Changing Ways

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

The moment Ethan steps out of his fancy blue truck, I immediately frown, crossing my arms around my body protectively...or as much as my broken shoulder will allow anyway. There he is...same blonde hair and brown eyes. The only reason I remember his eye colour is because they were always in my face, whenever he was giving me a down grading, moral lowering lecture or whatnot. Knowing he still hasn't seen me, I slip into the stable, to finish readying the stall for his horse. My heart thumps in overdrive as I lay down the last touches to the wood chips. Not in the romantic way. In the scared way.

You know when you're about to ride into the ring for the first time ever, or you're about to face a team while playing basketball who are much bigger than you, and use their weight t get in your way? Have you ever lain awake in bed, so scared you couldn't sleep. When even the thought of whatever it was scaring you made it feel like you were having a mini heart attack? When it comes to Ethan, it's kind of like that.

Only a few seconds now separate me from the human being who tried to ruin my. And basically succeeded. In just a few seconds, he will walk down the aisle of my stable, and place his horse in one of the stalls. He'll be on my property every week for four days...the thought terrifies me.

All to soon, I hear his distinctive whistling. I can hear his boots pound down the cement, the horse following obediently behind. He's so close now...I scrunch my eyes tightly closed, my back to the aisle just as he reached the door.

"Hi, um...is this by any chance my stall?" I can almost feel the uncertainty in his voice. He sounds nervous...I like that, "my Dad is down at the house finishing up all the liability stuff, and I was directed up here."

"Yeah," I say so quietly I can barely hear myself.

"Pardon me?" Wow. Who would expect Ethan Rays to be even mildly polite?

I talk a little bit louder, but my voice still cracks. "Yeah this is your stall," I step over to the side, still keeping my back turned, so that he can walk in. Maybe I can just slip by without him seeing my face...I decided there's no point. He's going to find our who I am anyway and that I live here in a matter of time.

"Well, um...thanks," I hear him say, while I feel a nudge on my back, "excuse Dragon. He's rather nosy, and it's become a pretty bad habit over the years. He can be a bit of a bully to other horses, he's better with people, but he had a rough past, so he's a bit un trustworthy."

I raise an eyebrow, leaning against the pitchfork. "A bit of a bully, eh? Sounds like you. The two of you guys must make a good pair."

"Excuse me?" He scoffs.

Pulling my hood off my head, and tucking the start ends of my hair behind my ear, and lean the for, against the wall and turn around. "Hey Ethan."

His mouth gapes into a little O, and a shock of recognition rushes across his face. "Robin?"

"Wow...you actually know my name," I act as if it's a compliment, "I'm surprised. Seeing as everything you called me last year sounded nothing like it."

He looks embarrassed, and immediately looks at the roan gelding's shoulder. "I-"

My mouth turns down, and I squint my eyes at him. "Save it Ethan. I don't care about your opinions anymore. Because guess what? They don't hurt me anymore! So you can ride here, spend time at my house in my stable, call me what you want, but don't expect to get a rise out of me like it did last year. I changed Ethan."

He runs his tongue against his bottom lip. "How do you know I haven't changed either?"

"How do I know you haven't changed?!" I explode, thrusting up my arms quickly, accidentally spooking Dragon, "you happen to be the guy who bullied me non stop last year. Every day was full of unexplainable pain...all those days I was sick? Yeah, that's because I was too damn scared to place even a foot into the school. You hurt me Ethan. So don't think that you can just walk into my place and expect me to just forgive you."