After I left

VI

Nathan laughed, watching Callie fall off of the horse again. 

She tried to ignore the pain in her ribs as she hit the ground again. 

She has been trying to do a trick she learned in eighth grade for an hour, falling multiple times in the process.

"I don't think you can do it anymore..." Nate said, watching her climb back in the saddle. 

"I swear I can, it's not that hard," She said frustrated. 

She tried one last time, her feet sliding a bit at first, but finding her footing and leaning forward. 

"I told you I could do it!" She yelled, sitting back down normal on the horse.

The horse jumped a bit at her loud screaming but seemed fine. 

"You're scaring Baby Blue with all that screaming," Nathan said, laughing when Callie looked offended. 

"Whatever, you're scaring that horse with your face," She said, laughing when he seemed offended. 

"I'll have you know, her name is Brinklin," He said, patting the horse's neck.

"What? Brinklin?" She asked, making sure she heard correctly. 

"Yep. I named her when I was four, give four-year-old me some credit," He said, laughing at her goofy smile. 

"You're weird, Winters. Very weird," She said matter of factly. 

"You're one to talk..."

He stopped, realizing he didn't know her full name. 

"Oh my brother, you don't know my full name do you?" She asked, completely embarrassed. 

"Yeah, no I don't." 

"That's embarrassing. My full name is Callie Noelle Stone. Like a rock, Stone is my last name. Noelle is my middle name. My parents named me after my grandma Noelle Stone," She said, rambling.

"Okay," He said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. 

One of the horses apparently had gas, because at that moment the awkwardness was broken. 

"That was so your horse," Callie said, kicking her horse to go. 

As Callie's horse took off running, Nate caught up quickly, passing her and going up on a ridge. The field they were in was empty and green, with a few patches of beautiful white flowers. Callie smiled as they raced back to the barn, quickly stopping once they were at the driveway. 

"Callie, you're something else, you know that?" Nate mumbled, smiling at the blonde haired girl beside him. 

"I hope that's not a bad thing," She said, blushing. 

"Not at all," He said, taking the saddle from her hands. 

"I could've put that up, you know," She said, smiling when he returned with two brushes.

"I know."

He handed her a brush and they brushed the horses down, then taking them out to hose them down. 

"Hey, Nate!" Callie yelled. 

Nate turned around quickly, trying to duck from the water coming at him. 

"Callie!" Nate yelled, lunging for her. 

She just kept spraying him with the hose, running backward in the process. 

She dropped the hose and ran in the opposite direction as Nate caught up to her. He had a bucket of water and threw the water on her, making her scream.