Sterling's Daughter

2 weeks later:

Laya stared at her reflection in pale brown pool of her milkshake. She lifted the glass to her lips, but before it reached them she sighed heavily and sat it back down on the table. Nothing tasted nice these days - not even chocolate, which she tended to binge on perhaps a little too much.
Pushing the glass away from her, she closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the table.
"Yoghurt?" Mum asked from the kitchen. Laya shook her head. "You have to eat something, you know."
"I'm not really hungry," Laya muttered.
"Instead of dwelling on the past, why don't you be the daughter I've always known?" Mum sighed. Laya swallowed. Of course she'd changed. Tempo died that fateful night she'd ridden him. How was she supposed to just stay the same and carry on like she hadn't broken a promise and had used her common sense like she should have?
She stood up and limped towards the front door.
"Where are you going?" Mum asked. Laya didn't answer as she hobbled down the front step with her sprained ankle and broken arm.
The horses in the paddocks barely glanced at her as she leaned against the fence on her good arm and watched them. She heard Mum follow her outside, before heading to the shed. Ever since Laya had regained consciousness 2 days after the accident, she'd never said anything about the promise Laya had given her or even mentioned the fact that Tempo had even existed. Truth be told, Laya didn't even understand why her mother was even talking to her.
Laya sighed and watched the horses, knowing that riding them wouldn't be an option for a long time. She stared until her eyes seemed to burn and tears pricked at her lashes. She brushed them away angrily and dug her fingernails into her palms to distract herself. It seemed like an eternity as she stood there feeling sad and bored, waiting for Zena to come home from school.
She heard the bus roll to a stop at the end of the driveway, and saw out of the corner of her eye a bunch of kids heading towards her. She gritted her teeth. The last thing she felt like was putting on a brave front to her classmates.
"Hey, sis, some friends for you," Zena called as they reached her. Then she must have headed for the house, because Laya could hear footsteps fading in that direction. Laya kept staring at the ground and refused to look around.
"Hey," Kirsty's arm slipped around Laya's shoulders. "How ya feeling?"
"Wonderful," Laya said sarcastically, avoiding eye contact.
"We're really sorry about what happened," Melindy said, sounding sorrowful.
"You've said that before," Laya looked at the sky. "And I'm not deaf. And it's not going to change a thing. Saying sorry isn't going to change what happened."
There was a silence.
"We just want to..." Dylan began.
"I don't," Laya said abruptly. "Look, I know you guys are sorry and want to help, but its only making it worse when you start giving up your time for my own stupid problems. You can't help."
Another silence. Laya bit her bottom lip.
"Lay..." Kirsty started eventually, breaking the silence.
"Just go," Laya felt her eyes watering up. "Please."
Kirsty's arm slipped off her shoulders as she stepped back.
"We're here if you need us," was all she said.
"I don't," Laya snapped out, without thinking.
The other's didn't say anything, just turned and started walking back down the driveway. She tilted her head slightly so she could see them walking away. Tears blurred her vision, but she could just make out Kirsty looking back over her shoulder. She lifted her hand in a little wave, but Laya jerked her head back around. She was being a jerk and she knew it, but she couldn't help it. Thinking about that night hurt way too much.
Groaning out loud, she turned on her heel to head back towards the house, and slammed into something hard. She staggered back and glanced up, locking gazes with Will. For a second, she stood there, struck dumb. Then reality hit her and she stood up straight and glared at him.
"What are you doing here?" she snarled. His eyes never left her face as he continued to stand there, unfazed by her anger.
"I came with the others," he said. "You realise that you do need help, don't you? You're just too proud to accept it."
"And how would you know that?" Laya demanded, heart rate speeding up as she broke the eye contact. He shook his head slightly.
"We need to talk," was all he said.