Love Never Gives Up (Changed) 1

Chapter Thirteen

I look at Chase then my uncle. I want to cry but then I wanna be strong. I drop my bag and I bolt to the barn. I just wanna see Squirt right now. I hear Chase calling me, I hope he follows me so he can just hold me and we all have a goodnight. I yank the garage door open and Hersey and I run to the barn like there is no tomorrow. I quickly let Hersey go through the door then I shut it so I know when someone comes in so I can hide. Squirt hears me and senses something is wrong.

I hide in the barn until I get cold. I cuddle with Hersey and Squirt so I keep warm. My stomach growls for food. I wipe my remaining tears and head to the mini fridge. If I know my uncle any better, he'd keep backup snacks in here. I open it and boom. Ham sandwiches, pb & j, some kind of jelly sandwich, and turkey. I grab a jelly one and I sit next to Squirt. Hersey goes outside through the doggy door. I finish the rest of my sandwich and suddenly the barn door is being pulled open, but slowly. I realize that Richard would've yanked the door. It's Chase. I quickly lock Squirts stall door, and hide in the corner. I hear footsteps near the back end of the barn.

I wait. The footsteps come close and the stall door opens. I hug my legs to my chest and try to make myself smaller than I already am. Chase walks in and doesn't know what to do about Squirt. I don't know of Chase has ever been around horses. Oh yeah that one girl named Tanya. I remember her. She was all about horses, and animals. I fall back down memory lane. It was early summer and I was walking home from Crystals. It was a few weeks before the pool incident. Chase and Tanya ride past me on their bikes. Chase pedals next to me and I keep on walking. Tanya looks back at us and glares at me, ¨Chase come on. My mom is waiting to take us to the arena.¨ I roll my eyes.

I know Chase better than anyone. He doesn't do horses or anything like that. Every girl that Chase has dated hates me. No matter what I do. They always get jealous of my connection with him. He waves at me then catches up to Tanya. I bow my head and stop myself from crying. I get home and hid in my room. I keep the lights off, and I let the summer breeze enter my room. Suddenly I hear laughing and giggles. I head to the window and I see Tanya and Chase. Chase quickly gives Tanya a hug and a kiss on the lips. I look away. I couldn't watch him be happy and put myself in more misery. I'm back in the present and I watch Squirt kick the stall. Squirt starts to freak out. I quickly stand and calm him down. I rub his chest and neck and he watches me closely. ¨Hey bud, take it easy alright? No one's gonna hurt you. I'm right here so take it easy boy.¨ He blows air out of his nose and I hand him a treat. I don't say anything to Chase. I focus on Squirt and making sure he won't freak out again. I feel Chase's hand on my arm. I yank my arm back and head to the stall. I try to hide my tears as Chase blocks my path. I see the pain and fear in his eyes and a sliver of love. I know he loves me. But the pain and fear is because of me. He doesn't wanna lose me but yet I'm hurting him at the same time. ¨We should've stayed in Oregon. No one has hope for us anymore and I keep hurting you all the time. It isn't right. I don't know if we can fix this Chase.¨ I run into his arms and I cry. I feel his body shake. I look up and I see him crying. But I see love in his eyes. He lets out a shaky breath, ¨I wasn't ready to say goodbye to you Lisa. I'm still not ready to leave your life. I wanna stay with you. I will do whatever it takes for us to be normal.¨ I nod and he wipes my remaining tears. We hold each other and stay like that for a while longer. Squirt tries to headbutt me and I push him away. I clearly need to work with him more. I sneak a glance out the window. I don't see my uncle anywhere but Hersey is running around chasing something.

I check Squirt's stall and Chase and I start walking back to the house. I grab Chase's hand and we walk into the house. I hear Richard on the phone with someone. We head into the kitchen and I start to make hash browns, and homemade smoothies. Chase helps me cut up the fruit, and watches the hash browns so I can start making the smoothies. Once I have all the ingredients in the blender, I turn it on and let it mix up. I wait till it turns smooth. I grab two glass cups and pour one for Chase and one for me. I let Chase add whatever he wants to his smoothie, while I finish cooking the hashbrowns. Once everything is done cooking we grab everything and head upstairs. I put my plate down and turn the tv on. I find a movie and I turn around and see that Chase made the bed all ready for us. I smile, grab my food and hop in bed. We eat and giggle. Hersey comes upstairs about half way through the movie and hops on the bed but falls off right after. I laugh and almost choke on my smoothie. Chase grabs everything and makes sure I'm ok. Once I recover we watch the remaining part of the movie. I still must have been jet-lagged because I doze off and wake up in darkness. I stretch and look around. I don't see Chase anywhere but I hear laughter downstairs. I make sure I don't trip on anything and head downstairs.