Storm

Chapter 3: Hospitality

  At the barn I quickly un-tacked Storm and put it all up in the tack room. On my way back out I grabbed a sponge and soaked it in water wiping her down from her withers down then gently wiped her face with a cool cloth. I grabbed a lasso and slipped it over her head, tying her to a post so she could dry as I got her a bucket of luke-warm water and put it near her.

I looked over at Briar who was just standing there awkwardly. I smiled at him warmly before walking over and taking Jewel's reigns, earning a cautious look from Briar. I smiled reassuringly before doing the same to her as I had done to Storm. Why Jewel dried, I put Storm up and gave her some feed and water, then put her blanket on for the night. I patted her on the nose then fixed up the adjacent stall for Jewel.

When I was done, I put Jewel in stall, feeding and watering her as well. Only then did I remeber I still had company and looked over to check on Briar. I giggled softly, the tall lanky boy stretched out asleep on the hay with Lucky laying beside him, watching me.

"Hungry boy?" I asked, getting a tail wag in return.

I smiled then gently shook Briar awake. When he woke, he jerked up knocking me back on my rear. I groaned playfully as he looked at me on the floor with a confused look before he realized what happened.

"Sorry," he mumbled, pink dusting his cheeks as he offered me a hand.

I took his hand and stood up, dusting myself off.

"C'mon, let's get inside and get something to eat," I offered smiling.

Lucky hopped up, apparently understanding that food was involved. Smart dog. I smiled at them both then turned and walked out of the barn heading towards the house. As I walked I looked up at the dark velvety sky filled with millions of stars shining down, winking at me from above. I watched them until I got to the back door and had to stop to keep from running into it face first.

I opened the door and stepped in, flipping the light switch on to reveal my tidy laundry room. I looked behind me as, watching Lucky as he padded in behind me, Briar following. I smiled and turned around, waking to my kitchen turning all the lights on as I went. I listened to the quiet thuds of Briars boots and the clicks of Lucky's toe nails behind me as I started getting stuff out of the cabinets. I made a mental note to go to the corner store tomorrow for more food and supplies as I pulled out the remainder of what was in my cabinets. I laid it all out and looked over what I had.

"Instant taters, canned corn... stuffing? Huh, where'd that come from? Hm, whatever," I mumbled, talking to myself as usual.

I glanced over my shoulder to find Briar standing there awkwardly once again. I smiled at him.

"One second," I said before quickly mixing up the potatoes and putting everything in their respective pots and pans.

I waved for him to follow me as i turned and walked down the hall.

I walked to the end of the hall, then stopped when I realized what I was about to do. I took a shaky breath, my entire body tensing up, hearing Briars quiet footsteps stop a little ways behind me. I slowly put my hand on the door knob, thinking back to the last time I went into this room...

I sighed, turning the handle then pushed the door open, looking into the black abyss. I fumbled my hand along the wall until I found the light switch and flicked it up, the dull yellow light filling the room.

I focused my eyes onto the closet, making my way over to it oblivious to the rest of the room. Every step felt like dragging my feet through quick sand and it felt like an eternity. Once I finally got there after what felt like hours, I opened the closet, my whole body tremoring as I snatched a pair of jeans and black T-shirt. I all but slammed the closet door shut then spun around running out of the room.

I ran straight into Briars chest on accident, my whole body shaking from the incident. He managed to catch me before I fell backwards by wrapping his arms around me. I saw the worried and confused look in his eyes as he tried to figure out what was wrong as I stood there in his arms, shaking like a leaf.

If he only knew....