Taking Rein

Chapter 12: Numb

Chapter 12: Numb

Sophie's POV

*****

Everything was different after the day of my birthday, and by everything, I mean my thoughts. When I first arrived at Equestrian Creek, I thought I was losing everything. I felt like I was losing my friends, my family, my privileges. What I didn't realise, however, was that I was gaining much, much more. 

It wouldn't have taken a genius to notice that I never did actually have any friends back in the place I called home, and that in a way, I didn't have a family either. 

Those two things, however, were things I was able to gain once I arrived at the ranch. They all cared about me, and wanted to make sure that I was happy. Liam risked getting yelled at by my grandfather and uncle Jo in order to try and cheer me up. Luckily for the both of us, grandpa was glad that Liam and I were getting along, and that we had finally become friends. 

Friends. 

To me, that word was always frivolous. I never believed in relationships with other people, they always seemed so fake. Never, in my entire life living in the city, had I ever found somebody who cared about me for who I was. I always had to be so fake in front of people, it was the only way I could ever please them. 

It was hard for me to believe that someone like Liam could actually want to be my friend, especially after all of the harsh things he had said to me, and all of the times he jumped to conclusions about who I was. 

Nonetheless, Liam and Charlotte were as close as I was ever going to get to have friends who knew me for who I truly was, and slowly I was starting to accept and appreciate that. 

I also couldn't help but ponder on my last proper conversation I had had with Charlotte, one which certainly surprised me. 

"I'm really glad to have you here with me," she had said, a small smile playing on her lips. "I've missed you a lot these past couple of years. It felt weird not having my best friend around."

The entire world around me froze as soon as those words came out of her mouth. Never would I have thought that she felt that way about me. I never expected her to call me her best friend. 

She had so many friends at her school, and she also had the capability of making friends anywhere she went. She was Charlotte, sweet, likable Charlotte. With the vast amount of friends she possessed, I would have never even began to think that she considered me her best friend. 

For so long I had tried my best to have the number of friends she had, probably getting those friends in a way which is not considered as fully respectable. 

Howbeit, deep down, I felt the exact same way about her. 

"I really hope you come back to visit us after you go back home, and not just when you have to be punished for getting in trouble," she had said with a chuckle, lightly hitting my shoulder with hers, making me laugh along. 

I thought hard about what she said, even after the colloquy. When I got there, the plan was to act super well and hope that my grandfather lets my father know about it, expecting him to come for me and take me home earlier. I didn't want to be there, in a place which lacked internet connection and any actual forms of socialisation. I wanted to be back home and indulge in my popularity. 

It was unbelievable how quickly things could change. One second I wanted to get out of Equestrian Creek as fast as I could, and the next, I didn't want to leave at all.