Chapter 4

The grey horse spotted a familiar figure walking through the pasture and started walking over. Ant had decided to come to the place where he felt like there were no troubles what so ever. Just in a field, with the horses. His favrioute horse was a grey quarter horse called Aladdin, there was something about that particular horse which just seemed to help him feel calm and at ease with the world. As Aladdin made his way over, Ant held his hand out with a mint placed on the palm of his hand for him. Aladdin happily ate the mint and started nudging Ant's pocket, searching for more, "Hey boy… I'm sorry, I only have one." He said, while stroking his nose, "I bet you wanna know why I am here this time… Thankfully, I haven't got into another fight," He laughed, "but… I just don't feel like I don't belong there… in that group. Everyone else seems to fit in and get along with each other but me… I am just ignored and hated by everyone. I was interested in what the horse woman had to say, but I just know that if I had told her or put my hand up – the others would have started winding me up or taking the mick-" He sighed, resting his head onto the horses neck, "-because that's all they ever seem to do."

"You know, they can't talk back," Ty said as he walked over to him.

Ant had been so pre-occupied with talking to the horse, he hadn't heard Ty walk over, "Just leave me alone." He mumbled.

"Why? I was just coming to see how you are. You just wandered off without a word, which isn't nice to do… Especially when you are in a clinic," Ty said.

"Do you think I care? Well, I can tell you that the answer is no. I am just here until my probation is over and then I'm out of here. I don't care about no clinic, or the horses or well, anyone," Ant snapped.

"Well, it's not what I have witnessed. If you really didn't want to be around the horses, or be here, then you wouldn't. You would have gone back to the group home, or the juvenile centre that you were in before you came here, you can choose where you go. So if you really didn't want to be here, then you would have chosen to be elsewhere," Ty said, calmly.

"What do you know? You're just here because your girlfriend is here," Ant barked back at him.

"Yeah, I am here with Amy, but it's because I want to be here too. Not just because it's with her. I love watching her clinics, they are amazing. Ok, right. I think we have got off on the wrong foot here, how about I introduce myself?" Ty asked.

Ant turned and looked at him, unsure of whether to take him on.

Ty didn't know how to take Ant's silence, so introduced himself regardless, "Well, I am Ty Borden, I am 25 years old and I am currently in the University of Calgary, studying to be a vet. Come on, tell me about yourself."

Ant sighed, he just wished that this man would leave him be, "Just do one, will ya?"

"So, you're called Ant then? Right, so I would say you're about 16, maybe 17? I take it you like Green Day." Ty said casually.

Ant turned to him, "How did you know that?" He asked, wondering how a stranger – who barely knew him from Adam would know something like that.

Ty laughed, "Erm, you're wearing a Green Day shirt. I like Green Day too, what's your favrioute album?"

Ant laughed awkwardly, "Erm, I love their older stuff, 'Dookie' is an amazing album. I just love their music, it's awesome. What about you, do you like Green Day?"

"I love Green Day, they're not my favrioute band in the world, but I would say they're in my top 10. I am surprised someone your age is into Green Day, they're not all that popular or current now. It's good to see that some of your generation have good taste in music," Ty laughed.

Ant felt himself relax a little bit, "Thanks… But I am not really keen on the music that is out now, it just doesn't have the same feel to it as the older stuff. I love a lot of Indie bands, such as; Arctic Monkeys, The Stone roses, The Rolling Stones, Oasis and of course, The Killers."

Ty could sense that Ant was actually starting to relax, but decided to ease into a proper conversation, "Wow, I love those bands! So you like the British Bands then? They are awesome! So, how old are you?"

"I am 17. So what are you enjoying vet school?" He replied, but instantly changing the subject, as he really didn't want to get into any deep conversations with a stranger.

Ty laughed, he knew what Ant was doing, but went along with it, "Yeah, it is amazing! I mean, it's getting harder seeing as it's my last year and I have to take my official vet exams, but, I am loving it," he replied.

"So, what do you want to do when you finish then?" Ant asked.

"Well, me and Amy are going into partnership, she is going to continue doing what she does and help horses with their psychological problems, but I am going to help out with the physical problems. It's basically what we do now, but I will be officially licenced and we won't have to call the local vet out every time we need something doing," He explained, "We have kind of always had this plan, ever since I got into university."

"Wow, that seems cool. I don't know what I want to do once I leave here… I know I want to finish high school, but after that, god knows. Everyone thinks I'll just end up back in prison…" he sighed.

"Really, why's that?" Ty asked, as he knew the feeling, all too well.

"I don't know, probably because I screw up everything," Ant laughed.

"I am sure that's not true, what would give you that idea?" Ty asked, curiously.

Ant snorted, "Well, I am 17 years old and on probation, I'm at this stupid farm. If that doesn't show you that I'm a screw up, then I don't know what would."

"Hey man, I don't think you're a screw up for being…" Ty started.

"Oh, so you don't think I'm a screw up? Wow… that makes me feel so much better." Ant said, sarcastically.

"Hold on a minute, I don't think you realise, that I understand more than you think…" Ty said, sitting down on a fallen down branch.

"No. No you don't. You're just a pretty little rich boy, well, pretty boy. Doubt you're rich seeing as you are wearing what you're wearing. You have no idea what I have been through! You didn't have crappy parents who didn't love you or a sister who barely wants to talk to you? Do you have any idea what that's like?" Ty began to answer, but Ant didn't give him enough time to speak, "No. Of course you don't! Why would you? You have your family, your fiancé, and your education. What do I have? Nothing. I bet you don't even know what a fight is by the look of you!" He shouted, feeling himself getting angrier and angrier by the second, "What right do you have? Coming down here, from your little bubble and trying to tell me what to do? Coming here to see me, thinking you know anything about me! You think you can 'get through to me and go back being a hero' – probably just to impress your fiancé. Well, I'm not having it! I hate it here and I hate this place!" He said, kicking out at some rocks, not realising that Aladdin was right in the firing line.

Ty watched everything happening in front of him, and before he had enough time to react, it was too late. Ant had struck Aladdin with his boot, right into the side of his leg. The horse suddenly went galloping off to the other side of the field, all the other horses followed.

Ant went to go after Aladdin but Ty stopped him and held him as he was fighting, "No, you need to calm down before you go over there. The horse can sense you're angry."

"What do you know? You know nothing about anything! I love how you come down here thinking you can try and get through to me… You have no idea what the hell I have had to go through in my life!" Ant snapped forcing himself out of Ty's hold.

"Actually, I do know what you're going through, I know all those feelings you have right now. No, I am not here to 'impress my fiancé' or 'Get through to you and become a hero!'. I am here, because believe it or not Ant, I know exactly everything you are going through." Ty said, while trying to hold his composure, but it was hard.

"Yeah right…" Ant grumbled, looking down to the floor.

Ty sighed, "Yeah. I do. I was in a similar situation to you," he began.

"Oh so you think because you had a bit of a tough time, and that mommy and daddy weren't there all the time, or something along those lines, that you know what I went through? Well you don't." Ant snapped, once again.

"Go on then, try me." Ty said, he wasn't backing down on this one.

"I bet you had a mom and a dad who loved you and who were there for you all the time. I bet as a kid, you were put to bed, with a bed time story, they went to all your school functions and everything. Well, mine, didn't. My dad ran out on us when I was 6 years old, he had an affair with a woman in an apartment down the hall and went and started a family with her. He didn't know that mom was pregnant with Sally at the time. After he left, she worked 3 jobs, 7 days a week to try and make ends meet. I was the one who had to help raise my baby sister. Mom was never home, and when she was, she wasn't bothered about me or my sister, we were just left to fend for ourselves. She had countless boyfriends, some were abusive to her, and then there was one, called Paddy. I was 15 nearly 16 at the time, and Sally 10, when one night, mom got called into work, and left him to watch us. Everything was fine, Sally was in bed and I went shortly after – just so I didn't have to be around him anymore. About 3 hours later, I woke up to Sally screaming, so, I ran through to her room… Paddy… Paddy was…" He sobbed.

"Here," Ty said, passing him a tissue out of his pocket. Ant blew his nose and wandered over to a fallen down tree and sat down, Ty followed and sat down next to him, "You don't have to carry on, if you don't want to."

Ant sniffled, "No, I want to… I need to talk about it. I can't keep it inside anymore; it is killing me."

"It's ok, in your own time." Ty sympathised.

Ant took a deep breath and carried on, "Well, Paddy was in her room… trying to force himself on her – by the looks of things, anyway. She was screaming and trying to push him off. But, she was only 10, she had no strength. He was a 6 foot 5, sixteen stone rugby player from Ireland and she was a five stone, 4 foot 5 ten-year-old. She didn't stand a chance. I was screaming at him to stop, but he just carried on trying to – you know… So I walked out of the room and grabbed my baseball bat," He sighed and took another shaky breath.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Ty asked, genuinely feeling worried by the way Ant was reacting to the situation.

"I'm fine. Like I said, I need to talk about it. Basically, I got the baseball bat and just started smashing it into his head, my sister was screaming at me to stop and he had lost consciousness at this point. I stopped to help my sister get away and then I just carried on. I was so mad, I couldn't believe this man… well, if you can even call him that, did this to my sister. She was still screaming at me to stop. I don't know how long went by before 7 police officers rammed down the front door and restrain me. He was lying on her floor, covered in blood and I was carted off to the police station for questioning." He cried.

Ty reached out and put his hand on his arm, which made him flinch, "Hey, it's ok. Let me guess what happened next, ok?" He asked, to which Ant nodded, "Ok, I am guessing Paddy made up some cock and bull story – probably about why he was in her room in the first place. Something along the lines that he was saying goodnight and she was confused because she was expecting your mom? Then he told the police that you had never liked him dating your mom, and you were jealous?" He asked, and Ant looked at him, stunned, "The whole family turned on you, your sister ended up going along with his story, because your mom talked her into it by saying she was just upset about her not being there? He managed to get your mom to believe him and think that you had always hated him and basically was looking for any excuse to get at him?"

"Wow… are you some kind of psychic dude? Because that is all spot on! How the hell did you guess that? Everyone just assumes I hated him and beat him up out of jealousy…" Ant sighed.

Ty couldn't believe what this lad was telling him, and how basically it reminded him of his past and really got to him. He didn't say anything, but just looked over at the horses, who were grazing in the field.

"Erm, Ty? Are you ok?" Ant asked, "So do you understand why I was so angry earlier at you thinking you got it? Because let's face it, you really don't know anything about what I've been through."

"Actually Ant, most of what you have described is pretty much my entire childhood, before I was arrested and put on probation," Ty replied.

Ant gasped, he was surprised that Ty hadn't beat the living daylight out of him after what he was mouthing off about his good life. Had he finally found someone, who was willing to talk to him, who actually got what he had been going through?

AN: Sorry it's late, had a hard week. I have officially given up with my nice planned story about half way through this chapter lol! Please bear with me, it may be a week and a bit before the next one comes out :( But, hopefully I can get back onto the writing track next week!