/.Chapter Three.\\
Alright, well I suppose you want me to tell you about my life story and all that good stuff, well, I'm going to be bluntly honest with you; there isn't any tragic love story where the guy ends up going out with me, or happy endings to some tragic accident or anything like that. I'm fifteen, give me a break. I mean, considering what I've been through already, that should be interesting enough for you, not saying that I have the worst possible problems or anything like that. But still, losing your brother and your mom winding up in Outpatient, and your Dad still not talking to you, that has to count for something. I knew things could be worse though, so I tried my best to make light of the situation, and it had worked for nearly a year, so I was sticking with it. Some people think I could do better though, so that's why I was being sent six-hundred miles away from my house, my town, everything I'd known, and I wasn't traveling first-class either.
Yep, that's as good as it gets.
Oh, I was used to traveling, my Dad took Cody and I all over New England for Motocross races, it's just that we'd traveled by car...and there had been ample leg room...and there weren't any whining kids or crying babies. Okay, so I've never been on a plane before, to get even more to the point, I've never traveled by myself before. So, I was just a tiny bit nervous. It doesn't take that much for me to get nervous or worry, and when I do, I can't get my mind off of it, no matter how I try to keep myself busy, I was a bit of a spaz I guess you could say. Not that the plane hit any turbulence, or there was a storm or anything like that, no, the ride was perfectly safe. The noise was just beginning to get to me, which I can usually block out people's voices pretty easily, so I turned on my iPod and looked out the window at the blue sky and the clouds. They were really pretty, the clouds, I mean, they look a lot different when you're in a plane, looking at them next to you, instead of looking up at them. They seemed to have more mass, and were a lot bigger, of course.
I was still pretty mad about having to move, my Dad hadn't said much when he was driving me to the airport, he never said much about anything anymore. I even tried to prompt conversations out of him, asking him how work was, how his friends were, but he'd only reply with 'alright' or 'They're fine', and that was all. I hated the silences with him too, there would just be this awkward silence until one of us left the room, and it didn't even seem to bother him, it seemed like he could just be quiet forever. So I'd stay in the room with him as long as I could, waiting for him to say something, and then when I couldn't stand the cold silence anymore, I'd simply leave the room. So when he dropped me off I simply said bye and with some relief, even though I hated myself for it, I left the car and went into the airport.
I didn't really blame him for not wanting to talk to me, I wouldn't talk to me either after what happened, but it would still be better if we could talk about what happened. Dad hadn't said a word about the accident, not even at the funeral.
My Mom had been more open though, she had told me dozens of times it wasn't my fault, but I could remember when I was in the hospital that she had been crying, and not just once, nearly every night; crying over her dead son, all because of my foolish wants. She had started drinking not too long afterwards, she didn't drink when I was around, only when I wasn't in the house or when she thought I was asleep, but I had found many empty whiskey bottles in the recycables. She had made a bad choice and decided to go driving when she was drunk, and she ahd gotten into an accident, totalling the car, thankfully she hadn't been badly injured, but she was put in Outpatient quicker than you could count to three. After that my Dad had filed for divorce, he and my Mom hadn't been on good terms ever since the accident. All of this had happened from one event, from one single death, all of this had been messed up; a family had been torn apart, and it was my fault.
My Mom had gotten me into horseback riding, she said it was 'in my blood', since her parents had owned a stable in Canada, and my grandmother was an Equine veterinarian as well. The first time I had ridden a horse was when I was four years old, it had been a County Fair, and there were pony rides, so my Mom had taken me on them, I rode a small chestnut pony. After that my Mom had said,' I was hooked on horses', my walls had become plastered with horse posters, model horses and horse books donned my shelves, and if I was going to watcha movie, it was preferably about horses. So, when I was six, she took me to a farm her friend owned, and gave me lessons on a small, spunky pony named Domino. I had been your average horse-crazy kid. My Mom had always supported my horseback riding, teaching me what she could about riding. My dad though, had never really held an interest in the 'horse bussiness' even though my Mom said that he used to ride.
It wasn't like I was being shipped off to some place I knew nothing about, my Mom had told me quite a few times about Heartland, she used to work there. She told me about all the good times he had had there with amy and Ty, but I barely remembered it, only ehr bubbling happiness of recalling those fond memories. She had even begun to teach me about the remedies they used on horses, but I began to start dirt-biking, and soon the horse posters and books dissapeared. My Mom must have been a little dissapointed, but she had hidden it easily, supporting me with Motocross as well.
Still though, I just wanted to go home, I didn't want to go on some life-changing adventure and show my true 'feelings', like Christina had said. I had already promised myself I wasn't going to like Heartland, nope, not one bit.
Suddenly, a voice came on the speaker, cracking horribly,"Please buckle your seat belts, we'll be landing in ten minutes."
I turned off my iPod and put it in my pocket, sighing a little as I buckled my seatbelt. I felt like asking the Flight Attendant if there was any chance we could turn around, but she'd probably only give me some weird look. No one understands cassual sarcasm these days.
I sighed slightly as I grabbed my backpack and my duffel bag and began the long, glum walk down the hall. People kept bumping into me, and my duffel bag wasn't necesarily light, either, I nearly tripped a few times, but soon the hall opened up. I paused and looked around, looking for Ty and Amy, my Dad had told me that they'd meet me near the sitting area, which was on my left. I took a few tentative steps and scrutinized the area, then I met the bright-green gaze of a man in his late twenties, he had short black hair and was rather tan, despite the cool weather, which meant that he must have spent a lot of time outdoors, he wore a brown leather jacket and a sweater under it, with a pair of faded jeans, worn at the knees and a pair of muddy boots. He was lean and tall, his face and jaw were nicely defined.
He watched me and his eyebrows furrowed slightly,"Jess?"
"That's me,"I said, walking over to him,"..You must be Ty."
Ty gave me a warm smile and nodded, offering his hand for me to shake,"It's nice to meet you, how was your flight?"
I adjusted my bag slightly to shake his hand, it felt kind of odd, being so formal with someone that I'd be living with,"Eh, can't complain, it's nice to meet you too."
"Here, let me take that,"Ty said gently, reffering to the duffel bag, and before I could reply, he had taken it and was holding it easily, even though it must have been ten pounds. That was so muchh like a guy, to act all macho and carry your bags even though you were capable. That warm smile stayed on his tan face, and I returned it with a slight smile of my own, it was one of those smiles you had to return.
"I'm sorry Amy isn't here, she had to help Byron out at the barn,"Ty expalined, then he took a couple of steps towards the exit,"Shall we head off?"
"Uh,sure,"I replied, walking with him.
"So, how's your mom doing?"Ty asked, his voice was light, cassual, but I could feel his gaze on me, wodnerinf if this was a subject he shouldn;t bring up,
"The least time I spoke to her she was doing fine."I replied lightly, trying to keep my tone from sounding cool, I didn't really want to talk about Joni, or my Dad, for that matter. I quickly changed the subject,"So..you,er, help horses?"
Ty glanced at me but then nodded,"Oh, yeah, Heartland takes in horses that have been abused, or have lost thier trust, and we help solve thier problems or rehome them, depending on the siuation..."
He continued to tell me about Heartland, but to be honest I wasn't really listening -yes, I know, I know, it was rude. I was tired though, I hadn't slept well the night before, and the flight hadn't helped, so you'd have a better chance of pigs flying than me focusing on anything right then. Soon we were walking through the parking lot, it was a cool November day, filled with sunshine and cold breezes, the sky was a perfect blue, with fluffly white clouds dotting it.
Ty unlocked the door to his car, a green Land Rover, we put the bags in hte back, then he opened the passenger door for me, I thanked him and got in, closing the door. Ty got in as well and started the engine, then pulled out of the parking spot, and turned onto the highway.
"So, do you have any experience with horses?"He asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
I thought for a few moments before answering his question," Well, I used to ride, and I know how to groom and tack up, but I haven't been around horses in a while."
"Don't worry about it,"Ty told me," Amy and I will show you around the barn later if you're up for it, and tomorrow we'll show you how to do some of the barn chores."
Oooh, fun.
I fell asleep sometime after that, like I mentioned before, I was pretty beat. My dreams were blurred though, about horses and dirt-biking, and when I woke up I didn't feel the least bit rested. My attention was quickly averted however, as Ty turned onto a long dirt driveway, lined with pasture fences. Up ahead I could see a white farm house, along with two white and green barns which ahd hanging flower-baskets. I could see some horses grazing in thier pastures peacefully. It was a picturesque scene, with the bright blue sky and the trees donning thier Autumn leaves, rich with red, orange and gold. Ty parked the car near the house and got out, I did as well, then he popped the trunk and he grabbed one of my bags, whilst I grabbed the other.
I couldn't help but smile a little as I looked around the stable yard, trying to see everything all at once, I listened as one of the horses whinnied from the pastures. I know I had already convinced myself that I wasn't going to like the place, no matter how nice it was, but I could already feel my opinion beginning to change.
A woman with long dark hair and soft features walked out of the barn, her brown gaze fell on me and Ty, and she smiled, walking over to us. It must have been Amy, she stopped near us and offered me her hand to shake, which I did.
"It's great to see you, Jess, we've heard a lot about you,"She said kindly.
"Erm..thanks,"I said, not sure of how to reply,"It's nice to meet you Amy, and I want to thank you, both of you, for letting me stay here."
"Your welcome,"Amy smiled, then turned slightly as a guy walked out of the barn, leading a Clydesdale gelding, he looked at us and paused,"I'll just put AJ in his pasture and join you inside."He said. He looked to be around sixteen or seventeen, like Ty, he had jet black hair, but it fell to the middle of his neck, his skin was tan as well, and he had soft brown eyes.
"Alright, do you need any help?"Ty asked.
The boy shook his head, his black hair hitting his cheek bones,"Nah, all the horses have been put out already, I'll be there in a minute." Then he continued on his way, AJ walking with him calmly.
Amy placed a gentle hand on my shoulder,"Well then, let's get some coffee going and get to know each other." Then before I knew it, she had steered me inside.
The kitchen was small, but cozy, the walls were an off-white, and the flooring was wooden, the four of us were gathered at the kitchen table, I was sitting between Byron and Amy, my gaze lowered at my coffee as I stirred it listlessly. I could feel everyone's gazes on me, like I was some alien that had just landed and they were trying to communicate with me. I took a deep drink of my coffee, feeling the comforting warmth as it ran down my throat. I loved coffee, even though it was bad for me and was probably stunting my growth.
"So, tell us a bit about yourself, Jess,"Amy prompted, watching me as she sipped from her mug.
I shrugged my shoulders a little, saying a little nervously,"There's nothing really to tell, I was in a dirt-biking accident almost a year ago with my brother, and now, well...here I am."
Ty offered me a gentle smile.
I tried to keep the silence from settling adding,"You have a really, really nice stable."
"Thanks,"Amy replied," Your mom was a big part of Heartland, she helped a lot of horses. I don't know what we would have done without her help."
Ty seemed to be recalling some memories and nodded in agreement.
Byron was next to ask,"Have you ridden before?"
I nodded,"My Mom took me to her friend's farm and gave me lessons, so I have some experience. She even told me about some of the remedies you use, Star of Bethlehem and..."I strained my thoughts, trying to remember,".. Lavender Oil?"
Amy nodded,"Yes, Star of Bethlehem for shock and we massage horses with Lavender Oil to calm them."
Hmm, these horses really got the care they needed, I was a bit interested in the herbal remedies, so I prompted amy,"What other remedies do you use?"
This launched the table into a conversation about the techniques that Heartland used, and -yes, I know I was supposed to hate the place, but it was actually pretty interesting. It was nice to just sit and talk as well, they all seemed like really nice people. I couldn't remember the last time I'd actually had a full conversation with someone.
I had soon finished my coffee, and I was listening intently as Amy told em about some of the horses at Heartland, then she stopped, laughing a little bit to herself.
"-Wait, why am I sitting here talking about them when you could go and meet them?"She smiled a little,"Do you want me to show you around the barn?"
I could feel everyone's gaze on me once again, and I felt like dissapearing into the chair,"Erm.."I started tentatively,"That's a tempting offer, but I'm pretty tired. Would you mind if I went up and rested?"
Amy seemed a little dissapointed, but then shook her head,"No problem at all, I'll get you tomorrow morning and we can go see the horses then."
"Thanks," I smiled shyly, then got up, putting my mug in the sink, Amy did the same, then I picked up my bags and headed up the stairs, getting out of the room as quickly as possible, Amy following me closesly behind.
My room was the last one on the left, Amy opened the door and I walked in, placing my bags on the bed. The room had wood flooring, like the rest of the house, but the walls were a pale blue. On the far side of the room, resting against the wall was a twin bed with a dark wooden headboard, there was also a large dresser, the same rich wooden color, and on it rested a large mirror. The room was a nice size, not too big but not too small, I walked over to one of the windows and looked outside, I could just see the barns and one of the pastures, Ty and Byron were walking together in the stable yard, then dissapeared into the barn's wide open doors.
I smiled again, content with my room, then turned to face Amy.
"Do you want any help unpacking?"Amy asked helpfully.
"No thanks, you've been enough of a help, I think I can handle it on my own," I told her gently, I didn't want to sound like I didn't want her around or anything, but I just needed some time alone to go over my thoughts, it had been an eventful day.
Amy seemed to understand,"Alright, if you need anything I'll be back inside soon." Then with a warm smile she left the room.
I watched her go and sat on the bed for a few moments, beginning to unpack my clothes and put them in the dresser silently, going over what had happened today. I sighed a little and ran my hand along my face, finding myself looking out the window that overlooked the stable yard again. I was beginning to understand why my Mom had bubbled over Heartland so much, but would Heartland really help me face what had happened?"
