SHAY’S POV
I shot up with my sweaty body, breathing as though I’d just run a marathon. My hair was stuck to my face. I could feel my heart thumping in my ears. I didn’t understand why I was in the state I was in since I didn’t exactly have a nightmare. A mug was thrust my way and I looked up to see Pixie looking at me with worried eyes.
“It’s your favourite,” she offered a small smile.
“Thanks,” I sighed, taking the mug from her.
“Are you ok Shay? You were sleeping just fine before you started thrashing around a little,” she asked.
“I wish I could say I had a nightmare, but I didn’t. I just had a strange dream, but nothing that would cause me to panic,” I replied.
“Well, let’s not focus on that then! I’ve missed you,” she smiled, sitting beside me.
“I’ve missed you too, more than you will ever know,” I ended lowly.
“Let’s just forget about it and move on?” she suggested.
I nodded with a smile. “I’d like that.”
“Good! Now, what are we going to do today? We have a lot to catch up on,” she said excitedly.
“Before we even go anywhere, why were you crying last night?” I asked as I remembered.
“Uhm, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said nervously.
“Yeah, and this is me you’re talking to,” I raised an eyebrow at her. It doesn’t matter that we’ve spent so long apart.
I KNOW my best friend.
“It’s nothing Shay! I don’t want to ruin this,” she pleaded.
“You’re ruining it by not telling me,” I pointed out.
She sighed, clearly defeated. “Can I tell you later? I’m still trying to get over it myself.”
“Fine, but you’d better tell me,” I warned.
“I promise! Now what’s the plan for the day?” she asked.
“We could always go out for some shopping, and then come back and go crazy,” I offered.
“Sounds like a plan! You have beautiful eyes by the way,” she smiled. My eyes widened. I’d forgotten about that.
“You’re not freaked out?” I questioned.
“By the fact that I’ve always known you to have gray eyes and now you have multi-coloured fiery eyes? Maybe! But I think they’re beautiful also. When did they change?” she asked.
“Uhm, that would be two years ago on that day,” I mumbled.
“You still have to tell me what happened that day. You do know that right?” she pointed out.
“I don’t know if you’ll believe me Pix. No-one else but my dad and Claude believe me,” I told her honestly.
“Claude? You still talk to Claude?” she asked in shock. I nodded.
“Well, you doubt my faith and belief in you, which actually offends me a little, but I’ll let it slide. Please tell me? I don’t like knowing that you went through whatever you went through and wont share it with me,” she said sadly.
“Alright! I’ll share it with you, for as long as you’re honest with me about why you cried yesterday,” I bargained.
“That’s fair! We’ll talk later on then,” she smiled.
We drank our hot chocolates in silence for the rest of the time before getting ready for the day. We were both dressed in shorts and tank tops with sandals. It was pretty warm out. She was against me putting on my contacts, but I explained that not everyone thought my eyes were beautiful. We headed downstairs to find my dad sitting at the kitchen island as our chef gave him his breakfast.
“Good morning daddy,” I beamed. It had been forever since he’d been home on a Saturday morning.
“Morning girls! What’s the plan for today?” he asked.
“We want to head out to the mall now, and then bond when we come back,” Pixie replied.
“Oh! I’ll take you guys to the mall,” he smiled.
“Thank you daddy!” I smiled. Nothing could ruin my day.
Pixie and I had our breakfast as well, before the three of us headed out. We were riding in my dad’s car, which I couldn’t even remember ever being in. It was a nice and big truck. The whole way to the mall was spent with discussions between the three of us. I swallowed the lump in my throat when I thought about the past.
“Baby girl, don’t do that to yourself,” my dad suddenly said, stopping Pixie mid-sentence.
“Do what?” both Pixie and I asked.
“Don’t remember,” he said. I was shocked.
“How did you know?” I asked curiously.
“You have the same look I always have when I remember, and I know it hurts,” he explained.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“You have nothing to be sorry about baby girl. I just don’t want you to be sad and I know she wouldn’t want you to be sad either,” he smiled.
I nodded. “She wouldn’t.”
“Now keep the memory alive,” Pixie nudged me, making me giggle.
We reached the mall and my dad handed us one of his credit cards for us to use. While we were shopping, he was going to be doing his own things. He told us to call him as soon as we’re ready to be fetched.
We headed into the mall, only to receive stares our way. I was already used to it, but it honestly didn’t make me feel any less uncomfortable. Their stares were so accusing, and yet none of them knew what happened that day.
None of them understood the pain I’ve had to go through every day. This is the one thing I hate about living in a small place where everyone basically knows everyone. It’s frustrating; especially when people make their own deductions about certain things.
Pixie being Pixie couldn’t have cared less that we had all these eyes on us. She was fine with it actually. She just ignored everyone and I was more than grateful for that as we moved off from store to store. The fact that my best friend was with me, was more than enough for me. I’d forgotten just how much fun I could have with her.
“But oh dear, I do say that you look rather ravishing in that dress,” she said in a British accent as we twirled in ball gowns.
“I must say that I very well agree with what you’re saying Lady Pixie,” I giggled.
“Ah man! I’m having so much fun with my bestie!” she shouted before ambushing me in a hug.
“Me too Pix! I’m so sorry I just abandoned you,” I apologized.
She smacked my arm with a smile on her face. “Hey, we said we’re forgetting about that!”
“I know, I know! I just want you to understand that,” I smiled.
“I do Shay, and I’ve forgiven you! Now, let’s go and get some food. I’m hungry,” she grumbled.
“Me too,” I agreed.
Pixie and I are both short, which is one of the reasons we love our friendship so much, but when we’re together, we tend to scare some people with the amount of food the both of us tend to eat. We both have amazing metabolisms that burn fat fast, so we’re often able to eat what we want, when we want, without the worry of gaining weight.
We arrived at the food court and the whispering took off. With it being a Saturday and all, the food court was packed, which meant it wasn’t that hard to hear what everyone thought about me, especially with my enhanced hearing.
I was trying hard not the let their words get to me as Pixie dragged me to a fast food outlet. We sat down in one of the booths before the waiter came up to us. He was wearing a big smile, which creeped me out a little. People weren’t usually that happy to see me, except he looked elated.
He kept his eyes on me the entire time.
“Hello pretty ladies! My name is Cyrus and I’ll be your waiter today. Who might you guys be?” he asked, handing us the menus.
“My name’s Pixie, and this is my best friend Shay,” Pixie replied.
“Oh! Pixie Giuliani and Shay Montgomery right?” Cyrus smiled. I frowned since I didn’t expect that reaction to my name especially.
Pixie nodded. “The very ones.”
“It’s lovely to meet such beautiful ladies,” he smirked, looking at me. I felt my whole face flush.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” I mumbled shyly.
“Well, I’m going to leave you guys to look at the menu. I’ll be back in just a bit,” he said before walking away.
“Someone has a crush!” Pixie giggled.
I frowned. “Who?”
SHAY'S POV“Cyrus! He’s totally crushing on you right now,” she pointed out. I turned to look at the blonde hair, green eyed boy and he was already smiling our way. He’s extremely cute, but Pixie was seeing things.I blushed once more. “You’re speaking rubbish!”“Uh huh! Look at the blush on your face! You totally like him too,” she squealed.“Shut up!” I groaned, banging my head on the table.“Have you guys gone through the menus yet?” Cyrus asked, making my head shoot right back up. He looked amused by my antics, to which I blushed.What the hell is wrong with my cheeks?“Uh, not yet! What would you suggest we have?” Pixie smiled.“Everything here is honestly good,” he admitted.I raised an eyebrow at him, amused. “You’ve had everything here?”“Guilty as charged,” he chuckled.“Well Cyrus, a triple cheeseburger with double fries and a large bubblegum milkshake sounds good to me right now,” Pixie smiled. Cyrus’ eyes widened.“And I’ll have a double cheeseburger, single fries, two pie
SHAY'S POV*FLASHBACK*“Shay! Would you get up already?” my sister jumped up and down on my bed.“What sorcery is this?” I groaned when I saw the time. It was 02:36 and this freak was as hyper as a four year old on sugar.“Come on! I want to show you something, but that actually requires you to get up,” she giggled.“Kay, it’s two in the morning! Can’t this wait?” I whined.“No! Now come on!” she dragged me out of my bed.She was dressed in jeans, boots, a thick jacket and a beanie. I decided to copy what she was wearing for my own safety. We tiptoed downstairs before going outside into the chilly air. We didn’t have security at our gate back then, so leaving was easy. We ran down the streets like the lunatics that we are. I always loved being like this with Kay.I didn’t know where she was taking me since it felt like we’d been walking forever. We finally made it to some woods that looked familiar. I’d never gone into the woods, but we’d driven by them a couple of times, which made m
SHAY’S POVWe left the cemetery after spending some time there. The three of us were definitely happier and the mood was lighter. It brought me joy to have gone to visit my sister’s supposed grave, and I was grateful to my best friend for suggesting it.“Would you girls love to eat dinner out?” my dad asked.“Sure,” we nodded.He led us to a restaurant and we went in with everyone looking our way. It’s not often that my dad is home as I’ve mentioned, and everyone knows who he is. We were led to a table and sat down before our waiter took our orders.“Mr M, what did you mean when you said that you guys have lost Mrs M?” Pixie asked curiously.“She’s shut Shay out and now we’re getting divorced because she’s moving on with her life,” he explained.“Oh my God! I’m so sorry you guys!” Pixie said sadly.“It’s ok Pix! It’s just my daddy and I against the world now,” I smiled. He returned the smile with a wink.“Well, it’s nice to see the duo back together,” she smiled.“Yes it is,” my dad a
SHAY'S POVI woke up bright and early on Monday since I was leaving with my dad at eight. I got ready, getting dressed in my camouflage pants, a black tank top, a black leather jacket, combat boots and my sister’s dog tag which my dad had made us when we were younger. I tied my hair up in a ponytail before heading down for breakfast.“You look like you’re going to address my soldiers,” my dad teased when I got downstairs. He was dressed in his General uniform.“I must look the part. My dad is one of the most feared people around, so I must follow in his footsteps,” I argued.“Touché! Well, eat up so that we can get out of here. I’m actually eager to see this equipment,” he said excitedly.“I know! This is you we’re talking about,” I teased.He stuck his tongue out at me. “You’re just as excited and you know it.”“Yeah, yeah,” I shrugged indifferently.I tortured him by taking extra long to eat. He kept groaning the whole way, not getting the fact that the more he groaned, the slower I
SHAY'S POV“Damn Shay, you’re so tiny, but you inflict such heavy damages,” one of the guys chuckled.“That guy needed his ass handed to him. He’s very rude,” I commented.“Trust us! We know!” another one of the guys replied.“General Montgomery, do we also have to fight your daughter?” one of the guys asked with a hint of fear.“No! I’ll spare you the injuries. What I want is for you to learn from this. I want you to learn how to treat a lady, and I want you to train to be as good as my daughter,” my dad told them. They actually looked relieved.“How long did it take you to be that good?” Jimmy asked me.“I started when I was fourteen, and I was already good a year later, but took two to be really good at it. I then moved onto weapons training, and it took a year to master that as well. For the last year, I’ve just been going through what I already know and getting better at it,” I replied. The guys looked even more impressed.“Well, this was fun to watch, but I have somewhere to be
SHAY’S POVWhen we’d been thoroughly educated on Area Alpha 101 and the weapons, we were taken back to the viewing room. There were a total of four weapons there, each with a different coloured light, shape, and design.I was honestly curious about the weapons. To me, they just didn’t seem all that harmful. The minerals that were glowing, were enchanting, but I felt like I’d not only seen them before, but I also knew where they came from.Random names and what I assume were locations, were flashing through my mind as I looked at the weapons. I wasn’t even paying attention to my father and Edgar, who were trying their hardest to get my attention.“SHAY!” they both shouted, bringing me out of my trance.“Huh? What?” I turned to them.“What have you been saying?” my dad questionedI raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know! What did you hear?”“It sounded to me like you were naming the minerals from those weapons and where each one could be found,” Edgar said in suspicion.I frowned in confusion
SHAY'S POVI left the four pieces apart and left the containment room. I was still shaken by the new information, but even I knew that I had to fake it to throw off suspicion. I hugged my dad as soon as I stepped out of the room.No matter what that machine had to say, this man was my dad.“Thought I lost you there,” he teased.“Pssh, you’re stuck with me old man,” I giggled.“This is going to sound strange and probably wrong, but Shay, we need a sample of your blood,” Edgar said nervously.I raised an eyebrow. “What for?”“Well, the fact that you were able to touch the things without getting affected in any way says a lot. We’d like to see if there’s anything in your blood that’s perhaps, different,” he replied.I crossed my arms. “There you go suggesting that I’m an alien.”“That’s not at all what we’re saying,” Edgar panicked.“It kind of is,” my dad backed me up.“Hugh, you can’t tell me that you’re not curious about why she was able to touch the equipment when it killed three sol
SHAY'S POVFor the millionth time that day, I was confused by what was now in my hands. What baby was this? What betrayal was this? Where does all this take place? Is this what’s going on behind the barrier? Where do I start searching for this baby?So many questions.No answers.A knock at my door snapped me out of thought.“Are you ok baby girl? You’ve been awfully quiet up here,” my dad’s head poked in.“I’m confused about stuff. I’ve just been going through this information,” I sighed. He came in and sat on my bed.“What’s confusing you?” he asked.“Dad, did you and mom adopt Kay and I?” I asked bluntly.He paled at my question. “How did you find out?”“So it’s true?” I asked wide-eyed. He sighed and patted the spot beside him. I immediately went over to his side.“Emily and I were high school sweethearts as you know. We were the couple everyone gushed about, but we didn’t know that our perfect image would be tainted by her inability to have children. Eighteen years ago, we met a