I've Lost the Power to Feel

I pull onto the dusty gravel road that leads to the barn. Wyndem Rose Stables is the generic tan with forest-green roof and trimming. This place is my home. I park my now-filthy Viper next to a large silver Featherlite trailer and stumble out. The barn is nearly empty today, which is great.

My horse can be an antisocial prick sometimes.
During the day, the horses are all kept in pastures outside. The barn is on acres upon acres of land, which means acres upon acres of pastures, which means I know it'll be trouble if the herd decided that the back of the pasture has the greenest grass. Oh well, more exercise for me. I notice a bit of a muffin top forming on my torso yesterday.

I grab a lead rope and head to Sootar's pasture. He and a few other horses lazily nicker to me as I walk the rough half mile to the [i]very edge[/i] of the pasture. I call Sootar's name, several times, and he finally saunters over to me, seeking a treat. I gave him a piece of carrot and rubbed his forehead. Sootar is a jet-black Thoroughbred gelding and I love him to the moon and back. He's big for his breed, but that isn't really saying much. He can be a dear, but on a regular basis he is a brat. He seems to want everyone to know he is the big shot around the barn. My mom compares him to those select bitchy teenage girls that think they can act prissy and, well, bitchy, because they're pretty. I wholeheartedly agree with her assessment. The pony kids here call him Pretty-Boy Pansy. He loves going as fast as possible and jumping the highest fences with valor. Being the puller he is, he's a lot to handle, but we are a team. A palomino gelding named Leo bumps my shoulder with his muzzle, also looking for a treat. I laugh as the greedy horse laps up the carrot on my palm and is promptly scared away by a jealous Sootar, baring his teeth at the intruder stealing his goodies. The two of us walk side-by-side with Leo trailing about ten feet behind us through the green pasture. I admire the sunlight filtering through the spattering of trees in the middle of the pasture, the occasional bird or squirrel flitting across my field of vision, and the pleasant blanket of quiet that covers the vast acreage.

I tack my moody horse up quickly upon arriving in the barn, anxious to get back out into the summer sun. I swear as he accidentally stepped on my foot while I picked his hooves. I tug Sootar out into the arena, the Thoroughbred lazily flicking flies away with his silky tail. I set most of the jumps to an easy three feet and hop on. Sootar snorts in excitement; I've neglected jumping him lately. The gelding has his ears pricked forward and has a jump in his step. I smile. "Calm down, boy. Chill. We'll get to it." He snorts and throws his head back in response. I laugh and push him into an energetic trot.

Riding is a sort of drug to me. It helps me forget everything that's going on, even if nothing is. My mind is empty, set on enjoying the beautiful day. All my cares and concerns have been left at the mounting block.

"1, 2, 1, 2, 1..." I repeat over and over under my breath as I count Sootar's excited stride carefully to the first jump. He leaps over it as if it were nothing more than a foot and gives a little buck upon landing. We fly over a spread, then a two-stride, on to an oxer. Sootar is an even stride away from jumping a gleaming red fence when a barn cat darts from under a flower box. Sootar started, reared, and fell sideways into the jump. The last thing I remember is a loud crack when my head hits a standard and then all is suddenly black.
________________________________________
______________________________________________________

Groggily I open my eyes halfway, only to be met by a blinding white light. [i]Rude,[/i] I think to myself. Blinking rapidly, I try to get used to the brightness. Beeping fills my ears as my senses wake up one by one. My eyes finally adjust to the white, sterile room. I realize I am in the hospital. Gross. Wait, why the hell am I in the hospital?!

It then floods back into my dully-throbbing brain. I was riding Sootar and he was scared by a cat and my head hit that damned standard. [i]Of course[/i]. I groan. Out of nowhere, my best friend Maya Gordon magically appears at my bedside.

"Hey look, it's my favorite bitch," I croak pathetically.

"Hey, my favorite slut's awake! How you feeling?"

I mock sneer at my best friend-slash-roommate. "About as good as the depths of hell." Maya laughs.

"Pretty crummy, huh? Want some water?" I nod yes. After I drink to my heart's content, I lay back down fully and close my eyes, trying to ignore the annoying throbbing in my head. It's starting to get quite painful.

"Bruh, you hit that standard really hard," Maya decides to bother me as soon as I'm getting comfortable. What else are best friends for? "You were out for two days."

I shoot up and immediately regretted it. Pain shoots through every nerve in my body. "[i]Two days[/i]?!"

"Yes, now hush." The ginger girl presses her forefinger to my lips. "The doctor said you had a concussion and you have a crack in your skull, but you'll heal, probably."

I give her a pointed look. "Hey Maya?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"Is Sootar okay?"

Maya nods. "He's got some bruising and he's on Bute for it. You took the worst of it."

I smile. My baby was okay. I had noticed something was missing, I wondered what it was.

"Maya,"

"Yes, your Highness."

"Has Ashton been here, by any chance?"

"Yeah, actually. Yesterday, I think. He only stopped by. He was acting kinda weird, now that you mention it."

I furrow my eyebrows. "Weird how?"

Maya shrugs. "I dunno. He couldn't look at you for very long and he only asked how this happened." I nod. That is odd of him. Last time I was in the hospital he came right away and pretty much stayed with me until I got to go home. Then again, that was a few years ago and I had mono. Weird.

"Maya?"

"Lots of questions today. Yeah?"

"When do I get out of this hell hole?"

She shrugs her shoulders and tries to hide a grin. "Dunno. Ask the nurse, genius." Maya pushes a little grey button on the side of my bed and within a couple minutes a nurse in teal scrubs walks in. Her name tag reads [i]Hannah[/i].

"How can I help you two?" Hannah asks kindly.

"Hi, uh, when do you think I can leave? Like leave-leave."

The woman half-smiles. "Well," she begins, "Now that you're awake, we'll keep you overnight and you can go when you get your papers signed tomorrow."

"Thank you," I say, exhausted. The pain in my head is making it hard to think. "Hey Hannah?" \

She turns back towards me. "Yes?"

"Can I get some pain meds? My head's killing me."

"Soon, dear. It's not quite time for your medication yet." She smiles and walks out with a promise to return later.

I lay my head back down and groan. "I hate these fucking beds. They're killing my back." Maya just snickers.

"Toughen up, soldier."

Hannah comes back in with a paper cup and four pills about 45 minutes later. She fills the cup at the sink and sets it along with the pills on a tray. I pop the pills in my mouth by twos and swallow the kinda nasty purified water.

"Thanks Hannah," I slur, all the colors in the room getting wishy-washy.

"You're very welcome, honey. Feel better."

I smile goofily as she walks out again.

"Goodnight, dickwad," I giggle to Maya, reaching out to her weird-looking, technicolor form.

"See ya later, cunt."

Her smile is the last thing I see before going under and into a crazy dream.

Notes

This chapter took me till one in the morning to finish editing. I hope everyone enjoyed it!

Leave a vote or a comment :) (or both! Madi might get more done)

Madi