Page 12 of Choose You

To say the twelve-year-old version of me had been uneasy in the Langdon house was an understatement.

As soon asLeo went outside to the barn and Rosie into the kitchen, I snuck out the back door. I’d only been here for two weeks, and they still watched me like they didn’t know what to do with me. My last two foster homes sent me back to the state after only three weeks, so I suspected my time here was running short.

I hadn’t gotten into any trouble yet, so maybe they’d let me stay longer than the last two families. But the Langdons were so far away from town, it was hard to get into too much trouble.

And I was itching for it. I didn’t know how to exist if I wasn’t in the middle of something bad.

My only real shot at trouble was at school. But this school was so lame, I couldn’t seem to find trouble even though I kept looking.

So today, I was sneaking out to make my own trouble. If I couldn't find it, then I’d sure as hell create plenty of it on my own to make up for the lack of it in this dull town.

I just didn’t know how I’d make my way to town without a car. I may only be twelve, but I knew how to drive. Someone had to pick my mom up from the bars after she’d gotten wasted. But the Langdons hid their keys, and I didn’t know how to hotwire a car. That was a skill I should learn. It’d be useful out here in the middle of nowhere.

It looked like I was hoofing it instead.

To avoid being seen, I darted into the forested area that ran alongthe edge of the property. If I kept walking south, the forest would lead me to the main road. From there, maybe I could hitchhike.

I walked in a few hundred feet before I’d heard the sound of running water. I followed the sound until I happened upon a creek. This must be the famous Rush Creek that was the namesake of the ranch.

I followed the creek south for a few minutes before I stopped. Movement between the trees caught my attention. I slowed my pace and took care not to step on any twigs or dead leaves. I didn’t want to give away my position. When I neared the creek bank, I crouched behind a bush.

A pretty blond girl sat on a large rock on the other side of the creek. At first, I didn’t think she was doing anything but sitting, but then I noticed her skipping rocks. She was pretty good at it for a girl.

I’d seen her in school. I think she was in my English class, but I didn’t know her name. I didn’t bother with names most of the time. I’d be leaving soon so no use getting friendly.

But I felt an odd urge to get friendly with this girl. There was something about her that held my attention. Maybe it was because she was so damn pretty.

She had blond hair that curled around her shoulders. Her legs were long and slender, and she was developing a nice rack for a twelve year old girl. Most girls my age didn’t have boobs yet, so I couldn’t help but stare at them sometimes in class.

That wasn’t the only thing nice about her. Her eyes were as blue as sapphires and when she smiled it made my belly feel funny. It made me feel like I was going to be sick. I had no clue what that meant, but I kinda liked it. Did that make me weird?

I watched her skip rock after rock, every one of them skipping across the water at least three times before it sank. I could watch her forever and never get bored. But I had trouble to create, and I couldn’t do that by watching a girl.

I was about to sneak away when I heard the neigh of a horse. I glanced past the girl, and sure enough, there was a horse tied to a tree a few feet away from where she sat.

Hot damn, I found my ticket into town.

Now, I hadto figure out how to cross the creek and sneak off with her horse without getting caught.

I headed north until the creek curved and the girl was hidden from view. If I couldn’t see her, then I assumed she couldn’t see me either. Crossing was a little more challenging. For a creek it was kinda deep, but it was narrow. I came upon a tree with a limb that hung over and swung across like it was the jungle gym on the school playground. I made it two-thirds of the way across before the limb sagged and my feet hit the water.

“Shit,” I mumbled. “So much for staying dry.”

I lifted my feet and swung myself the rest of the way across. I missed my landing and fell smack on my back. I clenched my jaw to keep from crying out and did my best to remain still. I hoped I didn’t make too much noise and scare her off. If she left before I got to her horse, I’d never make it to town.

When no one came to investigate my clumsy attempt at crossing the creek, I slowly stood and stretched out my legs and back. No harm done.

I followed the creek south again until I saw her from behind. She was still sitting on the rock, seemingly unaware of my fall upstream.

When I reached her horse, he seemed gentle enough. Or her, I guess the horse could be a girl. I didn’t know much about horses, but they seemed cool. Leo was into horses, and he said he’d teach me all about them if I wanted. It would be nice, but I doubt they’d keep me around long enough for me to learn much.

I untied the reins and stared at the saddle, debating on how best to get up on this thing. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I’d never ridden a horse before and had no clue what I was doing. Then again, how hard could it be?

As soon as I stepped into the stirrups and threw my leg over the horse, I heard the girl call out. But I was already on, and the horse started running. There was nothing she could do to stop me now.

That was until she let out a loud whistle, and the horse stopped suddenly. My hands slipped, and I lost my hold on the reins. I flew right over the side, flipped in the air, and landed on my back. Again.

Before I was able to catch my breath, the girl jumped on top of me and straddled me. She grabbed my shirt with one hand and held a fist in the air like she was going to punch me in the face with the other. I stared at her deep blue eyes, and they flickered with hints of gold right around the pupils. Her lips were pinched into a thin line and her brows were wrinkled.

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