The River Speaks

Chapter Twenty Six: Text Messages

Chapter Twenty Six: Text Messages

"Aiden, I don't like surprises." I say for the umpteetnth time.

His hands are over my eyes, his front pressed to my back as he urges me forwards.

"You need to trust me."

"I do trust you." I say. "But surprises give me anxiety."

"Don't worry, I'm just going to push you off a cliff, no big deal."

"Asshole." I mutter.

I hear him laughing.

"Step."

I stop walking.

"Up or down."

Up." He says.

I step up and the smell of hay fills my nostrils.

"We're in a barn." I say.

"How do you know that?" He demands.

"I can smell it, you dippy."

He starts laughing.

"What the hell is a dippy?"

"A dumbass. Kid the preteen friendly version."

"Dippy." He says, laughing. "I can just picture thirteen year old Lily calling May a dippy because she took your shirt."

I laugh a little, nodding.

"That's actually not far off." I say. "When are you going to let me go?"

"Not yet." He says.

I sigh.

"You know, you don't have to be so damn close to me." I mutter.

"That's your fault." He says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. "You were the one who refused a blindfold."

He urges me forward again and I hear snow crunching and the smell of the barn slowly fades.

"I get carsick." I say.

"You're not in a car." He replies. "Come on." He nudges me forward.

I walk with him and after walking for a little while longer, he stops.

"If you hate it, pretend to love it, okay?"

"Yes." I say impatiently.

When I was a child, April told me she had a surprise, blindfolded me, and then pushed me into the pond on my parents property.

Needless to say I'm not a fan of surprises. At least without the blindfold, Aiden had to be close to me.

If he pushed me, I was pulling him with me.

He removes his hands and I keep my eyes shut.

I hear the snow crunching as he moves.

"Well open your eyes." He says.

I open them.

We're in a field that's covered in snow. There's mountains in the distance and it's snowing lightly.

A black horse and a white horse are standing a few feet from us, all saddled up for a ride.

My jaw opens slightly and I look at Aiden, who is watching me to see my reaction.

"I know you've been upset because you only got to ride Ruby once when you were there for Thanksgiving." He says. "And I know that these two are not Ruby and Seattle, and I know this isn't your parents property..." he trails off. "But I found this family online and they have two kids and six horses and two hundred acres, and they said we can ride them for as long as we want as long as we take good care of them."