Not all storms come to disrupt your life

 

"Well, if anyone can do this, you can," Brooklyn said to Harley when she texted her about the Rock Band's offer. 

She was at the horse camp where she was staying for the summer. Yes, they were in full throttle (in spite of the heat and humidity) with mostly Western Pleasure classes, but once a week she got in her gear to do Equestrian events. Generally, it was more of a hands-on experience, but it made her feel she was in a brand new world. She didn't know why she hadn't been more serious about it before. Of course, it might not get her anywhere into the future, but it was such a good feeling to be doing something the loved. Somehow, she hoped Harley found that feeling too. 

"It makes me a nervous wreck," Harley said about being on stage.

"Oh, it'll be a rush, you'll see," Brooklyn was enthusiastic in her text. "Just keep going, don't let Brick hold you back."

"Hold me back?" Harley shot back. Brooklyn knew she'd hit a tender spot with Harley. Brooklyn knew how motherly Harley was with Brick and he was just as fatherly with her. 

"He's got basketball, you've got this," Brooklyn told Harley. "Go for it!"

Brooklyn left it at that. Before she knew it, Mercer was texting her about Harley being in KC's band. Brooklyn smiled at the text. She put her phone in her back pocket and went to work on the stalls that needed to be cleaned.

Never did she think she would do so much manual labor, but she liked it. She liked the couple that ran the camp. Besides, she was glad to be away from her mother who never had a nice thing to say about Griffin. 

She made it sound like they were doomed. Why didn't she reach out to her old boyfriend Trent? Brooklyn didn't want to think about the past. The future looked so bright even if it was sweeping, pitching hay, and of course, brushing down horses. 

In fact, she loved the smell of horses. But she knew by the end of July she would be done here. She had to get ready for her fall classes. And there was that road trip she'd planned with Griffin to Worlds of Fun.

Yuki was glad Emily was there. Especially, that night when she was fighting off Zelli. It was like deja vous. A part of her felt it was her fault for bringing out the worst in people.  Yes, there were a few times back when she was a kid that she never told anyone. She did her best to become a wallflower. It always felt best to love unrequited. But at least, Axton came to the rescue and Emily was there to pick up the pieces. Really, she felt she and Emily both felt shattered. How could this be?

Still, it bothered Yukie, thinking Zelli could have hurt Emily. Then she didn't know about the baby. But now the scene kept running through her mind as if it could have been a disaster. What if Zelli had hurt Emily?  Yuki wanted to not think about that night with Zelli. It felt as if she was in a rut. That was not the Zelli she wanted to know and at the moment she couldn't even think what Zelli was doing or where she was. 

Yuki hadn't called Melissa and Rylie about any of this. She hadn't even found the energy to mention it to Brandon, either.

No, she just needed quiet. Yuki and Emily talked that night. Of course, Emily was so shy and scared. Her voice cracked with emotion when she told her about how she felt toward Yuki. 

"You're not scared of me, are you?" Yuki had asked.

"No..no..it's not like that. It's just I feel I never know what to do ..because..because I feel it will be the wrong thing," She was in tears when she finally admitted she didn't want to be with Axton. 

Of course, in the end, Yuki felt she was having to comfort Emily about the baby. All the while Em kept sniffing back tears and saying, "I didn't want it to be this way. I didn't."

"Don't get so stressed," was all the advice Yuki could give her. "We'll be fine. It'll work out." 

They held hands as if they were there for each other. Of course, Emily told Yuki she was the strongest person she'd ever known. 

Yuki found herself smiling and crying in the same moment. In her heart, she felt she was in the right place. Yes, this was home. And to secure it she had to have faith to go on. No, Emily was no fierce creature of the night, but Yuki was beginning to realize they were finishing each other sentences. And the nights were cozier and dreams came quicker when they rested together.