by Sarah Price
I don’t want to tell her about my almost-freak-out at the dinner table, which, as I listen to my stomach rumble, I regret now. “Oh I’ll get her back, believe you me!”
Jamie relaxes a little bit. “I’m sure you will. I mean, when I saw her with Aiden ...”
Wait, what?
“Whoa!” I say as her words register in my brain. Aiden? My sister was with Aiden? That can’t be true. “When I saw who with Aiden? What’re you talking about?”
That odd look returns to her face and she looks away from the camera.
My heart starts racing again and I jump onto my knees, staring directly into my phone as I scream, “Tell me what’s going on, Jamie!”
“Instagram,” she whispers. “Check her Finsta account on Instagram, Cat.”
Fake Instagram account? Now I’m panicking. I must have misunderstood Jamie. “Whose Finstagram?”
She swallows, still avoiding looking into the camera. “Uh ... your sister’s.”
With a few button pushes and swiping of screens, I find my icon for Instagram and do a quick search for Brooke’s accounts. She has two: her public one and her private one. I don’t know what she was thinking when she let me and my friends follow both of her accounts: the legit one and the Finsta one. Clearly she wasn’t anticipating this day ... this moment.
My eyes focus on her photos like a spotlight, blackness filtering out everything else from my line of vision.
“Breathe, Cat,” Jamie says. I forgot she was still on FaceTime. I disconnect her, knowing that it’s best that no one witness my reaction.
I swipe through Brooke’s recent uploads: a photo of the crowd at Rodeo Rage, a security guard with his arm around her shoulders, a selfie of Brooke backstage. My chest begins to tremble as I start hyperventilating. I know that I shouldn’t keep looking, but it’s like approaching an accident scene on the highway: You’ve waited in traffic so long that you have no choice but to stare.
Another swipe. More photos. She’s sitting on a sofa with two guys, one who is sticking out his tongue. Next photo. Brooke being hugged by ... I clench my teeth. Randy. Of course!
“That witch!” I hiss, even though no one is in the room to hear me.
In the photo, he can’t keep his eyes off of her. She, however, looks like she totally belongs backstage in the arms of any one of those performers. Her hair flows perfect. Her teeth gleam white. Her eyes sparkle with life.
I simply hate her.
For some reason, I swipe one last time.
And there it is, the photo of all photos.
I toss the phone onto the floor and scream. I don’t mean a baby scream. I mean a primal scream. My heart is racing so fast that, for a minute, I think I’m having a heart attack. The tears are flowing freely now. Alex could walk in the room and I don’t think I would even care.
My world has just imploded. There’s simply no reason to continue living. The betrayal of her going to Rodeo Rage without me is nothing compared to what stares back from the small screen on my phone: Brooke hugging Aiden Quinn. And, even worse, he’s tagged in the photo and I can see that he’s now following her Finsta account on Instagram!
I bury my face into my pillow and stifle another scream. I simply can’t believe that my sister, my very own sister, who mocked me for falling in love with Aiden and called the whole Rodeo Rage Tour stupid, is capable of hurting me so bad. Did she think I wouldn’t find out? Is she so selfish that she didn’t even ask him to follow me, her very own sister? His biggest, bestest, most diehardest fan?
The pain in my chest and the tears that soak my pillow don’t stop until I cry myself to sleep. Again.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Redemption
“Cat? Can we talk?”
I lift my head and stare at Brooke. My eyes are still swollen and my energy level depleted. I haven’t spoken to her since the Rodeo Rage in Lake Luzerne incident. I know she’s been trying to make it up to me, but the betrayal is still too raw. I haven’t yet pulled the knife out from between my shoulder blades. I haven’t talked to her in days. How did she think I wouldn’t find out anyway? I mean she posted photos of Aiden Quinn on her Finsta account on Instagram! She must have known I would see them!
“We can’t go on like this,” she says softly. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
I make a huffing noise and turn my face away from her.
“It was a last-minute thing.”
Last minute? That is a lame one.
“I mean Randy wanted to take me out afterwards and …” She hesitates. I’m still not buying her excuse. She wouldn’t have even met Randy if it wasn’t for me. “I knew you’d be upset.”
That’s putting it mildly.
“But it would have been awkward, you know, meeting him with my little sister in tow. I didn’t know that I’d meet Aiden.” She sighs. “And yes, Cat, I should’ve asked him to follow you.”
My mouth opens and I look at her. Did she seriously just say that? As if admitting it would make me just forgive her like that? No way! “You think?”
She walks closer to where I’m sitting on the sofa. “I’ve got to tell you something and you can’t freak out.”
I narrow my eyes and stare at her. From her expression, I don’t know whether she has good news or bad news for me. But if it’s bad news, I’m definitely going back to bed, even though it’s noon on a sunny Saturday. It was supposed to be rainy today, but, once again, the weather people messed it up. This time, however, I don’t care. My mood is just as rainy as it was supposed to be today.
“What?” My voice sounds hollow and empty, exactly how I feel.
She walks over to the sofa and pushes aside an empty ice cream container in order to find enough room to sit next to me. “Did you eat that entire carton?”
I nod. “Uh-huh.”
“That’s disgusting.”
I shrug.
She reaches out and pushes my hair back from my forehead. In a weird moment of genuine sisterly concern, she stares into my face, which is probably covered with smudges of ice cream. She makes a face. “You’re a mess.”
Tell me something I don’t know.
“Look, you need to get your act together, Cat. You need to shower, get changed, and, for crying out loud, wash that Aiden Quinn shirt.”
“No.”
Brooke frowns. “You haven’t even been down to the barn this week.” Surprisingly, Marcus hasn’t been breathing down my neck about vull-enn-tiering. I think my mom knows that this depression is real and told him to back off. Yay, Mom! Of course, if she checks up on that credit card statement in the not-too-distant future, Marcus will be the one holding her back. “You know, Cooper misses you.”
Who is she kidding? That pony hates me. He’s always knocking into my butt or trying to bite my arm. I roll my eyes. “Cooper doesn’t miss me. He just misses the treats I give him.”
“Same thing.” Brooke places her hand on my shoulder. “Apparently you haven’t been on social media for a while, either. In fact, Jamie texted me that you haven’t responded to any of her messages. Cassie too.”
“You mean Cassie the traitor?” I spit out.
Brooke laughs. “She’s not a traitor.”
“She met Bobbie Baylor!” I cry out. Oh, the injustice. That Cassie is fast on her way out of the herd, let me tell you. First she goes gaga over Aiden. Then she meets Bobbie Baylor. Cassie needs to watch out. One more Rodeo Rage infraction and she will be my former squad member.
I hear Brooke sigh. It’s one of those what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you sighs. “Look,” she says in a very forced voice that is clearly masking her frustration. “I need you to get cleaned up and back on your game, girl.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She frowns and puts her hand on her hip. “Because I have something to tell you and I won’t do it if you don’t change out of that filthy, stinky shirt and clean up your face.”
Do? She wants to do something for me? My inter
est is piqued. “Do what?”
She presses her lips together as she studies my face. Whatever it is, I can tell it’s not easy for her to say. Suddenly, I’m worried that it’s bad news again. And then she speaks.
“Cowtown. They’re going to Cowtown next weekend.”
For a moment, I don’t register what she just said. Cowtown, New Jersey? Next weekend? “What are you talking about?”
“Rodeo Rage, you goofball. Gary Green added Cowtown to their tour at the last minute.”
My heart starts to race. How does she know this? Is this public knowledge? Suddenly, it feels as if my heart screeches to a stop. If the public knows it, that means every other New Jersey girl under the age of eighteen with a pulse and iPhone knows it. I groan. Why didn’t I answer Jamie’s texts? “How did you find out?”
“Randy told me.”
“Randy?” What a minute. Brooke’s that close to Randy Quinn? “He told you?”
She nods. “He did.”
I’m holding my breath as I wait for the words that I hope slide from her lips.
“Now, keep your cool, okay?” she says.
I nod my head, trying to will myself to breathe.
“He invited me to go.”
And then I scream.
She covers her ears with her hands and cringes. “Stop it! I knew I shouldn’t have told you.”
“You need to take me with you!” I jump onto my knees and grab her by the shoulders. “Brooke Lansing! If you don’t bring me with you, I will divorce you as my sister! You simply cannot go there and leave me here! You can’t! You won’t! You shalln’t!”
“That’s not even a word!” she snaps as she shoves my hands off her body. “And if you would just keep your calm, Cat, you’d let me finish by saying that, yes, you’re coming, too!”
Another scream. This time, however, I fall off the sofa and lie on the carpet. Tears fall from my eyes, only now they’re not from sorrow but joy. Pica bounces over and licks my face. While I’d like to think she is drying my tears, I’m beyond certain that she’s only after the ice cream on my cheeks. Who cares? I’m going to see Aiden Quinn at Cowtown!
Alex strolls into the room, headed to the refrigerator. He must have spotted me because he peers over the counter at me sprawled across the floor. “What’s going on with the freak?”
Brooke stands up and steps over my body. “Aiden Quinn.”
“That guy again?” He makes a noise of disgust deep in his throat. “Now what?”
“He’s coming to Cowtown for a rodeo next weekend. The tour manager invited me.”
This time, Alex belly-laughs. He grabs a soda and shuts the refrigerator door. “Oh, man, that’s rich! You don’t even care about the Rodeo Rage and you get invited?”
Brooke throws something at him. “Knock it off, Alex. Why can’t you be nice for once?”
I sit up and stare at him through my tears. I hope Alex doesn’t blurt out how nice he was to help me score those tickets to Topsfield.
“Besides, she’s going with me.”
I point to my face. “These are happy tears.”
“You’re such a freak.”
I stick my tongue out at him. Alex responds by farting before he abruptly walks out of the room.
I don’t care what he thinks. I’m back to loving my older sister, and more importantly, I know that this time I will finally meet Aiden.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Marcus
“Cat. I need to talk to you.”
I cringe as I hear that far-too-familiar French voice. He’s standing in my doorway and I wonder how long he’s been there. Such a creeper.
“What is it?”
He clears his throat and steps over the threshold. Oh, boy. Whatever I did now, it must be a doozy. He never comes into my room and he never acts with such restraint. My pulse quickens and I wonder how much trouble I’m in. With all of my senses on heightened alert, I watch as he sits down on my futon sofa.
“I’ve been talking to your mother ...,” he begins and I bite my lip. This isn’t going to end well.
“Just please don’t ground me!” I blurt out. I cannot miss Cowtown. Simply. Cannot.
For a moment, Marcus blinks his eyes and stares at me, a confused expression on his face. Then he frowns. “Uh ... no, there ez nothing wrong, Cat. Why must you alwayz think there ez something wrong if I’m talking to you?”
Probably because that’s the only time you talk to me, I think, but wisely, I keep my mouth shut.
“You see, Cat, I know that you have been working hard theez summer ...” He pauses and glances at the floor. Clearly this speech has been scripted because the Marcus that I know would never, ever admit that anyone worked hard, especially me. “... And I understand that you have been working with Cooper like I asked.”
Cooper? The pony? A wave of relief washes over me. I’m not in trouble after all! The credit card charges haven’t come back to haunt me. Yet.
“Well, when the summer ez over, your mother and I ... well, we think that maybe it ez time to consider buying you a horse.”
What did he just say?
My mouth opens and I sit there, mute and dumbfounded. Where on earth is this coming from?
“You’ve proven yourself to be dedicated and responzible. So we’d like to do theez for you. Now,” he says, holding up his hands as if to stop me from speaking, something I’m currently incapable of doing, “it won’t be one of those fancy horses, like Olivia and Morgan have.” He shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “Ridiculous, that.”
I agree!
“It will be a horse that you’ll have to work with in order to get up to speed for competitions. But I don’t think that will be too hard for you. You’ve certainly worked hard with Zumba and Summer and that other one ...”
“Cookie Dough.”
He nods his head. “Yes, that’z the one. I will ask you to keep being a vull-een-tier ...”
There is it. The condition. Inwardly I groan.
“... In order to help contribute to the board.”
Great. I’d rather forfeit my allowance and do chores at home than vull-een-tier. However, clearly that is not an option.
“But it will be your horse.”
“And no one else gets to ride it?”
He freezes and a pained look crosses his face.
Quickly, I keep talking, hoping to support my case. “I mean, no one else rides Olivia’s horse or Morgan’s. If it’s going to be my horse, I really don’t want little kids riding her and pulling at her mouth or overworking her.”
Someone coughs from outside my door. That’s when I realize that my mother must be standing out there, listening to Marcus.
“Um, well ...” He struggles to find the words. “Yes, it will be your horse and no one else can ride it ... unless there ez an emergency.”
I give him a look. I can see how that could quickly escalate into my soon-to-be new horse becoming an overworked school horse with little kids bouncing on her back and yanking on the reins.
“Marcus ..,.” my mom says softly from outside the open door.
“Fine.” He slaps his hands on his knees and stands up. “I simply cannot win against the two of you. No emergencies.” He glances at me and scowls. “Unless it ez really an emergency.”
“So …” I hesitate. “Does this mean I can start looking?”
He nods his head. “Yes, you can start looking. But no knee-jerk reactions and I have the final say. I won’t purchase a horse just because you think it ez cute or you like its color. It needz to be a sound and safe horse.”
“Sound and safe. Got it.”
My heart leaps. Imagine that. Finally, my very own horse. First the iPhone and now this! They better never find out about that credit card charge now or I’m roadkill.
An image pops into my head. Oh, yes! A bay horse! Maybe sixteen hands! It’ll be a gelding and I’ll teach it all sorts of fun tricks. No wait! Maybe a chestnut like Levi, my mom’s quarter horse. He’s so funny and like a bi
g puppy dog. Whenever he hears her voice, he unlatches his stall door and walks out to find her. The great Houdini, Mom calls him. Or maybe a black horse. I love horses with long, dark manes.
Clearing her throat, my mother peeks into my room and makes a funny motion with her head, almost nodding toward Marcus. Unable to interpret what she’s trying to say without words, I frown and she makes a gesture. Oh! A hug. I get it.
Jumping up from my bed, I run over to him and throw my arms around his neck. My embrace catches him off guard, and he freezes as he tries to figure out how to handle this unexpected show of affection. Finally, he hugs me back.
“Thanks, Marcus. This really means a lot to me!”
He pats my back before releasing me.
As soon as they both head back downstairs, I reach for my laptop, eager to start searching horses for sale. Of course, before I do that, I need to post on my Twitter about this monumental moment. Leslie Murphy will be green with envy! Not only am I going to meet Aiden Quinn at Cowtown in three days, but I’m also getting my very own horse! Life simply cannot get any better than this!
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Nora
“I can’t believe it!” Jamie stares at me from the other side of the picnic table. “Your own horse?”
I nod my head. “I know, right?”
Cassie seems a bit put off. I can’t quite figure out why. She doesn’t seem as happy about my exciting news. In fact, she’s kinda wearing a blank expression.
“I never thought he’d ever agree to it,” I say, directing my attention to Jamie instead of the sulky Cassie. No way is she going to rain on my parade. “My mom must have really put the squeeze on him.”
Jamie laughs and snorts at the same time.
When Cassie remains expressionless, not even cracking a hint of a smile at my comment, I turn to face her. “What’s the matter with you?”
“I can’t believe you’re going to Cowtown without us!”
Ah. Now I see what the problem is.
“Look, Brooke’s doing me a favor. Besides, you already got to meet Bobbie!”