"Thing Really Do Change"
A week after the surgery, the doctor's finally approved Kris' discharge. "You better be under constant care and never ever be alone," Roxanne ordered Kris. They had become close friends over the period of time Kris was in the hospital. Even though Kris was leaving and Roxanne was very happy for that, Roxanne knew she was going to miss Kris.
"Junior will take good care of me. If he ever shows up," Kris said, easily removing herself from the hospital bed. She couldn't wait to sit and lie in something other than a hospital bed.
"I'm gonna miss you, sweetie," Roxanne said, holding back tears. "But I am so glad you are finally leaving."
"Oh, we will still see each other. You're coming to our wedding. If there's going to be one," Kris said while hugging Roxanne lightly.
"Trust me, that boy loves you so much. He could never live his life without you."
"Yeah, but he was hardly here this week. Am I really that bad looking?" Kris asked.
Roxanne walked to the bed to strip the sheets. "I think he doesn't want to see you get hurt again. He won't be able to bare anymore pain."
"I could get hurt anywhere. Will he hide from me forever?" she asked, as she grew increasingly annoyed with her fiancé.
"No, no. Maybe you need to just talk to him honey," Roxanne suggested to her.
Kris sighed, for she knew her new friend was right. "Yeah, well, if he ever shows up to get me then I will." She sat down in a chair with her duffel bag beside her, her cell phone in her hand, and her eyes plastered on Roxanne.
An hour had gone by and Kris was getting frustrated. "He should have been here two hours ago!" she angrily thought to herself. Instinctively, her fingers dialed Matt's number and hound herself asking him to pick her up.
"Junior stand you up?" Matt asked an outraged Kris as he grabbed Kris' duffel bag and threw it in the bed of his truck.
All Kris could do was roll her eyes as she got into the passenger seat of Matt's truck. "I can't wait to see Wildfire," she changed the subject, grabbing her necklace with the W on it.
Matt glanced over at Kris and smiled. "He's been anxious to see you as well." After a pause of silence, Matt decided to ask, "When you're able to start riding again, are you still going to help me train the dirty dozen?"
Kris looked over at Matt with a confused expression. She never thought that Matt would think she would bail on her. "I would never leave you alone to train them. They would be a wreck."
They both laughed at Kris' insult to Matt and Matt said, "Thanks. You have no idea what that means to me."
"I just wonder when I can ride again."
"Well, I would just take it easy for a while, you know?" Matt suggested. Just then, the truck pulled into Raintree Farms and Kris' face ignited with joy. As soon as Matt parked the truck, Kris jumped out of the passenger seat and was running toward Wildfire's stall.
As she stepped in view of her best friend, Wildfire began neighing and kicking his legs in excitement. She ran over to Wildfire's stall and gave him a large hug around his neck. "You have no idea how much I missed you!" Kris exclaimed. Wildfire nudged his head into her neck as if he were saying he missed her too.
Suddenly Matt appeared and smiled when he saw how happy both his friend and the horse were. "I take it you'll be in here for a while?"
Kris looked up and smiled widely, telling his yes. She was so happy to be back at Raintree with Wildfire. The only think missing was Flame. As she glanced out Wildfire's stall window, she saw Flame racing around the turn on the practice track. He had gotten so much better in Kris' absence and she knew that it was all thanks to Matt.
As Matt turned to walk to the track to evaluate Flame, Kris called out, "How's Nosering? I mean, did I hurt him from the accident?"
Matt turned back around and walked back over to her. "The accident wasn't your fault. His front leg was out of alignment. He only need to rest for a few days, but other than that, he is completely healthy."
Kris sighed with relief as Matt went out to watch Flame run. She had felt so bad for what happened with Nosering, and now she knew he was healthy so she was even happier.
After staying with Wildfire for another twenty minutes, Kris informed him she was going to watch his son run. As she walked out of the barn, she ran into Junior. "Kris?"
Instead of responding to him, she continued to walk. Junior ran after her and grabbed her arm, turning her around. "Kris, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Kris began, infuriated with him. "Let's see, I sat in a hospital for two hours felling like an idiot as I waited for my fiancé to pick me up. But instead I got stood up. Maybe that's what's wrong." As she finished yelling at him, she turned to walk away from him once again.
"OH, that was today?" Junior bellowed.
Kris stopped dead in her tracks, turned around and screamed, "Are you kidding me?! I was in the hospital for three months: close to death. You were there, waiting, praying, and crying almost the same amount of time, just waiting for me to get better. And the day I can go home, YOU FORGET?"
"I'm sorry Kris. This turbine thing has got me totally strapped," Junior tried to explain, just searching for any excuse he could find.
"It didn't seem that important until I started to get better," she observed.
"Well, Kris, I-"
"Save it Junior. Just forget it. I thought you loved me. But I guess things really do change. Even while a girl is in a coma," Kris said while removing her ring from her finger and forcing it back into Junior's hand furiously. She then turned around and ran off toward the racetrack where Matt and Flame were.
"Kris!" Junior called out after her, but he knew she wasn't going to return. What had he done this time?
A/N: So, I'm really in to the whole drama thing and I know some people hate that. But Kris isn't gonna get hurt again (I promise) and there will be a wedding. So, bare with me. Review please!
