Heartless

Chapter 1- Mercy

Chapter 1- Mercy

(Mercy's POV)
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"Mercy, come on, the lake's nice this time of night." Talia says.

Talia rolls over on to her stomach, sending her Black hair everywhere. She bats her eyelashes at me, pouting her lips. Rose does the same thing beside her, using a puppy dog face. I roll my eyes at her, my best friends are so dramatic. Talia widens her Green eyes at me, batting her eyelashes tilting her head to the side.

"Fine." I give in.

"Yeah baby!" She says happily, jumping off her bed.

"But only for a little while, okay? It's dark out, and we're in the boonies." I say getting up.

"Oh come on, we'll be fine, we know these woods like the backs of our hands." Rose says.

We go outside, it's already past eleven o'clock. We'd come to stay out at her parents ranch by ourselves for her seventeenth birthday. Pizza, alcohol, and friends, all good, right? As we mount the horses, I feel a shot of adrenaline. I too find myself longing for the cool water as we ride into the musty night.

Air conditioning is nice but, come on, it doesn't beat a swim in the water tank. The tank cools off quick at night, and is the size of a small lake. We're all swim team regulars during the season, so drowning isn't a worry. Neither is getting busted by adults, because we don't have any breathing down our necks tonight. Rose rides with Talia, not knowing how to control a mare herself.

We take the path near the road, as it's safest in the night. No chance of getting thrown by a horse losing it's footing, or getting spurred by a branch to the hind quarters. Both of which has happened to Talia and I on our trips out into the woods. The trail is also a good thirty feet from the road, so no chance of being seen. Believe it or not, we've been spotted a few times by nosy neighbors. Of course that was in the day time, and on the property borders, but still. Caution is always good.

Tally, the mare I'm riding, is Talia's brother's. She stirs underneath me, her trot faltering for a moment, letting out a nicker. I call for a stop, and rein her in short. She blows out a huff, nickering again back at me.

"What's the matter?"

"Tally's got a bur, just hold up a sec." I say.

I pause, listening to the woods around us. Nothing but crickets, and the dry air lifting the branches occasionally. It's a quiet night, perfect for an outing. Tally has relaxed under me, my hand stroking her neck.

"Tally's always getting stirred up. It's why my brother doesn't even ride her anymore. She's an old workhorse who needs to retire Mercy." Talia says.

"Your brother is too busy being the PD's problem to ride her." I reply.

The mare Talia is riding, doesn't seem troubled at all. Belle, or was it the Cinderella, I forget. Talia names too many horses after Disney princesses. She's young, I know that, young and inexperienced despite how well she's been broken in for riding.

"Yeah, but even when he does come out. He doesn't ride her, she's just as crazy as he is, must be from being his horse for so long." Talia says.

"Makes sense, your brother is a wack-a-mole. Poor old girl." I say, hugging her neck.

"Let's go, it's getting later and later, I want to swim and be home before the alcohol headache hits." Rose says.

"Agreed, you lightweight." I say, spurring Tally gently and we continue on our way.

"Am not!" Rose says.

"Not our fault you've been taking your liver to hell and back." Talia chimes in.