Country Girls Do It Better... Book 1 Of The Healing Through Horses Trilogy

Chapter 25

Hunter's p.o.v.

         "You sure?" I ask. Her face tells me that she's seriously contemplating her answer. Of course, this does nothing to boost my confidence level. 

        She keeps thinking, not saying anything for at least five minutes. When she finally does say something, she just repeats herself. 

        "I don't hate you." 

       Yup, you said that. 

        I stayed quiet for a bit. 

       This girl confuses me. One minute she can be happy and cheerful, laughing at my stupidity, and the next minute she'll be shut down, tuning out the world around her. 

       "Kate, you know you can trust me, right?" I decide to push my luck.

      Again, she hesitates. 

       "I want to trust you."

     "Why can't you?" 

      "I'm going to tell you something and, I swear, If you tell anyone, I will mess you up so bad." She looks at me, as if she's waiting for me to tell her to keep going. I nod and she continues. 

      "When I was in sixth grade, I went to a sleep over at a friend's house. Everything was fine at home, just the way I left it. I went to sleep that night, not a worry in the world." She stopped talking for a moment. She was looking down at her lap, fiddling with a loose string on her t-shirt. 

      Soon she began talking again. "My friend's parents got the call the next morning. They rushed me home immediately, but we were too late. The paramedics' truck was just pulling out of the driveway. It's lights weren't even on." Even in the dim light from the fire I could see her eyes fill with tears. This strong girl was breaking in front of me. 

       "My dad's heart was broken." She sniffled softly. "He had gone to pick up some feed last minute, and he came home to find her sprawled across their bed, eyes open, an empty pill bottle in her hand. She was gone before he could even call 9-1-1. He tried telling me that she slipped and fell, but I saw through it right away. I knew she had overdosed."  The tears began falling, slowly, then all at once. She buried her face in her arms, silent sobs wracking her body. I didn't know what to do at first. 

         Would she push me away if I tried to comfort her? I decided to take my chances. I scooted across the floor until I was right next to her. Gingerly, I took her in my arms. She didn't protest; she buried her face in my chest, hiccuping. "H-he still c-cries h-himself to sleep." 

          I shifted so my legs were stretched out in front of me, and then moved her so she was sitting on my lap, curled up against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, letting her cry it out. How long had it been since she had talked about it?

         We sat like this for a few minutes. I didn't want to say anything and risk her being mad at me. 

            Eventually, she calmed down. "I'm sorry. I've never told anyone that. I've never even talked about it. I guess feelings just build up after a while." 

            I ran my hands up and down her arms. "I'm so sorry."

           That was the wrong thing to say. She tensed up and started pulling away. Something came over me, and I didn't let her pull away. I held her tighter. 

           "I don't want your pity." She mumbled against my shirt. 

           I chuckled, despite the situation. "But see, that's the thing. I don't pity you. I'm sorry that you had to go through that with barely anyone there. I'm sorry that I can't take away your pain. I'm sorry that I didn't know you yet. I'm sorry I couldn't help you."