The Stable Boy

15

I was sat in my little office working on digitalising the remaining files of Henrys finances, nursing a cup of coffee as raised voices pulled me from my work. I had never heard arguments of any kind before, other than the guys shouting to each other while bantering about, so I was naturally intrigued, my feet already following the sound before I had chance to second guess the decision. I stepped out to find Tommy stood, arms crossed across his chest, a frown set deep in his face, which softened slightly as he turned to look at me as I came up next to his side, still cradling my coffee. "I still don't see why you are here" Tommy snapped, the frown returning, a sharp bitterness to his tone I had never heard before. The mug slipped from my hands as I locked eyes with the man that he was directing his anger towards, my world spinning as I tried to process what was happening. I couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't do anything but stare into the eyes of the man that destroyed my life.

"Anna" he smirked at me "still as clumsy as ever I see" Craig taunted as the contents of my mug emptied onto the floor, the ceramic smashing into pieces; I couldn't help but think that's probably what my heart looked like right now too. Tommy looked down at me, confusion and concern etched into his eyes as he wrapped a protective arm around me, pulling me to him. Craigs smirk grew wider as he looked between us. "Always after the top man I see" he laughed, looking at me before turning to Tommy "watch her man, she'll be making up all sorts of shit if you're not careful". Shame flooded through me as the confusion flashed across Tommy's face again, his grip around me tightening as a low growl rumbled through him. Tension bristled in the air as the two men stared each other down.

"I don't care for your bullshit Craig, leave my girl out of this" he spat out, the bitterness returning, and I couldn't stop my stupid heart from missing a beat at his words; my girl. I leaned into him, trying to keep the smile from my face. "Why are you here?" His eyes drove daggers toward Craig, who seemed undeterred by his hostility, but something foreign flashed across his face that I hadn't seen before, jealously maybe? But it was gone as quickly as it was there, giving me no time to suss him out, before his shield came back down, the cockiness radiating from him again.

"Just came to congratulate you guys on your win last night, that's all" Craig laughed with a shrug and Tommy scoffed, shaking his head.

"As if. You've always been the sorest loser there is. Now get off my yard". The two glared at each other for what felt like forever before Craig finally gave in, turning to leave, but not before sweeping his eyes across the stables, then locking them with mine again, that arrogant smirk sat on his face as he shot me a wink. It made my blood run cold, making me feel physically ill. My knees gave in as his car skidded out of the drive, dust billowing from his tires as he sped away. Tommy caught my weight as my body gave up, the tears stinging the corners of my eyes as he pulled me into him, holding me tight against him. "It's alright, I got you" He murmured into my hair, carefully guiding me back into the office. I thought I'd never have to see him again; I wasn't mentally strong enough to deal with the emotions and memories he stirred up. He sat me down in my chair, brushing a soft kiss to the top of my head before turning and grabbing the other, spinning it to sit down in front of me, concern still deep in his eyes. "I know you don't want to talk about it and you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to or aren't ready to, but I just want to ask a few things" He murmured, picking up my hand and running his thumb over my knuckles. I took a shaky breath before nodding, my eyes fixed to our hands. "How do you know him?" He started, clearly trying to start as simple as possible.

"I moved here from Greenfields, Piglet and I had been there for six years" I told him, trying to keep the memories from flooding my mind. "I was...uh... involved with him briefly" I confessed, guessing you could call it that. I'd been crushing on him for years, and he finally took notice of me, taking me out a couple of times. We'd only shared a few kisses, but I stupidly went home with him one evening after he had been drinking. I knew it felt wrong, but I really wanted him to like me, so I'd ignored all the red flags; I guess I only had myself to blame for allowing myself to get into such a situation in the first place.

Tommys jaw ticked, anger flashing through his eyes momentarily, before he let out a breath, his thumb still tracing soft circles on my hand. "Was it him that hurt you?" His voice came out quiet, like he was trying to strain the emotion from it. "I heard you calling out to someone when you had that nightmare last night. Was it him?" I stayed quiet for a moment, squeezing my eyes shut as the hot sting of tears returned, trying to steady my breathing before I replied. "I'll fucking kill him if he hurt you Anna" the growl in his tone was unmissable, and I believed him. I knew Tommy wasn't a violent man; I'd seen the gentleness he displayed with the horses, but I didn't doubt that statement would be a promise if I told him the truth.

I gently shook my head, still staring at the floor in front of me. "I don't really want to talk about it" I whispered, wiping my face with my other hand. "How do you know him? I guess there is history there with how bitter you both are towards each other" I asked, finally looking up to meet his gaze. He smiled softly, reaching his hand up to place it against my cheek, the pad of his thumb brushing gently beneath my eye to wipe the stray tear away.

"We were friends in the first year of college" He laughed, shaking his head at the thought. "I got the big placement spot at a big stud yard that he had wanted, got the attention of the girl he was crushing on – not that I was interested – and got higher grades than him. I went from being his good friend, to his most hated enemy in one semester. He blamed all his shortfalls on me, but never looked at the fact he was angry and impatient with the horses." He recalled the fights they had, how Craig had turned him into a sworn enemy when Tommy really wanted to help him. "Icing on the cake was when I got this job with Henry as his apprentice. Craig had applied but didn't even get an interview. I met him in a bar the night after and he tried to fight me, and fuck, the man had a hell of a right hook on him. I had a black eye for weeks, but he ended up with two and a broken nose, so I guess that didn't help our friendship much either." He chuckled and I laughed slightly too. Craig was always trying to prove himself better than everyone else, so this story didn't surprise me in the slightest.

"He was always an ass then huh?" I giggled, leaning forward to wrap my arms around his waist. "Thank you for being understanding" I sighed against him "but you better get back to work, those horses aren't going to look after themselves." I teased, letting him go as I sat back to look at the paperwork on my desk, trying to figure out where I'd left off. He was just in the doorway when a memory from earlier flashed through my head. "Oh Tommy" I called, stopping him "can I ask you something?" He turned to look at me, his eyes raking over my face before he nodded. "You don't have to tell me obviously, but I was curious. Who is Theodor?" I questioned, then immediately cursed myself for asking as his whole dementor changed; his body frozen, and a look of pain flashed across his face. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, staying silent for a moment, the war raging in his head clearly visible in his eyes. He ran his hand through his hair, a frown set on his face as he opened his mouth to answer again, but was cut off by a shout from outside.

"Loose horse!" echoed through the room as he stared at me again, his eyes searching mine, before he spun on his heels, and was gone to fix the latest crisis.