Chapter 2
Ammon struggled up the ladder, and when he reached the top, he practically collapsed, head throbbing painfully. He forced himself up and onto his bed of straw, then tugged one of the heavy blankets over himself. Ammon curled up into a ball and slept restlessly.
When the vet arrived, Karen had him do the injections that he was supposed to. As he was packing up, the woman said almost awkwardly, "Hey Steve, do you have experience with human illnesses?" he looked at her curiously.
"My wife's a nurse…I know a little bit. Why?" Karen blushed.
"It's a long story. We have a kid who lives in the loft. I have no clue how he got there, but he's been living there for four years…we just found him around a month ago. He does most of the chores Sabrina and Charlie are paid to do."
"So…what's the point?" Steve asked gently. Karen really was worried if she was rambling.
"He's sick." She blurted. "He thinks it's just a cold, but I don't. He's normally like clockwork, with everything done before Sabrina gets down here at 7:30. When she got down here at 8, he had fed and done water. He was burning up, he said his knees hurt, and he hadn't been hungry in three days. I'm really worried." She watched as the vet pondered the situation.
"Lead the way." Steve said finally. Karen showed him the ladder, which he climbed carefully. The first thing the vet saw was a lanky child curled up in a bed of straw. At first glance, the boy was thin and gangly. When he looked closer, he saw the muscles the boy had acquired. He was tossing fitfully, beads of sweat dripping down his face.
"Ryuu…" Karen said gently. "Ryuu, wake up, buddy." She reached out to shake his shoulder, but as soon as her hand made contact, he woke violently. Eyes hazy, Ammon scrambled backward, away from Karen and Steve. Steve took over.
"Easy, kid, easy." He soothed, pitching his voice soft and low. "You're okay. We're not gonna come any closer, hm? You're okay…just calm down and take a breath." Ammon followed the calm instructions and blushed as he came to himself.
"Sorry…" he said. Steve smiled. His heart went out to this kid, who looked like a colt- long legs, wide eyes, baffled at the world around it…
"Karen says you're not feeling so hot, huh? I'm gonna come take a quick look at you, okay?" he waited for Ammon to nod before moving any closer. Letting Ammon feel like he had at least an ounce of control over the situation would help in the long run. As soon as he touched Ammon's skin, his heart clenched in pain. He was hot and damp, sweat trickling down his forehead and chin in fat beads. The boy's pale green eyes were glazed over.
"Have you had anything to eat today?" he asked absently, timing the kid's pulse. He really wished his wife were here instead of him…she would know exactly what to do. He was guessing right now.
"N-no." the boy said quietly. "I haven't been hungry in a while."
"How long is a while?"
"A couple days or so." Ammon shrugged, like this was normal. Steve frowned, then stood up. Ammon eyed him, then relaxed as the vet set a cool hand on his forehead. Karen vanished to return to work.
"I'm going to call my wife. She'll know what to do better than I will." Steve clambered down the ladder, leaving Ammon alone in the loft. Ammon wrapped the heavy blanket tighter around himself, shivering and sweating. Steve's head popped through the trapdoor a minute later. "She'll be here in fifteen minutes, okay?" he said, perching on the edge of the hole. His legs dangled down, and they swung like a small child's on a swing. They waited the fifteen minutes in comfortable silence.
When the car pulled down the drive, Steve met his wife at the door. She said very little except, "Where is he?" the vet led the way into the loft, and Becka took a seat in front of Ammon. Her eyes softened.
"Hey buddy." She said softly. The teen watched her silently with narrowed eyes, quivering under what appeared to be a horse blanket. Becka frowned. "What's your name?"
"Ammon." The boy said coldly. "Don't talk to me like I'm five, either. I really don't appreciate it. I'm sick, not mentally challenged." Becka shrugged off the harsh speech. In her experience, it was good when children had attitude. It meant they weren't seriously sick.
"Alright. Now, where are you not feeling well? I've heard what people say you told them, but I would like to hear it first-hand, if you please." Ammon's respect went up a few notches at this. Most people would spout off what someone else had told them.
"I haven't been hungry in a few days, I'm freezing cold and burning hot at the same time, my knees won't stop killing me, and I'm tired." The teen said bluntly. The nurse beckoned to him, and he scooted closer warily.
"I'm going to take your pulse, which involves me putting fingers on your wrist and throat." Becka informed him. He nodded. "Depending on that, I'm going to listen to your breathing with my stethoscope, and we'll see where it goes from there. Alright?"
"S'pose so." Ammon said reluctantly. He swiped at the sweat dripping down his cheek self-consciously.
"Don't worry about it. I've been covered in everything from sweat to blood to urine. Sweat is nothing by now, and I've pretty much stopped caring." Becka informed Ammon tartly before placing two fingers on his pulse points. He flinched away, then held still. Her fingers sat there a minute before being removed. "Your pulse is okay, a little high, but that's probably because you're nervous. Now, I plan on sticking something on your chest. It will probably be very cold. Feel free to express that, as long as you hold still." She quite promptly stuck a very cold object up his shirt and on his chest. Ammon yelped, goosebumps racing up and down his body.
"Holy snit!" he squeaked, shivering. "Why on earth would you do this to someone?" Becka grinned and pulled it away.
"Because that reaction never gets old." She said. "I used to breathe on it to warm it up, but that doesn't work very well, to be honest. So, you'll just have to suck it up when I come back tomorrow to check on you again. Assuming you don't go to a hospital, I can't determine exactly what is wrong. I can, however, inform you that you are not allowed to leave the loft until you feel one hundred percent back to normal. I'll bring some old quilts and some aspirin I have at home, and we'll build you a nest. Better than straw, I would guess. Sound good?"
"Yeah…there's one thing. How do I pay for this?" Becka's eyes narrowed.
"Whoever told you that kids should pay for their own healthcare deserve to be whacked upside the head, numerous times." She informed him bluntly. Ammon's lips tightened. "I will accept no more than thirty dollars from you until you require prescription medication, then we'll talk about price. I won't take money from a kid who has no stable income or home. Got it?" Ammon nodded. Becka tugged the blanket tighter around him. "Good. Now sleep." Before Ammon could protest, Becka had pressed him down into the bed of straw and was running a hand through his hair soothingly. The teen slid into sleep without resistance.
When he woke later, he was shivering, even under two heavy woollen blankets. He curled up tighter and dozed off again, only to wake when gentle hands shook him. Ammon bolted upright, just like he had done to Steve and Karen. He scrambled backwards, into a corner. Becka watched him quietly, eyes assessing his trembling form. Ammon blushed.
"Easy, Ammon. It's Becka." She said slowly. "I woke you, and you panicked." Becka continued in a casual voice. "I have a couple blankets, and some food. It's warm. You're freezing, I bet." Ammon relaxed slowly, then looked almost longingly at the quilts she held in her arms. "C'mere, though. Come sit with me for a bit, then I'll give them to you. You're like a whip-shy horse." Ammon eyed her warily, then shifted closer to Becka. The nurse sat quite still, waiting very patiently for the teen to come to her.
When he settled stiffly next to her, Becka wrapped an arm slowly around his shoulder. Ammon tensed then relaxed, leaning into her timidly. She tugged him closer, then wrapped another quilt around them both. Ammon leaned his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of clean laundry soap and a gentle, sweet perfume. Becka ran nimble fingers through his sweat-damp hair, smiling slightly. Working with kids was definitely rewarding, especially with kids like Ammon. Granted, there weren't many like him, but it made it worth it.
Ammon coughed. Becka rubbed soothing circles on his back as the teen shook. When the teen quieted, Becka offered him a thermos. He unscrewed it, the scent of hot cocoa wafting into his nose. He sipped it warily.
"What's the date?" he said, after a minute. Becka's eyebrows furrowed.
"It's the…sixteenth…of December." She said slowly. "Yeah. Because I saw you on the fourteenth, then again today. Karen said you slept straight through the fifteenth." Ammon blushed, taking another sip of the warm cocoa. He suddenly sat straight up.
"Wait. I slept through the fifteenth." Becka nodded. "But, but, the horses!"
"Charlie and Sabrina were happy when they came down and had stalls to clean, Ryuu." A voice said sternly. Karen's head popped through the trapdoor. "They said they would have tied you to the couch if you had been mucking stalls." Ammon sighed. Becka pressed a hand to his forehead. Karen vanished, and the clopping of hooves was heard below them.
"You're hardly warm anymore. Do you feel better?" she asked, smiling. Ammon nodded. "Good. Now, I have food for you. I had to reheat it in the microwave when I got here, so I hope it's still warm." She handed him a covered bowl. He un-covered it to reveal a steaming bowl of chili, complete with shredded cheese, sour cream, and several warm pieces of garlic bread. Shedding the blanket, Ammon scrambled over to the small pile of clothing and supplies, pulling out a bent spoon. He scampered back to Becka, joyfully burrowing under the blanket to dig into the warm meal she had given him.
"It's so good…" he practically moaned three minutes later, grinning. Becka laughed at his face. "Why are you so good at cooking?" he scraped the bowl clean with his garlic bread.
"Because I have a child who complains if the food isn't up to standards." Becka deadpanned. Ammon hummed his understanding, then looked sideways at the nurse.
"So shouldn't you be home taking care of her, then?" Becka rolled her eyes.
"Ryuu, my child is now seventeen years old, practically lives here, and does not require 'motherly assistance'." She quoted. "You might know her- Jessica? She rides Apache." Ammon nodded. "Well, she has a lesson at four, so I should probably go before she freaks out that her old woman is spending time at the barn." She took the bowl from Ammon and wrapped him firmly in the other blankets. "Stay here until you feel completely back to normal. Completely, Ammon. Okay?" Ammon rolled his eyes but nodded nonetheless. A fight was the last thing he wanted to get into now, with a warm meal in his belly and cosy blankets around just about every part of him. He struggled back to his pile of straw and fell asleep.
Four days later, Sabrina found him whistling a tune between his teeth as he scrubbed shampoo into his hair. She could only watch as he bent over backward and immersed his hair in a bucket of steaming water, then squeezed the excess out. It was way too cold to shower like he wanted to…
"Oi, Ryuu." He turned to look at her, tugging the bottom of his shirt down.
"Yeah, Sibby?" she scowled at the nickname he had given her.
"What do you want for Christmas?" he blinked owlishly. "You know, the holiday of gift-giving, all that rot? What do you want? If you don't tell me, I'm getting you the most expensive thing I can think of, which is a house right now. So, you want a house?" he choked.
"N-No! Don't even think about buying me a house, you idiot! No, I just need practical stuff. Like clothing, a new towel, stuff like that." He rubbed the ratty towel over his hair, shivering. Wet hair made him cold. As Sabrina watched, he dumped the bucket of warm water down the drain, then rinsed the bucket and hung up the hose.
"You're not very helpful. Did you know that?" Sabrina said grumpily as he clambered up his ladder. He shot her a scathing look.
"Forgive me if I don't immediately think of all the little toys everyone else seems to own. Right now, staying warm, clean, helpful, and well fed are my main priorities. Everything else kind of pales in comparison." The trapdoor thumped into place. Sabrina made a face at the trapdoor, then stalked off to go feed grain.
In the attic, Ammon wrapped himself in one of Becka's quilts, scowling. Why would Sabrina think he would start asking for little baubles? All he really wanted right now, to be honest, was a mother. He wanted someone to hug just for the joy of it. He wanted to feel warm and loved when he woke up in the morning, not like he had to do something to feel loved. Ammon sniffled quietly, covering himself with another heavy blanket and dozing off. Charlie could feed hay and sweep today. He deserved a pity party once in a while.
Little did he know, he had been ranting out loud. Karen heard the gist of it and started plotting. Three days later, Karen stared at her calendar. In big letters, 23 December stared her in the face. She fingered the large wad of money in her jacket pocket, gathered from almost every rider and parent at the barn. They were all very willing to help her charity case, especially with the Christmas spirits high. The woman bid her workers a cheerful goodbye, warning them to drive safely and go home soon. Ten minutes later, she pulled into the mall parking lot, along with half the population of the world, it seemed. Gritting her teeth, Karen strode into the mall, slipping into the first clothing shop she saw.
"Excuse me?" she asked an assistant politely. The girl turned to her, clearly frazzled. "I'm looking to buy clothing for a friend of mine, perhaps you'd be able to help?" the worker flashed her a thankful smile, skilfully separating herself from a squalling child and mother. They strode up and down the aisles, finding cheap, sturdy clothing, towels, and accessories.
"So…a nephew?" the girl inquired. Karen smiled.
"Not exactly. It's complicated, but the gist of it is that I have a boy living in my barn, and he needs new everything. We just discovered he's been living there for almost five years, and doing the chores for us. We thought it was majorly haunted." The girl laughed and pressed a coupon book into her hands.
"That should give you around a forty percent discount. Make sure you get him new boots, too. It's freezing outside." Karen thanked the girl and pushed her cart to the checkout line. Barely seconds before the shop was to close, the woman tossed the bags in the back of her car and slid in the front driver's seat. Leaning back heavily on the headrest, she missed the man walking up to her car. He rapped on her window with his knuckles, making her jump and roll it down hurriedly.
"Are you alright, miss?" the police officer inquired kindly, taking in her frazzled and exhausted appearance. She let out a long breath, giving him a wobbly smile.
"Yes, yes." She said breathlessly. The officer smiled reassuringly.
"Drive safe, miss. Happy holidays." He strode away.
"Happy holidays, officer!" she called after him, starting up her car and backing out of her parking space. When she returned to the barn, Karen left the gift-wrapped presents in her car to sneak inside. Ammon was in the indoor when she slipped inside, balancing on a vertical jump. Her breath caught in her throat as the teen performed a backflip, landing solidly on the cross-pole. Even as she watched, Ammon performed three handsprings, feet smacking solidly onto the bar. Each time he landed on the beam, Karen flinched. The teen executed a flawless front aerial then flipped off the bar, landing easily in the arena sand. Karen forced herself away, back to the front door. She slammed it loudly, then called, "Ryuu? You here?"
"Where else would I be?" he remarked dryly, dusting off his bare feet. She gave him a wide smile. "What is that smile for? I haven't done anything!" he cried.
"How do I know that? You could have booby-trapped the lounge, for all I know. You could've, I don't know, taken Badge for a joyride, been jumping off oxers, making the arena into an ice rink…there are a lot of possibilities." She noted Ammon barely even blushed at the accusations. He rolled his eyes.
"No, I've been good. I was cleaning off the ledges around the walls. You did tell Sibby and Charlie not to come tomorrow, right?" Karen nodded.
"They said they were glad they didn't have to come in so early, that they could sleep in for once." She lied through her teeth. Ammon didn't appear to notice, but nodded.
"Good. People should sleep in on holidays." He said, nodding almost decisively.
"That means you should, too." Karen informed him. Ammon blinked. "However, you should go to bed. It's late, almost ten." He agreed and bid her goodnight, slipping up into his loft. Karen then stole to the front door again, propping it open. She ferried the gifts inside, stacking them in a neat pile in the lounge. Quickly Karen strung up tinsel, lights, and a wreath around the walls, putting them high enough so the horses wouldn't spook. Clicking off the light, she slipped out of the barn silently.