Broken Horse

Chapter 6 - Jacey

Just as I was about to knock on the small cottage home my parents bought for my sister's birthday, a vehicle drove by slowly as it came by her driveway, but sped up when it passed by. A sleek, black expensive car. That car was one I saw before. It was the car I picked Sergei up at when I realized he had been drinking at school. My heart pounded abusing the muscles around it.

Tucking behind the tall, slender bush at her porch step, I swallowed my heart. That couldn't have been him. He hadn't been in class lass last week since I dropped him off at his place... after I damn near cried in front of him begging him not to fall into that bottle.

My cell vibrated in my back pocket. My dad just left to go out of town to check on a few horses he was thinking about picking up in the spring for training so I was home alone. This wasn't him calling... yet seeing as him and Mom had been on the road for just over an hour now. Pulling it out, I let out my breath seeing Jacki's name on the screen.

"Okay, so.... I went to this party last weekend and you will never guess what happened. I met this really hot guy-" It was just like her to start in about some guy when I was having a complete meltdown.

"Where are you?" Looking around the bush, I checked down the road making sure the black car was gone.

"I am over at this guy's place and I am having fun. Oh, by the way... I got out of the final exam for calculus because I've aced all the tests and since mainly everyone is failing, he said if we get all hundreds on the tests from here on out, we don't have to take the final." Over her giggling, the guy's voice came through the muffled background. "What's up, sister?"

"I need to talk to you about something. It's really important. I got my test back from Geology and I got one point." Glancing around, I waited to see if that black car was down the road, but it hadn't come past again.

"That's good."

"Out of a hundred! This can fail me! I can't take a fail!" Cupping my forehead, I found the hide-a-key rock and slid the bottom open to retrieve the key. Quickly, I unlocked her door and put the key back, hiding it back in the rock bed. Shoving my way into the living room, I cringed seeing the containers of to-go food all over the counter that separated the kitchen. "What am I going to do?"

"Take the fail. It's fine." Another giggle came from her as she said something to the man in the background before letting out a loud heavy breath.

"I can't take the fail! I can't fail!" Stacking up the foam containers, I slid them over to the side and glanced into the sink. The dishes were piled up and there was something green and fuzzy in the bottom of a cup.

"God! You..." The phone muffled before the noise behind her went silent. "Like the parents would care anyway. I thought you were doing good in that class."

"I was until he decided to walk out." My heart dropped hard and my eyes glassed over thinking about the last time I saw Sergei. The last time I was able to look into those heavy sapphires, he was almost to the point where nothing would ever help him. And he just left the class, walked out of work in the middle of the semester. Or... he got fired.

If he got fired, I would never forgive myself for not checking on him when my mom and dad when out last weekend. The thought passed through my mind now that I knew where he lived, but I didn't check. When he didn't show up on Monday, I tried to listen to what Professor Johnston was saying, but all I could think about was that broken man and if he got fired.

She said something that I didn't catch and when the silence fell between us until she cursed under her breath. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. I just... The teacher walked out and that's it. The professor is back so plan on getting a fail." A piece of my heart fell onto the floor of my stomach hoping Sergei just decided to leave instead of getting fired.