To my surprise, I was in what appeared to be in my own world. I looked around and I was a young woman dressed as if getting ready to go out. When I looked down, I gasped. My skirt was so short that my undies would show if the wind blew too hard. I was also wearing a pair of black stilettos.
Then it dawned on me. "No way! You have got to be kidding me!"
"What's that, dear?" a woman asked down the hallway and I instantly knew it was her mother, remembering what Stellan had said about having my host's knowledge as well as my own.
"Nothing, Mom!" I yelled back. Suddenly, the rumbling of a motorcycle resonated outside. And I knew it was my first boyfriend... er... Shay's first boyfriend... the guy who had broken her heart. Because of him, Shay no longer trusted men and became a party girl, afraid to settle down with anyone. Why hadn't she ever told me?
"Stellan!" I stage-whispered, looking around the lavish home, adorned with fine furnishings. "Wow! I had no idea that Shay had come from money." Then I pushed the thought aside, focusing on the task at hand. "Stellan! Come in! Where are you?"
"Okay, okay!" he said behind me. "You don't have to shout." I turned around and he put his finger in his ear and wiggled it, making a face. "You need my help already? I thought this one would be easy for you! With Shay being your best friend—"
"That's the point!" I stage-whispered. "I'm Shay! What am I supposed to do?"
He shrugged and a strand of his perfect brown hair fell over one eye. "How should I know?"
I scoffed. "But you're my mentor!"
"Spiritual guide," he corrected.
"Yes, I know!" I said a bit louder than I had intended. "But look at me! I'm Shay!"
"So?"
"So... how am I supposed to help her?"
Stellan let out a deep breath. "Well, what do you think?"
"Really? You're throwing it back on me... now?"
"Who are you talking to, dear?" Mom asked, her eyes filled with concern as she walked into the room, wiping her hands on an apron. Even though it was obvious she had been working in the kitchen, she was dressed in high heels and pearls, and her hair was perfectly done.
"No one, Mom," I replied.
"Yeah, no one," Stellan teased, whispering in my ear.
"Stop it!"
Mom tilted her head to the side. "Stop what?" Then she quickly crossed the room and placed her hand on my forehead. "Are you feeling well, dear?"
I shrugged away from her. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said, rushing toward the door.
"You're not going out with that... with that... biker, are you?" Shay's mother gave a visible shudder.
"His name is Axel!" I retorted and then scrunched up my nose. "Axel? Really?"
Mom placed her hands on her hips. "Well! You're not going with him and that's final!"
I know Shay and at this moment, she probably stormed out of the house right now. But I stayed calm. "Mom…." I walked slowly toward her. "Axel's no good for me. I can see that now." I took her hands, looking into her eyes as a rush of love and kindness unlike any I'd felt before rushed through me. "Mom, I just need to break up with him or else he won't leave me alone."
Shay's mom studied her for a moment and then nodded. "Okay, honey. But mark my words. If you run off with him, then your father and I will cut you off. You'll have nothing."
So, that was why Shay had never mentioned her family or having come from wealth. Shay had run off with this guy and her family had cut her off, only for him to dump her later.
I nodded. "Understood." Then I pulled her in for a hug. "Thanks, Mom."
Shay's mom nodded, surprised at the gesture. "Sweetie...." She released me and placed a hand on my cheek. "You don't have to leave with him in order to break up. Just do it in the driveway. But please. Don't leave. I have a bad feeling about this."
I nodded once. "Okay, Mom. I'll be right back."
Mom folded her arms across her chest but showed no signs of leaving.
"Mom? A little privacy, please?" I raised my eyebrows.
She let out a deep breath. "Okay, honey. But I'll be right in the next room if you need me."
I nodded. "Thanks, Mom." As I headed toward the front door, I knew this was my one shot to help Shay, to help make everything right for her, to make her life better. But when I stepped out onto the porch and pulled the door closed behind me, Axel was still sitting on his motorcycle. He had tattoos all over his arms and his long hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and he had a long mustache. He was cute in a rugged way with muscles for days, but he was a lot older than Shay.
"Well?" he asked, clearly annoyed. "Are you coming or what? I told you I would take you, but I don't have all night."
I shook my head, folding my arms across my chest. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
Axel shrugged, slipping on his helmet. "Suit yourself. Have the baby on your own then, but don't come crying to me for money because I'll deny it's mine."
I stood on the porch in stunned disbelief as I watched him drive away, knowing Shay would never see him again. Then my hand fell to my stomach. She was pregnant with his child and he had taken her to get an abortion.
Shay and Axel never were really together.
"But she told me she couldn't have children," I said, unable to believe what was happening.
Suddenly, Stellan became visible and was sitting in the chair beside me. "Axel took her to a butcher in the middle of the night. What did you think was going to happen?"
"Poor Shay. The hack she went to caused her made her sterile in the process… all because she didn't want her parents to know. She went through this all alone." I slowly sank down on one of the cold, white metal chairs setting on the porch. "Why didn't she ever tell me?"
Stellan shrugged. "It was something she always regretted. She lost the baby and became sterile in the process, never knowing that would be the only child she would ever have. Would you have told anyone?"
Tears slid slowly down my cheeks. "Why didn't she ever tell me? I would have understood."
He shrugged. "Don't you think it was easier for her just to stuff it down and never talk about it again... to anyone?"
I shook my head. "No. No, I don't." I stood and walked to the metal railing. "She should have told me—"
"She told no one," Stellan cut me off.
"Why?" I asked, my voice hoarse from my tears.
He shrugged. "Well, her mother found out about the abortion and cut her off. Do you think it would be easy to trust anyone after your own parents turn their back on you?"
I shook my head, sinking back down onto the chair. "But now that she didn't have the abortion, what's going to happen?"
Stellan leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands. "Well, that's up to you. What do you think she should do?"
"If she tells her mother, she will disown her," I reasoned. "But if she has the baby, her parents will find out on their own anyway and may still disown her." I suddenly felt exhausted, but hungry at the same time. "Stellan, I have to get some rest. I'm feeling dizzy and I need to lie down."
Stellan slid his arm around my shoulders and I leaned against him, feeling safe and more comforted than I ever had in my life. Shay had gone through this alone, but I was lucky to have Stellan to guide me. "Go inside and eat something. The baby needs a lot of nutrition and drains the mother's body."
"So, you knew about this?" I asked, sitting up to look into his eyes.
He smirked, narrowing his eyes. "Yes, of course I did. That's why you're here." A sexy grin spread across his face as he tilted his head to the side. "Shay has always been there for you since you met her. I thought you may like to return the favor."
I nodded, understanding. All this time, I thought I had it rough and here Shay had dealt with and come to terms with this all on her own. But even though she had been through a tragedy, she still opened her heart to me and took me under her wing.
"Thanks, Stellan," I said, rising to my feet. "Thanks for this second chance to help Shay and to give back even a fraction of what she has given to me."
He nodded, smiling. "And that was the first time you thought of someone else besides yourself in a long while."
I smirked. "So, there's hope for me yet?"
He chuckled. "I told you there's always hope."
"Shay?" Mom slowly opened the door, looking around. "Are you talking to yourself again?"
I chuckled. "No, Mom. I was just thinking."
Mom pulled me in for another hug. "Okay, dear. Why don't you come in and lie down? I know that couldn't have been easy for you."
I nodded, smiling. Even though I was tired from having fallen off the roof and traveled through the Space Time Continuum, I hadn't felt this exhausted. But now, in Shay's pregnant body, I felt everything she felt. "Okay, Mom. But can I get something to eat first? I'm starving."
Mom pulled back and looked at me as if I had four heads. "But you just ate dinner not long ago." She placed her hand on my forehead again. "Are you sure you're feeling well, honey? I'll call Dr. Stafford's office tomorrow to make you an appointment."
I nodded, knowing exactly what he would find. "Thanks, Mom."
Somehow, before that appointment, I had to find a way to tell my mom... er... Shay's mom. There was no way that I wanted to surprise her at the doctor's office when I could tell her ahead of time. I smirked, hoping that she didn't have me committed for talking to myself in the meantime. As I let Mom walk me inside, I just hoped that I could actually help Shay, and that I hadn't messed up her life instead.