WHERE WE ARE ; COLE WALTER

027

THE SECOND DAY OF THE COUNTRY FAIR had come and Veronica was walking through the crowd all on her own once again, but would be joined by Erin later on.

Today she wore a baby blue sundress, combined with a white jean jacket and her boots. And as she ate the hotdog she had just bought herself, she just prayed that she wouldn't accidentally get something on her outfit.

Looking around her, Veronica considered what she could do next or where she could go now. There was always the option of going over to the arena and watch the riding competition but after two or three candidates, it got rather boring seeing as all of them did the same thing, so she decided against doing that.

What she could do, however, was go over to the stables and look a bit at all of the horses, which was much more interesting and  there it was also quiet, so she could take some time to herself before she had to dive back into the crowd with Erin.

The black girl has loved horses her whole life and will probably do so forever and as she walked through the many rows of horses in their stables, she couldn't help but drop the smile that was on her face.

Horses always reminded her of Cole. He was the one who had taught her how to ride, he was the one who had watched her fall from a horse many times and he was the one who had gone on a ride with her whenever she wanted to, without complaining once.

As she petted yet another horse, one that resembled Custard, a loud sigh escaped her. Why did she have to realize now, on the day she was supposed to have happy thoughts and happy thoughts only, that she missed Cole Walter?

Veronica missed his crooked grin, his hair that always fell into his eyes (she cut it once into completely uneven bangs), she missed the way he would mess up her hair, the way he cared for his family and above all, she missed having him as her best friend – and kind of him as her boyfriend too.

She missed the feeling of being his center of attention, she missed how she could talk to him about everything, she missed having his arms wrapped around her and she missed the way his lips fit to hers like puzzle pieces.

Petting the horse a bit more, lost in thought, Veronica couldn't help but shake her head at herself. Hadn't she been the one to break things off with him? Hadn't she been the one who had slapped him a mere week ago for trying to kiss him? And hadn't she refused his friendship offer the day before?

While she had done all those things without feeling any regret, she realized now that she yearned for him but it was too late now, wasn't it?

Time and time again, Veronica had shown Cole that she didn't want to be with him anymore, so he probably got over it by now and his words from yesterday was just his form of letting go.

As she thought about everything, Veronica realized that she might have acted rashly with ... well, with everything. Because as Cole had said, just when things were about to get difficult, she took the easier route and left him, not wanting to help him out, leaving his broken self behind to fend for himself.

Veronica also realized that she had done the one thing she had always hated about her mother.

Her mother, too, had left her father when things got just a bit too difficult for her to handle. The woman packed her things and left her children and husband behind, without ever showing just a slight sign of regret.

While the situations may have been different, Veronica knew that to some extent, she had done the same thing. She just went and left Cole behind when his future darkened and never once showed any sign of regret, up until now.