Rowen Curtis

14

I woke up to being snuggled up to Johnny, with him running his hand through my hair. I enjoyed the warmth that we was giving me. Johnny is now living with us and is sleeping in the spare room. And I kept my word, I bounce back and forth between sleeping with Darry and Johnny. Darry helps with the nightmares and feeling safe and Johnny makes me feel warm, safe, and loved. 

Two months ago, Johnny went to his house when his pparents weren't home and grabbed all of his stuff and moved in with us. He has opened up and is talking more, is a little less jumpy, and he looks fed. The people from the state know about Johnny and why he is here, so they monitor how well he is being taken care of. We had also left a note for Johnny's parents saying that he doesn't live there anymore. I am so glad Johnny has a better life now. We are still going strong. 

I rolled over to face him and smiled at each other. 

"Morning Sunshine, " he said, pecking me on the lips. 

"Morning Handsome" I said. 

He kissed my forehead and then we stood up and went to the kitchen to get breakfast. Today I was going with Soda and Dally to the rodeo. Soda and Dally were competing and I was there for support and because I love horses just as much as my twin. We just to have a horse named Mickey before he was sold. Soda and I cried for months when he left. 

"Morning Princess, " Darry said when we stepped into the kitchen. 

"Morning Superman, " I said. 

"Breakfast is one the table along with chocolate milk and cake" he said, kissing my head. I nodded and went to go sit at the table. Everyone else was already here so it didn't take long before the food was gone. I washed the dishes with Soda and then I showered, dressed, and did my hair and makeup and brushed my teeth. 

"Dal, when are we leaving? " I asked. 

"In about an hour" he said. 

"Okay. You want to come with babe? I am watching Soda and Dally at the rodeo." I said. 

"Sure. Why not. I haven't been to a lot, so it is nice to get to see it again." Johnny said and kissed me, pulling me into his lap. His right arm was around my waist and out left hands were intertwined. I learned back into his chest and watched Mickey Mouse. It was boring after years of watching the same ones, but we love Mickey and Two-Bit doesn't care and has a fit when someone changes the channel. 

It was about an hour later and the four of us were heading out the door to Buck's T-Bird. It is Buck's car but  Dally takes it and droves more so it is really more of his car. Once we got to the place, Dally and Soda signed in and then we headed to the stables to saddle up the horses. I held the horses as Soda and Dally brushed them, cleaned them, saddled them and checked to make sure horseshoes were okay and nothing wrong was with the horses. Sure we check up on them, but there are men here that take care of them for free. 

Dally's horse is a tall, strong, black stallion and has the same personality as him. He is stubborn, ornry, and hard to tame. He is fast and stong, which helps in barrel racing and other activities. Dally's horse is named Warrior. 

Soda's horse is a gentle, caring, calm, horse that is trained really well, better than most here. She is a paint horse named Star. 

"You can pet her, she won't mind. Isn't that right girl." I said to Johnnycakes. He slowly brought his hand up, it shaking a little and started petting her face and mane. 

"Okay, Soda you are one of the first ones to go, so you have half an hour to get Star warmed up and ready." I said. 

After a while the event began and it was now Soda's turn. I was nervous and Johnny could see that so he intertwined our hands and gave it a reasurring squeeze. I smiled and him and layed my head on his shoulder, I felt him kiss my head and gave my hand another squeeze. The gates opened and Star walked out and did a few small cires before breaking out into a sprint and ran around the barrels. They were fast and didn't knock anything over, which is good. It is still early but Soda has the fastest time. 

After about 2 hours it is now Dally's turn. Warrior is getting antsy and I can tell something is going to happen. I go down to help him. I am the only one other than Dally himself that can somewhat calm the horse. 

"Come here boy. Want a sugar cube? Huh. Come here handsome." I say making clicking sounds. I was holding two sugar cubes out in my hand, trying to get Warrior cats attention. 

I see his emotions changing in his eyes, it is like he is having a battle with himself. He slowly stops and starts walking over to me. I smile and keep clicking. He comes to a stop in front of me and I let him take the sugar cubes out if my left hand and use my right one to pet his face. "It's alright big boy. You need to calm down and listen to Dally," I said. 

"Thanks Row Boat. Why don't you stay down here now that he knows you are here? " Dally asked. 

"Sure, I don't mind. I needed to get off my butt anyways" I said. 

Dally led Warrior to the gates and went in. He was getting antsy again but not like before. I could hear Dally yelling easy and woah. Dally then clicked his heels and made Warrior take off, throwing the horse off to get his mind off what he is thinking. They both did a good job like Soda and Star. We took Warrior and Star back to the barn to get undaddled and clean up their stable and stuff. Both horses needed to be feed and given water. 

I was brushing Warrior while Johnny brushed Star. I showed Johnny the proper techniques and what the different brushes did and were used for. It wasn't to long before I heard  commotion around the corner. I took off taking Warrior with me because Dally is busy and he will only listen to me. I get there and see an all to familiar horse.

"Mickey. Come here boy. Come here Baby Boy, come to me," I said. 

In an instant he stopped and sprinted over to me and nudged me. "Hello Mickey. Soda and I missed you. We love you Baby Boy." I whisked giving him a kiss on the nose. I grabbed his reins and Warrior's and walked them back over to the boys. Soda just happened to look up and in my direction and stopped what he was doing, noticing our beloved horse. 

"Mickey? " Soda whispered. I nodded my head slowly looking straight into my twin's eyes. My twin came running over and gave Mickey a big hug. I took Warrior's brush and started brushing him again. Once I was finished, I told the boys what happened. Johnny knew who Mickey is, while Dally looks lost. 

"Dal, that's Mickey. He used to be our horse before mom and dad sold him before they died. Soda and I got him for our 12th birthday. He is ornery, reckless, sweet, and likes to nip at you. He is Buckskined and listens to us, although he doesn't even do that." I said to Dally. 

"Hey Soda! I wonder if we can get him back." I said. 

In the end we got Mickey back and Soda and I are going to share responsibility in taking care of him again. We got everything ready and headed home. He got to the driveway and I decided to voice my thoughts to my twin, "hey Soda, I was thinking that maybe you wanted to breed Mickey and Star together. Or just Mickey. What do you say."

"Well, I will need to think about it, but now that we have him back I think it would be good to keep family running through him." Soda said. I nodded and got out if the car. 

We all walked in the house and saw the rest if the gang in the living room. Soda and I walked over to stand in front of Darry. "Guess what Darry. WE GOT MICKEY BACK!!!" we yelled in sync. 

"You mean..." he asked wide-eyed. 

"Yeah. You can thank Ro here for it too. There was comotiob going on around the corner of the stalls that we have and she checked it out. And she came back with Mickey. I can't believe it. We talked to the owner and he let us have him back." Soda said. 

I took a shower and changed followed by Soda, and Johnny and Dally showered and borrowed clothes from my brother's. We ate dinner and then we all crashed in the living room. Today was a really great day. I can't believe we got Mickey back!!