Twisted Fate: Amnesia

First Base

Narrators P.O.V 1997

Aaron Mitchell, an arrogant, rich basketball player who throws his parents money around to empress pretty girls. He had long black braids that passed his shoulders and freckles across his nose that added to his good looks. Aaron had his sights on Shay Brooks, and he would stop at nothing to claim her as his girlfriend. The school year just started; he noticed Shay hung out with his old friend Sion a lot, so he tried that angle.

“No.” Sion answered bluntly, standing in the school hallway.

“Why not?” Aaron rolled his eyes.

“It doesn’t matter, stay the f*ck away from her.” Sion warns Aaron with a nasty glare before walking away from him. Aaron took head of that warning until he saw Shay a few days later with Silas, the 8th grader. He watched them interact from a distance before running off to find Sion.

“Did you say no because your brother’s boning her?” He wasted no time asking once he caught up to Sion.

“Don’t you got a girl?” Sion asks him straightforward without slowing down his pace.

“That don’t matter, I want her.” Aaron says keeping up with him.

“She’s off limits. Do whatever the f*ck you do with any other girl here, not Shay.” Sion says before stopping at the schools exit.

“What about the blonde she’s with or the spicy brown skin girl.”

“Off limits.” Sion rolls his eyes annoyed and leaves Aaron at the door. He went home that day and warned both Shay and Chrissy about Aaron. Silas and Sincere overheard him and added to his warning. Aaron approached Shay the next week trying all his usual tricks to no avail. Shay didn’t care about how rich his dad was or how good he was at basketball. Aaron invited Shay to have lunch with him in school for a week straight before she finally agreed to sit with him in the cafeteria. Aaron asked her to be his girlfriend everyday until he got tired of her saying “no” all the time and blurted out how beautiful he thought she was in front of the entire cafeteria. Shay sat with Aaron that day and every day since his outburst two weeks ago.

“Shay!” Chrissy screamed as Shay sat on the bench staring at Aaron who was across the playground on the basketball court. She didn’t hear a word Chrissy said to her about her birthday plans.

“Did you come here to stare at Aaron all day?” Tiana asked while Shay admired him. Aaron had the sweetest eyes that made it easy for any girl to believe whatever he told them. Shay was one of those girls until a few days ago.

“Shay!!!” Chrissy screamed at her again.

“Huh! What?” Shay responds startled.

“I know he’s your boyfriend but dang.” Chrissy complains.

“Go over there with him if you miss him so much it’s causing you to stalk him.” Tiana suggested. Tiana became really close to Chrissy and Shay in school last year. She connected with them almost instantly when she transferred into their class.

“That’s not why I’m here.” Shay looked at Chrissy.

“You could have fooled me.” Chrissy jokes.

“I’m breaking up with him today.”

“Of course, you are.” Tiana rolls her eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shay snaps at her.

“You’re picky. You got one of the cutest, richest boys in school and you’re not happy.” Chrissy explained.

“It’s not all about his freckles or his deep eyes.” Shay trails off.

“It’s not about the specifics” Chrissy rolled her eyes as well.

“Ha, no it’s not. He is a liar, and his dad is the rich one not him.”

“Close enough.” Tiana shrugged.

“I can’t be bought.”

“More power to you, sister.” Tiana put her fist up. Shay went back to watching Aaron play ball, patiently waiting for his game to be over with. Chrissy went over to the fence to cheer for the team JJ is playing with. The whole time she’s screaming and jumping around, she keeps watching Sincere who’s going against JJ in this game. Shay joins her on the side of the court but instead of cheering Shay locks her eyes on Silas.

“That boy has been working out.” Tiana whistles.

“Who’re you telling?” Chrissy fans herself.

“Who’re you looking at?” Tiana looks at Chrissy then the court.

“Nobody, I’ll be back.” Shay say’s looking away from Silas.

“I wasn’t asking you; I was asking…” Shay walked off before Tiana could finish her sentence. Tiana watched Shay walk up on a sweaty Aaron and be pulled into a hug as soon as she stepped in front of him. Sincere and Silas stood across the court getting their stuff together while they both paid attention to Shay and Aaron's interaction. Sion walked up to Chrissy and Tiana, also watching Shay’s every move.

“What’s up with them?” Sion asks the girls.

“Nothing.” Chrissy attempts to play it off.

“Something is up, his hands are all over her.” Sion frowns.

“What’s the big deal? That’s her boyfriend.” Tiana instigates.

“Who she’s breaking up with right now.” Chrissy quickly adds.

“Say no more.” Sion nods then walked over to his brothers to get his stuff since they were about to head back to the house. Shay, who was once standing with Aaron, is now sitting on the bench alone. She was watching everyone slowly leave the basketball court when her friends joined her on the bench.

“What was that about?” Tiana asks confused.

“Did you break up with him?” Chrissy asks Shay as she rejoins them.

“Yeah, he admitted to kissing another girl.”

“Who?” They ask in unison.

“I don’t know, it doesn’t matter now anyway.” Shay lies.

“Are you okay?” Tiana pities her, seeing her lie.

“Yes, I dumped him.”

“What did he lie about before?” Chrissy cuts her eyes at him.

“Everything and Nothing. He lied about where he was, and about what he ate for lunch. Dumb things, it was annoying and I’m glad we’re not together anymore.”

“Okay, so why do Sion care?” Tiana asks.

“What?” Shay got nervous as soon as Sion walked up.

“You date Aaron?” Sion asked as he walked up on them with his brothers, Silas and Sincere. Shay rolled her eyes at them and looked in the opposite direction as an attempt to ignore them. Tiana stood up in front of the bench watching them. Shay sat back on the bench with one leg crossed over the other and her arms crossed over her chest. She scanned the park and avoided looking at any of them. Chrissy, on the other hand, was admiring all of them. She sat on the bench holding the edge of the seat leaning forward waiting for Shay to say something.

“Shay isn’t dating Aaron.” Chrissy said confidently.

“Shay can speak for herself.” Sin snapped. Shay looked at Chrissy, JJ, and Tiana then stood up to leave before cutting her eyes at the three brothers.

“Are y’all ready to go?” Shay asked, now annoyed.

“You’re not gonna answer?” Silas asked her with a crooked smile on his face. He stepped closer to Shay and looked down at her, blocking her from walking away. Shay took a step back then looked up at Silas and cleared her throat.

“Aaron can hug you and touch on your little a*s but you’re not his girl?” Sincere questions her.

“Tiana said you were.” Sion c****d his head to the side.

“Not anymore.” Shay finally answered.

“Why the f*ck you so hard-headed.” Sion cursed.

“Whoa! what’s going on?” Tiana asks repulsed.

“Don’t get in the middle of that Tiana.” Chrissy shook her head. Silas looked shay up and down but didn’t say anything. JJ nudged Sion’s shoulder, and they left the park without speaking a word. Tiana watched them leave then looked to Chrissy for answers. Silas walked away from Shay still not speaking to her, with Sincere he left the park. Shay’s eyes followed them until they were out of sight. Tiana grabbed Shay by her shoulders standing directly in front of her.

“What are you not telling me?” She demanded an answer.

“Aaron and Sion used to hang out until Aaron’s brothers moved back here. Something happened between them, but they won’t tell me what.” Shay explained.

“So, they’re mad because they’re beefing?” Tiana assumed.

“No, they’re mad because they told me to stay away from him. They said he’d just play me, and they didn’t want me getting mixed up in whatever other mess he’s in.”

“The mess they won’t tell her about.” Chrissy adds.

“Well, they were right. He did cheat on you.” Tiana shrugs.

“But you didn’t know until today. Why were you so distant with him before you realized he was a liar?” Chrissy asked her.

“Let’s start walking back and to answer your question, He was way too clingy. He wanted to hang out all the time and got mad when I didn’t. Then he kept trying to… You know.”

“No, we don’t know.” Tiana shook her head.

“He wanted to put his tongue in my mouth and other places. He said his brothers did it to their girlfriends.”

“You let him?” Chrissy asked.

“No! I’m not ready for any of that. I didn’t even let him really kiss me on the mouth.”

“You let Silas kiss you on the mouth.” Chrissy shrugs.

“He had his hands on your butt as if you did.” Tiana said.

“Well, I didn’t. and it’s not the same.” Shay shakes her head.

“Maybe that’s why he kissed that other girl.” Chrissy suggested.

“Then she can be his girlfriend. And I didn’t cheat on him.”

“My mom doesn’t get home for another hour.” Tiana changes the subject noticing they were walking aimlessly.

“It’s cool, we can go to Mrs. Hendrix's house. She said she needed help cleaning out her attic anyway.” The girls went to Mrs. Hendrix’s house and helped her straighten up her attic. They spent hours in the attic with Mrs. Hendrix, playing in her makeup and pretending to be singers with her microphone set. Tina left them in the attic to get started on dinner for her family. Shay went and sat outside because the house was cold, and it was warm out there. Silas and Sin were sitting on the picnic table when she got out there. She turned to go back into the house as soon as she saw them.

“Come here.” Shay, with her back turned towards them, stopped in her tracks at Silas voice. She knew they were going to complain about Aaron, and they might fight her for going behind their backs.

“No, thank you.” She declined.

“Girl, come over here.” Silas said calmly but still sounded annoyed. Shay turned around to see Sincere walking towards her. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side, watching him.

“What do you want?”

“Relax, we just want to talk to you.” Sincere grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the picnic table. As they got closer to the table; Silas stood up and met them the rest of the way. Sincere let go of her hand and walked away, only for Silas to put his arm around her waist and pull her in front of him. He stood behind her with both hands now wrapped around her, holding her close to him.

“What are you doing?” Shay asked while trying to pull his arms off of her. Silas grabbed both her arms holding them up to her chest making her hug herself. Sincere came and stood in front of both of them with the water holes in his hand. With one hand he aimed the holes at them and the other hand he folded the holes blocking the water from shooting out.

“You ready Bro?” Sin asks.

“What? No!” Shay exclaimed while she tried to get out of Silas grip to no avail. She kept fighting but was mad at herself for letting her friends get in her head. Instead of stopping him earlier she was thinking about what Tiana said about him working out and how good it felt to have him hold her. He has put his arms around her before, she doesn't know what’s going on with her today.

“Did you break up with him?” Silas asked.

“I said I did, Now let me go!”

“How long y’all been hooking up?”

“We didn’t hook up.”

“How long have you been letting him kiss on you, Shay?” Sincere asks.

“For a week or two, why?”

“He’s been dating Victoria for a month, and I clearly remember telling you to stay away from him.” Sincere answers.

“Why do I need to stay away from him?”

“Why can't you just listen?” Silas squeezes her to hurt her.

“Everything else is none of your business but you should know that he doesn’t take being dumped lightly.” Sin started.

“On top of that, you disgusted Sion. He’s really pissed at you now, thinks you’re dirty for that shit.” Silas finished.

“What’s going to happen to me?” She asked them. Silas put his face down behind Shay’s head and Sincere sprayed her with the water. Shay screamed and wiggled around but still couldn’t get out of Silas grip.

“You are going to be the side chick who gets beat up twice if you don’t listen to us when we tell you to stay away from certain people.”

“Why would I get beat up? And I’m not a side chick!”

“Not anymore. He didn’t cheat on you by kissing Victoria, she is his girl. Hence, you’re the side chick.” Silas corrects.

“That’s not true! He asked me to be his girlfriend in front of everybody in school.”

“Don’t be gullible Shay. He knew she would find out and instead of getting mad at him she wants to fight you.” Sin rolled his eyes.

“That doesn’t matter now, I broke up with him.” Sincere sprayed water at her again. This time he aimed at her stomach because he didn’t warn Silas. Shay’s shirt was now soaked and see-through, exposing her training bra. She didn’t fight or say anything. Shay closed her eyes and waited for him to stop wetting her. Sin and Silas took turns telling her stuff.

“He was at the store telling everybody how he was kissing you after tasting his girl.”

“You broke up with him today after he told you he loves Victoria.”

“That’s not true! Oh, my gosh! Everybody is gonna believe him over me.” Shay cried.

“No, they won’t.” Silas sighed.

“Why wouldn’t they?”

“We handled it.” Sin grunted.

“Then let me go!”

“No, the next time you act grown we’re not gonna clean up your mess.” Sin shouted.

“One day, you’re going to learn the hard way.” Silas growls.

“Okay I get it. Why the water?” Shay asks shaking her head.

“Because you’re dirty and needs to be cleaned. Spray.” Silas says with amusement before he puts his face down behind her again and Sincere sprayed her with the water holes. Shay closed her eyes and put her head back. This time she screamed for Tina, which led to Sincere spraying her in the face.

“Shut up!” Sin yells at her.

“Unless you want everybody thinking you gave your panties to Aaron or tasted Victoria, a thank you and cooperation would be nice.” Silas reprimanded.

“Fine, Thank you.” Shay wipes her face with her hands.

“This should be enough for you to know to listen next time.” Sin looked at her seriously.

Shay nods as Silas let her go and Sincere went to put the water holes away. Shay tried to ring out her shirt and check her hair. She knew they meant well by what they were doing but she was so over them. She sat on the picnic table trying to wrap her mind around Aaron bashing her name and she wanted to know what Sincere, and Silas did to stop him. She didn’t bother asking because she knows they wouldn’t tell her anything.

****

A warm day in October, Shay and Chrissy are sitting in Tina’s backyard with their friends and Dee, JJ’s mother. Shay got her period for the first-time last week and has been staying home or over her cousin's house for a while. She knew her mom told Tina and Dee when she got her period, and she didn’t want to hear them talking about it.

“Why you stop coming over here?” Chrissy asks Shay.

“I had to catch up on my schoolwork.”

“JJ go get my bottled water out of the house. And Shay we know that's a lie.” Dee chimes in.

“What's going on?” Chrissy looks around.

“She's growing into a woman.” Tina smiles.

“I'm not having this conversation.” Shay walked to the far end of the yard to play double dutch with her friends in the driveway. After about an hour of jumping rope Silas came from around the front of the house with his friends. Silas had the attention of too many young girls. They liked his dimples when he smiled and his grey eyes. They loved his pretty white teeth and his sharp vampire like fangs.

“Boy oh Boy is he cute.” Tiffany squealed.

“Girl, will you focus, he's not looking at you.” Sam dismisses.

“Who are y'all talking about?” Shay looks at the group of boys.

“My boyfriend.” Samantha blushes.

“That is?” Shay pushes for her to elaborate.

“Hey ugly, are you spending the night?” Silas asks as he grabs her hand pulling her closer to him, holding her fingers lightly.

“Him.” Samantha blushes. Sam and Tiffany have been crushing on Silas since they met him at the start of the school year. Growing up with Silas and his brothers was nothing to Shay until now. Shay being the last one to hit puberty and the only non-blood related girl made things hard for her. Even though they are platonic, Silas randomly tested the waters with her. On top of that, all of Shay's female friends had a major crush on the brothers. Constantly telling her how good they look and how they wish Silas would talk to them how he spoke to her. None of it made sense to Shay since Silas would fight with her and refer to her as ‘ugly’ or ‘a boy’ one day, then be nice to her the next. A real love/hate relationship.