True Beauty

Chapter 11

Crust was caked in the corners of my eyes and dried tears still clung to my cheeks. The sun's bright light flooded in from the window, blinding my tired eyes. Stretching my arms above my head, a yawn escaped from my mouth as I sat up. Propping myself upon my pillow, I glanced at the clock sitting on my nightstand.

Five thirty in the morning on a Saturday? I knew more sleep would be impossible, so I rolled out of the warm blankets and slipped on my running shoes. Twisting my hair into a high top knot, I stretched out my stiff muscles. Switching on my music and pushing my headphones into my ears, I took off down the long, winding driveway.

The crunch of my feet against the gravel was muted by the bass that erupted from my headphones. Sweat began to bead above my brow and across my forehead as I continued down my usual route.

****

Turning my music off, I pulled the headphones out of my ears. The snow colored horse standing behind the fence whinnied at me as I trudged up the driveway towards the front door. His brown eyes locked with mine as ears pricked forward. He neighed again, compelling me towards him.

Reaching my hand out towards his face, he nuzzled my hand softly with his nose. I kissed his silky cheek and stroked his gleaming face. His glistening hide stretched over his rippling muscles and his long tail swished back and forth, swatting the flies that threatened to land on him.

"Have you missed me, Louis?" I asked him, stroking his silky cheek.

It was the first time I had even touched a horse since my dad left. His mane was braided neatly which I assumed Jennifer had taken the time to do. Grabbing him by his halter, I clipped a rope onto each side of his face.

Using my makeshift reigns, I opened the gate and led him out of the pen. Climbing onto his bare back, I swung my leg around and sat high on top of him. A large smile spread across my lips as I realized how much I had missed him.

Tapping my heels against his flanks, Louis sprang forward. Adjusting the reigns, I directed him into an empty pasture. Tapping my heels once again, Louis started into steady trot. I threw my head back as the sun warmed my face and a laugh escaped my throat. I hadn't been this happy in a long time.

****

Soon the sun was directly above us. I had spent over five hours with Louis in the pasture. Sweat dripped from his body as I hopped off and led him back into the pen with the other two horses.

Rushing inside the house, I spotted my mom sitting in her spot at the dining room table. Papers were scattered everywhere and her laptop was open to her bank account records. Her face was buried in her hands as I traversed towards her.

Touching her shoulder gently, her head snapped up automatically. I inspected her features, horrified at what I saw. Dark circles circled her eyes, deep wrinkles were set into her forehead, and the whites of her eyes were crimson.

"Have you been up all night?" I asked, kneeling down to look her directly in the eye.

"Mostly. I saw you out with Louis," she said, smiling weakly.

A large grin spread across my face as I nodded.

"He's amazing. I hadn't realized how much I had missed him."

She nodded, gazing out the window.

"Mom, why don't you go get some sleep," I suggested watching her eyelids droop.

"Okay," she huffed, rising and shuffling to her bedroom like a zombie.

Pushing in her chair, I grabbed the empty coffee mug and placed it in the sink. Stacking the paper into a neat pile, I set them next to her laptop. After I had gotten the mess cleaned up, I made myself a ham and cheese sandwich and escaped to my room.

Plopping down on my mattress, I took a large bite. My teeth sank into the delicious sandwich, penetrating through the soft bread, creamy cheese, and salty ham. Picking up my phone, I noticed a text from Belinda and a missed call from my dad. Ignoring the missed call, I went straight to the text message.

Wanna hang out?

Sure! I replied quickly tapping my phone mechanically.

****

"Hey!" I greeted as Belinda entered my house and slipped her black, lace-up, combat boots off at the door.

"Hey," she replied, smiling causing the ebony skin around her eyes to crinkle like it always did when she grinned.

"Want something to eat?" I asked as she followed me to the kitchen.

"You know I do," she laughed rummaging through the cupboards for something to snack on.

Settling on the Tomato Basil Wheat Thins hidden in the back, she headed towards the living room. I switched on the television causing the large screen to create a colorful picture. Plopping onto the leather couch, we began to watch the latest episode of The Vampire Diaries.

"Hey, my dad is calling. I guess I better take this," I told Belinda as my phone started to vibrate, and I checked the Caller ID.

"Go ahead," she muttered waving me off with her hand as she stuck more crackers into her mouth.

Rising from the couch, I walked into the kitchen, sliding my fingers over the glass screen. I unlocked the phone and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, where's your mom?" he asked as I pulled out a notepad and pen.

"Sleeping, she was up all night paying bills," I answered, drawing spiraled patterns with the red pen across the paper.

"Oh, well I guess she didn't tell you then."

"That you wanted to see me?" I inquired, propping the phone up between my cheek and my shoulder.

"No, not that. I lost my job yesterday," he admitted as my spirals became more intricate.

"That's too bad," I replied, not really caring since he didn't support me, my mom, or Jennifer in any way.

"You don't understand, Laura. It means that we can't afford the port wine treatments," he continued as my pen abruptly came to a halt and fell from my fingertips.

"But-"

"I know you're disappointed, but maybe by next year there will be enough money in savings," he rambled on as my heart split into two separate pieces.

I lowered myself into a chair before I could collapse on the ground. Taking a deep breath, I inspected my nails closely to distract myself from the pain that was ripping through my chest. A large lump in my throat made it difficult to breathe as my lungs and heart seared with pain.

"Laura?"

""Mmhh?" I managed to whimper.

"I'm sorry. I know how much getting your birthmark removed meant to you," he said as I twisted a strand of blonde hair around my forefinger.

My mouth refused to form words, so I just sat there silently. The pressure in my chest silently crushed me as my heart continued to break off into many smaller pieces and my lungs collapsed.

"Honey, please say something, so I don't feel so awful about this," he plead as tears started to slip down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry you had to be the one to break my heart this way, because I will never want to speak to you again," I croaked, hanging up the phone and dashing to my room.