Life Unaware (Entangled Teen) by Cole Gibsen

Author:Cole Gibsen
Language: ara
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: ohn Green, teen romance, social media, online bullying, Julie Ann Peters, The Truth About Alice, Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2015-04-27T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

If I closed my eyes, I could almost convince myself the soft sand in the arena was actually a cloud beneath my feet—that the horse I led around in circles was a Pegasus, come to fly me away to adventures untold.

As if he could read my thoughts, Rookie snorted. I smiled and opened my eyes. While my life was far from perfect, there were moments I didn’t need to escape from, and this was one of them.

I looked up at Tamara, the little girl clinging to Rookie’s mane. Black curls spilled out from beneath her riding helmet. Her eyes glistened with excitement, yet her mouth was tight with concentration. I didn’t know her background, but it didn’t matter to me if she struggled with a disability or came from a broken home. All that mattered when I volunteered my and Rookie’s time was that the kid on his back wanted to be there. And I could tell from Tamara’s face there was no place she’d rather be.

We approached a piece of PVC tubing on the ground. “Two-point,” I called out.

Tamara complied. She braced her hands on Rookie’s neck and rose out of the saddle as I guided Rookie over the pole. Pretty soon she wouldn’t need me on the other end of his lead rope—she’d be taking small jumps all on her own. I wondered if she’d close her eyes and pretend to be flying like I used to do.

The thought startled me. I couldn’t remember when I stopped.

“Do you ever pretend the horses are unicorns or have wings?” I asked as we rounded the corner and began another lap.

Tamara made a face. “I’m not a baby. That stuff isn’t real. I like regular horses. They’re real.”

Rookie chuffed as if in agreement.

I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re right.” I gently pulled back on the lead rope and Rookie came to a halt. “I think we’re all done for today, Tamara.”

“Aw.” Her face crumpled. “But we just started.”

“An hour ago.” I laughed. “Tell you what, how about you dismount, I’ll take his saddle off, and then you can brush him for a bit, okay?”

Her face lit up. “Okay.”

I held my hand out to her, and she fell into my arms. I lowered her to the ground. Looking past me, she asked, “Who’s that?”

“Who’s who?” I turned and found Nolan standing outside the arena gate. The shock of seeing him was so sharp, I nearly tripped over my own feet. He wore faded jeans that hung low on his hips, and his tattered gray T-shirt hugged his arms and shoulders in all the right places. His hair, never tame on any day, looked even wilder in the breeze.

I had the horrible urge to run my fingers through it.

I cleared my throat, as if that would purge the disturbing thought from my mind. I blinked to make sure I was seeing clearly through the arena dust. He held a different video camera, larger than the one he let me borrow. What was

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