Reality

Chapter 2

The sun is shining brightly, the weather absolutely gorgeous as I walk down the streets of L.A. to a small, quiet cafe to meet someone for brunch.

Rounding the corner of the cafe, a woman with blonde hair and pink tips sitting at a table outside on the patio looking at a menu instantly catches my eye. In a matter of seconds her gaze shifts up to lock with mine and we both break out into huge grins. She stands up from the table, arms open wide, and I practically run to her, flinging my arms around her tightly.

"Don't crush us," she groans into my shoulder jokingly.

"Oh my gosh, you're so big!" I exclaim excitedly, pulling away from the blonde and instinctively placing my hand on her pregnant belly.

"Way to call me fat," Shay mumbles, and I shoot her a dry look. She lets out a sigh, flopping back down into her chair and rubbing a hand over her bump. "I don't know if I can handle another two months, little dude," she says, directing her voice towards her stomach. "My feet hurt, my back hurts, and don't even get me started on my bladder!" she says, poking her stomach sternly. "You need to come out already," she whines.

I can't help but giggle, sitting down in my chair. "Careful what you wish for."

She lets out a puff of air. "I know, I'm just excited to meet him. I want to hold him in my arms, squeeze him, kiss him, and finally be able to yell at him face to face for all the hell he's putting my body through... And I need to ditch some of these hormones, too."

I laugh, shaking my head at her dramatics. While her hormones have caused her a few mood swings, she's still the same old feisty, sassy Shay.

"Other than the hormones, how have you been?" I ask, not seeing her for a few months. The last time I saw her, her bump was just starting to show.

After everything that happened, I managed to get back in touch with Shay. She is the first and only person that knows about Chris and how he forced me to leave.

When I was at my lowest point, right after I dropped out of college, I had a bit of a breakdown. Desperately needing to finally talk to someone about everything, I did a bit of late night Googling, finding Shay's number. Despite answering the phone to a blubbering mess, she was so excited and relieved to hear my voice, but I was even more elated to be able to communicate with her again, even though it's against Chris's terms.

I told her everything, knowing I can trust her, and she wasn't surprised at all. She never did like Chris, and she claims she knew he had something to do with my disappearance. She knew I wouldn't up and leave without some sort of goodbye.

She filled me in on all that happened after I left, how Alex refused to do the rest of the tour and Chris couldn't seem to take control of him anymore. She basically told me that everything went to shit and Alex gave up. He became angry and disinterested, despite Chris's many efforts to get him to move on and continue with the tour and everything. But Alex was diligent, his anger and broken heart getting the best of him.