Author's Note: Sqeakers1 and Mylo9810's (again) descriptions were picked for the Nathan's Horse Contest! I combined them, if you were wondering why two people were picked . . .
I woke up the next day really early to the smell of bacon and pancakes. I lifted up my legs and stepped out. The floor was freezing! I quickly jumped back into my warm bed. Mhmm . . . the pancakes and bacon smelled good. I wanted to eat but not get cold. I realized that I wasn't going to get both ways so I chose the easiest one, staying in bed.
Someone knocked on the door. I heard the door open and then heard Mom talking.
"Nathan! What a wonderful surprise!"
"Hey Mrs. Larson. Here's the quilt you ordered from my mom."
"Thanks. Oh this looks beautiful."
I wanted to see the quilt, wait that's a lie. I wanted to see Nathan. I slowly got out of my warm utopia, and quickly changed into some warm clothes. Jeans, warm boots, and a red long sleeved shirt was all I needed to get warm.
I walked down the stairs.
"Hey," I said to Nathan.
"Hey," he replied back.
Mom looked at both of us with a confused look on her face. "You two know each other?"
"Yeah, I met Nathan at Freddie's yesterday."
"Oh."
"Umm. . ." said Nathan. I could tell by is body language that he felt a little awkward. "You busy today?"
I looked at Mom, she shook her head. "No, I'm not."
"Would you like to learn how to ride, and get to know a horse?"
I mouth flew opened. "How . . . how'd you know?"
Nathan smirked, "Your Dad told me yesterday about you and Aspen."
"She is a horse with an attitude."
"I figured you would say that."
"So, how are you going to teach me? I don't think Aspen wants me near her now."
I toke a quick glance at Mom who was still standing there watching. She returned my contact. I made a little nudge on with my head, trying to tell her to leave. She understood.
"I have different horse in mind."
He walked out of the house, and I followed him. We had only walked for maybe five minutes and we were already at his house.
"You didn't know we were neighbors, did you?" he asked as he opened the gate to the field where the horses were.
I nodded no.
We walked until we came across a black stallion. Nathan didn't have to come to the horse, the horse came to him.
"I've been with horses all my life," he explained.
"I could tell."
Nathan jumped onto the horse and put his hand out and asked if I would like to join him. I did. I grabbed his hand while he helped me up. When I got up I felt tall, for the first time in my life. I wrapped my arms around his waist hanging on for dear life.
"It's a nice horse," I observed as Nathan somehow had the horse gallop.
"I know, he's my best friend. I got him when I was four when he was barely a year old. I tamed him all my life. He doesn't trust people easily. So far I'm the only one he trust," he smirks. "He hates the rest of my family."
"What's his name?"
"Night."
"Knight? Like a knight in shiny armor?"
"No, Night like a night sky."
"Oh."
We rode around the grass inside the gate for a couple times then Nathan halted Night. He slipped off, for a split second, in that same second Night had butted me off of him. Everything passed by like a dream. I flew of Night, landed on the ground as Nathan shooed away Night and ran towards me.
"Ellie, are you alright?" he asked.
I wanted to responded to him so badly but the words were stuck on my tongue. I tried continually to speak as Nathan yelled for help towards the house. He had grabbed my wrist sticking two fingers on top of my veins. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Nathan, what happened?" asked a woman's voice. "Oh."
I felt myself being lifted up by a strong pair of arms. I then was sat back down on a hard surface.
I flipped my eyes open fast, "Ow," I muttered while lifting myself in a sitting position.
"Oh, good you're okay," said a woman quickly putting her hand on my forehead. She saw my look, "Sorry. Mother's habit."
Nathan walked into the room with a glass of water and two red and blue pills in his hand. He lifted up his head, looked at me then his whole face lit up. "You're okay!"
"Yeah, I'm okay. What happened?" I asked.
"I should've got you off first and instead of m-"
I interrupted Nathan, "Just tell me what I did."
"Night butted you off and you fell on top of a small rock." He quickly looked at his hand, "Oh take these, it's aspirin."
I toke one look at the pills that look like the size of Texas. I got a lump in my throat just thinking about swallowing that.
"Those look big," I said.
Nathan looked at them, "They seem normal sized to me."
By this time the woman had left the room.
"No, they don't. Who was the woman?" I asked.
"What woman?"
"The one who felt my forehead."
"Oh, that was my mom," he said as he saw my eyeballing the pills. "Want me to smash these up and put it in the water for you?"
"Thanks, Nathan, that'll be good."
Nathan left the room as yet another woman walked in.
"Mom you wouldn't believe how fast me and Tucker went!" she called as she looked around the room. In the middle of the process she saw me.
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?" I challenged.
"Ha, nice comeback. I'm Lauren."
"I'm Ellie."
"Ah, so you're the Ellie Nathan's been talking about," she said walking towards me. "What happened to you?"
"Why do you ask?"
"You got a mark right there," Lauren said as she pointed her long fingers at my nose.
"Oh," I said putting my hand to my nose as Lauren pulled hers away. "That's probably from when I fell. I think."
"Off Nathan's horse?"
"Yeah."
"That horse trusts no one but Nathan."
"That explains things."
Lauren walked away with her long pure blonde ponytail waving side to side behind her.
"Squirt," she said and patted Nathan's head when he was passing by.
"Tree," he replied to her comment.
"So you met my sister," Nathan said handing me my glasses of water with crushed up aspirin pieces floating in it. I put it to my mouth and drank. When I was finished I asked, "Lauren's nice . . . and tall."
He chuckled, "That's why we call her tree."
"And she calls you squirt," I added.
"Right," he said. "She just got back from practicing for the big race Saturday."
"She races horses?"
He nodded, "She got that from my mom. My mom used to, before she hurt her back when she fell off once."
"That's too bad. Do you have anyone else in your family?"
Nathan toke a seat next to me, "Yeah, another older sister, Lanie she works at the local supermarket, she's a clerk and I also have a younger brother, Brandon. He's your classic brat."
I giggled. "My family's way more messed up. I had a mom, she died. Had a dad, idiot."
"Your dad was an idiot, how?"
I opened my mouth for a moment to tell Nathan my story, but then quickly thought what would happen. Dirk could find me, I would be moved somewhere else, my new parents who I loved dearly could be hurt.
"Sorry, I can't," I said instead.
"That's okay, you don't have too."
Lauren came walking in again, "Dinner's ready. Mom said Ellie can stay for dinner."
Nathan looked at me, "Want to?"
"Sure."
