Fireflies Ch.2

I woke up the next day in the same way I always wake up.
Waking up from the same dream screaming.
But this time, no one was there to tell me to shut up, stab a vein with a needle filled with some weird liquid, or ask what the hells wrong with me. Instead I woke up in a bed I didn't recognize, in a large room that wasn't mine, with nothing but silence to cover the large space.
I could feel panic start to set in the pit of my stomach, as I looked around some more, still not recognizing a thing. But then reality finally hit me, like a ton of bricks falling from the empire state building.
This was another home that I would be staying in for a month at most.
The couple that had "adopted" me were Meredith, and Carl Griffon. Carl was an incredibly successful, bloated, thick business man, and Meredith was a stick thin somewhat well known oil painter. That's what I had been told about them anyway… and what I had picked up from yesterday.
My bag filled with my pens and sketchbook was still lying on the side of the bed, so I decided before getting out of bed I would sketch a bit.
Last night in my usual dream there was something different.
The little balls of light that are usually at the end of my dream, guided me, through an empty town that I didn't recognize, to a large field, where one droopy tree stood in the middle. I pushed back the frail branches and leafs of the strange tree, where the little balls of light had dove through, but before I could see what was behind the branches I woke up.
After every dream, I would always focus on one detail, and try to figure out what that specific thing was, or what it meant, so I decided to focus on the tree this morning.
Running my pen roughly over the page, trying to get every possible detail down before I let anything slip my mind. I drew the odd branches, each individual leaf, the way the roots had vigorously dug into the ground that it used for nourishment, and the little balls of light, I always saw.
Nothing I drew ever made sense but knowing that I could draw it made me feel better. Gave me some sort of odd comfort. Helped me figure out what was real.
After I was satisfied with my drawing, I slid my notebook under the thick mattress so it wouldn't be found, changed into "clean" pants, and a shirt then slowly made my way downstairs.
I was expecting Meredith to be making Carl breakfast, while he read the morning paper, like the picture perfect family they looked liked. Instead the house appeared to be empty, and a piece of notebook paper was lying on the kitchen counter with Meredith's looping writing on it.
Drake-
Carl is at work, and I had a show today a couple towns over to sell some of my paintings yay!
A boy named Taylor Von Lunar will be coming by at 3pm to drop off a couple packages!
Carl and I should be back home by 9 tonight, there are several dinner options in the fridge (with directions!) just put it in the microwave!  
Help yourself to anything else, remember this is your home to!

~Meredith
P.S. You should go out and look at our cute little town! Its nothing like the city but its still something!

'3pm…ok I can deal with- SHIT!'

when I looked up to the large clock mounted on the wall it read 2:59, re-fueling the panic that had taken over my head when I woke up this morning.
Then the stupid numbers had to change, and like there was some sensor or scent that only he could smell the doorbell rang.
I don't really know what I was expecting. Maybe some sort of royalty, or some sort of drunken UPS guy that hated his job, maybe even some rich man that worked with Carl or Meredith.
Instead when I opened the door I was surprised to find that Taylor Von Lunar was more of a boy maybe a year or two older than me, who looked like he had walked out of a western movie.  
He wore a pair of warn out black cowboy boots, an old pair of light blue Levi jeans covered in mud at the bottom, a brown plaid shirt, and a cowboy hat covering a head of light brown hair. He held two large packages in his muscular tan arms, a smile spread on his thin pink lips, and his beautiful bright green eyes shining.
"Well Howdy there! Is Mr. Or Mrs. Griffon here?"
How could a man like this be so beautiful… wait… No! No, no, no, no, no, no! No he is not beautiful… hes just another guy! Just another guy!
"Um… hello?"
His voice had a heavy country accent. Not those hick accents that made them sound drunk all the time and incredibly illiterate but it was definitely country. A kind of smooth velvety country.
"Oh… um… sorry… um no… there both working um… Meredith told me that you would be coming… uh… you must be-"
He shifted the boxes in his arms, then threw out one hand, his smile growing even bigger.
"Taylor! Taylor Von Lunar! Now I don't mean to be nosey but the Griffons usually don't let strangers stay over at their house alone… so what's your name?"
I shook his hand, feeling like a wimp in his strong hands that sent a bit of a familiar shock through my system.
"Um… im Drake… Meredith and Carl adopted me… I just got here yesterday."
He stared at me for a minute, his eyes grazing over every detail, making me feel incredibly self-conscious.
"I-is something wrong?"
My voice came out a lot shakier that I would have liked it to.
"No… no aint nothing wrong… well since you only came in yesterday you probably haven't seen much of the town yet has ya! Well if you're not to busy today would you like me to show you around?"
"Um sure…"
"Well might I come in to put these boxes away? Im close with the Griffons so they wouldn't think it weird, but I don't wanna make you uncomfortable or nothin…"
"Oh uh… sure…"
I moved aside, Taylor tipped his hat at me, brushed off his dirty boots then entered the house, going straight to the kitchen, and setting the boxes down.
"I know you've only been here a day… but whatcha think of living here so far?"
"Well… the house is… really big. Meredith's… nice, and Carl apparently drinks a lot…"
He walked around the kitchen for a while, taking everything in.
"Carl? Really never took him as much of a drinker…"
"3/4ths of a bottle of red wine, and two beers say otherwise."
He turned back around a surprised look replacing the once laidback smile he sported.
"Hm… that explains… Anyway enough upsettin talk lets show ya around the town! Its about half a mile away from here so we can take my truck… or we can ride!"
"Ride?"
Another laid back goofy smile came onto his face as he jutted his thumb over by where the giant barn they had was.
"Ride as in riding horses! The Griffons have been nice enough to let me and my family keep a couple of them here! I'm guessing you aint seem em yet?"
Horses… I had actually from what I can remember anyway never seen one in real life. Only in pictures and magazines that they had at the orphanage.
Taylor led me out back to the barn where an unfamiliar smell welcomed my nose, something that couldn't really be described but again, it was something oddly familiar.
When we entered the barn, Taylor walked up to one of the horses that was as black as night. Gently petting its neck, as it lightly nudged him with its large nose making him laugh.
"This one here's Stella… I've had her since I was a kid… in a way shes kinda my best friend."
There was an obvious connection between the two. It was like he were sharing a silent conversation with her, by just putting his forehead against hers, while I kept my distance, which Taylor noticed and decided to change.
"Come on Drake! She won't hurt ya! Here give me ya hand!"
He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the creature that looked at me curiously with its giant brown eyes. It scared me a little. I saw how she acted with Taylor but I didn't think that such a large creature could really be that friendly.
"Here just gently put your hand on her neck right here…"
He slowly guided my hand to Stella's neck, and let me feel the soft black hair. It was such a comforting feeling, something that instantly put my nerves to rest. Then she moved towards me, bumping her giant head into my chest throwing me off balance a little, before she put her head over my shoulder, as if she was trying to give me a hug.
"Now that's something you don't see every day… Stella usually isn't this kind to may folk… I mean she dont hurt them or nothin… just usually doesn't get that friendly…"
Taylor introduced me to all the other horses, a chestnut colored horse named Chelsea, and a tanish horse named Jasper were Taylors horses. Two more black horses with tips of white on their faces were named Martin and Felix, a brown one with white spots on its butt named Jasmine, and a white horse with slight graying on its hoofs and nose named Marilyn were Carl, and Meredith's horses.
After all the introductions, Taylor put a saddle on Jasper and Stella, then threw me up on Stella, telling me just to stay calm and everything would be fine, but being on the back of such a large animal was incredibly nerve-racking.
We never had anything like this in the city.
If you ever saw a horse or someone riding on one, it would be on a magazine stand, an occasional billboard, or on TV. But never in real life.
But after Taylor leading Stella around the giant field with me on her back, clutching the front of the saddle with a death grip, for a while, I started to relax, Taylor jumped on Jasper and we were off.
While we rode into town we shared light conversation. About the city, about the country, just simple things.
"Born n' raised here, literally born in a barn! Dropped outta high school when I was 15 to help ma, Pa with some things on our farm… feedin the animals, helping him tend to the crops, just simple stuff like that… whats in like in the city? How'd you grow up?"
I wasn't really sure I wanted to tell him anything so I just kept it simple.
"I don't really know anything about my past… I have no memory from the time I was born till I was 10… all I remember is waking up to a bunch of strangers telling me I was going to live with some relatives… once they got sick of me, they dumped me off at an orphanage, I went through about 3 pairs of adoptive parents… each of them got sick of me within a month and dumped me off back at the orphanage… wouldn't be surprised if Meredith and Carl did the same…"
Taylor didn't say much after that.
But once we got into town, he tied the horses to a tree so they wouldn't run away, and showed me around.
The local bar, where you could easily get a bottle of jack (whatever that is) if you talked to the right guy, the local hairdresser, who was a middle aged woman, who had dropped out of beauty school, a nice dinner where apparently you cold get a good stack of ribs for cheap, and just a couple random shops that sold cloths, groceries, farm… stuff, and whatever.
It was so unlike the city.
I couldn't see why people liked it so much.
It was small, not many people, everyone seemed to know everyone, and it was quiet. No cars rushing back and forth, no horns, no adds or moving billboards on giant screens. No one yelling, flipping each other off, no news stands trying to sell you magazines, no homeless begging for change, no subway tunnels.
It was just really quiet.
When the sun started to go down, Taylor and I got back on the horses, and rode back to Meredith's and Carl's.
We put the horses back in their stables, took all their gear off, then went back to the house.
"so… whatcha think about the country?"
"Well… honestly… its quiet. Really quiet… I guess im not use to it…"
Taylor walked me back to the house, and we said our goodbyes, just as it started to get dark.
"So… do you have any plans for tomorrow?"
"um no… not that I know of…"
"So if I come by say… 2:30 you'll be awake and we can do something?"
"Ya… that sounds nice…"
"Ok… see ya tomorrow Drake!"
He waved goodbye and walked back to his rusted pickup truck, while I went back into the house, not bothering to eat anything and going straight to the third floor where I pulled the blankets around my body, letting them suck me in, as I fell into a deep sleep, that for once wasn't plagued by the same nightmare that they have been for the past 6 years.
Instead I dreamed about a shining pair of bright green eyes, that filled my mind with a sort of warmth that made me feel safe.
Something I had felt somewhere before.
But I didn't know where or why.