My Life Is a Cliché

I woke up to the smell of cooking meat. Thaddeus had me pinned to his side so that I couldn’t roll over onto my left side. I was embarrassed about what I did last night. I had been warned pain medication can make you a little loopy but I didn’t expect that. Before I could move, Thaddeus woke up.

“Good morning,” he smiled and I smiled back.

“About last night,” I began and he laughed.

“I figured you were a little on the high side.” I blushed and he laughed again. “Smells like my mom is making breakfast.”

“Can you ask Katie if she’ll come help me get showered and dressed?” I asked as he helped me sit up.

“Yes ma’am,” he said and left.

I yawned and tried to stretch but the sling prevented me from doing much. Katie came in.

“How’d you sleep?” she asked, her eyes glinting.

“Hush,” I grumbled and she giggled. “How am I supposed to shower again?”

My usual 20 minute shower turned into 45 as I tried to figure out the best way to shower without hurting myself. Katie washed my hair for me while I struggled with the rest of my body.

“What do you want to wear?” she called from my closet while I clumsily blow dried my hair.

“Sweats and a t-shirt are fine,” I answered. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

She helped me into my shirt and refitted the sling.

I curled my lip in annoyance. “I hate this thing already.”

Katie smiled at me gently. “I’m just glad you’re okay, Morana,” she sighed, looking at my collarbone. “I don’t know what it looked like before, but Thaddeus said it was really bad.”

“I don’t remember much, honestly,” I said as we went into the dining room/kitchen. “I just remember the horse suddenly stopping and I went flying. Then there was a sharp pain and I woke up in the hospital.”

“Well, I just want to put all that behind us,” Isabelle said with a shudder.

She placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me then returned with pancakes. After the hospital food, this was paradise. I saw Katie cringe but I didn’t care.

“You really don’t have to do this,” I told Isabelle as she gave a plate to Thaddeus. Katie had politely declined. “I don’t want you to put yourself out.”

“Oh please, dear. Carl and Thaddeus will be able to run the ranch without me for a few days,” she assured me, sitting with breakfast as well.

“I’m excited that you’re getting to have an active role,” I said to Thaddeus who grinned and nodded. “Does that mean you’ll be with the horses more?”

“No,” he said quickly and Isabelle laughed. “I’ll be in charge of the business end of things. We’ll hire someone that actually likes working with horses to do the grooming and lessons.”

Isabelle suddenly looked sad.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

“I’m getting old,” she said simply. “I’ll miss training horses.”

“You should’ve seen the look on Morana’s face when I used the word ‘break’,” Thaddeus laughed.

“Jeez. I thought he meant you actually broke the horses!”

Isabelle laughed and Katie gave a polite chuckle.

“I have to go to work,” she told me. “You’ll be okay?”

I nodded, my mouth full of eggs. Katie said good bye to Isabelle and Thaddeus and left. I let out a long sigh.

“Sorry about her,” I said to Isabelle.

She merely shrugged. “Thaddeus told me about her. She seems like a kind young woman, though.”

“She is,” I agreed. “So what are we doing today?”

“I have to go back to the ranch,” Thaddeus said. “My dad is going to start showing me the ins and outs of the business.”

“I was thinking about maybe going to the office,” I said.

“No,” he said immediately and I groaned. “You’re to stay home and recover.”

“For another week!?” I cried. “What am I supposed to do for another week one handed?”

“I can teach you some things,” Isabelle said.

“There you go,” Thaddeus said. He put his dish in the sink. “No sneaking out.”

I grimaced. “Go to work, Hatch.”

He chuckled and kissed me and his mother on the head. He left, closing the door softly behind him.

“Why do you call him Hatch?”

“When we first met, he wasn’t exactly a gentleman,” I explained and she laughed. “It’s kind of become my nickname for him, I guess. Why?”

She shook her head, taking my plate to the kitchen. “I’m just curious. So, what would you like to do today? That involves staying in the apartment,” she added, seeing my face.

I pouted. “Well, maybe you can teach me about horses?”

She looked surprised. “You still want to learn after it tossed you?”

“Oh, I won’t be riding for a very long time. I mean the technical things about riding. What the saddle is for, how to saddle a horse, that kind of stuff.”

She beamed. “I’d love to! I just need to go get my books. Promise you’ll stay here?”

“I promise,” I smiled, sitting on the couch and turning the TV on.

She left and I sighed quietly. Truthfully, I wasn’t that interested but it broke my heart seeing how upset Isabelle was when she said she wouldn’t be able to work with horses anymore. I wondered what changed their minds about passing everything onto Thaddeus, but I could tell they were going to have trouble retiring.

My alarm went off to take my medicine. Thaddeus had put my pills in an easy open pill sorter next to a water bottle. I frowned at the pain medicine but took it, knowing it would be ten times worse if I didn’t. From now on, though, I was going to make sure I didn’t make a fool out of myself like I did last night.

-Thaddeus’s POV-

When I got to the ranch, my dad was tending to the horses so I went into the house to wait for him. I was still a little shaken up by what happened even though I didn’t say anything. To see Morana being tossed through the air….

I sat at the table and pulled my phone out. I had a text from Hector.

Hey dude. Just wanted to apologize for what we said in the hospital. We were drunk.

I clenched my jaw. I was debating on what to say when my dad walked in.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, washing his hands. I read the text out to him and his face darkened. “Tell him apology not accepted.” He sighed. “No, don’t say that. At least he apologized.”

“I’ll just say thanks and leave it at that,” I decided.

Wanna go to the bar for drinks?

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groaned and showed my dad.

He shook his head sadly. “Those boys will never grow up. Are you ready to get started?”

I nodded eagerly and followed him to his office.