Fighter

10

The next morning at 10 on the dot Spencer was waiting for me outside the apartment door.

"You have your camera on you?" I asked through the window.

"Yup it's in my bag." Spencer said as she opened the door for herself.

"Good" I answered waiting for her to buckle up before driving off to the farm.

When we got there I parked in front of the house and got out. Spencer followed my lead and we went inside for a minute. I just needed to grab my backpack before we could go.

"Who watches Alicia when you're both working?" Spencer asked as we went out the back door.

"Usually Amanda's mom Kim or her sister Amelia and if we have to her brother is always an option." I said as we walked to the barn.

Spencer didn't say anything else as we got to the barn. I opened the big door and walked inside.

"Did I die and go to heaven?" Spencer asked.

"Nope, just Australia, you can hang out here for a minute while I get Midnight and Luna set okay?" I said and turned around to find Spencer in with the puppies. They were jumping all over her and she is wearing a smile that's too big for this world.

Quietly I pulled my camera out and took some pictures of Spencer with the puppies before setting Midnight and Luna up. When I was done I brought Midnight and Luna outside and pulled Spencer away from the puppies.

"We are going on a ride, you are going to take Midnight while I take Luna." I said and pulled her in front of Midnight.

"He's big." Spencer said and looked up at him.

"But he is gentle and loves people, come on, I'll give you a boost." I said.

Spencer looked at me for a minute then finally moved closer to me. She put her right foot in my hand and I pushed her up. Spencer got herself over the saddle while I shut the barn door. Quickly I made my way to Luna, got on and gave Spencer a crash course on how to steer before I took off towards the pond.

I slowed after a while to make sure that Spencer was behind me. When I looked back I saw her walking Midnight at a slow pace.

"Let's go get your man Luna." I said to my horse and turned around.

When I pulled up along Spencer I could tell she was scared. Her back is as stiff as a board and she is gripping the rains as hard as she could.

"Hey Spencer, relax, Midnight is the most laid back gentle horse Kim has. He's not going to buck you off or run away on you. Trust him." I said. Spencer looked over at me and gulped.

"How?" She asked.

"Believe that he won't harm you. Trust him, take deep breath and let it out. When you let it out trust him." I said.

Spencer gave me another look before turning forward and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again. Spencer looks a bit more confident now, her grip slackened a bit but her back is still pretty straight.

I started trotting again and Midnight followed right behind us. I smiled to myself as we went to the pond. When we got there I got off Luna and then walked over to Midnight.

"Come on down." I said standing on her side. Spencer looked at me worried before pulling herself off Midnight. I helped her down to the ground and let go once she was steady on her feet.

"Thanks, so what are we doing here?" She asked looking at the pond.

"This is my place, my spot to come clear my head and find some kind of peace when I need it." I said and sat on the bank of the pond.

I patted the space next to me and Spencer took a seat. I watched Midnight and Luna run around for a minute before I looked at Spencer. She has her camera out and is taking pictures of the horses and everything else in the area.

"The point I wanted to make is that everyone needs this kind of space. This could be that place for you if you need it." I said.

Spencer looked at me and put her camera down. She looked around and have me a smile before laying down on the grass.

"At home I barely had time to breath, between working and school I never really had time to actually relax. Now I have all this free time to do what I love to do, I don't think you really know how grateful I am for this." Spencer said and looked at me.

"Don't move." I said and grabbed her camera. Spencer stayed still while I got set.

"Close your eyes." I instructed. Spencer closed her eyes and licked her lip.

"Open them now" I said.

Once Spencer did I snapped a few pictures, capturing the moment. The way the sun reflexed in the background made her look like an angel.

"In this moment you are free." I said and gave her back her camera. Spencer looked at the picture then looked back at me.

"How do you do that?" Spencer asked.

"What?" I asked.

"Make something so simple look so magical?" Spencer asked.

"People are complex, everyone has a past and a story to tell, as a photographer we need to capture the pure moments where that past isn't touching them. Those moments are the most magical if captured right." I said.

Spencer didn't say anything for a while, I just watched her out of the corner of my eye. Her breathing slowed down and her eyes closed. Midnight and Luna stayed close to us as I watched Spencer sleep for a while. I only let her sleep for a half hour before waking her up again.

When I woke Spencer up we got ourselves ready to go. She was slow and sluggish as we got onto the horses to go back to the house. On the way back I followed behind Spencer.

I don't know why but my gut was telling me to watch her closely. As we got back to the barn I could tell there was something wrong with her. I brought Luna into the barn and quickly put her away then ran back out for Spencer. When I got there I saw her trying to get down by herself.

Quickly I got next to her and helped her down. When she stood up I looked her over and saw her face is all red and she is sweating.

"Spencer are you okay?" I asked and felt her forehead. Before she could answer me I saw her grab her stomach before her eyes rolled back into her head.

I grabbed Spencer before she could hit the floor and slowly brought her to the ground. When she was down I lifted her shirt to see if I could see anything wrong. With her shirt up I almost fell back in shock. Scars were littered all around Spencer's stomach. The thing that drew most of my attention was an angry looking wound.

She had stitches in but the wound is clearly infected. The only thing running through my mind right now is getting Spencer to a hospital. Quickly I put Midnight into his stall before racing the my truck over to Spencer. I got Spencer inside the passenger seat and took off towards the hospital.

I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket and called Amanda to let her know what is going on. After that call ended my other pocket started to ring. I pulled the burner phone out and flipped it open.

"Veronica?" Sophia said.

"What's up?" I asked.

"We have a problem, her name is Spencer."