Broken Trouble (Broken Storm #1) (12 page)

              "I'm sorry," I apologized, looking at Landon.

He paused, finally glancing up at me, nodding in acknowledgment. When he didn't say anything, I knew I'd need to give him an explanation.

"I freaked out from something that happened a long time ago. I didn't mean to hurt you."

              Landon observed me like he was trying to see into my soul, then he just smiled and shrugged. "It's okay, don't worry about it. I've had worse injuries than just a few scratches."

              "It's not okay though." Why weren't any of them mad at me? Even Gavin was being unreasonably nice to me.

              "It is," Landon assured, then glanced at Gavin. "It's like a rite of passage to do something like that. You should have seen me after Gavin finished with his."

              Gavin just narrowed his eyes at Landon, as if he hated the fact that he brought it up. Then he grunted in agreement.

              "Plus," Landon turned back to me, seeming to relax a bit with a grin, "it makes me look bad ass."

              Polly frowned at Landon for his language, but stayed quiet. Maybe she was letting it slide just like Landon was letting what I had done slide. Everyone smirked and chuckled at his comment and started eating, causing me to relax. They may be willing to easily forgive what had happened, but that didn't mean I would. Something like that would never happen again.

              "I heard the band for the dance this Wednesday was looking for someone to play the guitar," Jayden said with a smirk.

              I put a piece of bacon in my mouth, chewing slowly and paying close attention. Had it been Jayden outside my door last night?

              Gavin glanced up, the same broody look in his eyes. Wyatt, Polly, Chili and Landon all looked up in interest, but it was Dylan to caught my attention. He had stiffened in his seat, his eyes glued to his plate.

              "I heard you playing again last night, you should do it," Landon spoke, glancing at Dylan.

              Was it really Dylan? It wouldn't be surprising, he had already done some extremely sweet things in the past, but he was so shy. Would he really sing and play a guitar outside of my door?

              "That would be wonderful, I could call if you wanted," Polly offered.

              Why wouldn't they just say his name so I knew who it had been?

              "No," Dylan finally said, settling who it was. If he could play and sing like that, then he needed to be making albums and going on tour, not hiding it away like some big secret.

              "Sounds like you're scared," Gavin stated with a smidgen of a grin. Was he actually picking on someone other than me?

              "I don't want to," Dylan admitted, glancing up at me, "I'd rather dance."

              And just like that, all of the attention switched back to me.

              "I don't know if I'm going or not," I said, which was a lie. I knew I would end up going, Starre would probably force me to go even if I changed my mind.

              "You have to go," Jayden insisted, his eyes locking on me, "It's not like I'm going to be dancing with any of these losers."

              "I wouldn't want to dance with you anyway," Gavin said and at first I thought he was talking to me, but his eyes were on Jayden.

              "You have to come," Landon said to me. It was nice to know he was still willing to be near me. "Dibs!" he called out, raising his hand into the air in victory.

              "You can't call dibs on her," Jayden growled, "I already said she's dancing with me."

              "You didn't call dibs, so she's mine," Landon argued.

              "She's going on a date with Dylan, so he has dibs," Gavin spoke, apparently spilling the beans on the entire thing, because all the guys looked shocked.

              "What the hell!" Jayden shouted. "When did this happen?"

              "Language," Polly spoke, only to be drowned out by all the guys talking at once.

              "I want a date with her too," Landon stated, "Dibs!"

              "Like hell!" Jayden yelled, almost standing up from his chair.

              "Enough!" Chili ordered, his voice at a normal level, but filled with strictness that caught their attention. "You could ask her who she wants to go dancing and on dates with. Stop fighting and use your manners and ask her proper like."

              The guys settled down, looking a bit sheepish for fighting.

              "Hey," Starre's voice came from the doorway, causing everyone to turn.

              "You're here, Honey," Polly noted, motioning to an empty chair, "Sit down and have some breakfast."

              "I already ate, otherwise you wouldn't be able to stop me from eating your food Polly," Starre praised with a smile. "I'm actually here to see Nova."

              Had she heard back from the people with the puppies? I got up, already finished eating and went to pick up my dishes.

              "I'll take care of those Honey, you go ahead with Starre," Polly said, waving me away with a wink at Starre. That wasn't suspicious at all.

              "Okay, thanks," I walked out of the room with Starre, questioning her with my eyes.

              "I'm here to help you get ready for your date!" Starre admitted, squealing with excitement and hopping up and down on her toes. "Are you as excited as I am?"

              "Sure," I said, even though I was more nervous. Dylan hadn't denied that they were going on a date at the table this morning, but that didn't mean he still wanted to go out on a date with me today.

              "Come on, I want to do your hair and makeup. Have you picked out your clothes yet?" Starre asked as she led the way up the stairs and to my room.

              "Not yet," I spoke, hesitating a bit before admitting. "Honestly, I wasn't sure if the date was still on."

              Starre spun around, closing the door behind us. "I know, Polly called me this morning and told me you had a panic attack. I was kind of mad that she didn't call me last night or that you didn't call me, though it makes sense that you didn't when you didn't have my number. So I'll write it down before I leave." Starre hopped onto my bed, sitting Indian style. "Tell me everything! What happened?"

              I wasn't sure about talking to Starre about what had happened. She was my friend now though, so I guess I couldn't be mad at Polly for telling her about it or Starre wanting to know. I paced the length of the room, thinking of what to say. "I freaked out and scratched Landon's face,” I explained.

              Starre frowned at me, "That's not everything."

              I sighed, she was my friend. She would be understanding, wouldn’t she? "Something happened in my past that I don't want to talk about and when Landon threw me over his shoulder, I just panicked," I confessed in a rush, maybe if I got it all out quickly then we could move on from this subject, “and I also started kicking and scratching him. Gavin ended up pulling me off of him."

              Starre’s eyes widened as she stared at me. "Wow. How did they react?"

              "Landon seemed cautious at first, but everyone's been really accepting. Even Gavin has been nice."

              "See? I told you he'd warm up to you!" Starre bit her lip. "I'm not surprised they're moving past the whole thing so quickly. With the exception of Dylan, all of them were adopted. They've had some pretty cruel pasts from what I've heard, so they're going to understand."

              "I'd just like to forget the whole thing happened," I admitted, covering my face with my hands.

              "Well, lucky for you, you have a date to distract you!" Starre said, hopping off the bed and headed to the dresser to look for clothes. Just like that, the mood lifted and the subject was dropped.

              I sighed and relaxed, letting Starre take the lead on getting me ready for the date. She actually had a boyfriend, so she was practically an expert in the subject. She pulled out the cream corset top and laid it out on the bed, along with a pair of black skinny jeans. "I know you don't have a pair of good shoes to wear, so I brought a pair of mine for you to wear."

              She grabbed a bag that I hadn't noticed her carry in and pulled out a pair of white sandals with diamonds decorating the bands. They were pretty, but not my style at all. I liked metal spikes and skulls and crossbones and she was dressing me in light colored clothing with sparkling gems on them.

              "I'm not sure about them," I admitted, peering down at the shoes with unease.

              "Will you let me dress you? If you don't like it afterwards then we'll change it around. Now start curling your hair." Starre had her mind set on how she wanted me to look and there was no convincing her otherwise.

              By the time we were done, an hour had passed. I stood on top on my bed, examining myself in the mirror of my dresser. My hair was curled lightly to frame my face which only had a light layer of makeup. The cream corset top showed lots of chest without revealing too much and the skinny jeans worked well with it, the sandals on my feet tying it all together. She let me use one of my goth necklaces that started out as a choker but had longer chains and beads hanging from it, helping draw some attention from the revealing top. "Are you sure about this?" I asked, still unsure. I couldn't remember the last time I had worn something that wasn't black or another dark color, it was pushing me completely out of my comfort zone. It made me feel uncomfortable, like I wasn't even myself anymore. I felt vulnerable, which was something I had been avoiding for a long time.

              "Yes," Starre said. "What do you think?"

              "I feel-" I paused, looking for the proper word, "-exposed."

              "Well, you look perfect," Starre encouraged. "Trust me, Dylan is going to be drooling at the sight of you." I still felt uncertain as I stepped down from the bed. Starre grabbed my arms, staring into my eyes. "You look so hot, even if you say something completely stupid, he's not going to even notice. He's already in love with you like a little puppy, you have nothing to worry about. Now let's go downstairs so you can get this date started. Then when you get back, you can come over to my house for a movie. You can tell me everything that happened. If he does something stupid, I'll kill him for you. Okay?"

              "Okay," I agreed, letting out a long breath.

              Starre opened the door, then shoved me out of the room when I didn't move immediately away, giving me the literal shove in the right direction. Or at least the direction I hoped was correct.

              I stalled at the top of the steps, taking note that everyone was hovering around, including Dylan, who had his back to the steps. I took a step back, but felt Starre at my back.

"Don't make me shove you down the steps," Starre threatened jokingly.

              I nodded and took the first step on the stairs. Wyatt's eyes snapped up, catching the movement and he froze. Slowly everyone else noticed he was staring and they turned to see what he was looking at, their gazes turning into stares too. Dylan's jaw dropped as he looked at me, his chest sucking in a shaky breath. Our eyes locked and I blushed, resisting the urge to turn and run back up the stairs. It was too late to do that now without looking like a total wimp, so I continued down the stairs. I was confident. Completely and totally confident. Or so I tried to tell myself anyway. Jayden let out a catcall, winking at me from where he stood against the wall.

              All too soon I was at the bottom of the stairs and standing in front of Dylan. He stood there staring, his eyes shining as he openly surveyed me up and down. Wyatt nudged him and Dylan blushed red, stumbling over words before clamping his mouth shut. He held up a flower, his hand shaking hard as he tucked it behind my ear. He swallowed, as if working up the courage to speak. "Shall we?" His voice was shaking and soft, as if his nerves were making it hard for him to speak.

              I nodded and we walked out the door together. I had no idea what he had planned, but I knew with someone as adorable and sweet as Dylan that it would be perfect.

              When we stepped out the door and onto the front porch, I sucked in a quick intake of breath at the sight before me.

              Two horses stood patiently in front of the ranch house, their bridles and mains were decorated in flowers. One was Wyatt's horse, Brooks, who looked completely relaxed for a male horse wearing flowers. Maybe guy horses didn't care as much about those things as human guys. The other horse was a gorgeous combination of blues, grays and black, much like a blue roan, only with faint lines on its legs that I had never seen before on a horse.

              I walked up to Brooks, petting his nose affectionately while trying to figure out how I was going to get on without doing my monkey mount. The sandals I was wearing had also shortened me by a couple inches, which would make things more difficult.

              I didn't have much time to think it over or for Dylan to offer to help, because Wyatt immediately stepped forward, as if reading my mind. He grasped me around the waist and lifted me upward as if I was as light as a doll, placing me on the saddle with ease. His hand lingered on my knee and he nudged his hat up an inch so he could meet my eyes. Dylan was mounting his horse, not paying attention to what we were doing. "When you go to get off, take your feet out of your stirrups, swing your leg over and just slide down."

              I nodded, trying to memorize what he was saying so I would know how to do it when the time came, "Thank you."

              Wyatt tipped his hat back down and walked off, leaning against the porch railing where everyone else stood and watched.

              I looked over at Dylan, wondering what he had planned for the date. He met my eyes and smiled, his cheeks stayed a continual shade of red from his constant blushing.

              We rode in silence, neither of us really knowing what to say. I wondered if he had ever been on a date before. Wouldn't he be more confident if he had? Unless the girl had been mean and put him down a lot, which would also explain his uncertainty.

              "So where are we going?" I broke the silence, hoping his response would help prepare me for whatever he had planned.

              "It's not too far away, just over this hill a ways," he spoke, his voice soft.

              Good, that meant I wouldn't have to ride for too long and risk embarrassing myself much. Until the dismount that was. Brooks was being wonderful, calmly walking alongside Dylan's horse, being the calmest one of us all.

              "So you haven't introduced me," I said, watching as Dylan's face transformed with a mix of confusion before adding, "to your horse."

              Dylan blushed again, as if realizing he hadn't and was embarrassed for it. "This is Lance."

              "That's a cool name," I said, smiling at him.

              "Yeah," he paused, "his coloring is Grullo."

              "He's gorgeous. I can see why he's your horse."

              Dylan blushed hard, ducking his head and smiling.

              In a roundabout way, did I just call Dylan gorgeous? I stumbled to explain myself further. "I just mean; he seems very mousy." Great, now it sounds like I just called his horse a mouse. "I mean like he's very shy and timid, not like an actual mouse," I trailed off, just wanting to bury my head in the sand like an ostrich.

              I glanced over at Dylan, hoping that maybe he had been distracted by something else and hadn't noticed my embarrassing rambling. Instead, I saw him pull Lance to a stop as he dismounted.

              Maybe he was so disgusted at how stupid I was acting that he was going to throw up in the bushes. Or get me to dismount so he could leave me stranded. I quickly came to my senses and knocked my worries aside. Dylan wasn't like that, he would have just continued riding along quietly, even if he got angry or disgusted.

              So what was he doing?

              "Dylan?" I asked, looking around Lance just in time to see Dylan as he fell to the ground.

              Or, on the other hand, maybe I had killed him with boredom.

              Lance shied away, giving my full view of Dylan, whose face was turning a deep red as he gasped for breath. Asthma, maybe?

              I swung my leg over Brooks neck and hopped down, not even worrying about how stupid that may appear. Now wasn't the time to try and remember how Wyatt had said to dismount.

              "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Ah god, Dylan was going to die and then Gavin really would kill me.

              "Bee,” Dylan managed to gasp out, waving one hand towards Lance before his last words were strangled out as his throat closed up completely, "Saddle bag."

              Dylan was allergic to bees. He must have an Epipen in his bag.

              Spinning around, I lurched towards Lance, not even thinking about how he might react to my sudden movement. Lance shied away from me, half rearing as his eyes went wide. I didn't have the same connection to Lance as I did with Storm and I didn't have any Sugar Straws with me to bribe him with.

              I couldn't hear any sound from Dylan anymore and knew he wouldn't last very long. How did I always end up in very bad situations? I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down and slowing my movements. "Hey Lance," I spoke as calmly as possible, "It's okay, boy, I just need your saddle bag for a second. I won't hurt you, you're okay." I made shushing noises and watched and his ears flicked towards me, then away as he looked around wildly. He kept moving away from me, but never too far, sticking close to Brooks.

              "Brooks, a little help?" I asked, trying not to panic.

              Brooks glanced at me, his eyes half closed as he sighed. How nice of him to be so chill while Dylan laid on the ground, dying.

              Lance moved close to Brooks, who lipped up his rein in his mouth.

              Was there anything that Wyatt hadn't taught his horse?

              I reached forward, taking the rein from Brooks and held Lance still. "Good boy, you're okay," I cooed, inching towards his saddle bag. Once I was close enough, I stuffed my hand down into the bag, pulling the contents out in one swoop. Things fell to the ground and I quickly spotted the Epipen lying among some horse treats. Letting Lance go, I grabbed the pen and ran back to Dylan, whose face was a deep shade of purple now as he blinked in and out of consciousness.

              I grabbed the pen and stabbed it into his leg, thankful for an old cellmate who had a peanut allergy.

              Dylan gasped, lurching upward as he drew large amounts of lifesaving air into his lungs. "Just breathe," I panted for breath, watching as his face slowly returned to a normal color. I dropped my head on his shoulder in relief. I can't believe my date almost died. I had to have the worst luck ever.

              "Thanks," Dylan said between breaths, his voice rough from his throat closing up just moments before.

              I moved to sit beside him, closing my eyes and trying to calm my heartbeat. "I can't believe that just happened," I said.

              Dylan threaded a hand into his hair, his face still fairly pink, but other than that he looked fine. "I've ruined everything," he stated, dropping his head so it rested against his raised knee.

              "What?" I asked, sitting up.

              "I'm sorry, the date is ruined. I understand if you want to go back now," he said, not looking at me.

              Did he really think it was his fault that he got stung by a bee? I wasn't so shallow as to think a date was ruined just because of one thing going wrong. My life was full of things going wrong, you just had to learn to try and ignore them. "Hey, you didn't ruin anything."

              "I did though, I wanted this to be perfect. You deserve perfect," Dylan declared and I resisted saying ‘aww’ out loud.

              "Dylan, look at me," I ordered, then frowned, grabbing his face and turning it to mine, smiling at him. "The date isn't ruined. You got stung by a bee, it's not your fault you're allergic. I'm just glad you're okay. And as for a perfect date? Just being with you makes it perfect."

              "So you're not mad?" Dylan asked, finally looking me in the eyes.

              "No." I kept smiling, hoping if he saw that I was happy, he wouldn't feel so bad. I wasn't used to trying to comfort and reassure someone and I had never been one to get involved with people much.

              "You don't want to go back?" Dylan asked, still seeming confused. Like I would let one thing keep us from our date now.

              "No, I still want to go on this date with you," I paused. "unless you need to go back and rest."

              Dylan smiled, standing up and trying to cover his shaking legs by reaching for my hand. "Okay."

              We walked over to the horses, still hand in hand as we got the reins. Lance had calmed down considerably, nudging Dylan with his nose and breathing a sigh of relief, as if glad to see that he was still alive.

              "It's just to the top of the hill, we can walk," Dylan offered, then fumbled out, "if you want to."

              "That sounds good," I said as we started walking. Like I’d say no when it meant I didn’t have to embarrass myself climbing up on Brooks.

              The tall grass scratched at my feet as we walked and I wished I had my boots. The sandals didn't give me any protection against the heat, grass, bugs, or snakes.

My eyes dropped to the ground, scanning for any slithery things. It wasn't that I was scared of snakes, but we’d already had one medical emergency on this date and we didn't need another. Dylan squeezed my hand and I calmed down, meeting his eyes for a second before he glanced away, blushing.

              We walked for awhile in comfortable silence, hand in hand, with the horses trailing behind us. When we reached the top of the hill, I paused, taking in the breathtaking view.

              A patch of large rocks sat like oddly placed benches, overlooking a field of purple flowers. Beyond that was a rocky strip of land filled with trees resting below slate colored mountains.

              "Wow." I was stunned. I didn't even know places like this existed in Nevada. Then again all I'd seen of the state before the ranch was the bustling cities, and desert-like plains.

              "I come here when I want to be alone. It's peaceful," Dylan admitted, seeming to relax as if this small bit of beautiful country acted as his safe place.

              "I can see why."

              "I've never brought anyone here before," Dylan admitted, watching me with a nervous smile.

              So this really was his safe place and he had decided to bring me here. I suddenly felt nervous, as if I'd break something and ruin its quiet beauty. I also felt my heart thaw. He had brought me here, showing me how much he wanted me in his life.

              "Thank you for bringing me here," I whispered, trying not to get emotional. Where was my hard exterior when I needed it?

Or did I even need it? After all, I felt no need to hide myself around him. Maybe this was a way of my mind taking a step forward towards the light without me even realizing it.

              "Thank you for saving me," Dylan said, flinching slightly at the memory of what had happened.

              I smiled, unsure what to say as we both stood there in a silence that had suddenly become awkward. I had never had anyone thank me for saving their life before, so I had no idea how to respond. "This is amazing," I confessed, hoping it would draw us away from the conversation.

              "There's more," Dylan stated, like he was confused that I thought this was it. He dropped the reins to Lance so one touched the ground and had me do the same with Brooks. "They'll stay," Dylan assured me, then led me the distance through the flowers to the rocks, never letting go of my hand. It was almost like this place gave him a smidgen more confidence than usual. I had to admit it was kind of hot to see him this way.

              A picnic blanket was laid out in front of the rocks, a basket already sitting there waiting. I guess he had ridden out here and prepared for the date, which was so thoughtful of him. Though I'm really glad that the bee stung him while I was with him and not when he was here alone.

              "Are you hungry?" Dylan asked and I could immediately see his confidence drop as he became uncertain.

              "Yeah," I stepped over a smaller rock to sit down. Dylan pulled out fried chicken, cheese sticks and strawberries with whipped cream. We took our time eating, staying quiet as we looked around at the scenery and each other. When we finished, I sighed and laid back on the blanket, basking in the warmth from the sun and the feeling of fullness, both physically and mentally.

              "So, what do you usually do when you're up here?" I asked, breaking the silence.

              Dylan blushed as he repacked the picnic basket with the empty plates, taking a while to respond. "Sing."

              "Like you did last night at my door?" I asked, watching his face. I knew it was him because of breakfast this morning, but I guess I just wanted to hear it from him.