After emailing the tack shop back and working with Dime for two weeks to perfect our skills, we were finally ready to go to my rodeo. My charade was stronger than ever and I could easily fake a smile and a laugh now...But really all i felt was empty. My fake laughs bounced around the room in shallow, hollow rings. My face was sore from using so many muscles to fake all of the smiles.
Upon occasion someone would catch me in the moments when my pain was to strong so I would drop my act. I just covered those moments with fake laughter and forced smiles. But today my happiness was almost real, I love rodeo's!
I woke up to my alarm, I had set it for 6:35 so that I could try and spend a few extra minutes for my self. But when the clock declared that it was 6:35 in its loud and beeping manor i was already out of bed. I tossed on my barn clothes, and pulled the plug of the alarm out of the wall and raced myself down the stairs, stopping in the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair then I ran outside and paused. I inhale and think about the great day ahead of me.
The comforting smells of leather and horse dirft toward my nose as I enter the barn door. I spend the next four hours carefully grooming Dime, doing my chores (and my siblings were almost helping) and making sure everything is in order. When my IPhone says that its 10:05 I go inside noticing that Dad's jeep is gone...he' getting stuff in town, I assume.
As I open the door of my bedroom a bucket of green slime lands on my head. I scream and wipe it my eyes only to see Noah standing there with a video camera and laughing like a mad man.
"That is for using Dime" he squeezes out between bursts of laughs. I growl and grab my towel off of the hook next to my closet. Then I walk down the stairs and start the shower. When I come back to my room after scrubbing the slime out of my hair with about a half a bottle of shampoo, all traces of Noah's prank are gone..besides for the video evidence
I toss on my clean clothes and run down the stairs. Glancing at the clock in the kitchen its around 10:54, perfect we're leaving at 11:25. I pull on my boots and walk outside. Where I see a black shiny truck with a big blue bow on it. And my family standing around it. Smiling.
"Whats that?" I ask getting excited the closer I get. Its a wicked truck. Getting a closer look I can see that its a ford and a 4 door. Plus our horse trailer is hooked up to it.
"Its a truck." says Jess grinning.
"Do you like it?" asks Dad. I look at it this time my smile isn't forced but real. A truck. My truck.
"Yes...I love it" I say tracing the ford logo.
"Good because its yours." says Reeve looking at me his eyes sparkling. And this is when I squeal like a little girl. Everyone laughs but I can tell they're happy that I'm happy.
"It's really mine?!" i ask just making sure its not some kind of sick joke.
"Yes it's yours. I went and signed the papers this morning, happy early birthday!" Dad says handing me the keys that has a key chain with my name on it.
It seems I can't stop smiling, but this time Its not forced. Getting my own truck is just so.... WOW! I gave my Dad a hug and just about a thousand thank-you's.
I ran in to the barn and got Dime's saddle and pad , brushes, bridle, an extra lead rope and halter, some feed buckets, and some treats, a water bottle, a blanket and some other stuff and a then packed it all into my new truck. I got Dime prepared to get trailered.
I checked my IPhone for the time and I only had ten minutes before we left... The butterflies in my stomach were fluttering like crazy but I lead Dime to the trailer (I had already set up a hay net) and loaded her then closed the doors. I was admiring my truck when Noah walked up next to me.
"So you ready to head out?" asks Noah and I give him the death glare.
"Oh come on, Ry. It was funny and you know it!" he says ruffling my hair. Which resulted in me slapping his hands.
"It was so not funny, but pay back will be fun!" I say laughing at his alarmed face. I have so much dirt on him its not even funny and he knows it.
"I wont do it again I swear." He says putting his hands up.
"Oh, trust me. I know you wont." I say with a smirk. I love toying with him.
"So are you excited?" he asks searching for a topic change.
"Yeah, Dime's great! And I haven't been to a rodeo in a while." I say smiling.
"And you get to drive your truck for the first time."He says nudging me with his elbow. I frown I've never driven a truck with a trailer hooked up.
"Do you think, uh, you could maybe drive us there and then i could drive back." i say not wanting to be late to the rodeo.
"Are you sure you don't want to? I mean its your truck?" he asks.
"Yeah. I've never driven with a trailer hooked up so I want to be on time." I say and we start walking towards the house to say good bye to everyone. Ten minutes later we were off! And Noah hadn't hurt my truck yet so that was a good thing.
I sigh and look out my window, i just love the smell of new car.
"Did you see that?" asks Noah.
"See What?" I ask sitting up and looking around.
"That thing in the woods." he says slowing down the truck a little.
"No....what did it look like?" I whisper, a strange sinking feeling has formed in the pit of my stomach and this time I know its not just butterfly's.
"Its was darker....and I really didn't get a good look but it sort of looked like a wolf." He says. looking back at me, and the truck is barely crawling down the empty back road.
"A normal wolf or a...." I let my sentence trail. I dark wolf. Black and brown. My wolf whimpers as it recognize the color there is not a doubt in my mind that the wolf Noah just saw was my rouge mate.
I can tell by Noah's expression that he's put two and two together and has figured out the same answer that i have come to. My breathing spikes up and the empty tin that is my heart throbs painfully. I whimper. Noah swears under his breath. He stops the car and places his head on the steering wheal.
"Why did you stop the truck?" I whisper.
He sighs and answers my question with a question "Are you going to be able to go today Ry, because if you want we could go back and you could save your self from the heartache."
"That sentence had a lot of possibilities" I say choosing my words very carefully "But none of them seem to be the right road to take right now. I'm going to be okay." I can hear Dime whinny in the trailer confused that we've stopped and she's still in the trailer.
"Okay, off to the rodeo then" he says some what reluctantly. But i cant let this pain rule my life more the it has. So i turn on the radio and my truck is filled with my favourite stations theme song, Noah groans and starts driving again.
"Oh come on! Whats wrong with country?"I ask shaking my head at his response.
"Well its depressing and old!" He says driving a bit faster, which is good cause we are going to be late.
"Its not!" I yell. He's crazy I think as we round a corner...well we sort of did. Just as we turned so did the super sized oil truck that was cruising down the middle of the road coming our way. Noah frantically span the wheel to try and get out of the way.But 18 wheelers cant stop at the drop of a dime and the two trucks connected with a sicking crack.
My head was smashed into the window and glass shattered everywhere. Flames licked at the tires and pain shot up through my spine and let out a strangled scream and twisted in my seat belt to try to sober the pain. A tree was coming closer and closer to our mangled truck that had been partially crushed by the oil truck and lit on fire by the smothered engine. I heard Noah scream and then I blacked out.
I was floating, the water was light and flowed gently. If this is what death feel like then i'm ready to die i think trailing my hand through the water. It would have been a lovely if that angel would stop begging.
"You cant leave." he says then i feel some one pushing on my chest. I laughed thinking about how silly he was being. Why would i want to leave? The water is just glorious. Then my mouth opened and air was forced down my sore throat.
"Please don't leave, I'm so sorry! Please!" the angel was saying.... Why was the angel sorry? His voice was like a song that never ended. More pressure was added to my chest. it was started to become uncomfortable.
"Stop angel' I called out in my head. More air was forced down my throat. I sighed and then remember that I hadn't opened my eyes to see the beautiful angel. Slowly my eyelids slid up. And locked on my angels deep green ones.
A/N- I told you all something big was going to happen :) What do you think????