by Jade White
“I cannot thank you enough,” I said once again.
“Don’t sweat it lad, I do this every day,” the doctor laughed.
Missy and I exited the clinic together and we both breathed a sigh. I could feel sleep tugging at my eyelids from two flights over the ocean in one go. I felt sore in places that I didn’t even know one could feel sore.
“Now where to?” Missy asked.
“I want you to meet Kathleen and then I’ll come back to wait until Rachel wakes up,” I said.
*
“Rachel”
When I woke up all I saw was white. I felt terribly fuzzy and tired all over, my muscles were aching and my eyes and mouth were dry. I blinked a few times in order to make sure that I was seeing right. I pushed myself into a sitting position and looked around me. I was in a white room, in a white bed, with white chairs. In one of those chairs was Shawn who had his arms crossed and eyes closed. I looked to my left where there was a window and saw that I was underground, and according to the lights it must be morning.
I tried to move my leg but felt a dull pain shoot up my spine. I grabbed at my thigh and took the sheets off. It looked like someone had cut off that portion of my jeans and had dressed my wound more professionally. Unlike before, the pain wasn’t sharp so whatever they had done must have helped. I looked at my left arm and saw I was connected to an IV. Once I pieced it all together I realized that I had fainted.
I had felt light headed towards the end of the trip but had assumed that it was a combination of smelling blood and being so high up in the air where the air pressure is different. Once we had gotten down to the ground and past Bartley and the entrance… I didn’t remember anything. I remembered beginning to walk towards the stair well and then… nothing. That must have been when I fainted.
I looked at Shawn; I probably worried him and Missy so much. I felt a wave of affection come over me. He was worried enough that he stayed with me the entire time. It was so sweet of him to do so.
I didn’t feel like resting anymore but I didn’t want to wake Shawn, so I began to try to stretch my muscles. I shifted in my bed until my legs hung over the side. I stretched my unwounded leg first and held it straight, parallel to the floor. I then tried to move my wounded leg but felt a pain making me unable to fully stretch.
“Rachel!” I heard Shawn’s voice call, “You’re awake!”
I looked behind me at Shawn and smiled. “Yeah, thank you for staying with me,” I said.
“Why didn’t you wake me right away?” Shawn asked.
“You looked like you needed rest,” I said.
Shawn stood and walked towards me on the other side of the bed. “Do you need help standing?” he asked.
“I might,” I admitted.
He took both my hands in his as I placed both my feet flat on the floor. I breathed in and out, and then stood. I felt a pain but then once I put weight onto my other leg it was fine.
“The doctor said you should be able to walk but shouldn’t run or do anything that might break your stitches,” Shawn said.
“Got it,” I replied, “I don’t plan on running anytime soon anyway.”I looked up at Shawn and gave him a smile. “Thanks,” I said.
“No need to thank me,” Shawn said. He helped me walk across the room over to the window and we looked outside. I opened it to feel the draft.
“It was nice being topside,” I said, “It was really refreshing.”
“Nothing beats topside air,” Shawn agreed.
I sighed and looked outside.
“Want to go see Michael?” Shawn asked.
“Yes, yes I do,” I replied.
Shawn helped me as I limped out of the clinic and towards Kathleen’s house. There we entered and I was greeted by a huge (and slightly) painful hug to my wounded leg.
“Hey Michael!” I greeted.
“Mommy!” Michael called, “You were gone forever!”
“It wasn’t forever, after all I’m here now,” I replied.
Kathleen and Missy laughed from the living room. “How cute,” they commented.
I smiled at the two women. It looked like they were having tea and sweets from the table. “Mind if I change first?” I asked since I was still in the clothes stained with my blood.
“Of course!” Kathleen replied, “Let me get you a change of clothes.”
I went to the washroom with the new set of clothes and got into them. They were a large pair of sweatpants, underwear, socks, a large t-shirt, and a sweater. It wasn’t particularly form fitting or attractive, but it was the comfiest thing I had worn in years.
“I feel like I’m in pajamas!” I joked as I re-entered the living room. I limped on over to an open couch and sat down. Michael came up to me and climbed on my lap, and I made sure he sat on my unwounded leg.
“You deserve to wear something comfy!” Kathleen replied.
I smiled at her as I situated Michael on my lap.
“So I heard you two are together now?” Kathleen asked.
“Pardon?” Shawn said.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Is there going to be a wedding?” asked Kathleen.
Shawn and I looked at one another. “We haven’t… discussed it,” Shawn said.
There was an awkward silence covering the room.
Wedding bells were going off in my head. What if Shawn and I did get married? What if we had a beautiful wedding here with Kathleen, Bartley, and Missy? Auntie wouldn’t be able to come if it was underground though… and I’m not allowed topside except for emergencies like the past one with Missy. Could a wedding be considered an emergency, I wondered?
“That reminds me! Shawn, can we call my Auntie and say it’s okay to go home yet?” I asked.
“It’s probably fine,” Shawn said.
“Kathleen, is it okay if I call her instead of Shawn? It would be my last time speaking with her…” I said.
“It’s fine, just this once,” Kathleen said with a smile.
Shawn passed me his cell phone, which I quickly used to dial Auntie’s cell phone number.
“Hello?” the familiar voice answered.
“Hey Auntie,” I said.
“Rachel!” Auntie exclaimed, “What happened to you? I haven’t seen or heard from you in days!”
“I’m fine Auntie, I just wanted to let you know it is okay to go back to your house now,” I said.
“Thank you darling, but what about you?” Auntie pressed.
“I’m fine Auntie, I’m at a friend’s house right now and can’t talk for long,” I said.
Kathleen was motioning for me to end the call. “I have to go Auntie, I love you! Bye,” I hung up. I was going to miss Auntie. I really wanted to see her now after hearing her familiar voice. I sighed.
“It’s alright, Rachel, you’ll love your life in this city,” Kathleen comforted.
“I know, I’ll just miss her…” I trailed off.
Shawn put his hand on my shoulder as I gave his cell phone back to him. “I’ll be with you,” he said in order to comfort me.
“Thank you,” I replied.
At the very least I knew I had people on my side who were willing to fight with me to protect something. And I liked that.
That night Shawn and I slept together. It was cold outside, and I could hear the howling of the wind against the window. Shawn was facing away from me on the edge of the bed so I moved closer in an effort to stay warm. I draped my arm over his chest and then before I slowly drifted to sleep, I felt his hand grasp my own.
I walked down the runway, the stage lights illuminated my face and flashes from the cameras blinded me. As I battled to maintain facial composure, I saw a glimpse of a familiar face that struck discomfort through me. I finished my walk and began to make my way backstage. I quickly changed into more comfortable clothing and tried to exit into the crowd. Unfortunately, the large, muscular, troll-like security guard stopped me and refused to let me through.
“Please, I need to go see someone!” I
said.
“I’m sorry Ma’am but I can’t let you through,” he said.
“Please you don’t understand!” I pleaded.
The man just nodded no, and I knew I had to find another way into the crowd. I went out the back door and went through an alleyway to get to the front. It was dark and I knew people were following me since I was alone, but I knew I would make it to the front door before anything happened. I got to the front door and made my way inside. There was a massive crowd of people, so I had to wade my way through. I kept my eyes peeled for that one face I was looking for. It was familiar…
I thought I saw him out of the corner of my eye so I turned around. I grabbed a man’s shoulder but as he turned around I realized I was mistaken. I did this with numerous men, but each and every one of them was not the right face.
“Excuse me sir!” I said as I grabbed another man’s shoulder.
He turned around and I felt that shiver of discomfort run through me again. “Rachel!” he said.
It was Justin.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I wanted to see what kind of work you’re doing these days when you’re not whoring yourself out to every man that wants you,” Justin said with a laugh.
“What are you talking about?” I said incredulously.
“You know exactly what, darling,” Justin said in a terrible fashion.
“You’re not welcome here, not at my runway show!” I said.
“Your runway show?” Justin said, “You’ll never have a runway show, or anything for that matter.”
“Shut up!” I shouted.
“In fact, you’ll forever be stuck underground and never be anything more than a whoring mole!” Justin laughed.
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” I yelled.
“It’s true! And you know what else? Shawn will leave you because there are much better and more powerful shifter women than you. They can actually protect themselves and fight instead of just run cowardly and get shot stupidly!” Justin said.
“You don’t know anything!” I yelled.
Our conversation was starting to get the attention of the people around us and they began to circle around us and watch for their entertainment.
“I bet everyone here agrees right?” Justin shouted to the crowd. “Rachel is a lying, cheating, stealing, whore!”
“YEAH!” the crowd yelled.
“I’ve never done those things!” I yelled back.
“It doesn’t matter,” Justin said, “because whatever I tell them, they believe.”
I felt the tears well up in my eyes. I needed to leave, I just wanted to curl up in bed and burrow away from this reality. I needed to get into Shawn’s arms and have him comfort me like he always has… but what if he does leave me? After all I can’t leave the underground city and he can. What if he does find someone better than me? What if I’m left all alone with nothing but loneliness to call familiar? What if my life will turn into nothing and mean nothing to no one?
I pushed Justin away from me and ran back through the front door, but there they were waiting for me, the ones who had followed me.
My eyes shot open as my breathing went full throttle.
“Rachel? Are you okay?” a voice asked.
I felt so disoriented and was unable to tell left from right. “Where am I?” I asked.
“You’re in our bedroom Rachel, calm down,” the voice said.
I attempted to slow down my breathing back to a normal rate. “Shawn?” I asked.
“Yes, it’s me, please calm down,” Shawn said.
I felt the tension evaporate from my body. I let out a huge sigh as reality came streaming back into my consciousness as the dream was pushed out.
“Did you have a nightmare?” Shawn asked.
“Yeah,” I answered, “it was very… surreal.”
“Did you want to talk about it?” he questioned.
I thought about what Justin had said in my dream. “Not right now, but later,” I said.
“Okay,” Shawn replied.
He held me close and I nuzzled my head into his chest. My worry bloomed like a weed in my chest but I knew it was unfounded. I just needed to keep telling myself that. Shawn would never lie to me, and he said that we were partners.
“Shawn”
Something seemed to be plaguing Rachel’s mind lately. I wanted to know what it was so I can help but I couldn’t force her to tell me. All I could do was hold her close and tell her that her nightmares aren’t real.
“You’d never lie to me, right?” Rachel asked.
“Never,” I replied.
“Good,” she said as she squeezed her hold around me.
I lay on my back while Rachel lay on my chest. Her arms wound around my torso tightly. “I’m worried,” she admitted.
“About what?” I asked.
“About us, about this place,” Rachel said.
“What about it makes you worry?” I asked.
“I’m worried you might leave me for someone more suited for you like a shifter,” Rachel said.
“I won’t, ever,” I assured.
“How can you say that though? You don’t know about the future,” Rachel said.
“You’re right, but what I do know is that I don’t plan on leaving you ever,” I said.
“But I can’t leave this city!” Rachel said.
“And I won’t either,” I replied.
“No!” Rachel said as she sat up, “Don’t give that up for me! I just don’t know what exactly to do with my life anymore. I don’t know where it’s going or what to look forward to…”
I looked at Rachel from where I lay on the bed. “That’s understandable,” I replied. “You have a right to worry about this, but you can only live day to day. Perhaps something will come up eventually that inspires you and makes you want to do things, but we won’t know until the future.”
Rachel looked at me for a moment and sighed. “You’re right,” she said. “The fact that my career is over as a model has been really bringing me down lately.”
“Maybe there’s something that you can still do here that has to do with modeling,” I suggested. “I’m not sure what but they always need people with different talents everywhere.”
“Maybe…” Rachel trailed off.
“Listen, no matter what happens—“ I started.
“You’ll be with me all the way,” Rachel finished.
“Yeah,” I laughed.
We both smiled at each other.
“Rachel”
Mornings and nights came and went quick and painlessly. I was beginning to get used to the routine in this underground city. Shawn and I lived together in the apartment along with Michael who was now attending school and private lessons with Shawn.
I, on the other hand, was searching for a job since I couldn’t let Kathleen support us forever. I wanted to be able to buy our own groceries and buy our Michael his own toys. I had been just doing footwork, walking around through the marketplace and asking shop owners if they needed any help. The job I was most interested in was in a dress boutique on the edge of the marketplace. They had the most adorable dresses and if I had any experience, it was in fashion. I knew what an A-line dress was and a sweetheart neckline. I could tell every fabric apart as well as pick out colors that matched.
“How did job search go today?” Shawn asked over the dinner table.
“It was alright, I found a shop that I’m actually really interested in working in so I hope they contact me back,” I said.
“What kind of shop?” Shawn asked.
“A dress shop,” I replied.
“That would suit you,” he said.
Shawn, Michael, and I were all sitting around the kitchen table in the apartment. Shawn had made dinner that day; mashed potatoes and chicken breast. It was a little burned but at least I didn’t have to worry if it was undercooked.
Michael was happy here. He seemed to have made friends at school and no other incidences with h
is power had happened. He also seemed to have bonded quite a bit with Shawn, which all in all was a relief, considering our arrangement as partners.
“Hey, I was thinking we could go out tonight,” Shawn suggested.
“Out? Where to?” I asked.
“That would be a surprise. I already asked Missy if she could come and look after Michael,” Shawn said.
“What if I said no?” I asked with a laugh.
“Then I would be really disappointed,” Shawn replied.
We finished dinner just as the door buzzed. We let Missy in and told Michael we would be back soon. Before leaving, Shawn grabbed a large backpack that he had placed by the door. “We will be back!” I called to Missy as we left.
We walked hand in hand out of the apartment. The streetlights were dim and there was a draft running through the city, but it wasn’t cold. Shawn led me across the city until we came upon that plain we had visited on our first day.
“I thought we could have another picnic,” Shawn said.
“That's really sweet,” I commented.
He opened his backpack and pulled out a large blanket and set it on the grass. He straightened it out first before motioning for me to sit. As I did, he pulled out two wine glasses from his bag and a bottle of red wine.
“It’s like the first picnic all over again,” I said offhandedly.
“That’s the point,” Shawn replied.
I grabbed a wine glass while Shawn opened the bottle of red wine. He then poured it into my glass and then his own. Once he had put the bottle away and grabbed his glass, we toasted.
“To finally being settled,” I said.
“To us being together,” Shawn replied.
We both drank our wine and smiled at one another. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the weather. It wasn’t too hot or cold, and the draft bringing in fresh air was so refreshing. It was so calming. The stream, trees, and flowerbeds all looked so beautiful from where I sat. It was wonderful that I could still enjoy nature while in an underground city.
When I looked at Shawn he had put his glass down and was facing me. “Yes?” I asked.
“I wanted to ask you something,” Shawn replied, “If I may.”
“Of course,” I answered.
