[Kaylin] Cry me a River

[Jess Dalton]

Why oh why oh why did she have to go dance with Jake. She wasn't even drunk, why hadn't Caleb popped into her mind. Maybe he was right. Once a gangbanger always a gangbanger. It was nearly impossible for JT to drag herself out of bed Thursday afternoon. It had been five days since the party, and the beach fight. He hated her now. She hadn't gone to class at all. Or been to the stable to see Candy Apple Pie. She was just dead inside. Her face was pale as the sun shone through the half open curtains. Eyes and nose red from non stop crying.

Finally she dragged herself out of bed. It was Thursday afternoon, everyone would be in school so the stable should be empty. Dragging herself out of bed Jess didn't even bother to make it up. She pulled on a pair of baggy grey sweatpants and a shirt two sizes to big. Putting her hair in a ponytail she grabbed her car keys before walking out the door. Jess drove down the road to the stable, glad to see that there was only two cars in the lot. Her chin quivered when she saw Caleb's horse sticking his head out of his stall.

She had to be strong, she told ehrself. She had to get over him. Oh what the hell was she talking about, she couldn't. JT walked towards the stable door. She grabbed Pie's halter and leadrope and a grooming kit. As she was walking to Pie's stall she walekd past the wash racks. IT seems somebody had jsut been there because soap and water were still all over the place. That pushed her ove rthe edge. Memories of her and Caleb's meeting ran through her head. She raced to Pie's stall and lay down in the straw. Curled up against the horse. Tears pouring from her eyes again.

[Kaylin Camrak]

Kaylin sat silently in the stall, eyes dark. Her mind kept going back to Caleb. He was a mess, though he hid it well from everyone else. There was a look in his eyes that she had only seen when his stallion had died - a look of profound loss, confusion, denial. She knew that Jess had captured him with her quick smile and easy laugh, with her mysterious background, with her unplanned future. She knew that Jess could have left that party. She could have went to Caleb, brought him with her. She could have thought before doing. But she didn't. And she hated Jess for that. The sound of feet outside the stall didn't pull Kaylin off the ground. She sat silently, Jack's mane brushing against her leg as he sniffed around her pockets once again in search of treats.

The sound of weeping did, however. Kaylin slowly stood, brushing hay off of her jeans and straightening her tee. She walked over to the stall door and slid out of the stall after patting Jack quickly in goodbye. She rounded the corner. Her body tensed as she froze, her eyes narrowing venomously. She clenched her fists before crossing her arms, standing firmly before the crying Jess Dalton. Speak of the devil, right? Kaylin lifted her chin, anger flashing across her features.

"You have no reason to be crying, Jessica."

Her voice was sharp, hard, furious. How dare she cry. She didn't deserve to cry. This was her own bloody fault. And those tears made Kaylin even more angry. She wanted to walk over and slap the older girl, but she stood still, eyes flashing dangerously. Jess might be a reformed gangster - hah, as if! - but Kaylin was the sister of the brother Jess had wronged. And that made her incredibly dangerous. Kaylin could be docile and sweet, but the moment someone hurt her family - especially the brother she was so close to - she could be as fierce as the wild jaguar - a nickname she'd gained from Caleb.