Chapter 5 of Love, Pain, and Everything In Between

Colleen sighed and glanced at the clock. 5:30. She had just gotten home from a difficult volleyball practice, and her parents and 16-year-old brother were gone to his soccer banquet. Colleen had just enough time to go down to the bran and work her horse, Red, before Taylor was supposed to call. As she walked down to the barn and began to work Red, Colleen's brain began to go into worry mode, again. I wonder if he'll call tonight. She thought. I wonder if we'll talk as long as we did last time. Red's head jerked up as he stumbled over some uneven ground, jarring Colleen out of her thoughts. "Sorry, boy." She mumbled, patting his neck. "I'll try to concentrate." Colleen finished the work-out and bedded Red down for the night. Just as she walked into the house, the phone rang. "Hello?" She said, picking it up.
"Hey Colleen!" a friendly voice said at the other end. Taylor. Colleen thought with a smile. "How have you been since last night?" He asked.
"Hi. I've been fine. Can you hold on for a second? I just got back from the barn." Colleen wanted to change out of her barn clothes.
"Sure." Taylor replied. Colleen put the phone on hold and changed into her black Generation X jeans, an old softball t-shirt, and her favorite sweatshirt.
"Okay, I'm back." She said, picking up the phone.
"So you live on a farm?" Taylor asked.
"Yup. A small one. I have one horse and one dog." She replied.
"Wow, what a big farm." Taylor laughed.
"Hey, I'm just starting out!" Colleen protested. "Give me 5 years and I'll have lots more horses so ha." she said.
"I'm just teasing." Taylor said defensively. But Colleen knew that he knew she was just teasing, too. "So do you show your horse or something?" he continued.
"Not yet. I will though. I'm training him to be a jumper." Colleen said.
"You jump?" Taylor asked incredulously. "Have you been in any shows?" Colleen proceeded to tell Taylor her history of riding, and her horses history, too. They ended up talking late into the night. They each talked about their families, asked questions about each others' past, and helped each other with homework. They ended up not getting off the phone untill around 11:30. Colleen's parents had just gotten home, and so had Taylor's, with a very sleepy Zac and exhausted Isaac.
"I have to go like, right now." Colleen said.
"Me, too. My parents just got home. Did yours?" Taylor asked.
"Yeah." Colleen said. "What great timing."
"Well, I really better go. I'll email you, ok?"
"Sure," Colleen said. "Bye." She hung up the phone and ran upstairs to her room, and the good dreams she knew she'd have that night.

Chapter 6
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