Trustfall || Sanders Sides Equestrian AU

Chapter 28 - Sick to the Stomach

Roman might have been too high on the adrenaline left in him from the confrontation with Veronica, because he could barely focus on a word that floated around him. All he knew was that Logan's parents were suddenly here, and no one looked happy about it.

Oh, right. He ditched his round.

Logan ditched his round.

His teammate didn't say a word as his father declared his disappointment. Despite Logan's impressive height, it looked as if his father was towering above him. His eyes were downcast and cold.

"We'll discuss this at home. Come on, Logan. We're leaving."

"Wait-" Roman regretted the word as soon as he let it out. The eye contact suddenly created with the man was terrifying – how did Logan manage to share a house with him? "Uh-... Sir. We thought Logan would be staying with us. We're leaving tomorrow with the horses."

The man's eyes hardened. "The last thing Logan needs right now is your... influence," he uttered.

Roman's ego gave a shocked, offended gasp, but he said nothing. Patton's eyes were huge as they watched him leave behind the man and the woman, and Virgil's arms were crossed tight in discomfort. Laura's gaze was a mixture of irritation and sadness.

"... We'll see you at the stables, kid," she said quietly.

Patton's mother didn't even wait for the tense energy to die down. "Laura, dear, may we speak with you?"

Laura sneaked a glance towards Patton before she nodded and left with them. If Patton suspected a thing, he didn't show – instead he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I'm... gonna go brush Puzzle. He has a saddle sweat."

And so, Roman and Virgil were alone.

Shit.

Now that the noise quieted down, Roman had time to think back to their previous interaction. The one that left something in his chest dancing through the cloud of confusion as if despite having no clue what the heck it was, it was so happy about it. And a bit disappointed there wasn't anything more.

No, he had to stop thinking about it like that. It was an unfair thing to do to their friendship.

"Good show today," he said instead of the thousand words screaming through his mind.

Virgil didn't meet his eyes. "You too."

"Um... wanna go grab something to eat? I'm starving."

"Laura's taking us out for pizza tonight, there's no need." He cleared his throat. "I need to go check on Everest. I'll see you later?"

"Um- sure! See you-"

Virgil turned the other way and sped towards the stable, leaving Roman stuck between one racing thought and the other.

"... later."

Great job, dumbass, his brain scolded him as he stared at his friend's shrinking figure. You've ruined it.

- - - - - - - -

The drive home was, figuratively speaking, the longest one Logan had in his life. He barely got a glance of Nexus peering out of her stall in the stable and staring at him, before his dad started the car and sped out of the parking lot.

For the first ten minutes on the road, no one uttered a word. Logan stared out the window, almost wishing he could be literally anyone else in any of the cars around them, until he remembered that he was better and more privileged than most if not all of them, and let go of the strange idea.