Chapter 18

Reed

       Most of the time, I enjoyed spending time by myself and ever since Whitney and Clive got to Meadowcliff, I didn't really get to spend any time alone. They were too concerned to leave me alone.

       As grateful as I was that they were caring about me so much, I also just wanted to be on my own, even for a few minutes. 

       I've been trying to find a way to go to the stables by myself but so far, I had no ideas. All I wanted to do was go horseback riding alone and possibly find a place in nature to just relax in.

       Jonah and Linnea were the only ones in the hotel room with me. Ezra and Madison were currently out of the hotel right now.

       Whitney and Clive had their own hotel room but it was like they put a tracker on me or something. Every time I was about to head out alone, they knew it and offered to come with me.

       That, or Jonah was the one texting them every time I was about to head out.

       Maybe all I needed to do was get Jonah out of the hotel so I could leave without him telling his parents that I was leaving.

       That was if he was even telling them. If not, then I really did have a tracking device in me.

       Even though Jonah was playing his guitar right now and hated to be interrupted, I walked over to him and tapped him on his shoulder.

       He stopped strumming, sighing frustratingly as he looked over at me. "What?"

       "You seem frustrated," I said. "Why don't you take your girlfriend out of the hotel and into the town of Meadowcliff. You're here for a reason, right?"

       Jonah eyed me suspiciously. "What are you up to?"

       "What do you mean?" I asked.

       "You normally don't care if I'm in the hotel or not," Jonah said. "So why do you seem like you want me to leave?"

       "I don't," I said. "I just think you should be a nice boyfriend and take your girlfriend out."

       "No, that does sound like you want us to leave," Linnea said.

       "Yeah, so why do you want us to?" Jonah asked.

       I sighed. Might as well tell Jonah the truth. Hopefully he would actually help me out this time instead of telling his parents I was going out.

       "Because I just want to go to the stables but I want to go there alone," I said.

       Jonah furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't get it. What does you wanting to go to the stable have to do with me and Linnea leaving?"

       "Because someone keeps telling Whitney and Cliff whenever I'm going out," I said. "Or they have a tracking device inside of me but I'm pretty sure that's not the answer."

       Jonah was silent for a bit. "I just don't want you going out alone."

       "I can make my own decisions, Jonah," I said. "If I don't feel safe going out, then I'll stay home. But there are some times I just want to go out and get some fresh air. On my own. But I've just been feeling smothered lately."

       "We're just trying to help," Jonah said.

       "I don't need help when I don't ask for it," I said. "I just... I just need some space at times. So can you please not tell your parents that I'm going out this time?"

       "Alright, I won't tell them if that's what you want," Jonah said.

       "Are you only saying that because I want to hear that?" I asked. "Or because you really won't tell them?"

       "I really won't tell them," Jonah said. "You said you're going to the stables and you've been there alone before."

       I wanted to believe Jonah that he wouldn't tell his parents, especially because Jonah always kept a promise when he made it.

       But I couldn't believe him. 

       Because of my trust issues. It was so hard for me to believe people, even if I knew that they were the type of person who told the truth or kept their promises.

       I hated it.

       However, I was going to take the opportunity to leave right now before Jonah did tell his parents that I was heading out.

       I was able to leave the hotel without Whitney and Clive stopping me so maybe Jonah really didn't text them.

       When I got to the stables, I saw Maria outside taking care of one of the horses. When she saw me, she gave me a smile. "Here to see Fate?" she asked.

       "Yeah, I just needed some fresh air and wanted to go horseback riding," I said.

       "There's a trail just over there if you want to go on it," Maria said, pointing north of the stables. "It's very peaceful there."

       "I'll check it out then," I said.

       I walked over to Fate's stall he seemed very happy to see me. I smiled, gently rubbing his neck. I was so happy I had my horse back in my life. 

       I got Fate ready to go out horseback riding before getting on him and heading towards the trail Maria told me about.

       She was right. This was a peaceful place to be right now. I just might have to come here every single time I was horseback riding to clear my mind.

       Which I was probably going to be doing a whole lot with everything that was happening.

       I ended up coming across an opening in the trail with a large grass area and only a few trees covering it.

       I decided to take a break here, stopping Fate and jumping off. Normally, people would tie their horse's reign to a tree to make sure their horse wouldn't take off but I never did it with Fate. He hated it a lot so I just let him roam around. He never took off.

       I sat down underneath a tree, just taking a deep breath of fresh air. For once in my life, I actually felt calm and relaxed. Like their was nothing weighting me down.

       And once I left this place, I was just going to feel burdened and weighted down. Anxious. Depressed. So many negative feelings that I just couldn't escape.

       Somewhat in the distance, I heard another horse's hooves pattering against the gravel. I looked towards the direction, seeing Lyric on her horse. 

       Lyric stopped when she saw me sitting underneath the tree. "Hey, I didn't know you knew about this place," she said.

       "Your grandma just told me about it when I told her I was going horseback riding," I said. "It seems perfect to just escape."

       "Yeah, it is," Lyric said. "That's why I came here but if you want to be completely alone, I can head further down the trail."

       "No, you can stay," I said. "I don't mind. So what do you need to escape from?"

       "Stress, finance stuff," Lyric said as she got off her horse, tying the reign to the tree. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a treat for her horse. "There's this music school I got into but the tuition is a bit crazy. I've been working long hours at the diner trying to make sure I can pay the tuition but I'm nervous I won't make it."

       "What school?" I asked.

       "Adagio Music Academy," Lyric said. 

       "Hey, I might be going there too," I said.

       "Might be?" Lyric asked.

       "My foster parents said they might be able to pull some strings," I said. "And they saved money for Jonah's tuition but he got a scholarship so they're willing to pay for me to go there."

       Lyric smiled. "That's nice of them."

       "Yeah," I said quietly. "Yeah, it is." I was happy to be placed with Whitney and Clive, even if I didn't know if I could fully trust them. But that was because of my trust issues, not because of them.

       "So... What did you need to escape from?" Lyric asked.

       "Way too many things," I said. "My mental illnesses. Me owing money to some guy because my dad did but he passed away so apparently it's my job now. And it's a lot of money."

       I didn't even know why I was telling Lyric this stuff. I hated talking about things like this in my life but... She was just easy to talk to. I always had trouble making friends so she was my first friend. And an amazing one too.

       "That's not fair at all," Lyric said.

       "I know but apparently it's how shady debt works," I said. "That's why my foster parents are trying to get me into Adagio. They figured it would be the best way to just get away from all that."

       "I hope they're able to get you in there," Lyric said. "It would be nice to have a friend there. Well, if I'm able to pay for the tuition."

       "You will," I said. 

       "I don't know," Lyric said. "I'm still a few hundred dollars short and I probably won't make that much from my job. That's why I'm here. I just need to relieve the stress even for a few minutes."

       "Well, you don't have to make money from only your job," I said.

       Lyric looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "What are you going on about?"

       "I might have an idea," I said.

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i need to update this book more now that it's summer. i know it's still spring but for me, summer starts in april when i'm done all my exams since i won't go back to school until september lol

and i really want to see lyric in this book. she has only been in a few chapters but she is going to be playing a huge part because i love her <3