Faith and Freedom

Chapter 6

I get back to my room and slip off Sephira's collar. Melody climbs onto the big queen sized bed and I pull off her shoes as she drifts off to sleep. I walk into the bathroom and look at my reflection. My appearance is frightning. My hair is dishevled and looks like I just woke up, my eyes have dark circles under them, and over all I look miserable. I am miserable. The one place I want to be is home. Not Kate's house. Home. With my mother and father home.

I sigh and padd over to my suitcases. Opening the largest one that holds most of my clothes, I beging to dig around for something that would be appropriate to wear at a barn. I was already yelled at for, "inappropriate barn attire". Apparently short shorts, a tank top and flip flops are strictly prohibited if you plan to be anywhere near the barn. The only reason I was going to the barn was to look at the other stupid horses that were there. Sephira curled up next to Melody and I flicked off the light switch on my way out. I quietly walked down the stairs in some faded blue jeans, a gray T-shirt that said "There's no way you woke up like that", and a pair of brown cowboy boots that Kate packed me. On my way out of the door, I pulled my hair into a tight side braid and sauntered into the big rust colored building. Cherry wood stalls lined the walls, giving the barn a rustic feeling. The first stall I come to has a brown female horse in it named Honor. Stall two had a fat white female who's name was Royal. In every stall was a girl horse so I decided that I must be on the female side of the barn.

I look at a few more horses before I stop at a stall that harbors a gold colored horse with white hair. Her name is Redemption. I stood in awe of the huge beauty in front of me. Then I jump, extremely startled when a voice sounds behind me.

"She's a beautiful mare, isn't she?" Connor says, walking over to me.

"A beautiful what?" I ask, confused.

He chuckles. "Oh yeah. I forgot you don't know anything about horses. Mare. A mare is a female horse. Redemption however, she is up for sale. Nobody is assigned to her at the moment though, so you can use her until you train Demon."

"For the record, his name is Renegade, not Demon and my sister named the other one Domino. Second, I don't even know how to ride or anything so I don't know why I would need Redemption in the first place if the stupid animal is up for sale." I say, irritated that he called Renegade a demon.

Personally I think he is just misunderstood. Just like me.

"Woah! Easy. Sorry I made you mad. I was just trying to help you!" He replies, hurt flashing across his face.

"Sorry. I just, I have some... Issues and I'm having a hard time dealing with them. My solution is to push everyone away and so far all I've done is hurt everyone. I'm really sor-" I'm cut off by a loud shriek that is all to familiar.

I bolt out of the barn without a second glance and rush up the stairs to my room. Melody is drenced in a cold sweat with tears soaking her face and sobs wracking her tiny frame. I walk over to her and sit down, pulling her into my lap. She sobs as I rock her back and forth in my arms, whispering to her and shushing her muffled cries. By now we have a croud gathered outside our door and Jackie tries to push through them to talk to us.

As soon as she gets through the croud, she pushes everyone away and closes the door in their faces. I carry Melody into the bathroom and start a bath for her and tell her to go ahead and get in to relax. Once she is in the bathtub, I walk back out to Jackie and take a seat on the bed across from her.

"Is she okay?" She asks.

"She'll be fine. Its just that both of us have... Flashbacks or nightmares about... What happened." I answer carefully.

"If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you, okay?" She looks at me intently.

"Okay. Thanks, Jackie. Oh, and you can tell everyone she's okay and she will be okay." I offer her a tight smile.

"I will. See you at dinner." She smiles back.

She leaves the room and I begin to pull out Melody's purple footy pajamas with horses all over them and her 'Saturday' pair of her days of the week underwear. I folded them neatly and walked into the bathroom to where she was sitting in the tub, playing with a small horse figurine that she brought with her. I smiled as her blonde curls turned into soft waves from being wet.

"Where did you go sissy? I was scared and you weren't there." She mumbles, small tears blurring her vision.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I went to look at the horses in the barn and Sephie was with you because you were asleep. I thought you would be okay for a little while. I won't do it again." I promise, reaching for the bottle of Suave Kids 2 in 1 watermelon shampoo. I squeeze some into my palm and begin to lather it into her hair, massaging it into her scalp. The foamy bubbles trickle down her back and I grab the shower head, turning on the warm water to rinse her head.

Once the shampoo was out of her hair, I grab the matching body wash and her purple loofa. She washes her body while I grab her Suave Kids watermelon detangling spray, her purple hair brush with a horse on it, and two purple hair ties with a tiny horse shoe on each one. As soon as she is rinsed off, I give her her favorite towel. Can you guess? Yup. Purple with a black horse on it. I guess you could say she's a bit horse crazy but even so, she would rather go home.

She puts on her clothes and sits down at the desk chair backward. Then, I promptly begin to spray her hair with the detangler and begin to brush and part her hair. She sits quietly, looking at the ceiling while I begin to French braid the first side of her hair. She tilts her head down so I could finish it off tightly. I tied it off with her hair tie and started on the other side. After about fifteen minutes Her hair is done and we are called to dinner. Melody takes my hand and together we walk down the spiral staircase. Not sure which way to go, I turn left, hoping I'm right. Almost immediately after, I bump into Connor.

"Wrong way, Shas," he drawls.

I gasp and feel like I have been punched in the stomach. No one calls me Shas. No one but my mom and my dad. Tears prick my eyes and I stumble towards the front door. I throw the door open and rush to the barn. Soon I find my self at Redemption's stall and before I know what I'm doing, I throw open her stall door and vault onto her back. Sensing my urgency, she bolts out of the barn and I point her toward the river trail. I know I've just left everyone in shock because as far as everyone else knows, I've never ridden before. But to their surprise and my sadness, I have. With my mom from the time I was one until my fifth birthday when my favorite pony died.

I gasp for air as I try to fight off the panic attack that engulfs me. Redemption slows to a brisk walk and turns off the trail to a hidden cove. She stopps there and I slip off her back, settling onto a log covered in moss. Moments later, I hear hoofbeats and a frantic shouting. Melody cries out for me and I hear the person with her mumble something soothing in her ear.

"Shasta!" It's Connor.

"Sissy! *sniff* Where are *sob* you?!"

They ride past me and I swing up onto Redemption's back. Her breathing has slowed and I set her off at a slow, smooth walk. We take our time going back to the barn but as I get back, I see my sister on the porch with her dinner, crying. I nudge Redemption into a trot and then lope to gain my sister's attention.

As soon as she sees me her small face shows relief and anger. I slip off of Redemption and she follows me to her stall willingly. She walks into her stall and I close the door behind her, leaving her to rest easy for the night.

Word count:1518