Cowgirl Up

Chapter 8- Jake

Lily’s rant rang in my ears for the rest of our time in LA. The entire time she ignored me. She barely looked at me. Halfway through the funeral, I glanced at her. Her eyes were set straight forward and unblinking. I tried to get her attention and I know she saw me but she didn’t turn. The whole ride to the airport, she stared out the window and not once did she look around the car. Now we were on the plane in first class, courtesy of Lily’s fortune. She just refused to look at me. I shouldn’t care. I didn’t care. But every time her eyes darted in my direction, though, a pang of… something hit my chest.

It felt so good to touch back down in Colorado. The moment the door to the plane opened, the familiar spring breeze and dry air swept through me. I was instantly relaxed. I couldn’t wait to get home, to take Bella out and just ride the property until we were both exhausted. Since we were in first class- which, by the way, was awesome- we got off first. My family was walking down the ramp to the door that opened into Denver International Airport. Everyone seemed more relaxed, until a bloodcurdling scream ripped through the terminal. My head whipped around and I had to suppress a laugh. Blood was pouring from Lily’s nose. I knew she’d been here before, but the extended time away from my beautiful state must have taken its toll on her. “Oh Lily, come on. Let’s go to the bathroom,” Mom said with more concern than I’d heard in a while. Gabe snickered and Mom shot him The Look. The Look was death in our house. It shut my youngest brother up immediately. When Mom walked toward one of the women’s restrooms with Lily, Andrew smacked Gabe by the back of his head. “What the hell, Gabe? Now we’re all going to get yelled at.” Gabe lunged at Andrew, who sidestepped and dodged the blow. My dad grabbed Gabe by his collar. “Stop it, both of you. Come on, let’s go get our bags.”

It wasn’t hard to find Lily’s bags. The brown and gold Louis Voutton stuck out like a sore thumb with all the other bags, and there were so many. We had to get five carts. FIVE. And it wasn’t even all of Lily’s clothes, she’d left some to bring back when she and my mom went back to LA to sell the house. To top it all off, neither of the women had to push a cart, and guess who was stuck with two? Really, being the middle child sucked ass. We left the truck in the DIA parking lot and dad ran to get it when we got outside. Dried blood stained Lily’s nose and lips, and there was even some on her cheek. She looked like she’d been crying so no one said anything about it. Our old dusty Ford F350 came rattling toward the curb where we stood and the look on Lily’s face was priceless. A mix of shock and disgust. Dad pulled out a tarp from the back seat and we loaded all of Lily’s luggage into the bed. The five of us piled in and Lily stood awkwardly on the curb, holding her arm. “Oh for heaven’s sake, someone sit on the floor so Lily can sit down,” Mom scolded. Gabe moved to the floor at my feet and Lily sat in between me and Andrew.

I couldn’t even begin to describe my happiness as our ranch house came into view after two hours of driving. I almost leaped out of the truck and ran to the stables. Bella whinnied and jumped when I threw open the barn door. I ducked under the middle rung on the gate to her stable and hugged her beautiful black neck. “Hey, pretty girl,” I whispered to her. “Jake!” Mom’s voice wafted in from the house. I sighed and rolled my eyes. What did Princess Lily need now? We should just get her a damn platform to carry her around in.

When I walked into the house, no one was around. “Mom?” I called. “In here,” the voice came from the kitchen. I walked in to see Mom chopping vegetables and for a second everything seemed normal. Until Mom said, “Will you go show Lily where the towels are? She’s taking the guest room.” The guest room was where… She stayed. The last year she was… my body threatened to betray me as tears filled up my eyes. I just turned and walked away. The door to the guest room was closed and I knocked on it. “Come in.” Lily’s voice was obviously strained, and I could hear that she’d been crying. I opened the door and she was standing at the closet hanging up her dresses. “Um,” I stammered. What do I say? Why was I so nervous? Why the hell was my heart beating this fast? “I brought you some towels,” I said as I shoved the towels I’d grabbed from the linen closet into her hands. “Um, thanks,” she said without looking at me. She walked to the bathroom and set the towels on the sink counter. I turned to leave when her voice caught me. “I’m sorry, Jake.” I turned. “What do you mean?” Lily hung her head. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I don’t like this just as much, probably more, than you do. I know you feel like I’m invading your home and I know that’s not fair. I just wanted to say that.” With that, she closed the bathroom door.