best to keep him in the dark. He'll just worry.
There is one thing if like to tell him, though.
"Well, I rode Trigger last night," I boast, mentally adding 'right after having a mental breakdown.'
"Really? The crazy horse?" he asks in disbelief.
"Yup. I did it all by myself, too," I laugh.
"Avery wasn't there?"
"We sort of had a falling out," I sigh, heading out of the barn and towards the pasture fence. I climb up and sit on it.
"What? Why?"
"Let's just say I did something stupid," I wryly chuckle. "And let's leave it at that."
I hear him sigh on the other end, and I can almost see him shaking his head in disappointment.
"Okay Grace," he says after a while. "But you know I'm always here if you need to talk, right?"
"I know," I reply. This must be strange for him. Almost like déjà vu.
Chey kept everything hidden just like I'm doing now. The only difference is I would never kill myself.
As I think that thought, a wave of nausea rushes through me. I can't think about that or I might go crazy. I can't.
"So how are things back home?" I ask, changing the subject.
"Same as always, really," he replies.
"How's Wally," I ask. He's been watching my dog for me because I don't trust my parents to actually take care of him, what with their busy schedules and general hatred of all living things. Including me, apparently.
"He's great. He misses you, I think. But, I've been taking him on walks every day and he likes my yard. Also, apparently he likes to swim. He jumped in the pool yesterday and didn't want to get out," he laughs.
I smile at the thought. Wally does love to swim.
"That's my dog," I chuckle lightly. "But make sure to rinse him off when he gets out or the chlorine will dry out his fur."
"Duly noted," he says in reply. "And speaking of Wally, why exactly does he have a pink collar if he's a boy? That's totally emasculating."
I frown, and release a shaky breath.
"It was, uh, Chey's idea," I softly reply. "She made me buy it. She said 'real men wear pink.'"
I still remember her and I arguing in the middle of a PetSmart. I wanted to get him a basic black collar, and she wanted a pink one. With diamond rhinestones. I told her there was no way I was putting a pink, diamond collar on my dog. We compromised- pink collar, no rhinestones. We also bought him a black shirt that said 'Bad to the Bone' because I felt he needed to be butched up a bit.
"Oh," is all he says in reply.
"Jace, does it ever feel like-" I stop, not knowing if I should go on.
"Like what?" he asks, confused.
"Like, no matter what we're talking about we always end up on Chey. I feel like- I don't want to forget her, but remembering her just hurts," I whisper. "Everything I do reminds me of her. Even things that have nothing to do with her. I never knew how much I needed her, and now that she's gone, I just-"
"I know," he says in a quiet reply. "I barely knew her- we had a few classes together. I'd talked to her at parties and stuff. And I miss her like crazy. But you- she was your best friend. You grew up together. I know how close you two were. I can't imagine how you feel."
I small cry sounds in the back of my throat, but I keep my mouth closed, muffling the noise.
I suddenly remember something.
"Jace, I never told you- when I walked in and she was-" I trail off. "and she was hurt, I sat with her. I told her how you felt. I figured that she should know."
He stays silent on the other end for a minute.
"Did she say anything?"
"Yeah- she said she had always thought you were cute," I gently answer.
What sounds like a cry and a laugh mixed together is what I get in reply. Then nothing but the sound of breathing. We both stay quiet for a few minutes, listening to the sound of mutual silence.
"I miss you, you know," I say quietly. "I wish you were here with me. It's not that bad here, really. You'd probably like it here."
"I wish I was there, too. Or that you were here," he answers. "It's pretty dull without you."
"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute," a voice says from behind me, causing me to jump and almost fall backwards off the fence. Arms wrap around me, steadying me.
I turn to face Avery, and groan quietly.
"Sure. It's not like I'm having a conversation or anything," I sass, before putting the phone back to my ear.
"Grace are you okay?" Jace asks, worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Avery snuck up on me, that's all," I laugh, rolling my eyes. "He wants to talk to me or something. I've got to go."
"Ah, the ass has come to appologize."
"No, nothing like that," I giggle softly.
"So I'll talk to you later?"
"Of course. Love you," I say.
"Love you, too. Bye."
I stay on the phone till I hear the click on the other end. I sigh, and slip it back into my pocket, jumping off the fence.
"What? What do you need to talk to me about?" I ask, a bit annoyed. Not so much at him, because I actually do need to talk to him. Just the fact the I had to hang up on Jace annoys me.
He stares at me with a strange look in his eye, and doesn't reply immediately.
"I just needed to say some things to you. First of all- actually, can we talk inside?" he asks.
I frown, a bit confused.
"Why?"
"Too many people out here."
I look around and see that he's right. Laurel and Piper are trying to catch one of the horses in the pasture who's name I can't remember. Jesse is giving his horse a bath. Ivy is talking with Aaron while they groom Blue. Claire is helping Chrissie lunge Dakota.
There are too many people out here.
"Okay. Let's go."
A/N
Okay, I know I said this chapter would be epic but I moved some events around and so its NEXT chapter that's going to be epic.
Also, I know a lot of you are waiting on Flaming Hearts updates, and Ill tell you why they are so slow.
I am debating how I want Flaming Hearts to end, and I need to decide before I write the next few chapters. So until I figure it out, updates will be slow and there could be a few filler chapters. Sorry but its important.
Also, I have more inspiration for this book than any of my other ones because I know exactly how this book is going to end. I know how almost every chapter is going to go in this book. So this book should have fairly fast updates.
Thanks for putting up with me my lovelies!
Also, how cute is Jace? <3