Chapter 24
By: Serena Chibi
Date: April 16, 2012
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Sure, Serena felt kind of bad for snapping at Darien but she was more scared and frustrated than angry. This was pretty much the first time she'd had anything like that happen. It was the first time she had flashes in her mind which kept her from focusing on her surroundings. She wasn't scared that she almost fell off of the horse; she was scared that she almost did it and didn't know it. She wouldn't have been able to catch herself or avoid his hooves if she wasn't aware of what was happening.
Darien backed off once he had heard Serena's tone and got out of the arena. He grabbed up the basket with food in it and pulled out a sandwich. Placing the sandwich on the chair for Serena, he made his way back to the house. Unsure of how to react to her behavior, he had decided it was probably best to just let her come to him. Something was bothering her or something, but he didn't want to press the subject. If she wanted to talk about it, then she would.
Serena takes Austin over a few more jumps, making sure that he is comfortable enough with him riding. She didn't want to leave things on a bad note with him, but instead she ended up leaving things on a bad note with Darien. Tackling the 4-foot jump one last time, Serena decides it is time to cool him out. She then notices that Darien has left a sandwich on the chair and dismounts. Grabbing the sandwich, she mounts back up and walks Austin out as she eats.
After she decides that the horse is cooled out, Serena takes him back into the barn and gets him settled in his stall. She'd come back out in a few hours to feed him again and get him all settled and blanketed for the night. Latching the door to his stall, Serena hurriedly makes her way back to the house. The sun seems to disappear behind dark clouds, and it looks like a storm is rolling in.
"Darien?" Serena walks into the kitchen and looks around. The basket is gone and she doesn't see any leftover garbage on the counter or in the sink. She does a loop around the first floor and doesn't see any trace of him. So, she tiptoes up the stairs and looks around. Looking around the corner into his office, she sees Darien sitting at his desk. He looks up to acknowledge her presence then returns to the papers in front of him. He wasn't going to talk to her until she said something first.
"I'm sorry" She whispers as she walks into the room and stands in front of his desk, unsure whether or not to sit down.
"What was that? I couldn't hear you." He sets his pen down and looks up at her. She tells him sorry once again. "It's alright, just what the hell was that? I mean, I'd like to know what it is that I'm dealing with here. I just want to be prepared, mentally you know, next time you react like that." Darien looks her in the eyes.
"It was just… Memories, is all. Nothing really, like I said. I was just taken by surprise is all, and didn't know how to react. I got scared and frustrated that I nearly fell off because of them, so I snapped at you. I shouldn't have and I am sorry for that." Serena watches Darien's face intently, waiting for a reply of some kind.
"Okay, well I appreciate you telling me. And I really appreciate the apology because that kind of caught me off guard. At least now I know what to expect." Darien answers.
"No, not what to expect. You don't need to expect me to snap every time that I get flashbacks of memories or events. I won't snap every time; I just need a second to recover myself after they happen is all. It's kind of like…When you get hit in the head, you need a second to refocus before you can see or react clearly?" Serena tells him. "Well, I am off to shower. I'll see you in a bit?"
"Yea, I was actually about to shower too. Been working all day, you know?" Darien gestures in the general direction of the barn.
Serena takes a shower and as she gets out, she hears the water kick on in the shower down the hall. Thinking about what to do, she sneaks out of the bathroom, into the bedroom and rummages through her drawers. Grabbing a handful of silk and lace from the top drawer, she hurries back into the attached bathroom. Serena runs a hand over her legs to make sure she didn't leave any stray hairs behind from shaving. Grabbing the blow-dryer she dries her hair as fast as she can and brushes it out neatly. Slipping on the deep magenta, satin bra with black lace trim, Serena looks in the mirror. Looks good, I guess. Then she pulls up the matching panties, and looks in the mirror. You can do this, Serena. You can do this, breathe. Taking a deep breath, she wonders where exactly Darien is. Maybe he's not even in bed yet, maybe he's still getting dressed? No, he got out of the shower like ten minutes ago now. He's probably already dressed by now. Standing up a little straighter, and putting on a brave face, Serena turns the handle leading from the bathroom to the bedroom. She swings the door open slowly and lets out a breath she had been holding.