Horse Ridin' (Motionless In White)

Chapter 9: Surprise Visits & Panic Attacks

Written: 9/26/2016 (while Taylor should have been doing schoolwork and wanted to be watching Gotham)

-

Rosaline navigated their long and windy roads easily, begrudgingly leaving the farm to head into town for a few hours.

She was meant to be headed to Panera with Sirenia to meet up with a woman that had contacted them about buying Masquerade. She'd seen pictures of her at a few shows Rosaline and her students had taken her to and immediately been interested in her. After some thought and talk, the two sisters had decided it was worth entertaining as they knew Masquerade would love to have one person to be with instead of being in their small lesson program.

Although of course Sirenia had to be busy with other office work today, meaning Rosaline was now on her own. She hadn't been out and about by herself in months- how was she going to handle an entire lunch with this woman alone? She wasn't sure.

Music was blaring in her truck, Pierce the Veil specifically, as she made her way up and down the windy roads into town. Covenant was fairly far out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by woods and a few neighboring houses over a mile away in any direction. Rosaline and Sirenia loved how secluded it was despite how inconvenient it was at times, far preferring to be secluded from everyone rather than be close to them.

She pulled up to a stop light, slowing to a stop as the other cars crossed the road. She glanced over at her passenger seat to see the notes she'd written about Masquerade sitting there, micro-organized down to the very last detail in Rosaline's nervous rushing around. She hated the idea of selling Masquerade when it came to seeing her leave, but the thought that if she went it would be to a good home made her feel reassured. Plus, she wasn't going anywhere until Rosaline and Sirenia personally approved the barn she'd be boarded at, the woman wanting to buy her and everything else so it was completely up to them what they did.

Rosaline thought through what the woman had said about herself as she pulled into the Panera parking lot, wondering why the woman liked Masquerade so much and whether she could possibly deter her and make her want one of their other horses. Rosaline didn't want to lose Masquerade. This home would have to be perfect for her to let the little Mustang go.

And it was with that thought that Rosaline walked into the Panera, papers clasped in her shaky hands, and headed to the counter to order her food.

********

"Sirenia?" Ghost called, wandering around the barn cluelessly. "Jared?"

He and Chris had stopped by to say hello and weren't having any luck finding a soul. They'd already been up to Jared's apartment, the girls' house and all around the barn to no avail- it seemed the place was abandoned.

Chris looked to Ghost curiously. "Was it this empty last time?"

Ghost shook his head. "No way. Jared was wandering around last time and so were a few people who own horses here. I don't know where everyone is now."

"Why don't you just call Jared and ask?" Chris suggested, looking cautiously at a large dun horse in a stall across from where they were standing. "Is that horse just really dirty or is that his color?"

Ghost smirked as he pulled out his phone. "I think its naturally that color." He dialed his brother's number and held the phone to his ear patiently, waiting for him to answer as the dial tone played. He was greeted by a confused 'hello?' from the other end of the phone as Jared answered. "Hey, where are you?"

Jared's voice came back through the phone with a confused edge to it. "Rena and I are up at the girls' house working on some papers. Why?"

"Because we came to visit and can't find anyone, that's why." Ghost answered, earning a chuckle from Chris. "Where's Rosaline?"