Georgie:
"Mom," I barged into Lou's room early the next morning. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to explode.
"What? What's wrong? Is everything okay?" She sat up in her bed, dazed and confused, trying to focus her sight on me.
"I...I.." I was panting so hard. I never do this. It usually takes alot for me to pant this hard. "I got in." I finally managed to slip the words out of my mouth.
"To the Euro camp?" Lou stood up seeming fully aware now.
All I could do was nod and smile.
"Oh Georgie! That's amazing!" She hugged me so tight. I could feel how well she must have slept by how warm she was.
I placed my arms on her waist so she couldn't touch mine. She wrapped her arms around the tops of my shoulder's. "Thank you." I whispered.
"I'm so proud of you," Lou wiped her eyes. "Your dad is going to be here this afternoon so you'll be able to tell him the news in person."
"Mom, are you crying?" I let out a guilty laugh.
"Of course I am! Look what you've accomplished; what mother wouldn't cry?" Lou laughed.
I smiled a grateful smile, I would have never been able to get this far without her love and support. "Thank you so much for everything, mom." I gave her one last big squeeze. "I'm going to call like...everyone I know right now." I said sarcastically, but still laughed.
"Alright you go do that," Lou sniffled and smiled at me. "I love you." She called to me.
"I love you too." I said as I ran up the stairs back to my room.
...
After getting ready for the day, Georgie decided to practice her jumping course before Kim came. In the barn, Mitch was trimming Maverick's hooves.
"You two going somewhere?" Georgie asked.
"Uh yeah. Jack, Tim and I are going to drive the cows into the East pasture to the corral. They haven't been checked out by a vet in over a year. I'm just trying to keep Maverick's hooves in shape before I leave." Mitch said.
"Oh," I nodded. "Is Ty going to help you out?"
"No not this time. He had to work this afternoon. He said he'd help out next time though."
Georgie smiled and tacked up Pheonix. "I guess I'll see you in a few days then?"
"Yeah I'll be back in two days on Monday."
"Awesome. I actually have a show Monday evening; it'd be great if you could come and watch." Georgie put a "please come" look on her face.
"I wouldn't miss it." Mitch shook his head laughing.
"Okay, great. I'll see you Monday then." She smiled then started to walk Pheonix out to the arena.
Before Georgie opened the front gate, she heard someone call her from behind.
"Georgie," Ty called. "I put your keys on the kitchen table inside." He pointed to the house.
"Thanks," She called back. Then She remembered there wasn't really anything wrong with Lou's car. "So, did you fix it?" Georgie asked.
"I couldn't find anything wrong with it. Maybe next time it stalls you can call me before you try to start it again." Ty said as he threw his vet bag in the back of his truck.
"Oh, maybe it was just my fault then," Georgie shrugged, but she didn't think Ty heard her. Her eyes then moved next to Ty's truck to see their big blue truck was missing. "Hey did Amy go somewhere?"
"Yep she had a last minute clinic at fairfield that she was asked to fill in for the original host who was sick last minute."
"Ohh, okay, that's cool." Georgie said opening the gate. 'that's why Lyndy was with Lou.' she thought to herself.
Before she could open the gate wider than Pheonix, a rush of pressure blasted across her body. She hunched forward, because she thought she was going to throw up. Once she caught her breath, she stood up and tried to swallow her nauseous feeling. She noticed she was sweating, but a cold sweat. An uncomfortable feeling shook her body. 'What's going on?' she thought to herself.
Once she felt ready, she mounted Pheonix. She set up her course the night before so she didn't have to right before Kim came. A few jumps in, she felt fine. Nothing but adrenaline filled her veins. This is what she was training for. Nothing was going to stop her from disappointing herself, and her parents; especially Lou since she sold he business for her, or at least that's what she thought.
After turning a few corners, her head felt heavy, like it would pull her over on the side of Pheonix. She tried to shake the feeling away, but it gradually got worse. Eventually, Georgie gripped onto Pheonix's mane and squeezed her thighs as hard as she could. She tried to slow Pheonix down to a stop, but her voice was too quiet and her hands were too weak for body signals. As he went for the next jump, Georgie managed to find the strength to lead him away from it. Sharply, Pheonix pulled away from the jump and headed for the fence. Before he could jump over the fence, he quickly jumped to a stop and turn sideways, causing Georgie to go flying off the side of her saddle.
Georgie:
I didn't know what else to do. I tried my hardest to pull Pheonix away from the jump. I pulled as hard as I could. Bracing myself, I found the strength, my seeming last strength, to lead Pheonix away from the jump. I saw myself heading towards the fence. I tried to stop, but my eyes were growing dark. Within a few seconds, I felt the jerk of a stop and my body was thrown from my saddle. Falling, my head smashed against the fence post, causing my strap to break from my helmet. As soon as I heard the unforgivable "SNAP" of my helmet strap, I blacked out.
...
"Man, I wished I could've helped today with the cows. If only you pushed them tomorrow, but I know you couldn't." Ty said walking back into the barn after placing his vet bag in the truck.
"It's okay. We were planning this day for a while now, so it's not a big deal." Mitch shrugged unclipping Mavrick's halter.
"Yeah, I understand," Ty placed his elbow on the stall door. "What time are you guys heading out?"
"In a couple of hours. We were planning on going early, but then the vet booked his morning so we pushed for a later time last week."
"Which vet?" Ty asked intrigued.
"Uh Doctor Clement I think her name was?"
"Oh yeah, I've heard of her." Ty said nodding his head.
"Is...is she bad or something?" Mitch asked with a concerned face.
"No! No. I've just heard she always has a tight schedule is all." Ty laughed.
"Okay, good. You had me worried for a second." Mitch laughed as well.
Before they could say anything else, they heard a high-pitched screaming whinny coming from the arena outside. Mitch quickly tied up Maverick and quickly ran outside. "What the hell was that?"
Ty didn't respond. He stopped once he saw Pheonix rearing with Georgie slipping off the side. Once he had recognition that she fell on the fence post, he saw Pheonix jump the fence. Mitch ran for Georgie, and Ty caught Pheonix.
Ty tied up Pheonix's halter to the corral then jumped the arena fence like a mad-man.
Mitch tossed the broken helmet aside that was covering her face. "Georgie?" He tried to shake her shoulders to get her to wake up, but almost immediately, Ty grabbed Mitch's arms.
"Don't. She could have a head or spinal injury. You don't want to make it worse." Ty said, feeling for a pulse on her neck. "She's got a pulse and she's breathing. I think she just got knocked out."
"I'll get Lou and call 9-1-1." Mitch said getting up and ready to run back to the house.
Before he could get anywhere, Georgie moaned and slowly started to move her arms.
Georgie:
I slowly opened my eyes, seeing nothing but stars and spots for a few minutes. It was so hard to open them. It felt like anvils were placed on each eyelid. There was a high-pitched ringing blasting through my ears. It hurt so bad. I managed to move my eyes to meet two people; one kneeling and one standing above me. I couldn't make out their faces, it was like my vision was as blurry as looking underwater. I could hear my heart beating. Every heart beat was a punch to my head. Everything felt like it was on fire.
The person standing was now kneeling next to me too. From both voices, I heard very muffled "Georgie? Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?" I felt those words so many times that they started to become more and more clear. One more person came and stood over me. It looked as if they were on the phone. My vision then started to clear up too. Before I knew it, I could recognize the people. Lou was crying over me on the phone, Mitch had his hand on my shoulder, gripping it hard, and ripped of his hat, which was weird considering I rarely see him without a hat, and Ty had his hand placed on my head asking me so many questions that I could not comprehend.
"Did-did she hit her head? The operator wants to know, did she?!" Lou asked hysterically.
I wanted to nod, but my head felt like it was going to burst if I tried.
"Don't move, Georgie. It's okay," Ty said reassuring me. He knew I was just as freaked out as Lou was. Well, maybe not AS much. "Do you know if you hit your head at all?"
"I-I think...Yeah. Yeah I think I did. I think I'm okay though." I didn't really know if I was okay. I just wanted to sit up. I started to, but it hurt so much trying. I let out a cry when I sat up enough to get eye level with Mitch and Ty.
"Woah, easy, easy," Ty said gripping one arm and Mitch the other. "Just take it easy."
When I was finally sat up, my back was placed against the fence and mitch supported my neck.
"Mom, I don't...I don't need to go to the hospital I'm fine." I said struggling to breathe.
"They said if you hit your head you need to go, sweetheart." Lou said firmly, but still with tears in her eyes.
"Georgie, if you have a head injury you need to go. It's dangerous not to." Ty looked at me more calmly then Lou did, which was nice considering the stress of the situation.
"I don't though." My voice broke. I was ready to cry. I didn't work this hard just to end up with some stupid head injury.
Ty bit his lip. It looked like he was wanting to say more, but he didn't want to make it worse.
"You're gonna be okay kid. You're gonna-" Mitch's half smile faded.
"What?" Ty whispered, but I could still hear him.
Mitch didn't say anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him show Ty his hand that was supporting my head. It was coated in blood from the fingertips to his wrist. Lou screamed and my heart dropped. There was no way of getting out of going now.
"Hand me your shirt," Ty said holding out his hand and pressing against the back of my head with his other.
"Yep," Mitch said taking off the long-sleeve shirt that was over his short-sleeve.
Ty wadded up the shirt and wrapped it around my head like a bandage. I felt it press against the wound on the back of my head and screamed and grabbed Ty's arms trying to pull them away, but he was too strong to let me pull them away. I finally felt the pain of it. I don't think I was in shock anymore.
Lou got off the phone and sat next to me, comforting me. "They're going to be here soon, okay baby?" She kissed my cheek and stroked my hair.
The pain of it all was too much. My eyes felt heavy again. The voices disappeared. The weight of my body was lifted. I slowly blacked out once I saw the wet blood dripping off Mitch's hand. The last thing I remember before fully going unconscious was my mom's face, full of sadness, full of tears, looking at me.
