Echo-A Ballet Story

o6

My day has been like this so far: Wake up, get dressed, breakfast, go to school. Skip all the boring drama, come home, mumble a hi, go to my room, 20 minutes of homework, and straight to chores.

Mom and Dad had made it clear a few days ago that cast or not, I'd still have to do chores, of course, the very easy ones, like garden work or opening the pastures. Today was no different. Cody should be here soon and I've made it my goal to avoid him. I don't care if my family thought I was being rude or not, I just refuse to talk to him. So here I am, outside in the now cool winter air. Christmas is in two months. Yay. My parents are not a big Christmas tree fans, but they do decorate the house with Christmas lights. I love the Christmas feel to it all, but nothing could really make me happy. Christmas only reminded me of my inability to dance and of course the ballet recital. Emmalee probably got the lead part.

The cold breeze snapped me back to reality. This is how I'll be. Forever. I'll never be truly happy. With a sigh, I limped towards the shed to get some gardening gloves to pull out any necessary weeds out before the first snowfall. I found the gloves in a nearby box and grabbed them, limping back out.  Dad was already hanging up the lights on our porch when I walked passed the fence to the garden. At least that'll keep him busy for a few minutes. Putting on the gloves, I got down on my knees and got to work. As a little girl, my mom always made me and my sister weed the garden, being the little Tom boy that I was, my brainy old self-figured the faster I weed, the sooner I'll be done. Even though that never worked, today was a more laid back day. With the cold weather rolling in, there weren't many weeds, so I finished in less than an hour just as I heard a truck pull up. A greeting was heard directed at my dad who responded. I didn't have to know who that was. I already knew. Rolling my eyes, I stood up, putting the gloves on an empty bucket for tomorrow's use. Knowing well that dad will give Cody a hands-on job like securing any leaks or bolting that fence that the coyotes keep getting through terrorizing our horses and heifers. 

Grabbing my crutches, I limped back towards the shed. Midway, I decided to check up on Moon, a horse that I technically didn't own, but dad lets me take care of her. We found her as a young filly two years ago due to coyotes in these parts. We don't know how she ended up in these woods, but we took her in. After some homemade signs and banners, nobody seemed to claim her so we kept her. And I must say, a little work and effort made Moon into a beautiful white mare. 

Stepping into the horse stalls felt like your stepping into a whole new world. The smell ignited mixed feelings from a past life. They felt almost foreign to me. Hearing a whiny, I smiled and walked towards a stall labeled Moondancer. The mare looked at me expectantly. Grinning, I reached into my pocket and took out a carrot. She gently took it from my hand, chewing it slowly as if savoring the taste. 

"You're beautiful, aren't you?" I cooed, her ears bent forward, listening to my voice. "I'm glad you're here, it's been crazy." I sighed. The white mare didn't seem to mind me talking, so I went ahead, "Car accident, school, ballet. How could I be so *beeping* stupid." I got whiney in response. I stroked her muzzle before I turned and walked out of the stalls. not looking where I was going, I accidentally bumped into someone. I closed my eyes, positive that I'll hit the ground, but the impact never came. Slowly opening my eyes, a pair of blue ones met mine.

"I'm sorry, I should have watched where I was going." He apologized.

"Um..." I cleared my throat as I gained my footing, realizing one of my crutches was on the floor, Cody quickly picked it up, handing it to me. Our cold fingers brushed against each other. "Dude, it's fine." My funky accent quivered. I don't know if British people say words like 'dude', but hey, if they don't, looks like they do now.

Cody smiled, "I guess I'll see you around then,"

Luke appeared from the tack room, "Yo Cody! Better hurry! It's supposed to get below freezing tonight!" Cody gave an apologetic smile and went into the tack room where Luke was waiting for him.

"Yeah," I mumbled, "See you around...if ever!" I grudgingly walked into the warm house, smelling the fresh aroma of whatever was cooking in the kitchen. taking off my coat and boots, (or should I say boot)and walked to my room once again. Closing my door. The dark illuminated a few objects here and there. Refusing to turn on the lights, I lit some candles, trying to give me some Christmas spirit. But even that didn't help to uplift my mood. The hammock swayed gently. Getting up from my current sitting position, I went over to the hammock and laid down, putting my crutches up against the wall. The dim light from the candles made me drowsy, so I closed my eyes and fell into a lonely and isolate sleep. 

---

I woke up to the sound of howling wind. Twisting to my other side, hoping to fall back into my slumber didn't work. Slowly sitting up, I stretched before swinging my legs over and stumbling to my feet, grabbing my crutches. Everyone must be asleep.

Tip-toeing to the door, I opened it slightly as a soft creak escaped. The house was still and quiet. In a way, it relaxed my nerves a bit. No dad that could get mad at you, no mom that gives you more chores than necessary, no annoying brothers or sister to get on your bad side.

Venturing into the living room, I wasn't too surprised to see Luke sitting on the couch staring into the fire. I limped over to the couch.

"Can't sleep?" I asked, startling him a little.

He looked up and smiled when he saw me, "No, somebody needs to put out the fire."

"You're doing a nice job in doing so," I noted sarcastically. 

He chuckled, "Why aren't you asleep?"

I walked around the couch and sat beside him, "I was asleep until the weather decided to wake me up."

"I see." Was all he said. We both sat there, looking into the fireplace. The flames somehow made all worry disappear. The orange, red and yellow flames burst into the air, enveloping you into another universe. "How are you doing after the accident, though?" Luke asked his gaze still on the fire before him.

I shrugged, "What do you think?"

Luke sighed, "Paige, I know you're upset, trust me, when I broke my arm and they took me out of the team for the season, I was pretty devastated."

I rolled my eyes, anger flared inside of me, it took my will power not to yell, "That was for one season, my situation is Permanent. Forever."

"Paige," he paused, searching for the right words, "You can still dance, just not on a daily bases. Plus, there are other activities to do, like here at the ranch. Moon misses you. You should take her to competitions once you get better. She's pretty competitive."

"Can she dance?!" I spat.

He seemed to be battling whether or not if he should answer me rudely or keep it calm. In the end, he just forced a smile and replied to my outburst, "You can teach her. There should be something like that on YouTube. I'll help you if you want."

I didn't look up at him, "Luke, I love your offer, but my dancing career is over. Teaching Moon to dance will just remind me of..." tears began to build up as I croaked, "the accident." I was startled when I felt his strong arms around my body. I squirmed to get a little bit more comfortable.  

"I love you, Paige, and I hope you'll dance again once you're better," he said over my head, I looked up at him. I couldn't unfold the expression on his face. The fire illuminated his features only slightly. "I'm on your side and I'll help you any way I can. I promise." Though his promise felt shallow, almost hollow, it still meant the world that he at least wants me back to my normal self.

I snuggled closer to him, "Thank You." I breathed. I don't get brothers sometimes. 

Sorry for the wait and this short chapter! I feel like a terrible author...hope you at least enjoyed it! Thank you, for being so patient!! Vote and Comment!!