Finding A New Brother

Dad's Convenience

Most people would think that once their parents split up and they get remarried, that they would magically have twice the amount of love and support. Shady also had this same dream, but Fate loves to mess with her. It was never in the cards for her. She instead received twice the amount of unwanted feelings and nothing but more pain. The police didn't have enough evidence to convict Chuck for attempted murder for blowing up Angel's car. He had even admitted it to Pawpaw, but that wasn't good enough. Apparently, Chuck and Doug were friends long before he even met Angel. And if it wasn't bad enough already, he also was a drug addict. His drug of choice was Heroin. The only time he would want to see 'his girls' was when he needed something from Doug. He would always tell the kids that he would either come by or pick them up to go do something, but it was all lies. Shady would always have to console Pan when he wouldn't show up. She quickly learned how he was, so she wasn't as upset as Pan was. She would have to stay strong for her baby sister. She would just end up bottling up her feelings so she wouldn't taint her heart with the hatred that was slowly forming inside her. She really hated it when she would look in the mirror every morning because she was a spitting image of her dad where Pan didn't look anything like him. She looked just like their mom. What Shady hated more than anything was that she and Pawpaw would end up seeing Chuck a lot more than he wanted them too. Not only was she her dad's twin, she had also inherited the mechanic and racing genes from him. She had always been fascinated by engines. Her and Pawpaw would spend the whole day and night on Saturdays at Baileyton Drag Strip. Racing was the only real form of happiness she had. For that few seconds, nothing mattered to her but being the first one across the finish line. Most of the racers didn't even know they were even racing up against a girl, let alone a child at that. Shady would get dressed in her racing gear before they left home, always making sure her chest was bandaged down enough not to be noticeable. Pawpaw had bought her a helmet dark enough to cover her face. She would keep her hair up on the top of her head, and she never took it off once they got to the track.

Shady remembered the first time her dad saw her race. Chuck and Pawpaw were standing in the pits as she rolled up to the tree. Chuck never once asked about the girls, and Pawpaw didn't tell him that Shady even came that night. Shady looked around the crowd and finally spotted them. She was suddenly nervous. Pawpaw had apparently planned for this to happen because he sent her a quick nod and a smile, something he never did. The second the tree lit up, it was like a switch flipped inside her. It was like the nervous little girl turned into a seasoned driver. Shady concentrated on nothing but her breathing as she watched the lights on the tree appear before her. She was gone a split second after her side went green, where her competitor hesitated a few seconds. She could hear the fans screaming as she turned down the pit lane to where Pawpaw was waiting. She never took her helmet off and never said a word, so no one could tell she was a girl. She walked up to Pawpaw after parking her car and stood quietly next to him. Pawpaw asked Chuck what he thought about letting Shady come race one night. Chuck busted out laughing and replied "Girls are completely useless. They only know how to cry, play with dolls, and wear dresses and makeup. I have no use for a stupid girl. They are totally worthless to me." Every word he spoke was like a knife piercing her heart. How could a man, let alone a father, say something like that. Pawpaw was too shocked to speak. Shady on the other hand was beyond pissed off. The whole time she was thinking her dad would be proud of her, but no. He thought she was completely worthless just because she was a girl. It wasn't until Shady removed her helmet and slammed it into his stomach that Chuck even noticed his daughter was standing there in her racing uniform with a look of pure hatred in her eyes. Shady was close to tears as she told her dad "Thank you for letting me know how you really feel. I've been one of the best out here for months now, and here I thought you would actually be proud of me, but I forgot that I'm just a useless little girl. And Pawpaw, my car is already loaded up. I'm going to sleep in the truck." Shady quickly hopped in the truck after snatching her helmet back. She refused to let them see the pain and tears in her eyes.