What We Never Had

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When I got home, I quickly set my backpack and textbooks inside the house and ran out to the barn to my horse, Lacey. Lacey was a beautiful chestnut colored quarter house. She had a white diamond running down the length of her face, and white socks on three of her hooves. I smiled when I walked into the run down red barn, where Lacey was standing in her stall, waiting for me to come home.

"Hey, baby girl," I greeted her with a huge smile. When I was with my horse, everything faded away. High school drama, boy drama, friend drama, I forgot about all of it when I was riding. Lacey snorted in content when I started stroking her back with a brush. When I was done, I saddled her up and led her out to the pasture. Our pasture was my favorite place to be. It was huge, and there was rolling hills and even a little creek running through the bottom of one of the areas where two hills met. I threw myself up on Lacey, and clacked my tongue, giving her permission to start walking. I always vented to Lacey, and I figured now was a time for venting.

"You're never going to guess what happened today, Lacey. I was talking to Houston, same as I always do, and then, in walks Mel and throws herself all over him! I felt sick to my stomache, and I wanted to drop through the floor. Of course, I didn't. I mean, I don't know what I'm thinking anyway. We're nothing more than best friends. He'll never see me as more. He has no reason to. I mean, look at me compared to Melanie. She's tall, blonde, skinny, and a chearleader. I'm a short, brown haired freak that will never be good enough for him." I said with a sigh. Lacey snorted again, which was kind of comforting. It made me feel like she knew exactly what I was saying.

"Hey, Juliet!" A voice shouted behind me. I screamed and about fell off Lacey, I was so scared. Who could that be? I felt a gust of wind blow past me as my older brother, Matt, zoomed by on his horse, Chester. I laughed as he made Chester spin around rapidly in circles.

"Quit showing off, Matt! We get you can spin your horse around in circles." I said with a laugh. Matt smiled cockily and then came up next to me. He stared at me intently for a couple minutes, and I wasn't sure why.

"Um, so, how was school?" I said awkwardly, breaking the silence. He just kept looking at me and then he shook his head and said,

"Oh, it was good. What about you?"

"Well, same as always." I replied with a sigh. He gave me a sympathetic look and took off, probably to go ride over to his friend's house. I rode Lacey over to the arena where my barrel racing set up was. I rode around the barrels for a little while, before I could feel my phone buzzing in my pocket. It was my mom, so I quickly answered, out of breath.

"Hey, mom," I answered.

"Hello, sweetie. Could you please come home? Dinner is ready." I reluctantly agreed and rode Lacey back to the stables. I unsaddled her and ran back up to the house, where my mom and dad and brother were all sitting at the table, waiting to eat.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to put Lacey and her tack away." I said with a sheepish smile. My mom nodded and motioned for me to sit at the table so we could say grace. My dad said the dinnertime prayer and then we all ended with, "Amen." As we all started to eat, my dad cleared his throat.

"How was everyone's day of school?" He asked, taking another bite of my mom's homemade potatoes.

"Mine was great, dad. I bombed my science and math tests." Matt said with a cocky grin. My dad glared at him and muttered something under his breath. I saw my mom put her hand on top of his and whisper something to him. I knew what they were talking about. My brother struggles in school and it makes my dad really disappointed because my dad was kind of the nerd of the school when he was in high school. My mom gave me a warm smile.

"What about you, Juliet? How's Houston and Ariel?" My stomache did flip flops at the sound of his name.

"My day was fine, and Houston and Ariel are both great." I said smiling back. Although, I'm pretty sure it came out as a grimace. My mom nodded and went back to eating. For some reason, there was alot of tension in the air.

"Um, I'm really tired. I think I'll just go on up to bed." I said, pushing my chair back and walking out of the kitchen without another word. I was pretty tired, so I put on my pajamas and went to lay in my bed. I drifted off to sleep thinking about Houston, and if he would ever realize he belongs with me.

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