Annabelle's locket

chapter 8

Chapter 8:

As we left the barn, I felt guilty. "Why was he so upset?" I asked when we reached the bottom. "His mom died when he was young and she had a love for painting. I guess by him painting its brings him closer to her or something." she half grinned sadly. I nodded, understanding that feeling. I wanted to apologize to him for some reason but I found myself against it. "So, what do you want to do?" Denise asked as we entered the house. "Where's your mom and dad?" I asked. "Work."'she sighed. "Oh. I know that feeling." I replied. "Want to ride horses?" Denise asked. Horses. My absolute favorite animal. "Yes!" i yelled louder than I hoped. She just grinned widely in response. "Do you ride?" she asked, as I followed her to the stables in the distance. "I used to when I came up to Maine." I replied. "Good. So I won't have to be teaching." she let out a sigh of relief. We reached the red barn stables and I heard the neighs go off as we entered. There were four. A black stallion called Phantom, a brown and milky clydesdale, a dark brown thoroughbred, and one caught my attention. She was beautiful. A misty white mustang, a rarity. "She's incredible."'I stared in awe. Denise came over from petting Hershey, the thoroughbred and grinned. "We just got her. We adopted her from a shelter. Her name is Willow." she whispered. The horse was asleep on a pile of hay. "How old is she?" I asked. "The vets weren't certain, but they think she's around two." she replied. "Shes really shy." Denise sighed. "She won't eat out of my hand or let me pet her.

The vets said it might have to do with her previous owners."'Denise said. "That's awful." I said and watched her nostrils flaring up and down, heavily breathing. "Do you want to try to pet her?" Denise asked. "Okay." I said leaning over the stall. "Willow." Denise said in a high voice that woke up. After a minute, Willow was no longer startled and stared at me with her wide, misty eyes. "See, shes always nervous." Denise sighed, resting her chin on the stall. I held my hand out and kept my eyes on her, trying to be as gentle as possible. There was something in Willow I really liked and I hoped she felt the same. Aced a fee minutes, Denise laughed. "I told you." she said. "Wait, just a few more minutes." I pleaded. "Okay, well if you insist." Denise sighed. "Thanks." I half smiled and saw Willow had come closer while we were talking. She was nearly there, my hand could almost touch her. Neither Denise or I said a word. And then all of a sudden, when everything was silent, Willow took a long stride towards me and i reached out to touch her mane. "Oh my gosh!" Denise jumped and Willow neighed. "She must really like you." Denise smiled, watching. "Can i ride her?" i replied. " Yes you can." she was laughing.

Getting onto Willow was a little shaky but after a few tries, Willow gained my trust and allowed me onto her back. I stroked her soft white mane and grabbed onto the horn of the saddle. I took the reins and moved forward, out of the barn and met up with Denise who was on Phantom, the stallion. "You ready?" she asked as she fastened her helmet strap. "I think so." I steadied myself and we headed forward. It was a little uncomfortable at first-I hadn't been riding for quite sometime- but I quickly got the hang of it. I smiled as it reminded me of my childhood. And my loving mom. I saw that Denise had stopped. I had realized I was lost in my thoughts. "What?" I asked. "The woods or the fields?" she asked. "The woods." I replied.

The ride was very nice and no accidents happened which was a good thing. I was sometimes prone to accidents happening. As we neared the barn, I saw Noah running past us, sweat dripping down his shirt. I watched as he passed underneath and Denise made a face. "I don't get why he runs so much." she shook her head. "I dont know either." I replied, watching him fade into the woods behind us. We took care of our horses and I decided it was time to go home. "Thanks alot we'll do this again sometime." I smiled, getting into my car. "Okay, see you Monday." she waved and I drove down the rode back to the smaller cabin. Dads car was in the driveway. I walked through the front door and there was a silence. "Dad?" I asked seeing the tv on in the living room. I approached the living room and couldn't believe my sights. Dad was on the floor, unconscious, atleast I hoped.