PART SIXTY THREE
*Aston’s POV*
I woke up earlier than I would have liked for a quiet Saturday, the bright light from the sun streaming in the windows. I shifted just slightly in bed, so as not to wake Jess up, grinning to myself as I remembered what happened the night before. Never did I think I would be in a proper relationship with her. I’d always been so happy and certain in my singledom, but somehow I was whipped by this somewhat unstable girl from Chelsea.
In fact, I was so smitten by her I couldn’t believe it. There was just something about Jess’ personality that had me gripped. She was sexy and confident, and she seemed to know how to do almost everything. It was like I trailed behind her like a lost puppy, in awe of her and everything she did. But, at the same time, she had small moments of vulnerability that made me feel needed. I felt like I had to protect her, take care of her.
I slid my hand up her side as I nuzzled my head into the back of her neck, inhaling deeply.
I felt Jess shift around in my arms, twisting her head so she could look at me. “What you doing?” she whispered.
My cheeks burned red, “Just thinking.”
“About?”
“You,” I whispered, dipping my head down and kissing her softly to hide my blush.
“You’re so full of it,” Jess laughed, pulling away. “Now please get some more sleep.”
“I’m trying,” I yawned, “You’re just too damn beautiful.”
I felt a jab in my ribs for my comment, watching as Jess snuggled back into the bed. I couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh as I wrapped my arms around her again and closed my eyes, drifting back to sleep.
We eventually got out of bed a few hours later, enjoying hot cups of coffee in the beautiful old kitchen of the mansion, as well as the fruit and cereal we’d picked up the previous evening.
“Horses then?” Jess asked me with a grin, as she washed our dishes and put them on the drying rack.
“Might as well,” I sighed, “You aren’t going to let me leave without trying, I’d just as soon get it out of the way.”
“You’re going to love it!” Jess smiled, leading me back up to her room.
I got changed into the clothes Jess had told me to put on. As a first timer I didn’t have any of the riding gear that Jess had, and I was much smaller than her father or brother to borrow something that was laying around the estate, so I slipped on my comfiest jeans and a t-shirt.
“How’s this?” I smirked, posing for Jess to inspect my outfit.
“Pretty good,” she replied, wandering over to me. She smiled at me before looking down and grabbing hold of my belt.
“What are you doing?” I choked out, just as she loosened the buckle.
She didn’t respond, instead she grabbed hold of the side of my trousers. For a split second I thought she was going to slip them down my body, but instead she pulled them up, snatching the belt buckle up and tightening it so my jeans were resting on my waist instead of low on my hips.
“You can’t ride a horse with your jeans that low,” she whispered, biting her lip at me as she stepped away. “And anyways, no one wants to see your underwear.”
I couldn’t help but grin at her, my heart beating fast at the idea of what could have just happened.
“Stop being a perv, let’s go,” Jess laughed, waving her hand in front of my face. Apparently I’d been stood their staring at her!
We walked out to the stables. It was a crisp morning, with the promise of being a gorgeous day.
“Ok, you get Peanut,” Jess said, leading me into the stable to meet the legendary horse of her teenage years. It was a big chestnut colored horse, and just looking at it you could tell that it loved people.
“She’s a bit big,” I said, taking a step back as Jess pulled the horse out of the stable.
“She’s a big dog,” Jess laughed, “She loves to be around humans. Would follow you into the house if she could fit.”
“Yeah,” I said, nervously looking at the horse.
Jess led Peanut out of her stall, tying her up so she could put a saddle and bridle on. “I’m going to saddle her up and then you’ll get on,” she explained, “I’ll take you around a bit holding her lead.”
“Good,” I said, “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“I know!” Jess laughed.
She took her time getting Peanut ready to take out in the little ring out back of the stables, leading her out slowly and petting her nose.
“Ready?” Jess asked me, passing me a helmet. I put it on, clipping it in place under my chin as I frowned.
“Umm…” I replied, taking a step back after realizing how daunting it was to get up on the horse. I normally wasn’t afraid to do things, but big animals always had me uneasy.
“Its fine,” Jess said, “Just put your foot in the stirrup, grab that little hump there, and pull yourself up,” she explained, pointing to the different parts on the saddle.
I did as I was told, surprised to find myself sitting comfortably on Peanut’s back. The horse hadn’t even reacted to my actions, standing calmly with Jess petting her.
“Ready?” Jess asked me.
“For what?”
“I’m going to lead her around the ring a bit,” she laughed, “Just don’t squeeze your legs onto her sides or she’ll think you want to run.”
“Ok,” I said, making sure my legs were comfortably slack.
Jess started leading Peanut around and I couldn’t help but enjoy myself a little bit. It was weird to be riding a horse, partly because it was something I’d just never wanted to do before.
“Ready to do a lap by yourself?” Jess asked me after a few laps.
“What do I do?”
“Trust Peanut,” Jess replied, “She knows what to do. And if you want her to slow down just give the reins a bit of a tug.”
“Ok,” I replied, as Jess unclipped the lead and let Peanut take control. I was shaking a bit on the first go round, scared the beast would go out of control under me.
“You’re doing great!” Jess called, snapping a picture of me on her phone.
“This is weird,” I told her.
“You’re fine,” she scoffed.
I went round a few more times, getting more comfortable with the whole thing with each lap.
“Ok, I’m going to tie Peanut up so you can have a breather, and I’ll get a horse for me. We can go for a bit of a ride around the estate.”
“What?” I asked nervously.
“It’ll be real simple.”
I nodded my head, doing as I was told to get off the horse. I stood to the side as Jess went into the stable to get another horse, a big black one.
“Be careful around him,” she warned, “He spooks easy.”
“Ok,” I said, keeping my distance as Jess put a saddle on the big horse. Jess told me his name was Buster and he was a bit younger than the other horses. She wanted to take him out for a ride since he was a bit more energetic and would appreciate the exercise. “Ready then?” Jess asked me.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Go release Peanuts lead then, just be careful by Buster.”
I walked carefully between the horses to go release Peanut’s lead, unclipping her from the fence she was on and slowly easing her away from it so I had room to climb on her. Just as I was on her back I felt my phone start to vibrate in my pocket, a loud tune blaring away.
It all happened in a split second, Buster reared first, clearly freaked out by the noise, and then Peanut went, freaked out by Buster’s sudden movement. I felt myself flying off Peanut’s back and onto the ground, landing with arms out behind me to break the fall a bit.
And then I heard the sickening crack of a bone.
PART SIXTY FOUR
*Jess’ POV*
“Ast!” I sighed as I grabbed both horses’ leads and tried to calm them down. “I told you not to spook them! Why the hell is your phone on?!”
When I didn’t get a response, I turned to give him a dirty look, only to be shocked to see him lying on the ground. He had his knees in the air in a sit-up position, his chest going up and down quickly, on hand over his forehead as he stared straight up at the sky.
“Ast!” I said, dodging the horses and going over to him, kneeling by his head.
“Fuckkkk,” he moaned, his other arm out on the ground next to him. I looked down at it and felt the bile rise in my throat. You could clearly see where the bone was broken because his arm looked like jelly, a massive bend clear in the middle of his forearm.
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” I said, leaning over him and trying to figure out what to do.
“Babe, chill,” he said, his eyes crunched tightly shut as he tried to breathe through the pain.
“What do we do?” I panicked. “Hospital! I’ll call an ambulance!”
I jumped up on my feet, digging out my phone.
“Don’t call an ambulance,” Aston sighed, sitting up slowly. He had a huge grimace on his face and I could just tell that he was in a ton of pain.
“But you need to go to hospital!”
“It’ll take them ages to get out here and then back,” he said.
“But… How else are we going to get there? My parents aren’t here, and it looks like the groundskeeper is out!”
“You’ll drive me,” he replied, slowly getting to his feet.
“Ast I can’t!!” I said, freaking out.
“You’ll be fine, it’s easy.”
“You’ve lost your mind!” I told him.
“I’m going to go wait in the passenger seat, get the horses back in the stable.”
“But…”
“Babe, please just do as I say,” Aston sighed, walking away gingerly. I stared after him for a minute, my heart pounding and tears in the corners of my eyes as I panicked.
“The horses!” I told myself, grabbing Peanut’s reins and dragging her into the stable quickly. I felt bad leaving the saddles on, but I just didn’t have time to pull them off and brush the horses down. They’d survive until we got back.
After putting Buster in I pulled the stable door shut and ran to Aston’s car, my mind racing about everything.
“Jess, I need you to calm down,” Aston said as I slipped into the driver’s seat of his little sports car, tears streaking down my face, my breathing labored.
“How the hell are you so calm?” I shouted at him.
“Not the first broken bone,” he said, “I’m just thinking about the painkillers I’ll get as soon as we get to the hospital!”
“Ast I have no idea what to do.”
“Buckle up,” he said, his eyes were closed and his head was leant back against the seat, his arm cradled against his chest, “Move the mirrors and seat so you’re comfortable and can see.”
I followed his directions, starting the car and easing back so I could pull it around and drive down the lane that led to the main road.
“Ok, now put it into gear,” Aston said. I did as I was told, stalling the car. “Careful, ease off the clutch a bit.”
“You do this,” I moaned, tears still in my eyes as I clenched the wheel tight.
“Babe, I’m about ready to pass out from the pain, just do this for me.”
I took a deep breath and wiped the tears out of my eyes, trying again. I soon had the car moving down the lane, my knuckles white as I gripped the wheel.
“You know where you’re going?” Aston asked.
“Yes, twenty minutes or so,” I told him, biting my lip hard to keep the tears away. I was panicking so hard.
“You’re fine,” Aston said, going quiet for a few minutes.
I drove like an old granny down the country lane, giving it a bit more speed as Aston urged me on.
“Oh my god there’s a car coming!” I screeched as I turned onto the main road and was immediately caught up by another car.
“Drive faster,” Aston said.
“I’m going so fast!”
“Babe…” Aston grimaced, “You’re well under the speed limit.”
“Nooooooo…” I cried, adding some more speed. My heart was beating fast as the car passed around us and I was left to putter my way down the road.
“You’re fine,” Aston repeated.
The twenty-minute drive to the hospital took us well over half an hour, but eventually we made it.
“Park in the back,” Aston said, “Don’t go anywhere near any other cars.”
“But…”
“Just park it.”
I pressed on the brake hard, pushing the shifter into park, and turning the engine off.
“God babe,” Aston muttered, slipping out of the car and heading towards the entrance to the hospital. I let out a strangled cry as I realized I’d just driven a car, my heart going wild and my breathing labored. Trying to control my emotions I slipped out of the car, locking it up and chasing after Aston.
“You’re more of a mess than I am,” he said as I sat down next to him in the waiting area.
“I don’t like this!!!” I cried.
“We’re fine,” Aston soothed, wrapping his good arm around me and rocking me gently. I couldn’t help but break down into tears at this point, my panic overwhelming me.
“Merrygold,” a nurse called, beckoning Aston to follow her down the hall to one of the exam rooms in the A&E.
I followed closely behind him, holding his hand tightly. I hated hospitals, I think every one does. They gave me bad memories from when my brother was sick.
“Do you mind filling these out?” the nurse asked me, passing a stack of papers over.
“Sure,” I said, taking them. My hands were still shaking and I probably looked a total mess with all the tears.
“We’re going to give you an injection to numb everything around the break,” the nurse explained to Aston as she brought a needle out.
“You want to sedate her while you’re at it?” he joked, nodding towards me.
I frowned at him, busying myself with the papers I’d been given. I had to explain to the nurse what had happened and then Aston was taken off for an x-ray.
“We’re going to set the bone back into place and then put it in a hard cast,” a doctor declared as he put the completed x-ray on the light board. “It’s a clean break so it should be easy to set, you’ll have the cast for six to eight weeks.”
“Cheers,” Aston mumbled, leaning his head back on the wall. I was positive he was going to be annoyed at me for talking him into riding horses, and subsequently him breaking his arm.
I was sent to the waiting room while they got Aston’s cast on, forced to finish up the paperwork while I waited. It was a good hour before he came out, a glum look on his face as he carried a bag of what I could only expect where painkillers, his arm in a black cast.
“Have to style it don’t you?” I asked with what I hoped looked like a smile.
“Come on,” he sighed shortly, grabbing my hand as we left the hospital.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to him as we walked hand in hand to his car.
“Not your fault,” he replied, squeezing my hand gently.
“It is…”
“Jess, please, just don’t.”
“Ok,” I said, snapping my mouth shut.
“I just want to get back so I can lay down for a bit,” he said, “My whole body is aching form that fall.”
“Sure, here’s the keys.”
“Babe, I’m on so many painkillers right now there is no way I can get behind the wheel, this is all you.”
“What no! Not again!” I panicked, realizing I still had to drive all the way home. I could feel the tears starting again, and it took everything I had to talk myself into starting the car and heading back to the estate. I’d apparently found my weakness.