That was great ... love that Michael is soo understanding with her ... aww yah tehy finally got a honeymoon ... lmao Eric got stuck in a tub ... aww we are back to her telling him to close his eyes ... thanks for the PM ... more soon please
Chapter 24
Throughout the summer, Sydney continued to work at the veterinary clinic and loved every minute of it. True, some of it was sad, especially when the older pets or the sick ones had to be put down, but the good far outweighed the bad. She had never in her life been more thankful that she had left her old life behind and started a newer, more interesting, better one for her.
“Hey Sydney, would you mind coming with me tomorrow? I have to go to your parent’s farm and I thought you might want to see your horse,” Dr. Verluth asked her during the first week in August. Sydney had been going on an average of one or two trips a week with Dr. Verluth, but none of them had been back to her family’s farm.
“Oh, that would be great, thanks. Why are you going? If you don’t mind me asking,” Sydney asked her.
“Sick horse,” Dr. Verluth told her. “Apparently, it’s been sick for a few weeks and it’s not getting better, so I’m going to check it out.”
“Oh alright, what time?” Sydney asked.
“Oneish?”
“Sure, I’ll be there.” She smiled.
~*~
The following afternoon, armed with a pocket full of carrot sticks for Carrot, Sydney went with Dr. Verluth to her parent’s farm. She was somewhat shocked to see her father and eldest brother waiting outside the barn for them, since they would usually be at her father’s workshop at that time, but then she realized that Adam must have warned them of her potential return and they were there to keep an eye on her.
She climbed out of the car, avoiding eye contact with them. She helped Dr. Verluth gather her things while her father and twin brother approached. “Which horse is sick?” Sydney asked as she looked towards her father.
“The one that used to be yours,” he told her.
Immediately Sydney’s heart skipped a beat and she felt ill. “It’s Carrot,” she said to Dr. Verluth as she rushed off to the barn. “Carrot? Carrot? Hey sweetie, what’s wrong, hmm?” Sydney asked softly when her pet stuck his nose out of his stall. Carrot sniffed her hands and immediately her nose went to Sydney’s left pocket. “You can't be that sick,” Sydney laughed as she pulled a piece of carrot from her pocket and fed it to Carrot.
“Alright, let’s have a look at her,” Dr. Verluth said as she opened Carrot’s stall. She tugged on Carrot’s bridle, trying to get her to move, but Carrot didn’t budge. “A little help,” Dr. Verluth grunted towards Sydney.
Sydney smiled and pulled another carrot stick from her pocket. “Here Carrot,” she taunted as she held the carrot up. Carrot walked forward and took the carrot from Sydney’s hand. “Good girl,” Sydney smiled as she stroked Carrot’s nose.
“She’s old, isn’t she?” Dr. Verluth asked.
Sydney nodded. “I’m not sure exactly how old, but at least fourteen or fifteen.”
“Hmm well, that’s not too old,” Dr. Verluth said as she examined Carrot. “Sounds like she has a bad cold. She should be getting better soon though…”
Just as Dr. Verluth was feeling Carrot’s stomach, Carrot jumped slightly and began to trot out of the barn. “I’ll get her.” Sydney groaned as she followed the horse. Carrot kept going until Sydney was practically running, chasing after her, calling out her name. “CARROT! Stop! You could have caught her!” she glared at her brother, who was smirking as she ran past.
Finally, Carrot slowed to a walk when she approached the front of the farmhouse and caught sight of Sydney’s father. “Carrot,” Sydney sighed as she approached the horse, breathing slightly heavy. “What’s the matter with you?” she groaned as she grabbed onto Carrot’s bridle. But, just as she was doing this, her father approached from the side, startling Carrot and causing her to rear up on her hind legs. Unfortunately, as she was doing this, she accidentally kicked Sydney in the face, sending her sprawling to the ground with a harsh thud. Once she had righted herself, Carrot realized what she had done and lowered her head to Sydney. She nudged Sydney’s face and hands, but Sydney didn’t move. She was out cold and bleeding from her forehead.
Her father looked down over her, expecting her to move, but she didn’t, so he grabbed Carrot’s bridle and pulled her away. Sydney’s mother, who had been watching the whole scene from the house, burst out of the front door of the farm house, running towards her fallen daughter. Shunned or not, she was still a mother with a child injured and bleeding. She crouched down on the ground and cradled her daughter’s head in her lap, trying to wake her.
A moment later, Dr. Verluth emerged from the barn and became frantic when she saw Sydney. She started to ask what happened but realized that these people probably wouldn’t answer her in English and her only translator was unconscious. Dr. Verluth gave up and returned Carrot to the barn.
“Joseph, take your sister inside,” their mother commanded.
Joseph’s face went stern. “She is unwelcome. She made her decision.”
“We’re not inviting her for dinner, look at her, she’s bleeding,” she said almost frantically. Joseph’s expression remained stern. Their mother turned to her husband, but he had walked away. A few minutes of glaring later, Adam walked over and lifted his sister off the gravel to carry her inside. Joseph stood in front of him.
“She was kicked. You know how dangerous that can be,” Adam said sternly. Joseph reluctantly let him pass. Adam carried Sydney inside and placed her down on the couch, where their mother immediately began cleaning her wounds and trying to wake her.
A few minutes later Sydney awoke, tried to sit up, but couldn’t. She groaned in pain. “Lie still,” her mother commanded.
“Mother?” she mumbled.
“Your doctor has left without you,” her mother said as she glanced out the window and saw the doctor’s van driving away down the lane.
“I’ll call Michael,” she mumbled. She sloppily dug in her back jeans pocket until she found her cell phone. She tried to open her eyes to see the buttons on the phone but her vision was blurred. She managed to dial by feel and then held the phone to her ear. “Michael, I need you to-”
“Whoa, Syd? You’re speaking in German,” Michael said with confusion.
“Oh sorry… I need you to come pick me up...”
“Where are you? Are you ok?”
“I’m fine… I’m at my parents… you’ll need to come back the lane to the house,” she told him.
“Okay, I’ll leave right now,” he told her before hanging up. Sydney grumbled slightly as she crammed her phone back in her pocket.
“Who is Michael?” her mother asked as she continued to dab the blood from her daughter’s face.
“My husband,” she sighed.
“Don’t speak to her,” Joseph commanded as he walked in the front door. Her mother recoiled slightly.
“You know what,” Sydney groaned as she sat up, very annoyed and sick of her brother’s attitude in her injured state. “If you want to say something to me, why don’t you just say it?”
“You shouldn’t be here. You are unwelcome. You made your choice. You came here in your disgusting clothing and uncovered head.” Joseph spat.
“Well, I’m terribly sorry that I am defacing this home with my filth, but you know what Joseph, I did make my choice and I’m glad I did. I haven’t once regretted it. And as for being here, this isn’t a social visit. I’m not that much of a fool. This is my job. I work for the veterinarian.”
“Women don’t work outside the home.”
“That’s your world Joseph, not mine. I’ll wait outside.” She grunted as she tried to stand. As she walked she stumbled slightly, but managed to make her way outside and sit on the porch steps. While sitting there, she noticed the blood from her head was still trickling down her face so she dug in her pocket for a tissue to hold on her bleeding head.
She was only sitting there about five minutes with her brother hovering annoyingly behind her and a few children watching her from the side of the house, until she saw Michael’s BMW driving down the lane. She tried to stand, but she was too dizzy.
“Syd… oh god, you’re bleeding. What happened?” Michael asked as he bolted from his car.
“Carrot kicked me,” Sydney sighed.
“She kicked you? That wasn’t very nice of her.”
“It was an accident… she got scared,” Sydney sighed.
“Okay, come on,” he said as he lifted her off the stairs. “You know someone is glaring at us, right?” he whispered to her.
“That’s Joseph. Ignore him.”
“Okay,” he sighed as he helped her in the passenger side of the car and then buckled her seatbelt. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“What? Why…”
“Because you probably have a concussion,” he told her. “Did you pass out?”
“Yeah, I think,” she mumbled.
“Then you have a concussion.” Michael sighed as he turned the car around and began to drive back up the winding lane. He flipped open his cell phone and dialed Eric’s number.
“Yello?”
“Eric, it’s me. I’m not going to be able to come back in today. I have to take Sydney to the hospital,” Michael told him.
“What? Why? Is she alright?” Eric asked with concern.
“Her horse kicked her in the head. I think she has a concussion. I’m taking her to the ER just in case,” Michael told him.
“Ohh god, I hope she’s ok,” Eric said.
“Thanks,” Michael sighed before hanging up.
~*~
The doctors kept Sydney in the hospital overnight for observation and Michael stayed by her side after he called the veterinarian, who felt extremely guilty for leaving her (she had an emergency and was called away) but thought it would be alright to leave Sydney with her family. After coming home from the hospital, Sydney stayed home from work for an additional two days, because she was still suffering from an intense headache.
The day Sydney returned to work was cold and rainy. When Michael arrived home, the house was pitch black because of the grey, cloudy sky outside and the lack of lights inside. Michael found it odd that his wife wasn’t home, but figured she stayed late to play with the animals that were being boarded at the clinic as she had done a few times before. He went into the bedroom to change and noticed a lump curled up on the bed, sobbing softly.
“Syd? Honey, what’s wrong?” he asked softly as he sat down on the bed beside her.
“My father killed Carrot,” she sniffed.
“He what?!” Michael gasped in surprise.
“He shot her!” Sydney spat through her tears. “Doctor Verluth told me today.... he killed her...”
“Oh god, Syd I am so, so sorry,” Michael sighed as he lay out on the bed and cradled her while she sobbed.
