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THERE had been no honeymoon. Both parties, Duncan and Misty Shepherd, were too invested in their jobs to take the time to enjoy themselves. In fact, an onlooker wouldn't have even suspected that anything had changed in the household. In reality, the only thing that had really changed in Cindy's life was her last name.
Duncan remained a resident in his large studio apartment that over looked the D.C. skyline, a view of the capital building being his grand view. Misty continued to reside in her large home surrounded by other large homes in the gated community. Cindy and Melanie continued to wake each day for school, their routine never changing.
When she thought about it, nothing had changed. Cindy remembered waking up the morning of the wedding and questioning the universe in how her life would be altered. Now she felt like asking the universe why her life hadn't changed at all. She was growing tired of doing the same thing over and over, day after day. When she talked to her mother about it, she said that it was a normal teenager phase and it would pass. That was six months ago.
Two weeks after the wedding, Cindy woke up at 6 am, like she did every week day, for school. Listening to Ariana Grande's vocals in the background - it served as her alarm - she stared up at the ceiling. Today is going to be the day. I'm going to do something different, something spontaneous.
Getting up and silencing her alarm, she walked out of her bedroom and across the second story of her house, fabricating a lie that would get her out of going to school for the day. Reaching her mother's room, she had the perfect lie. She was going to play the classic sick card. The great thing was that Cindy never missed school so her mother would let her stay home.
"Mom," Cindy lightly knocked on the door, lowering her voice so it seemed like it was hard for her to speak. Pushing open the door, she let herself into the master bedroom. Her mother was in the grand bathroom, getting herself ready for a busy day in Congress. "Mom," Cindy repeated, putting one hand on her stomach and the other over her eyes to shield them from the bright bathroom light.
Her mother looked up from the mirror, pausing momentarily from straightening her long, dark hair. "What's wrong, Cindy?" She asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Misty despised when anything bothered her in the morning as she had one thing on her mind: getting to work.
"I think my period is going to start soon because I have a horrible migraine and I feel really nauseous." Cindy faked feeling ill, going as far as closing her eyes for long periods of time to act as if the light was bothering her. "I was wondering if I could stay home today?"
Her mother shook her head no, "Absolutely not! You may not miss school. Take some medicine and suck it up! Besides, you couldn't stay home today even if you wanted it to. I'm having the security team come to the house and update the security systems. I don't want you here alone with a bunch of strangers."
