Broken Prodigy | COMPLETED ✓

Chapter 8

Dad is home when I get back from my shift. He looks up from the kitchen bench and smiles as I enter the room. 

He smiles at me. "I found a job."

"Wait, really?" I ask him.

He nods excitedly. "Yeah. Apparently, here, people go to a shop to fix their cars, 'cause none of them know how to do it themselves. I got a job at the local mechanics."

"Dad, that's great. Really," I answer. Dad has always loved cars, and his beloved ute probably means more to him than any amount of money. 

The tension still hangs awkwardly from our argument, and we stand around in an uncomfortable silence. Then my father's eyes catch on my akubra.

"They letting you wear it now, eh?" he asks.

"What?"

"Your hat. You stopped wearing it after you got that job, so I figured they wouldn't let you wear it. But you're wearing it today."

"Oh, yeah," I mumble. I don't want Dad having a big fuss over me training a horse. I'll probably let them down anyway, and I don't want him to have some sort of false hope. There's no chance, that, if Bess is a flighty as Maya claims, I'm going to get her ready in time for the show jumping trials.

We descend into an awkward silence. My father looks at his hands, then takes a deep breath. "Ollie, I'm sorry. I know I should've checked with you before bringing Mars here. I just-"

"Dad, it's okay. I understand," I tell him.

"You do?"

"Yeah. But I still think it's cruel, what we're doing to him. He shouldn't have to suffer."

"Okay," Dad sighs, then looks up at me. "Give me a month. I'll figure out what's best for him."

I nod, then head straight to my room. A month. A wash of relief fills me, knowing that Mars won't suffer for long. It's not his physical scars that are the problem, but the memories that go with them. But still, I feel a pang of sorrow. Something about the other night started to heal that hollow feeling inside me. Just being in the same paddock with the horse that onced loved me helped.

It doesn't matter, anyway. I'll still be the reason that he almost died. And that I almost went with him.

* * *

I slap the coil of rope on my thigh, letting Bess run in circles around me. All it takes is one step towards her and she's bolting further away from me. As soon as she does, I stop and stand there, waiting for her to see there's no threat.

Bess looks at me, her nostrils flaring, trying to work out what's going on. I take a small step towards her. She paws at the ground, and tosses her head. I lift the rope and my free hand up into the air, and she stops.

After I take one more step, she bolts again, and I let her run around the round yard, waiting like before until she realises again that I won't hurt her. I don't notice Gus walk up, or Georgia. All I do is repeat the same process.

I do it three more times, letting Bess go at her own pace. Then, as I walk towards her, she doesn't move, and instead of fear, she watches me with curiosity. At last I stop only several feet away, and I reach my palm out.

A few seconds pass, but eventually I feel the warmth of Bess' breath on my palm, and she sniffs my hand before lifting her nose up when she is comfortable. I atke the smallest of steps back, this time letting her come to me.

She does. One foot first, she takes two short, tentative steps. Then her head is right next to mine, and I stroke her face as reward. She nuzzles my palm, and I scratch her behind the ears.