"So, what brings you to Oakville?" Carter asks. I take a sip of my latte before replying.
"My family has some history here, I guess." I'm not technically lying.
He looks at me suspiciously, and sighs. "You're so mysterious. You answer all of my questions without really answering. What are you hiding," he chuckles.
I glance at the floor, and laugh nervously. "More than you know," I mumble.
I start to stand up. "Maybe I should leave," I say.
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you," he apologizes. I sigh, and sit back down.
"No, don't be. It's not your fault. I just have a lot going on right now," I reply.
"Like what."
"It's... complicated. I can't really talk about it." We've both finished our coffee, and we're leaving the Starbucks now.
"It's okay, I won't tell anyone."
"Can we talk about something else," I say, changing the subject. "Like, your horses. How long have you had them?"
"Well, I got Chester about four years ago, when I got to big for my other horse. He's 17.3 hands high, and he's great on the trails. And Charcoal... he's great. I got him a week after my eight birthday, at an auction. I'm so glad I have him, but it's an awful story really. This girl- she was only six- her parents died during a flash flood. Charcoal was the only reason she survived. When I got him, she came up to me and basically told me to take care of her horse and never get rid of him. I'll never forget her blue eyes, and how sad they looked," he says, looking off into the distance. It's almost like he's forgotten I was here.
I can feel tears welling up in my eyes, and I feel like I might collapse.
"I- I need to sit down," I whisper.
"Are you okay? I'm sorry if I upset you, I know it's a sad story," he says, leading me to a bench.
"No it's just-" Should I tell him? No, I can't. But-
"It's just that- that girl. I know her," I cry.
"Really?" He asks.
"Yeah. She's- she's me. Charcoal was my horse- I'm the same girl," I whisper. I reach into my pocket and hand him the picture of me and my parents, with our horses. Then I proceed to tell him everything.
Author's Feedback to Past Self: Um, that was quite sudden! She probably shouldn't have told him so fast. For all she knows, he could have been a creep. In fact, by the way he's acted so far, he probably is a creep! And Taylor should definitely NOT go back to his house with him. Stranger danger.
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Runaway Horse
Adventure#1 in Adventure 6/16/2015 Taylor Evans, a foster child, has been planning her runaway for a while now. Ever since her parents died when she was 6, she's been moved from foster home to foster home, and she's sick of it. So she runs away, train h...
