The Specialist and I

30

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I sighed as I got dressed. I decided to wear a black pair of jeans and a navy blue short sleeve shirt. As I walked down the stairs, I heard a knock.

"One minute!", I called out and looked through the kitchen window to see if Ron's truck or a vehicle I recognized was there.

When I didn't see anything, I walked over to the front door and opened it.

"Hi! I'm -", I cut my best friend off.

"Lindsey? Gab? Stace?", I grinned and hugged them, "I missed you guys so much!"

"Lori?!", they all said, shocked and I nodded.

"You look great!", Lindsey said.

"Horrible.", Gab said at the same time as Lindsey causing her to glare at her.

"Um...thanks?", I mumbled, "I guess."

"What happened to you?", Stacey asked.

"Long story.", I said and invited them in, "You guys can sit down, I'll explain where I've been and why I look like a complete mess."

"Nice place.", Lindsey smiled as she and the other two sat on the couch.

"So, I moved to Washington DC with my mom and dad. I now have a little sister who's 1. I had a boyfriend and my parents put me in online school. The reason we moved, aside from our house being blown up, was that we were being targeted. Me mostly. My brother died in the explosion. Anyway, a little over a year ago, my baby sister Annabel was born. Of course, with the new baby, I didn't get any sleep. A few months later, my mom and dad enrolled me in online school to help take care of Annabel while they were at work or, like my mom usually is, away on business. My dad eventually came home with one of his military buddies. Over time, I gained a crush on him. The military guy, not my dad.", I quickly said and Gabriella made a face causing me to laugh, "His name was Ron Edih. Eventually, after a year, he and I confessed our feelings. Until one day, my father found the two of us cuddled together under my blanket. My mom told me he was kicking Ron out as soon as he woke up. When I went upstairs to say goodbye, I overheard him talking on the phone. He was talking to one of his comrades on speaker while he got dressed. At one point his comrade asked if Ron loved me. His reply was, 'No. I don't. She's a mission. Nothing more. I'm only here because Orion sent me. My mission is over and I'm leaving this afternoon.' I had opened the door. He was half dressed. I started packing and before I left I told him that I never wanted to see him again and called him an asshole."

"Sounds like you.", Stacy smirked.

"That asshole!", Gabriella exclaimed causing the three of us to jump, "What's his number? I'm going to call him and yell at him."

"Gab, I was specifically told to not give his number out and besides, all you'll do is swear at him.", I said.

"You're right.", Gab smiled, "It's in my blood."

"Lorles, you do know that guys try to act tough around other guys especially friends, right? Maybe this Ron was just too embarrassed to answer honestly.", Lindsey said, "Trust me, I've had experience."

"Maybe. Still, it hurt me. A lot.", I said as Stacy stood up.

"If you broke up with him, why do you still have the keys to his truck?", Stacy asked and held up the set of keys Ron had given me.

"I don't even know.", I said.

"And why are they fake?", Stacy continued.

"What? Fake?", I asked and walked over to her, "How is this fake? I've used this key thousands of times when I was still with him. If it's fake, how does it still work?"

"It's definitely fake. Car keys, especially truck keys, aren't this big.", Stacy said, "I have no idea how it could have worked."

Lindsey started laughing really hard, "HA! Big. Get it? Big? As in big fucking c-"

Gabriella cut her off by laughing really hard. I smiled and rolled my eyes. This is why I love my friends. Stacy continued to look at the fake key while I started to rethink my entire life. I'm a child genius. How could I have missed a fake key? I asked Stacy if I could look at the key and she handed it to me.

After not holding it for about a week, I've realized that it is heavier than a normal key. The metal is different too. The whole key was metal. On the key, I spotted a word. Or name. When I looked closer, I realized it said: Ironhide.

"Ron! We need Ironhide!", a familiar voice yelled.

"We don't need Ironhide! I'm the weapons specialist, remember?", Ron said.

Who was Ironhide? Why did Ron and my dad say the name? Was this 'Ironhide' there with them? Question after question rolled into my brain. The more questions I thought of, the more answers I realized I didn't have. My dad and Ron were keeping something from me and I left before I could figure out what.

What are they hiding........?