Overcome

Chapter Nine

My eyes fluttered open around 10:00am to a smell. A nice smell.

I take a deep breath in through my nose. Eggs, bacon, no way! Is that smell really coming from my house!?

I run downstairs to find that it's true!

"What's going on in here?" I ask. "Mom, you never cook!"

"I was in the mood to make something and figured I should share with you guys."

I'm about to say something sweet when she adds

"With a little debate at first" she smiles.

"Wow, the one time I was going to say something nice."

After we eat our delicious eggs and bacon mom speaks first.

"Gina, did u figure out what you want to do with Harry?"

Crap.

I freeze, I want to say no but I couldn't get the words out. If I don't say anything she's going to sell him. How can I let that horse get sold? I frantically look at Justin for help.

"A-ah, give her a little more time. With all the sleeping she's been doing latley, she hasn't been able to think about it." he tried to joke.

Mom looks at him weird wondering why he's defending me. "Fine, Gina, you have one month. I want an answer by then." She says sternly.

"Whatever" I say getting up. "I'm going to my room."

"You can't hide forever!" mom says but I keep walking, even though I want to run back and hug her for being right.

I rummage through the my dresser draw looking for my favorite book of the equestrian world, The A Circuit by Georgina Bloomberg and Catherine Hapka.

After looking through three more draws I find it. I haven't seen this book in awhile. It used to be displayed on my bookshelf but when I came home from the hospital I took everything horse related out of my room. But I knew mom sneaked a couple things back in, hopping that I would find them and fall In love with horses again.

I curl up in my chair and start the book on page one, I can basically quote every line in this book yet still love to reread it.

"Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom." I hear Justin say when I was just finishing chapter two. A couple seconds later I hear him say "you are so lucky I'm a nice person!"

I get a weird image through my head of what he's doing in the bathroom. I smile a bit amused. I continue reading and get sucked back into the book.

Suddenly the book gets slapped out of my hand!

"Hello! I've been talking to you for the past ten minutes! " Justin laughs.

I get confused for a second, wondering how I didn't hear him walk into my room, never less be having a full one sided conversation. then I realize that I did hear him talk, I just thought he was somewhere else.

"Oh, sorry"

"You owe me! "

I put the book down, "I know!"

"What are you going to tell her at the end of the month?"

"I don't know!

"Bye!"mom yells. We yell bye back.

"I'll think of something when the time comes." I continue.

"You never know what to do, do you?" he says flatly but jokingly.

"Hey, don't be mean!" I giggled.

"Listen, while you figure that out I'm going to take you to the barn every night. Even if I have work in the morning, because I know you were worried about that."

"No! I can't do that to- wait, how did you know that?" I ask suspiciously.

"One, yes you can and two... " He grins knowing that I have no idea how on earth he knows that. "You talk in your sleep."

"WHAT!?"

Justin is dying of laughter. I stand up so fast the the big, comfy arm chair flips over.

"How did you even know!? You listen to me sleep!? For how long?" Im really embarrassed and kind of weirded out that Justin Lies awake listening to me sleep talk.

He finally calms down and starts talking seriously. "It's usually when you have a lot on your plate and it's like a talking voice, so since I can't sleep anyway I just hear you. And since I never really sleep, it's not a problem to take you."

I get really worried all of a sudden. "why can't you sleep?"

His jaw tightens and he looks down. After about a minute he looks up.

"No reason, just can't."

So either he really can't sleep or he's meant to say that to make me feel like it's okay to go to the barn.

"My moms putting you up to this isn't she?" I ask.

"What? Gina, no! " He said concerned.

"You guys probably set this whole thing up! " The I add. "That's why your really hear still, right?"

He looks a little hurt by what I said.

"Gina! no!" he he starts to speak louder.

"Yes!" that's really why your so okay with doing this!" I started to run out of my room but he put his arm out in front if me and pulled me close to him. I tried to break loose to run out but I couldn't move. "let go of me!" I yelled still struggling to get loose. He spun me around so I can look at him but he still held me by the shoulders.

"Your mom has no idea about this. I'm the only one that knows." he says more calm.

"Let. Go." I say once more not looking him on the eye.

"Gina , please, I would never lie to you!" I looked at him. his eyes were pleading and something else in them made me believe him.

"I'm scared to let anyone else know" k say quietly. He let's go.

"I know, you talk about that in your sleep too."

I giggle.

"But I don't know why." I say quietly again.

He looks at me. "you do, you don't want to be 'that girl'."