Rival Revenge (15 page)

I knew I was trying to justify it to myself why I was breaking the rules by being here. But it was true—it made me feel better to be at the stable and doing something other than sitting in my room. And if I got caught … I'd handle it.

I finished grooming Charm and slipped out of his stall to grab his tack. I led him out the back door to the outdoor arena behind the stable. Mr. Conner wouldn't be able to see if he came to his office early. Mike was always so busy I doubted he'd notice that Charm was gone for a while.

I mounted and settled in Charm's saddle. The morning air was still semi-cool, but it wouldn't be long before it was hot and gross. We'd have to work hard to get through all of the exercises I wanted to and get Charm cooled
and groomed so I could sneak back to Winchester before
Mr. Conner got back.

I started Charm at a walk and we made two laps around the smaller arena. I let him into a trot and I sat deep in the saddle. Charm moved easily and I felt him relax with each lap we made. I wobbled a little as we changed directions, but I gripped the saddle tighter with my knees.

Charm asked for more rein and I allowed him to canter. There were no jumps in this arena, so Charm was free to stretch his legs from one end of the arena to the other. I slowed him to a trot, then a walk. Charm wanted to canter, but I was getting tired. I wasn't going to faint—I knew that—but I was tired.

Deal
, I told myself.
You've got to practice.

I kicked my feet out of my stirrups, crossed them, and urged Charm into a trot again. We made several laps around the arena and I focused on not wobbling in the saddle and on keeping Charm at an even pace. My arms started to shake from holding Charm back. He wasn't even feisty today—just normal Charm—and I wasn't strong enough to hold him.

I ignored the pain and started to post. It made my legs burn, but I needed the strength training. Fainting during another lesson was
not
an option.

After a couple more laps, I put my stirrups back down and took Charm through figure eights. His body bent through the turns and he became suppler with each movement. I kept my gaze straight ahead, trying to fight off the slightly dizzy feeling. There was no way I was stopping.

After another twenty minutes or so, I wanted to work on my posture. I was so into our practice, it shocked me when I saw someone standing near the fence.

Mr. Conner.

Uh.

Oh.

His arms were folded across his chest and his boots thumped into the arena dirt as he stomped over.

“Dismount.
Now,
” he said. His eyes were dark and his face reddened.

I dismounted and
looked up at him from under the brim of my helmet. “Mr. Conner, I can explain,” I said. “Really, I—”

“Give Charm to Mike and come straight to my office,” Mr. Conner said. His tone was scary low. He turned and went into the stable.

My fingers shook as I loosened Charm's girth and took him inside. I found Mike filling a water bucket for one of the stable horses.

“Sasha,” Mike said. There was obvious surprise in his voice at seeing me. “What are you doing with Charm tacked up?”

I ducked my head. “I just wanted to practice a little. But Mr. Conner caught me and told me to give Charm to you.”

I waited while Mike finished refilling the bucket and latched the stall door. He took Charm's reins from me and gave me
the
look. “You could have gotten hurt—and so could Charm.”

I nodded, but didn't really agree with him. I was fine and everyone was treating me like I was a little kid. “I
know
.”

Mike led Charm away to cool him down and I dragged my feet down the aisle to Mr. Conner's office. He wouldn't ban me from riding, would he? I hadn't even thought about that. Then he'd have to tell Mr. Nicholson in the progress reports. Maybe Mr. Nicholson would decide that I wasn't the right person for the team if I didn't listen to my instructor.

I gulped and forced myself to knock on Mr. Conner's door.

“Come in,” he said.

I walked inside and he motioned for me to take a chair
in front of his desk. No matter how many times I'd been in his office, I couldn't help but stare at the ribbons and trophies that lined the shelves behind his desk.

“Sasha,” Mr. Conner said, his face still red. “I don't even know where to start. I'm appalled at your actions today. You disregarded specific instructions from the nurse not to ride. Do you have any idea what might have happened if you'd gotten hurt?”

His voice rose with every word and I sank deeper into my chair. My face burned and I swallowed.

“You not only risked yourself and your horse, but you put
my
job on the line,” Mr. Conner said. “I will not tolerate that in my stable. It's behavior I did not expect from you, Sasha.”

I could barely look at him. “I'm so sorry,” I said. “I felt fine and—”

“I don't care
how
you felt,” Mr. Conner interrupted, his voice seeming to reverberate off the office walls. “You were told not to ride and you did.”

“I'm sorry,” I said again, my voice a whisper.

Mr. Conner stared at me for several seconds, making me squirm. “I cannot have a rider in my stable that's not trustworthy.”

“Please,” I said. “Don't ban me from riding. That's
why I felt like I
had
to come. You're taping the lesson for Mr. Nicholson soon and I don't feel ready.”

“And riding while you're supposed to be recovering is helpful?” Mr. Conner questioned. His voice hadn't lost the sharpness.

I stared down at my lap.

“Go back to your room,” Mr. Conner said. “I will be speaking with Livvie immediately. I'm not going to ban you from riding, but if you
ever
do something like this again—it won't just be a ban. You'll be off the team permanently. We'll talk about mucking duty when you're feeling better. Please go.”

I stood and left his office, trying not to cry. I walked a few steps, closed my eyes and rubbed them. Everyone needed to give me a break. People fainted—it happened—and they needed to calm down. The worried phone call from Mom and Dad yesterday hadn't helped either. They'd wanted to visit to make sure I was really okay, but I'd managed to talk them out of it.

“Sasha?” A familiar voice made goose bumps rise along my arms.

NOT YOUR JOB

Eric stood in front of me, his hands in
the pockets of his jeans and his dark brown eyes locked on my face.

“I heard you fainted yesterday,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“How'd you know I was here? And why aren't you in class?”

“I saw you sneaking to the stable, and when study hall started, I ditched for a few minutes.”

I forced myself not to take a step back. I hadn't been this close to Eric since Friday. But there wasn't a trace of hostility in his voice. He looked worried—like he still cared. Even after everything.

I managed to nod. “I'm fine. Thanks. I was just exhausted and dehydrated. But I'm okay now.”

“You sure?” he asked. “You could have been really hurt.”

“I know,” I said. “But I wasn't. It happened once—no big deal. I should get back to Winchester.”

Eric stepped to the side so I could walk around him. “Sash?” he called after me. “What happened
was
a big deal. Be careful.”

I paused, mid-step. That was what I missed most about Eric and had tried to forget. He'd always been so caring and there for me when I'd been going through the Jacob-and-Callie mess. I forced myself to start walking again.

I looked back over my shoulder as I walked. “You're not my boyfriend anymore,” I said softly. “It's not your job to worry about me.”

I didn't let myself think about Eric for the entire walk back. I stopped by Livvie's office, prepared to explain everything, but she wasn't in. She'd be knocking on my door the second she'd heard what I'd done. I showered, changed my clothes, and grabbed a book that was overdue for a read—
My Friend Flicka.
I settled back on my bed and covered up with a light blanket.

I tried to stop my brain from going, but all it would focus on was Eric and how he'd cut class to see me. I'd hurt him so much, but he'd risked detention to make sure
I was okay. The only way I wasn't falling apart about losing him was because I knew I'd done what I had to do. And if I moped about Eric, people would know I hadn't really been into Jacob like I'd pretended.

I still didn't even know how I felt about Jacob. Everything was so confusing! Eric and I had been perfect together, but Jacob had made me question things.

I opened my book and forced myself to read the words. I don't know how many pages I made it through before I fell asleep.

FAINTING SASHA

AFTER I WOKE UP, I REALLY DID FEEL BETTER.
I did homework, read, and then started to get bored. I glanced at the clock and realized film class started in half an hour. And really it wasn't a
class
-class—we did more theater games than work. I was so over people telling me to rest.

Livvie had showed up when I was reading and hadn't been happy—at all—that I'd gone riding. I'd apologized, pretending to agree with her that it had been dumb and I'd needed to rest. But she was wrong just like everyone else.

I sat up and started getting ready. Livvie hadn't said I had to stay in my room, so maybe she'd think I'd gone to the caf or something if she came to my room. And if Ms. Scott didn't want me in class, she'd make me leave.
I felt good and the fewer classes I missed, the better. At Canterwood, it took longer to complete makeup work than it did to go to the actual class.

I started to text Paige that I was going to theater class and would see her later, but I canceled the text. She'd be furious if I went to class after I was supposed to stay in my room. I left Winchester and walked to the theater building. I wiped drops of sweat from my forehead and wished I'd worn a tank top instead of a T-shirt.

I was halfway to the auditorium when Jasmine walked down the sidewalk toward me. If I hadn't been so tired, I would have run just to get away from her.

“Wow,” Jasmine said. “You're actually up and walking. I mean, aren't you supposed to be lying down with a cold washcloth over your head with people coming by every hour to make sure you're still breathing?”

“Whatever,” I said. “I'm fine and I'm going to theater.”

Jas smiled. “Great strategy. Show up so they all see your pathetic face and they'll feel even sorrier for Fainting Sasha. Everyone's already talking about you. Really was a brilliant move.”

“Fainting?” I laughed. “You've got to be kidding me.”

“Oh, please,” Jas said, focusing her eyes on me. “You wanted Mr. Conner to feel sorry for you before we taped
the lesson for Mr. Nicholson. You'd have the excuse of being ‘sick' and who's gonna kick off the new girl if she fainted? I mean, really, I wish I'd thought of it first.”

I shook my head. “You're ridiculous. How can someone
faint
on purpose? I could have hurt Charm. If
you
want to try to faint for ‘attention,' go for it.”

I walked down the aisle and away from Jasmine. She had no idea what she was talking about and I didn't need to waste time on her. There were a zillion other things to worry about.

I got to the auditorium and walked down to the rows of seating in front of the stage. I took my usual seat behind Heather. Jacob wasn't here yet, thankfully.

Heather half-turned her head and when she saw me, she frowned. “What are you doing here? Weren't you banned from classes today?”

“Yeah, but it's theater. We're not going to be taking tests or anything. And I just needed to sleep it off—really. I did that and I'm
fine.
”

Heather shrugged. “You keep saying that word whenever you're not ‘fine.' You really are the biggest dork I know. You had the option of staying in your room all day doing whatever, but you
chose
to come to class. You're
so
weird.”