Cinderella...Ish

13

"Hey, what are you still doing here?" John asked

"Thinking" I replied

"Oh. When do you leave for Texas?" He asked

"It's the first week of December so, what ever Sunday is before December" I said

"What are you plans for thanksgiving?" He asked

"Dinner with my family..." I said trailing off

Huh, this will be the first year I don't go to Kate's in the last 4 years. John walked away and I decided to head back to the house. It's been about 2 weeks and I haven't really talked to him that much. Granted we never really talked a lot but we were starting too. He doesn't really seem to care so I guess that's fine. Thanksgiving is this week. I don't really know how to feel. Kate said we could all come to their house but my aunt said she's cooking. I don't know. I do know that I am stressed. I have to pack for Texas and Kate isn't near me this year. They always had us right next to each other but they spread everybody out. Like people from the same area aren't near each other. Which means, I can't sprint through everyone's spots. Maybe I should see if someone can cover for Colin for the dentist. Ugh.

"Ella, are you working Thursday?" My aunt asked

"Yeah. But i'm getting done at 12 so i'll be home early" I said

"Okay. Colin is getting done at the same time. I'll be up at 4 to start cooking. Would you mind helping when you get home?" She asked

"Of course" I smiled

"Okay. I'll have you make the mashed potatoes and.... I don't know what else but i'll let you know" She said

Nodding, I got changed and sat in the living room. We had dinner and I went back to planning. I don't know why i'm planning so far in advance but, I am. Then Kate called.

"Hey, did you see the spots they gave everyone" Kate said

We had found out today where we were going to be and the directory for the week.

"Yeah. You're on the complete other side" I pouted

"Do you think they'll put us next to each other if we both reached out?" She asked

"I don't know. They are strict. I have until Monday to try and get Colin to come" I said

"Do you think he'll go" Kate asked

"I don't know. He needs to find someone to meet up with the dentist. And his work is being strict because he just started there a few months ago. I'm going to be screwed" I said

"I could have Tommy sprint through and help you. He wouldn't mind running" She laughed

"I would feel bad." I pouted

"Well... long shot. Haven't you and John been getting close?" She said

"Kinda. But I kinda.. put my guard back up" I said

"Why" She asked

"I don't know. I don't want to open up and him turn around and use it against me." I said

"Do you think he would?" Kate said

"I don't know. But every guy i've opened up to, or started to get comfortable with, they leave. Or it ends up not working out." I said

"Well, you're not dating the kid. He seems like he wanted to be friends with you" She said

"Yeah" I sighed

"And, when he came in your room a couple weeks ago and you leaned on his shoulder, he smiled. The way he looked at you was adorable" She laughed

"Well, I haven't really talked to him. And he wouldn't want to go to Texas and be stuck with me. We'd have to share a room too" I said

"That's fine" She replied

"I don't know. I'll think about it. But I don't know" I said

"Okay. Well, i'm being called away, i'll talk to you later. We're still going black Friday shopping right" She asked

"Yup." I laughed

We both hung up and I shook my head. I don't want to ask John to go. Nope.

~*~

"Happy Thanksgiving Ella. Thank you for coming down today. I have Kyle coming later on today to take care of them. I'm heading out to see family" Deb said

"Have a good time" I smiled

She left and Ryan and Bobby took their horses down to the arena. I headed into the barn and turned all the horses out. The barn doesn't connect to the pasture but hey, i'm getting my excersise. Once they were all out, I began cleaning out the stalls. Then John showed up, I saw that coming.

"Happy Thanksgiving Ella" He said

"Happy Thanksgiving" I replied and went back to cleaning the stalls.

"Hey, can I ask you something" He said

"What" I replied

"How come you don't talk to me as much." He asked

"I don't know" I said and continued shoveling the poop into the bucket.

"You act like you did before we started talking" He said

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked

"Kinda." He said

I looked at him and finished cleaning out the stall I was on. Then I started on the next one and he just looked at me.

"Do you not want to talk to me" He asked

"I do" I said

"Then why don't you. You were opening up and it was fun talking to you. But now you act all guarded again" John said

"Oh" I replied

I continued to clean the stall I was on and John just walked away. Well, I guess it's a good thing I was contemplating asking him to come to Texas. I don't think he would. And I think he's mad at me. Wow, I have such a way with guys don't I. I just f**k it up every time. Well, most of the time it's cause they're being d***s. But he was trying. I.. ugh. John brought his horse in the barn, and started to groom him. I finished the one side of stalls and drug the bucket over to the tractor. Dumping that into the front loading bucket, I started on the second side.

"I would ask you to come down.. but you'd probably say no" John said

"I'm working." I said

"So, you normally ride when you're working" He replied

"Okay, but i'm by myself and only here till 12" I said

"Whatever" He replied

"Why are you getting an attitude" I replied

"Because... because you." He said

"What about me" I asked

"You went from talking to me and being nice and leaning on me and s**t. f*****g flirting. To this. Cold and Distant" He said

"Well.." I said and just looked at him

"Well what Ella. I want to be friends with you. But it seems like you don't want to" He said

I just looked at him and he shook his head and started tacking up his horse. I started cleaning the first stall on the next side and finished it as John finished saddling up. He walked his horse around then tied him back up.

"Alright Styker, take a breath" He said

I heard his horse take the deep breath and I looked at him. I don't know why I feel upset because he's mad at me. I normally don't care. His two friends are mad at me and frankly, I don't give a s**t. But I don't know why he's getting to me. Ugh.

"I do want to be friends with you" I said as he tighten the girth.

"I'm not so sure about that" He replied, he didn't look at me either

"I do. And i'm sorry I just became distance all of a sudden" I said

"Okay. Then tell me why" He said turning towards me

"Because.. I don't want to open up and then you turn around and use it against me" I said

"What? That makes no sense" He said

"It does to me. Every time I become friends with a guy or start to get close to a guy they leave. Dalton left. The one kid I dated said I was too much to handle. Another cheated on me and tried to blame me for it by bringing my past into it. And there's others, but. I don't know. They all gave me trust issues, along with some other people" I said

"You think i'm going to turn around and use everything you've told me against you" He asked

"I don't know" I said

"I wouldn't. But since you're being all guarded about it, I don't think you care" He said

"I'm sorry" I said

"I'm not going to use anything against you. Now, I have to go meet my two friends who you don't get along with" John said and chuckled at the end

"Can I ask you something?" I said

"Maybe later" He said

I nodded and he hopped up on his horse and rode down to the arena. Well, I didn't expect that. Why am I such a terrible person. I need to get my s**t together. Kate called me and I put her on speaker while I finished cleaning the stalls.

"So. What are your plans for today" Kate said

"I am currently cleaning stalls. Then when I get done work i'm going to help my aunt make dinner" I said

"Ohh, you get to cook thanksgiving dinner" She laughed

"Well, so far i'm just making the mashed potatoes." I said

"Haha. Nice" She replied

"Yeah.. So uh. I don't think John's going to want to go with me" I said

"Why? Did you ask him" She asked

"No. But he's mad at me" I replied

"How come?" Kate asked

"Because I got all guarded around him and he said I was being cold and distant and.. I told him why. I probably shouldn't have. And he said he's not going to use anything against me but he sounded really disappointed. And I went to ask him, but he said maybe later because he was going to ride with Bobby and Ryan who were in the arena" I said

"Hmm. Well If he says no, then i'll call the people and make then switch either your spot or my spot" Kate said

"They're going to hate us. They already do because we help each other" I said

"I know. But if you ask him, let me know what he says so I can write a strongly worded email" Kate said

"I will. Well i'll see you tonight for shopping" I said

"Oh yeah. Well i'll see you later babes" She said

We both hung up and I drug and dumped the bucket of s**t. Then I put that back and hopped on the tractor. This is fun to drive. I could be a farmer.. if this is the tractor they use. Maybe not. Driving that down past the arena and over towards the far trail, I dumped the load into the manure pile and went back to the barn. You know it's a holiday and i'm a ball of stress. Yikes.

"Okay, I have a couple hours and the horses ate. I cleaned the stalls. Normally now I would work the horses" I said to myself. "Oh Deb left a list of horses"

Going into the storage room, I found the list of things for Kyle and I to do when we have free time. Okay, run Nifty, take Jerry for a walk... I can do those. Jerry's laceration is healed but he likes to stand there and not stretch it. So we walk the bull. Just one lap around the big main pasture. Nifty liked to act up and try and jump the fence if he just sits in the pasture all day. So we take him out into the woods and go to the power lines and just run him up and down. It's fun. Grabbing the rope halter, I jogged down to the bulls pasture and got Jerry out. Then we went for our walk. He's a very good boy. I saw the three boys leave the arena and head into the woods. Getting Jerry back into the pasture, I grabbed Nifty's halter off the wall and made Gypsy upset.

"I'm sorry bubba, I can't take you out today. We'll run tomorrow though" I said

He followed me through the field and Nifty wanted to play catch me if you can.

"I swear to god Nifty, I will tell Kyle not to give you any treats later" I said

He finally stopped playing games and I got the halter on him. He's in a mood today. Quickly grooming the pain, we saddled up and raced down to the woods. Well, he did, I just went with it. Trotting through the trails, we came to the power lines and I just let him run. After going back and forth a few times, I got to the one end and turned around to see the boys riding back towards the barn. You know they can't see me.

"You wanna scare them?" I said to Nifty

And he took off. I held on to the crazy ass and went wide around the three boys. Who looked back as I rode up behind them. Going around, I let him continue to run all the way down the power lines. This horse could run all day I swear. Getting him to slow down to a trot we started back to the opening for the woods so I could go back. Oh, it's 11:30. I get to leave soon. Heading back to the barn, the three boys were in there and I brought Nifty over to his area. Hopping off, I untacked the wild child and quickly brushed him out.

"Okay crazy. You can go run around the pasture now. But I swear to god you try and jump the fence while i'm gone. I'll send rocky after your ass" I said to the horse

Walking him out to the field, I let him loose an Gypsy came running over. Shutting the gate, I stood up on the bars and hugged his head.

"So, are you just going to block the field?" I heard

Looking back, all three boys were standing there.

"Come here Gyp" I said

He stood next to the gate and I climbed on his back. Then he just walked around while I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his neck. We walked around a bit and soon it was 12 O'Clock.

"Okay boy. Time to leave. I'll see you tomorrow okay. I'll be broke but it's fine" I said

Hopping off, I walked in the barn and made sure everything was done. Then I shot Kyle a text and told him I walked Jerry and ran Nifty. Also wished him a happy thanksgiving. I also texted Deb. Walking out to my truck, I saw the boys were gone.. except John. I didn't see him in the barn though. Eh. Making sure I had everything I started my truck up and ran to the pasture one more time. Gypsy was still standing there.

"I love you bubba. I told Kyle to give you extra food and some mints when he comes. Be nice okay. I'm a ball of stress and I might still be tomorrow but you know we just go and wander" I said

He rubbed his face on my cheek and I kissed his nose. Saying 'I love you' at least a dozen more times. Walking back over to my truck, John had walked out of the barn at the same time.

"Have a good dinner" I said as he walked by

"You too" He replied

I gave him a small smiled and walked over to my truck.

"What did you want to ask me" He said

"Huh?" I asked

"You asked if you could ask me something. And I said maybe later. It's later" He said

"Oh.. it's nothing. You'd say no anyway" I said

"Well how would you know if you don't ask" He said

"You're probably mad at me. There's no use in making a fool of myself when I know you're gonna say no" I said

"Will you just ask" He said

I looked at him, then rolled my eyes and sighed.

"I was going to ask... if you had any vacation time left" I said

"What?" He said

"The way they set up the stalls and areas at the competition in Texas. Kate's on the complete other side and there's no way we can help each other... I was going to ask you to come" I said

"Oh." John replied

"But i'm guessing you wouldn't want to be stuck with me for a week" I said

"When do you have to tell them who you're bringing" He asked

"Monday" I replied

"Monday night?" He said

"12" I said back

"Well.. I'll ask my boss if I can take off. If I can... I'll go" he said

"Really?" I asked

"Yeah. I told you I wanted to go to Texas. And s**t, free trip? I'll take it" He laughed

"Oh, yeah. Haha" I said

"Hey, come here" He said

"Why" I asked

"Just come here dork" He replied

I walked around the front of my truck and he held his arms out. I shook my head and smiled then hugged the boy.

"Now, can you please, open back up. I'm not going to use anything against you. I want to be friends" John said

"Maybe. I'm weird" I said

"And hard to handle" John laughed

"Yeah" I laughed

I stepped back from the hug and gave him a smile. We told each other to say when we got home and set off. Getting home, I texted John, and my aunt had the bag of potatoes out.

"This whole bag?" I asked

"Yup" She replied

Nodding, I started peeling and dicing the potatoes putting them in a pot of.. looks like salted water. At some point Colin came home and so did my uncle. They just got showered and dressed. Once I got the water on for the potatoes there was nothing really to do so I also went and got showered. I could use a nap. Getting dressed, I chose leggings and a sweater then went into the living room and laid on the couch.

"Are you sleeping?" I heard

"No, but i'm exhausted" I said

"Long day at work?" Colin asked

"Not really. But it was just me since Kyle is going tonight" I said

"Ohh." He nodded

We watched tv then I went and mashed the potatoes once they were done. Adding in the butter and some secret ingredients, I made some banging mashed potatoes. Then it was time for my uncle to carve the turkey.

"Does anyone want soup?" My aunt asked

We all nodded and sat down for the pre dinner soup. It's skol soup. Very good.

"So, are you ready for Texas?" My uncle asked

"I think so. Stressing but I do every year" I said

"You've gone the past few years haven't you" My aunt asked

"Yup. Kate won once. I got second one year. There's a lot of good riders" I said

"Can you bring help?" My aunt asked

"Yeah. But I never had anyone to bring. Kate and her boyfriend always helped me and I helped them" I said

"Colin why don't you go?" She asked

"I can't get off work. I already tried. And I have the dentist coming and he's booked out till next year" Colin said

"That's a shame" My uncle said

"Yeah. Uhm... my friend might come with me.. but he has to check with work" I said

"Who?" My aunt asked

"... John" I said and looked at Colin

He looked surprised. I just shrugged and eventually we ate our thanksgiving dinner. After eating way too much. I got changed my sweater too a hoodie and headed to Kate's.

"You sure you don't want to come?" I asked my aunt

"No hun. I'm going to clean up and wait for cyber Monday" She smiled

"Okay. Anybody else?" I asked

They shook their head and off I went. Kate and I go hard on black Friday. Team work makes the dream work. I normally get a nap but i'm going to sleep most of tomorrow. I don't plan on getting up before noon. We normally go out and come home around 4 or 5 in the morning. Then i gotta bring everything home and hide it. Normally I just shopped with her and never had to buy anything. But now I do. Colin and his parents asked what I wanted for Christmas and I asked what they wanted. So I plan on attempting to buy everything tonight. So boxes don't get mixed up and someone opens their gift a couple weeks early. Wish me luck...