"Sure, be there in ten." He had said. Ten minutes didn't really give her enough time. For what, I had no idea. I quickly pulled my hair into Edleys Famous Ponytail. Then, went and got my riding boots and jeans on, then headed out to the stables to tack up.

Barn/Stables

I pulled out Stella, my horse and Evan, the horse Jake was practically in love with, put them on two cross ties, right across each other and started tacking them up. A couple minutes later Jake came in wearing some old jeans with his tattered up cowboy boots and a brown shirt. His hair was wet making it look even darker than normal, and his blue eyes were looking straight at me. He seemed deep in thought about something, and to be honest it freaked me out. Jake never really thought, about things and when he did they were always the greatest of things. He stood there for a couple minutes just watching me finish tacking up.

Finally I said, "Jake are you ok?"

Jerking his head to the horse and back to me he spoke, " huh? Oh yah…yah I'm fine."

"Are you sure…?"I asked him.

"Edley, I'm fine really… so we're riding today." He wasn't that bad of a liar but knowing him so well, I knew he was lying. He wasn't fine, the way he held him self told me so.

"Well, yah? I was thinking we try and find that small creek we passed a couple weeks back." Jake seemed somewhat excited to try and find it again. He adjusted the stirrups and then jumped on to Evans back.

The woods behind the barn was beautiful. The trees were covered in leaves and the weather was just right that today's ride I new would be fun. The smell of the dew drying and the pine smell filled my noise as we came deeper in the woods.

" Jake back at the barn, what…. What were you thinking…. What's wrong?" even the beautiful scenery couldn't help me keep my mind off of Jakes behavior back in the barn. There was something he wasn't telling me.

"It's nothing Ed…nothin'."

"Are you sure…? You know you can tell me anything, even if its something totally stupid." I turned to face him.

"Yah, and I know…it's just…" he paused. He was really worrying me now. He saw me giving him a questioning look so he continued, " its just… your not going to be very happy with me…."

"Why wouldn't I be happy with you?" I ask stopping Stella so I can look and listen.

He stops Evan and says "Edley, I know you so I know that as soon as I say what I want to say your not going to… I don't know…be very happy…angry, yes, but happy no."

"You don't know that, I mean its not like your doing weed or, smoking…or…or…going off war, or raping young girls. It can't be that bad." Suddenly Jake was looking really uncomfortable. "You're not, right?"

"Edley, I'm sorry." He says looking down towards his hands and were Evans neck and the saddle met.

"Jake Logan Woods, what have you done?"

"Nothing. Nothing-super stupid. Like drugs."

"What so you're raping young girls?"

"No…" he quickly looks up, then stares right back down.

"So…your…?"

He looks up sits up straight, puts his hands on his face and wipes downward. "I'm going to Iraq for 3 years at the least."

"Your what!" He can't be serious. He's just going to get up and leave.

"I'm going to Iraq…"

"Shut up!" I say cutting him off, " I heard you the first time!"

"Edley… don't get mad, you're the one that asked me to tell you!" Great now we're both pissed off.

"Yah, well I thought it was something, like, I don't know, your grandma died, or something, not you going off to fuckin' war!" I was shaking with anger and pain. " And you were going to have to tell me sometime, unless you were just planning on telling me the day of your leaving!" He sat there for a while not saying anything. "You can't be serious."

There I left him. Stella and I broke into a run and were back at the stable in under 15 minuets.

I quickly un-tacked Stella, put her in her stall then ran.

I ran to Jake and I's old tree house, that was just a ways away from the pond.

I crawled into the corner of the house and cried. And cried.

Jakes probably back at the stables. He'll un-tack then he'll come looking for me. First he'll probably look in my room. Then under one of the willows in my yard, then back out to the stables, then finally he'll come to look in the tree house.

Jake probably thought that the reason I was pissed was because I didn't want him to leave, and I hated seeing Jake hurt. He knew I thought it was stupid, I always thought that giving up your life for anything was stupid. Also, he probably thought, that I didn't want my one and only friend to leave me. But, those weren't the reasons at all. The reason was something Jake didn't know about. It was a subject that we had gracefully stayed away from. My Dad.

Going to fight was the exact reason my dad was never around. And by around I mean wasn't here, wasn't living. My dad and Jakes dad had fought together. That was one of the reasons why Jake and I had met. Jake never knew that our dads fought side by side, he had always expected that they were high school buds that saw each other one day in town and then they had introduced the family to each other and the families became good friends. Jake thought Dad had died in a car accident. That was what I told him, I never wanted to think about why Dad had really died, so I told every one that it was a car accident out side of town. Everyone believed me.

I don't want him to go, because that meant I could possibly loose someone else who cared about me, who I loved. Sure I never really new Dad but I know he loved me. Mom used to tell me how when ever he'd be home for a short visit that he'd constantly be feeling moms belly, saying that "…this is our child, our baby, all ours, I love her already, I don't even know what he/she looks like…" that was my favorite-and only-story my mom would tell me about Dad. If he hadn't gone off to war I'd have been able to hear his voice and hear him say words just like that to me.

Jake couldn't go.

"Edley?" Jakes sudden appearance shot me out of my thoughts and made me jump.

I don't say anything though; just cry harder.

"Edley…" he's climbing the latter now. "Edley…Oh Gods Edley." He's here now. He sees me in my corner crying.

"Edley…shh… its okay." He picks me up and puts me in him lap, and wraps his arms around me. I rest my head on his shoulder. He starts rocking back and forth, silently humming an un-known song.

"Edley, I'm sorry I yelled…sorry." He says still rocking me in his lap.

After I calm down a bit I whisper, "Its fine." Even though it's not fine. Nothings fine at this point. " I just over reacted, didn't get much sleep last night." Lies, they're the greatest.

"Uh…ok Eds, whatever you say." He looks down at me, then rest his chin on my head.

After a while of sitting there, we realize how late it is, so we take off back to the house. Jake says bye and jumps in his pick up truck. Says bye one last time then leaves zipping down the long driveway.

I head in side and climb into bed.

That was the night the nightmares began.

*******************
hey guys first chap of the story. review tell me what you think of it...PLease:D

~Kenzie