'Till Death Do Us Part.

Chapter Three: Friends

"Miss, are you okay?"

The question hung over me heavily. My head felt like it went through a lovely confrontation with an axe, and I was pretty sure my  tail bone was bruised. I was definitely not okay.

"Can you hear me?"

I slid my eyelids open, trying to focus my straying vision on the guy crouched beside me. 

"What happened to you? How did you fall?" He asked, his dark blue eyes widening in concern. 

"I can't remember," I whispered, which was the truth. The last I remembered was starting the walk to the rescue ranch down the road. I had been mucking stalls for rescue horses since I was sixteen; it wasn't much, but it helped us scrape by.

He ran his fingertips across the searing sore spot at the base of my skull, and biting my tongue was the only way to swallow the pain-filled squeal that lurked in my throat. He quickly withdrew his hand as I grimaced at the burning sensation that radiated down my spine. He studied the back of my head intently, clicking his tongue in thought.

"Well," he started, and I felt the world spin as something warm trickled down my neck.

"You will definitely need some stitches. I better get you back to the house."

He slid his masculine arms under my legs and my shoulders, hoisting me easily from the ground. My vision swam with spinning images of everything around me. I glimpsed a jagged rock with a fresh blood stain on it before I blacked out, but no rabbit hole.

It was just a freaky dream.

---

 Everything seemed to blur together within the next few days. The guy who found me turned out to be Darrell Williams, a seventeen year-old Orthopedic medical student at the University of Lubbock, Texas. He was six feet tall and the prettiest damn hunk of man I had ever seen. He had a natural farmer's tan and cropped black hair, but what really caught me, was his dark sapphire eyes. 

After I had gotten over my fainting spell, he had already fixed me up. I had a few stitches and a mild concussion. Darrell had taken me to his house, across the plains from mine, and patched me up. It was late, and he introduced me to his mother before she went for bed. Her name was Esther Pierson, the adopted mother of Darrell and his ten year-old brother, Jakob. I didn't meet Jakob, Esther had informed Darrell that he was upset and went to bed early for the night, which I felt like doing myself.  

Darrell was quick to offer me a ride home, which I gratefully accepted.  It turned out to be more than a ride home. We sat for hours on the steps of my front porch as we shared about our lives.

His mother died giving birth to Jakob, almost eleven years ago. His father, like mine, had abandoned them when they were young. Esther had been their mother's best friend, and took the children in without a second thought.  They moved to Anton for the extra space, and for Esther -being an Equine Vet- to be close to her new job at the rescue ranch. It seemed perfect. The ranch had a wise, permanent vet, and I had a new friend. 

Darrell visited me often over the week after my glorious fall, he would pull up in my driveway with his    dark blue 2012 Lexus HS, and honk. After a few loud complaints from my hungover mother, I would hurry out and he'd drive me to the ranch. I would do my job, mucking stalls and grooming horses under the watchful eye of Ms. Sherrie, and in the evening, Darrell would drive me home after he returned from his evening studies at the university.

I liked Darrell, he was accepting and could always cheer me up after a fit with my mother. He understood, and he made me feel understood. He was a great friend, and an even better looking man. I knew I could trust him, and I soon felt complete. 

It soon became early September, and that ugly day in mid-July when I had fallen was long forgotten, as was the creepy dream that went with it. Esther encouraged me to study in her field, and train to be a vet as well, something I would love to do. Darrell was doing fabulous in his schooling and something about his exuberant smile everyday made me want to succeed as well.

I still hadn't met the mysterious Jakob Williams, until one day..

[Ohhkay, I know its not the greatest, but I needed a little background to grow on (; Ty so much to my supporters! Comment, Vote, Suggest, and tell your friends! <3  Ily!]