Monsters & Music

Chapter IX

                 

"Rosie!"

My vision comes back into focus and I am lying on my back in the long grass, groaning. Ash is leaning over me, his face lined with worry.

"Are you OK? Is anything broken?"

He rests his hand on my back, helping me to sit. I stretch out my arms in front of me and inspect them. Everything seems to be in working order but I'm stiff and possibly bruised. Ouch.

"I'm fine. What was that?"

"You fell."

"I know that," I say grumpily. "I mean what made Fig go crazy like that?"

Ash squints, peering into the trees just behind us.

"I don't know. A branch broke. It might have been an animal."

I think back to the second before Fig bolted. I remember the cracking sound, like a gunshot in the quietude.

"I saw blue."

"Like, the sky?"

"No, like a cloth or something. It was waving in the trees."

"That would definitely be enough to put her on edge," Ash nods slowly. "Here, let me help you up." He puts his hands under my arms and I slowly get to my feet, wincing.

Something is definitely bruised.

"I think my ass is broken."

"Really? That was a pretty spectacular fall." He looks like he's trying to keep a straight face. I feel like whacking him. I look around for the horses and see that they are now grazing peacefully on the other side of the field. The ropes are still over their necks.

"I'll sort them out later," Ash assures me, following my gaze. "I'd try make you get back on her but I have a funny feeling you would slap me if I even tried."

"And you'd be right," I agree.

We walk across the grass, heading for the lodge. I feel miserable and I know I look like a hobbling idiot.

"I swear I'm not usually this much of a dork," I mumble as we walk. He laughs and gives me a playful push with his shoulder.

"Maybe only fifteen percent dork so that's pretty alright."

"I bet Emily is zero percent dork," I mutter darkly to myself. 

Ash obviously hears me, because he says quietly, "Emily is something entirely different. She's certainly not you."

I can feel ugly jealousy clawing at my stomach and I choose not to ask him exactly how his precious Emily is so different. Instead, I kick at a clump of dirt at my feet as we walked. I feel like the magic of the afternoon is entirely lost. I also feel a bit like a five year old having a tantrum and this realisation just makes me feel even more pissed off.

It's only when we arrive back at the lodge that I realise we haven't said a word to each other since we left the field.

***

Sitting at the dinner table alone, I quietly reflect on my first day. My mind is starting to feel like one of those weird rubber band balls and every little thing that happens just adds to the pile. I've never understood why people make those things. Habit? A desperate need for hundreds of rubber bands? I'm not sure if this feeling is because I'm tired, stressed or fell off a horse. I rub my temples. It's been a weird day.

Ash is sitting on the opposite end of the hall with Matt and Lincoln, just as he did this morning. He's wearing a knitted black jersey and a navy blue beanie. I still can't decide if the afternoon we spent together is a supposed to be a secret or not.