Chapter Eight

The next morning I got up and texted Tye.
'Hey Tye'
I walked away from my phone to take a shower. When I got out I went back to my phone. There was no response from Tye.
"He might just be asleep still." I thought to myself
I walk down to the kitchen and find mom cooking breakfast on the stove.
"Have you seen Tye?" I asked mom
"No, not this morning. Why?"
"He's not answering his phone and I'm starting to worry."
"Well, Amy, don't worry about it. If I see him your way." mom said
"Thanks mom!"
I walked toward the barn when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I took it out hoping it was Tye. I looked at my phone screen, and felt disappointment fall upon me. It wasn't Tye, it was my college science teacher Mr. Jennemann. He had sent out a reminder to the class saying there was a test Friday.
"Uggh! Thanks Jennemann! You got my hopes up! I thought it was Tye! Grrrr!" I said to myself
I put my phone back into my pocket and continued toward the barn. I walked over to Ebony's stall and went in to check his leg. I rubbed up and down his leg.  Starting at his hock and ending at his cannon bone. I felt to make sure there was no swelling or heat in his leg. Ebony kept tossing his head and trying to kick me.
"You kick me, I'll kick you!" I yelled at him
I continue to check his leg. Trying to calm him down so I could see if it is getting better or not.
"Easy boy. You're okay. I'm almost done."
I finish up checking his leg and I had a burst of excitement. I felt no swelling or heat in his leg. I run to the tack room and get Dr. Reed's number to call her.
"Hello, this is Dr. Reed." She said as she answered the phone
"Yes, Dr. Reed. I would like to know if you could come and look at Ebony's leg."
"I'll be over as soon as possible."
"Thank you so much!"
"No problem Amy. See you soon."
I ran back to Ebony's stall, put his halter and lead line on and tied him to the outside of his stall. I walked back to the tack room, grabbed his tack box and walked back over to him. I took out the curry comb and started to groom him.
"I want you to look your best for Dr. Reed today boy. This could possibly be your last appointment with her for your leg."
I finished brushing and picking his hooves when I heard a truck pull up to the barn.
"Hello Amy." Dr. Reed said when she walked into the barn
"Hello Dr. Reed. Thank you for coming."
"My pleasure Amy. Did you say you wanted an x-ray of Ebony's leg?"
"Yes ma'am I did because I checked his leg and didn't feel swelling or heat. So I wanted to see if it has healed completely."
"Okay. I can do that for you."
"Thank you Dr. Reed."
She walked over to Ebony and began to x-ray his leg.
"How's Tye been latley?" Dr. Reed asked
"He's been okay I guess. I haven't seen him at all today. I'm starting to worry. He's always here in the morning and this morning he wasn't. So I don't know what is going on."
"Do you think he is skipping work because of what happened between you two?"
"I don't know. Wait? How did you know about what happened?" I asked Dr. Reed
"Your mom told me about it when I came last week for a check up on Snow."
"Great, I knew I shouldn't have told her about what happened."
"Don't worry, I went through the same thing at your age. He'll get over it. In the end both of you will forget all of this ever happened. Trust me. Just give it time."
She went back to examining Ebony's leg. I looked at what she was doing. Taking in all I could. One day I too would be doing what she is right now.
"Looks like his leg has healed. It feels stronger but the only way to know for sure is to do some tests."
"Does that mean I can ride him?" I asked
"Well." She said looking at me with sadness "That's the problem Amy. Due to the traumatic situation he went through and the injuries he obtained, I don't think he is going to be the same horse as he was before. You may never be able to ride him ever again. It all depends on him. I'm sorry Amy."
She gathered her things and went to her car.
"So what am I supposed to do with him if I can't ride him?" I asked Dr. Reed
"Well, you could keep him as a pet. Keep him in the pasture with the other horses or you could put him to stud. He's still pretty young. He'd make a lot of money at stud and he'd have a lot of good foals to keep his legacy going. It's up to you. What do you think is best for him?"
"If he allows me to ride him again, will he be able to compete again?" I asked anxiously
"I'm afraid not Amy. His leg may be healed, but it isn't strong enough for competing. Again, I'm sorry Amy. I know these are not the answers you wanted to hear."
"It's okay. Thank you for coming by Dr. Reed. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome Amy. Have a good day." Dr. Reed said as she started her car. As she drove away, I walked back into the barn to put Ebony back into his stall. I closed his stall door and walked over to Snow's stall.
"Hey girl." I said rubbing her forehead "Looks like you're going to be the new champion in the barn."
She nickered softly and pushed my shoulder with her nose
"I'll be right back girl." I said as I walked toward the tack room to grab a halter and lead line for her. On the way back from the tack room I stopped halfway between her stall and Ebony's stall.
"Snow come here girl!" I called to her then whistled to see if she would walk out of her stall.
"Come here girl! Let's go for a walk." I called again followed by another whistle. I could hear her slowly coming out of her stall. It was as if she was afraid something would attack her if she walked out.
"It's okay girl. Come on out. I have treats for you." I said for the third time and followed by a whistle. This time I saw her walk out of her stall and trot over to me.
"Good girl." I said to her pulling a treat from my pocket and handing it to her.
I put her halter and lead line on and started to walk out of the barn when Ebony neighs loudly. I lead Snow to her stall and quick-release tie her to the stall door.
"Hey baby. Do you want to go with us?" He tossed his head and neighed loudly again
"Okay, okay! You can come with us boy."
I walked out of his stall and back to the tack room to grab his halter and lead line. As I started to walk back to his stall I stopped halfway in between and called him like I did with Snow.
"Ebony, come here boy!" I called to him then whistled for him. He steps out of his stall and walked toward me.
"Good boy." I said giving him a treat and putting his halter and lead line on then walking him over to Snowflake.
I lead them both out of the barn and out to the pasture.
"Hey, easy guys." I said trying to slow them down to a manageable walk.
It was like they didn't hear me. Both of them kept walking faster and faster.
"Whoa, easy. Easy." I said pulling back on their lead lines as hard as I could.
Suddenly both Ebony and Snow stopped, stood still and stared straight ahead. Me, being curious, walked up to see what they were looking at. What I saw shocked me. Standing fifteen feet in front of us was a bobcat and her two kitten.
"Awwwww!!!!" I said out loud
I could feel both horses walking toward them. I held them back as best as i could and let the mom and her kittens pass before continuing forward. I felt my pone vibrate in my pocket again.
"Pleas be Tye. Please be Tye!" I thought to myself. I took my phone out and looked at the screen. When I saw it wasn't Tye, I went from being happy to being upset. I haven't heard from Tye all day. I put my phone back into my pocket and led Ebony and Snow back to the barn. I put Ebony in his stall first, then put Snow in hers. I closed her stall door and went back to the house after a long day.
"Good night. I'll see you tomorrow." I said as I turned the barn lights off and closed the door.
I walked up to my room, turned my music on, and fell asleep thinking about Tye. Hoping he was okay, wherever he was. I just wanted him to come home. I missed him.