Broken Souls Prt5

"Archer?" Aunt Belle asked coming into the living room, I looked up and sighed sadly at her. "Is everything okay?" She asked sitting down beside me. "I know these last couple days haven't been easy for you" She sighed placing a hand on my shoulder. I nodded and stared into the fire place.

"How can Will and Emma be so okay with this whole thing?" I asked her, my voice grew with bitter intensity.

"Emma was too young to remember any of them...and Will is dealing with it in his own way. You on the other hand are blocking everyone out, and the one person who you need to tell the most, especially with what's happened to her....you've been so cold to her and that's not right." Aunt Belle explained sadly. "She needs you right now and you need her." She added running her hands lightly through my hair.

"How am I supposed to tell her that my parents are both raging alcoholics who caused a major accident resulting in 3 deaths, 10 years ago? Then the first thing they do when they get out on probation is come here drunk out of their minds, and threaten to press charges against Horseland for Harassment of the 'I'm too stupid to realize im drunk so let me rage around and break stuff' at 10 at night!" I hissed angrily, she sighed as I stood up walking over to the window. I watched Kate groom Diamond's matted coat in the arena light. God she was beautiful.

"Archer...." She sighed. "You can be angry at your parents all you want, but trying to protect Kate from every little thing that could hurt her isn't going to make your problem with your parents any better. You can't protect her from everything, especially the truth, she's going to understand! You know what she's been through" Aunt Belle added.

"She's going to think I'm insane...I don't want her looking at me like I'm broken!" I protested.

"Archer. For weeks you've been treating her like she's broken and needing to be saved from every little thing!" She threw back at me, I flinched at her sharp tone but mostly because she was right....I had been treating Kate like that since she's been back from the hospital. 

"Shit..." I mumbled under my breath. 

"Archer you need to talk to her before you end up ruining your relationship with her for good." Aunt Belle said standing up from where she sat. I said nothing as she walked out of the room, looking down at the lit arena I saw Kate leading Diamond out, she was fully tacked up suprisingly. A sickened feeling sunk in my chest and I turned away from the window, I couldn't even look at her, I was too ashamed of myself...

~Diamond's POV~

Kate had carefully tacked me up, slowly she has gotten me used to the equipment and our trust in each other has grown. But recently, Kate seems to be breaking even more, she's become thinner and her eyes are usually red and sore from the crying she does at night in my stall. It's that boy Archer who has been avoiding her, she cries about him to me, Hellyan and Irish. We don't know how we can help...she was already shaken since the incident weeks ago and apparently Archer had been the only one who she let in...now he was blocking her out and she felt completely alone. The other boy from her past tries to cheer her up but it never works, though he's sat with her while she's cried into his shoulder. I like him. He's kinda to her and wants her to go back to her old stables, he thinks she's be happier there. Kate doesn't want to think about anything currently aside from working from dawn to dusk, not eating because she's constantly feeling stressed. She does eat, just very little, until she gets sick and then stops. Dinner she's taken to eating outside of my stall away from Archer, tonight she ate inside because Aunt Belle asked her too, she wont refuse Aunt Belle but Kate looked scared.

The reins carefully went over my neck, I stood calmly, Kate's hands shook though. I heard the door open from the house, my ears pricked up and i looked to see who was coming, I saw Archer walking towards the arena, instantly my ears pinned back and I tensed. Kate noticed and looked in his direction, her hands froze and immeditely she tried to busy to herself with my girth which felt fine.

"Kate...can we talk?" Archer asked stopping by the arena fence, once again she froze in place but didn't answer for a long time. His voice didn't seem very kinda at the moment, I shifted and it brought Kate out of her frozen state.

"N-no..." She stuttered.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you" Archer replied quickly, a tear fell from my girls face.

"No. I'm busy with Diamond right now." She replied shakily but firmly and never looked at him. Archer went silent and stunned. His face defeated.

"Oh...okay...later then..." Archer mumbled before turning around and walked back to the house, he kicked violently at a rock cursing, once he got back to the house the door slammed shut. Kate dropped to her knees bawling I shooked away from her abrupt action but gently nuzzled her damp cheek, Kate shook as she cried into her hands. This had to stop.

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Kate, Archer, Diamond (C) Me

Line Art (c) Land-Sharkz