White Lies and Music Notes

Chapter Two

The drive home took 14 hours in total. In that time I:

- Ate food and drank water

- Chatted to Aunt Caroline

- Pretended to sleep so she would shut up

- Day-dreamt

- Listened to music on my iPod

- Texted people

- Read a book

- Slept

- the list goes on....

"Leah?" a hand shook me. "Leah, wake up. Something's going in back in with the horses. Can you go and check on them for me please? I'm worried something has happened and I can hardly stop the truck in the middle of the road. It's still dark."

"mmmm...." I mumbled quietly, whilst whipping the sleep from my eyes. I sat up and pulled on my shoes. I climbed over the seat to the living compartment and fell over my suitcase.

"Watch out. I think your suitcase is back there."

Well, duh!!

"You could have told me that earlier!"

I stumbled to the stable and opened the sliding door. I still wasn't quite awake, but breathing in Harris's familiar smell and feeling his warm breath on my face woke me up immediately.

"Shhhh boy, it's okay." I whispered in his ear. Looking at them now, so peaceful and happy, I realised how lonely Harris must have been, all alone at home in a stable with no-one to be with him. In that moment I also noticed how happy I felt. It felt as though I could forget about my whole life, and just think of here, and now. I could forget about Mum and Dad splitting up. I could forget about everything I was leaving behind. And I could think of what was to come. The people I would meet at the boarding school that gave me a scholarship without even so much as an entrance exam. The friends I would make. The skills I would learn.

But, I knew this was only temporary. In six months, after Mum and Dad had gotten all of the paperwork out of the way, I would move to a new place with my Mum. She says she doesn't know where yet. For all I know, we might end up in Africa!

Then I would have to start all over again. Make new friends. Learn new names. Maybe even learn a new language?

Only then did I realise I was crying. I didn't want to leave my new school, even though I didn't even know anything about it, or the people that went there. I looked up at Harris and have him a tight hug before turning around and going back to Aunt Caroline. I quickly wiped away my tears as I told her everything was fine with the horses.

I climbed back into my bed and slept.