When the Blood Runs Thick

The Riding Lesson

I wake to the sound of birds chirping outside my window. At first I wonder why Jacob didn't wake me up for school like he usually does, but then I realize that it's Saturday, meaning I've officially been adopted for five days. I hop out of bed and stretch, reaching down and touching my toes.

My door opens and Mason walks in. Jacob is at work. He works everyday of the week and generally works from nine in the morning to about five in the afternoon.

"Morning, sleepy head," Mason says. "Want some breakfast?"

I yawn, stretching my arms above my head. "Sure. Sounds good."

"Don't forget, you said you'd help me with a riding lesson today."

"Yeah. I remember."

I dress in a pair of jeans and a loose t-shirt, shoving my razorblade in my jean pocket. I then head downstairs for breakfast. Mason made french toast. Yummy! I stack my plate with three french toast and pour some syrup on them. The syrup runs over the toast like a little, brown river.

After I finish eating, Mason leads me out to the pasture. In about an hour, one of Mason's riders will be here. Mason says that the kid has his own horse he will be bringing, and Mason wants me to go through the lesson with the kid just for fun.

Mason has me start to get Midnight ready--brushing Midnight's coat and putting on Midnight's saddle and bridle. The saddle weighs about fifty pounds so Mason has to help me set it on Midnight. Mason has me strap on the saddle by myself and then has me check to make sure it's tight enough by putting my foot in the stirrup and hopping up, pressing all my weight on the stirrup. When I do so, the saddle turns and I fall.

"Guess he held his breath when you tightened it," Mason says, chuckling. "He did that to me a few times when I first got him."

"That's stupid. Midnight's a bully," I say jokingly.

Mason redos the saddle for me and checks it. Of course Midnight doesn't hold his breath for Mason.

"Why do we have to get Midnight ready anyway?" I ask, standing and brushing the dirt off my pants. "I mean, won't the other kid have to get his horse ready too?"

"No. He won't," Mason says, adjusting Midnight's bridle. "This specific kid rides his horse to the lessons."

"How long has he been taking lessons?"

"He started sometime last week." Mason pauses for a few seconds. "And, you know, I think he just started going to school here."

"Wait. Why did he just start if he arrived a little over a week ago?"

Mason shrugs. "He was probably helping his parents unpack."

After Mason helps me finish getting Midnight ready, I hear the subtle sound of hooves clip clopping on gravel. Mason hands me a brush and tells me to finish combing Midnight's mane. So, I do. I take the brush and gently stroke it through Midnight's thick, curly mane. It's a pain to do so, but I guess I have to do it.

"Hey, Aiden!" Mason yells. Aiden? I turn and see Aiden sitting atop a brown Arabian horse with a white star on its forehead. No. It seriously can't be Aiden. But then I remember Aiden saying that he had a teacher that was gay... "Ready for the lesson today?"

"I sure am, Mr. Johnson," Aiden says, hopping off his horse.

"You know you can call me Mason. Being called Mr. Johnson is weird." Mason walks over and strokes Aiden's horse's nose. "So, how has Teddy been? Having any problems with him yet?"

"No and he's been pretty good."

Aiden looks over and meets my gaze, his eyes widening. I quickly turn around, pretending to attend to Midnight.

"Annie?" Aiden says.

I let out a sigh, knowing that he would have found out one way or another. So, I turn back around, facing Aiden with a nervous feeling in my stomach.

"You two know each other?" Mason asks.

"Yeah. We're in the same grade and have our first block class together," Aiden says.

*****

In the pasture, Aiden and I both mount our horses, Mason staying between us. Mason said that to get the horses warmed up, we're just going to walk them around for five or ten minutes.

It's kind of awkward having Aiden here too because the fact that he knew Mason, and most likely Jacob, before they adopted me is just unbearable. But it's also kind of comforting. I mean, Aiden probably won't make fun of my gay parents because he knows them and probably has some sort of relationship with them.

I suddenly hear the sound of a snake hissing and start to become paranoid. I know that horses can be easily frightened so knowing that there is a snake somewhere near our horses makes my stomach turn.

"Mason," I say.

"Yeah. I know," Mason says cooly. "I'm pretty sure that it's not near us. So don't worry."

Right after that, Midnight squeals in pain and rears up, kicking his front hooves. I try to hold on the best I can but I lose my grip and fall, landing on my ankle. The sound of my ankle snapping like a twig makes me feel nauseous. Pain shoots through my ankle, making tears well in my eyes. Midnight kicks his back legs up, one of his hooves slamming into my sternum. Pain shoots through my chest and my breath gets knocked out of me. While Midnight runs off, I lay back on the ground, gasping for air. My left ankle burns with fiery pain. My vision blurs, making me more and more nauseous. I hear Mason yelling my name. He kneels next to me but then everything goes black.