Chapter 6 Lucas

With dishes done and put away and hours until lunch, I knew that it was the perfect time to find out the truth. Watching her as she took inventory of the food in the fridge, I couldn't help but laugh slightly.

"Why don't you take a break?" I called out to her, watching her tense. Shrugging it off, I walked towards her, sliding my body between her and the fridge. Her bright blue eyes looked up at me in surprise and humiliation before turning around and putting the list on the table. Walking towards her, my flingers slid around her wrist and tightened around it. "Come on, if you're going to live on a ranch, you need to learn how to ride."

Then again, she knew how to ride. Whether or not she wanted to admit it right now meant nothing. I knew exactly who she was and I knew that this was the only way to get her to admit that it's her.

"You won't let this go, will you?" Her voice was low and pleading and it broke my heart to hear it, but I had to do this. For both of us.

She came back here for something. She needed us to help her and we didn't have a clue why. If I can get her to tell me that she's Mira, than I know I can get her to tell me what is really going on.

"I will, if you tell me the truth about who you really are." I could feel the cocky smile on my lips, the confident way my eyes looked at her, but that wasn't what I was feeling on the inside. I was so confused, so lost, and not understanding anything. All the memories keep coming back, plaguing me over the years, and I deserved an answer. My family deserves to know what happened all those years ago.

"My name is Alisha."

"Has it always been?" Her eyes turned to me, surprise filled them as she knew that there was no way out of it. She would have to admit that she was Mira or I would train her to ride. She turned her eyes away and I felt awful. I knew I was pushing her, that I was trapping her, but I couldn't and wouldn't stop myself.

She trusted me once. I just need her to realize she can trust me again.

"Well then, let's go." The laughter in my voice sounded flat, even to me. She didn't react or try to pull away as we walked outside and towards the barn. Shoving the barn door open all the way, I led Mira to the last stall on the left.

Snow's muzzle shot out of the stall and shoved her head into Mira's chest, nuzzling against her.

"Snow." The word escaped Mira's lips as a whisper, a sound that no one but Snow and I could hear. A small smile played on my lips as I unlatched the stall, motioning for Mira to walk in. "She's beautiful." She said loudly after a moment and I nodded in agreement, the smile on my face feeling genuine.

"She is. And she seems to like you." I chuckled slightly as I walked forward with a couple of horse brushes in hand. "Though, I think she'll like you more if you brush her." Handing her the brush, it was almost like I saw my old Mira, the little girl who would always help me take care of all the horses.

The brush flowed through Snow's coat as I brushed her, keeping my other hand on her rear so that she knew that I was there. Peeking over the top of her, I could see Mira doing the same thing and I couldn't help but smile. I knew that this was going to work out.

"She's so big." Mira's voice was filled with awe as her eyes measured up the horse. In response, Snow brushed her nose against Mira's shoulder.

"She is." I nodded before stepping back and tossing the brush through the empty space between the poles. "Well, now that she's brushed, I say we should saddle her."

"I-I don't know how to do that." Her eyes stared down at the ground and guilt dripped from her voice. She always was a bad liar to me. I always knew when she lied and she always felt guilty for lying.

At least that didn't change.

Slipping a harness around Snow's face, I led her outside her stall so that we would have enough room to put a saddle on her.

"Well, I will have to teach you." I told her, motioning her to follow. Tying the reins around a pole, I took a few steps to the side to grab one of the saddles and a blanket. "First, you want to put the blanket down so the saddle won't hurt her." I said, passing the blanket to her. Her fingers folded around the edges and slipped it out of my hand. Stepping closer to Snow, Mira draped the blanket over the back and tried her best to flatten it. "Not bad." I chuckled as I walked next to her, heaving the saddle onto Snow's back and situating it so that it sat correctly. Kneeling beside her and patting the spot of the ground next to me, I showed Mira how to lace up the saddle and the stirrups.

"That doesn't look too hard." She muttered and I couldn't help but laugh as her cheeks flushed a bright red.

"Alright, you do it." I challenged as I undid the straps. Her blue eyes glared at me for a moment before she hopped forward slightly and strapped the saddle on perfectly. "And yet, you said you had no idea."

"I-I'm a fast learner." Mira huffed before shoving herself off the ground, her hair bouncing slightly as she did a little jump to get to her feet.

"Well, let's see how fast you learn to ride." My hands grasped firmly on the reins as I led her outside and into the round pen. "We'll stay in here, since it's you're first time." My voice drooled with sarcasm and I couldn't help but chuckle when she huffed at me. Snow neighed slightly as she did her best to walk close to Mira and I was positive that Snow knew as much as I did that this was our girl.

Latching the gate behind us, I turned to Mira with a knowing look, almost coaxing her to get on. She pouted slightly as she walked forward, her hands grabbing at both sides of the saddle. Shoving her foot into the stirrup, she kicked herself off the ground and pulled herself onto Snow's back. She looked down at me, a giant smile playing on her lips as she leaned forward and patted Snow's neck.

"Not bad." I laughed as I handed her the reins. Her hands gripped onto them firmly, holding them the exact way she used to hold them as a kid. "Alright, now nudge her sides to get her moving."

"Alright." Her reply was short and sweet as she kicked Snow's sides softly. Not even a second passed when Snow responded and started walking. The two of them slowly made their way around the fence and I could see the smile on Mira's face. Walking towards the middle, I inched around in a circle, following their process. Everything was going perfectly; it was exactly like it was back then. "Pick it up to a trot!"

She nodded in response and kicked again. Snow leaped forward, not in a trot, but in a gallop. Mira's hair flew behind her and I swore, rushing towards them.

"Snow! Whoah, girl. Whoah girl." I shouted. Mira pulled up on the reins and Snow slowed down to a stop. Running up behind them, my hand landed on Mira's left leg as my other hand reached for the reins. Almost instantly, her leg jerked away from me and a shrill scream filled the air as she toppled from the saddle.

"Mira!" I shouted with my hands firmly on the reins as I rushed around the horse and collapsed next to her. Blood oozed out of a small scrape on her head and tears streamed down her cheeks. Her legs were pulled up to her chest and her arms held her legs tightly. "Hey, it's alright." I muttered to her.

"Don't hurt me." Her voice was broken and quiet, her eyes staring at something in front of her.

"I'm not going to hurt you." My hand inched towards hers as I scooted closer. Something wasn't right. I knew that. But what? What happened?

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The distant voice came again through the broken sobs. This wasn't Mira, not the one I remembered.

"Mira, I'm here. I'm right here." I whispered as I positioned myself in front of her. She made no notice of me being there, no knowledge of my being in front of her. "Mira, talk to me."

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die."

My heart froze in my chest and my mouth grew dry as the memory of when we found her resurfaced. How she was beaten and bloodied, how all she would say was that she didn't want to die. Taking a deep breath, my hand encased hers, holding it tightly as she tried to jerk away.

"You're not going to die, Mira. I'll protect you." I told her. Her hand tightened around mine as her eyes unclouded and focused on me. "Hey." My other hand reached out to her face, my thumb wiping away the tears.

"Lucas?" Her eyes stared at me in surprise and then realization seeped in her gaze as she glared at me in horror.

"I'm here." I told her, slipping my arm around her waist. "You hit your head when you fell." A part of me thought that mentioning what happened was not a good idea, so I kept my mouth shut about that as I lifted her to her feet. "We'll-uh- I'll take you in and get you bandaged up and then I'll take care of Snow."

"Fine." Her voice was distant as she looked at the ground, away from me.

This was all supposed to turn out differently. She was supposed to admit about who she was, tell me why she lied to all of us, and then it would have all been fine.

Instead, she went back there on her own and I couldn't help but wonder what the hell happened to her.