For a moment in time, I am not Elena De Luca.
I am just a girl on the back of a horse, riding down a mountain, chasing a man who could be the greatest love story she’ll ever experience.
I can’t help but laugh, the wind whipping through my hair, the sun’s warmth kissing my skin, the scent of pine and mountain air filling my lungs with each breath. Trees close in on us, becoming tighter, the trail thinner, so I slow Apollo down, I don’t want him to hurt himself in such a tight space. I can no longer see Knox, and Chase isn’t behind me. In the distance, I can hear Judgebarking, but I can’t see him either.
Pulling the reins a little, I bring Apollo to a stop, glancing back and then forward. Did I take a wrong turn? No, I swear I saw Knox come this way.
I cringe at myself. I amnotthis fucking girl.
Apollo swings his head back, his restless energy vibrating through me.
“I know,” I say, “Let’s just turn back.”
I steer his body around and stare ahead. Trees surround us with no obvious sign of where we entered.
“Fuck.”
Apollo lets out a distressed whinny, dancing on the spot, and I try to soothe him the best I can. Guilt overwhelms me as I smooth my hand down the side of his neck, attempting to ease him. He trusted me, and I got us lost.
What the fuck was I thinking running off from Chase like that!?
“Elena!?” Knox’s voice cuts through the trees.
“Here!” I yell back. “I’m here!”
I search through the trees, looking for him, and to the right, I see the light coloring of his horse, a stark contrast to the color of his clothes and hat. He trots toward us, his scowl one for the books.
“What the fuck are you doing!?” He snaps.
“I didn’t realize,” I swallow, “I thought you took this path.”
“You shouldn’t have run off without Chase!”
“You left!” I growl at him, “I’m here with you, not him!Youleft!”
He presses his tongue to his top teeth, “I figured you were smarter than that, Elena.”
My head snaps back. “Yeah, well, fuck you too.”
We stare at each other for a long moment before he shakes his head and turns Honey around, expecting me to follow.
I feel like a scolded child as I press Apollo to follow behind, allowing Knox to guide us from the trees and back onto the trail where Chase waits on the back of his horse, Judge sitting at his side. He wags his tail when he sees us, but as if he senses the disconnection between us, his tail stops moving and his ears perk up.
I glance at Chase.
“Sorry,” He mouths on a cringe.
Yeah, me too.
We walk the rest of the way to the campsite in silence, in a sort of triangle with Knox taking up the point and me and Chase side by side, Judge walking to my right. The sun is just going down, the light becoming muted but still plenty to see, and eventually after about an hour of walking, Knox slows when we come into a clearing.
It appears as if this has been used before, there're posts buried in the ground to tie up the horses, patches of scorched earth from fires that have been lit and put out. I follow Knox to the posts, coming to a stop when he does, and wait as he dismounts.
There’s nothing more humbling than needing help from a man who doesn’t want to give it.
But Knox is far too chivalrous to leave me up here. He helps me down and even holds on when my knees buckle, waiting until I can get my balance to let go, but when he knows, he releases like my ass is on fire, stepping away. He secures Honey, grabs the pack and storms away, ripping the hat off his head as he goes so he can run his hands through his thick head of hair.
Chase dismounts and ties up his own horse, looking to where Knox dumps the pack, digging into it to get what he needs out.
