Firecracker (On Hold)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Justin's P.O.V.

As I watch Ariya ride away, I feel a weird tug in my chest. I have this unfamiliar sense of needing to protect her, even though I know she's quite capable of doing that herself. Life has dealt her a rough hand and I'm certain I haven't even heard the half of it. I'm presuming her father had something to do with the scars on her body, but she really doesn't want to talk about that.

Imagine having to kill your own father. That's just awful. Even though she says he wasn't a nice person, that doesn't make it any easier to live with. To top off that feeling of guilt, her mom told everyone that Ariya beat her up. She probably blamed the miscarriage on her as well. That's pretty sick. That alone is enough to make a person enraged, but I have a feeling there's more to Ariya's anger issues. The problem is, now she's had time to think about the consequences of talking to me, I think she'll clam up again. I have to find a way to keep the line of communication open. That's going to be easier said than done.

I head back for breakfast and I find Todd rubbing his chin. This time, I hope she hurt him.

“Todd, if you don't learn to keep your mouth shut, I'm going to stop dragging her off you. You're treading a fine line with that one. She'll rip you apart if you keep going. How dare you insinuate something sinister was going on. Have I not shown you anything about how a gentleman should act? You think that little of me? That I would abuse my authority and do something like that? Because if you do, then I suggest we find you somewhere else to serve out your last few months. I expect that kind of behavior from Miss Flynn, but not from you. I have given you no reason to question my integrity. And the way I deal with Ariya has nothing to do with you. She doesn't hit you because I can't control her. She hits you because you can't control your own mouth. Accept responsibility for your own actions at least. Keep your mouth shut and she'll leave you alone. We're heading out in 10 minutes. Pack up.”

I go and get Star saddled up. I can fully understand why Ariya wants to hurt him sometimes. I don't agree with her giving in to the urge, but I can see how she gets angry at him. What I don't understand, is why those kind of comments get her so riled up. She's got a rather filthy sense of humor, and she's always quick to throw an innuendo out there. Although, she's never done that to or with Todd. From the first time she met him, Ariya didn't like him. She's good at reading people, so she saw something in him that she didn't like before he ever opened his mouth. He hasn't failed in giving her reasons to dislike him though.

I know Ariya wants some space, but I don't want her out of my sight for too long. I don't know if that's because I think she's going to run or because I want to make sure she's ok. Last night must have been tough on her and she was definitely not acting like herself this morning. It was almost like she was in a daze or something. I help pack up everything and jump on Star. I don't wait for everyone to follow, I know they won't be far behind.

I don't see Ariya for a long time. She must have taken off at quite a speed to make this many miles between us. It's getting dark when we reach the outskirts of the herd, but I don't see Ariya. I can see Splash grazing, but I can't see the rider. My heart does a flutter when I think she might have fallen off or got hurt, but I do another scan of the herd and I see a calf on the floor, crying. I jog Star over to assess the situation and I find Ariya kneeling over the calf.

“Hey, what's wrong?”

“It has quite a bad cut on its leg. There's a lot of blood, Justin.”

I get off Star and look at the calf. Ariya has taken off her shirt and has tied it around the cut, trying to stem the flow of blood.

“Good thinking, Ariya. Let me take a look.”