| Chapter 3 |
| Lance had just reached the grazing area that he and Toby had destroyed when he heard a loud whinny. Glancing up from the ground, he saw four or five men loading Toby into a large truck with a horse carrier attached. Beside them, stood his mother. Lance dropped his backpack on the ground and took off running, reaching the men in record time. "No! You can't take Toby!" he screamed, trying desperately to untie the ropes around his horse. Two men grabbed him and yanked him off the truck, holding him while the others shut the doors and locked them. "No!" yelled Lance, pulling at the arms that held him down. Tears were welling up in his eyes and rolling down his plump cheeks as he struggled. "Please! You can't take him away from me! Please!" "James!" said his mother, walking up to him with a hand on her hip. "What are you doing back from school so early?" Lance licked his lips and turned to his mother with pleading eyes. "Mom," he croaked, his voice hoarse from screaming, "tell them to leave Toby alone. Tell them to not take him away!" Diane Bass shook her head. "Nonsense boy," she admonished. "That horse is no good. Always distracting you from your studies and such. Plus, he's dangerous. Just this morning he destroyed the gate and let all of the animals loose! Nope, it's better that he goes." Lance couldn't believe this. Surely his mother, the woman that had given birth to him and was supposed to love him unconditionally, couldn't be this cruel. However, as he looked into her emotionless eyes, Lance saw nothing but indifference in them. He wasn't sure if it was towards the horse, or to him. He went slack in the arms of the two men, watching helplessly as Toby was taken away from him. He dropped to his knees, crying softly and not caring who saw. The two men shrugged and walked away, heading back towards their truck and following the other one away from the farm. Diane rolled her eyes, having the nerve to look embarrassed at her son's public display of emotion. "For goodness sake, James," she chided, "it's just some silly horse." She sighed and tapped her foot. "I suppose you done got yourself suspended, right? Come on then. Lets git you home and put you to work. If you're gonna be around for a while you sure as hell ain't gonna do nothing!" Lance sniffled and stood up, wiping his nose with his dirty sleeve and following his mother back home. ~*~ It was late at night, and the only sounds that could be heard were the crickets outside the window and Lance's breathing. He tugged his Dad's old coat over him, and shifted his suitcase in his hand. He had packed a few articles of clothing, a few snacks he had stolen from the fridge earlier in the day, and a few other choice items. He opened the window carefully, glad his bedroom was on the bottom floor. He set his suitcase outside carefully, and slipped out of the window. Lance adjusted the fisherman's hat on his head, and looked up at the house he had grown up in. He blew a kiss towards Stacy's room, and waved a little at his mother's. He would miss them, Stacy more than his mother, but he had no choice but to leave. He had heard his mother talking to her sister earlier on the phone about sending him away to live with her. Lance hated his aunt. She was an alcoholic with bad breath and had about a thousand cats all over her house. Lance had decided then and there that he had to leave. Sighing, Lance jogged away and down the dirt road, not once looking back. |