Shield's Devotion: Book One

Chapter 1: Aurora

"So did I tell you that Jason Brenner asked me out today?" Taylor flashes a big smile at me, proud to share this big news.

"What? Please tell me you said yes," I take my hands off the steering wheel of my Toyota Rav4 and make a begging motion with my hands.

"Well, I said I'd think about it."

I reach over the console between us and flick the side of her head.

"Ow, what the fuck was that for!" She rubs the spot where I flicked her.

"Why did you say you'd think about it? There are a million different answers you could've given. Like I don't know, "Yes"," I roll my eyes at her.

"Um, first of all, fuck you, that hurt. And second of all, I thought I should play hard to get. Maybe he'll play chase."

I roll my eyes again and shake my head. She has one of the hottest guys at Timpson High School wanting to take her out and she wants him to play chase. Taylor is hot, to say the least. She's gorgeous. Her blonde hair stops right above her ass and her blue eyes are killer. She's been popular with the guys for as long as I can remember. Taylor has been my best friend since we were in second grade. We were both in the same class but had never spoken to each other until we went to recess one day.

My mom packed me a chocolate chip cookie to eat as a snack so I chose to eat it at recess. I stood at the edge of the massive sandbox where the swing sets are and opened the Ziploc bag. My mother placed a cute little sticky note on it. She always did that, and I loved that about her. I sat down on the wood frame and took a bite of my cookie.

I was just about to take my second bite when no one other than Johnny Miller, the most temperamental kid at Timpson Elementary School, came up to me and demanded I give him my cookie. Now, my dad never taught me to give in to bullies. He put me in self-defense classes as soon as I could walk.

"No this cookie is mine. My mom made it for me, not you," I took my second bite and looked Johnny Miller in the eyes.

"I don't care who made it. It's mine now so give it to me," he stuck his hand out like I was going to just give it to him.

"She said no, so leave her alone, Johnny," Taylor stood behind him with a handful of sand.

"What are you going to do about it?" Johnny tried to steal my cookie from my hands but I just pushed him away.

Out of nowhere, sand was flying in the air and I realized what had just happened. This girl I'd never talked to before just threw sand in Johnny Miller's eyes to defend me. I thought to myself that's something I would've done if I'd thought of it. Johnny Miller cried and ran to a teacher to snitch on us but we didn't care at that point.

I looked at the girl who defended me and decided I wanted her to be my best friend. She had gorgeous blonde hair and blue eyes and she wore her bravery like a badge.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"I'm Taylor. And you're Aurora. That's an easy name to remember," she sits beside me on the wooden frame and I offer her half of my cookie.

That's how we became best friends. To this day Taylor and I kick ass if we have to and everyone knows it. We don't go searching for a fight but we defend the easy targets for bullies and anyone else that needs defending. We hang out all of the time, including her parents and mine. Well, my dad at least. I really don't know what I would do about this crazy bitch to be honest. Taylor and I are different in some ways but for the most part we're pretty similar.

"Um Earth to Aurora, are you in there?" Taylor cups her hands around her mouth and raises her voice.

"Just think about this, Tay. He's a guy. He's not going to chase you for long if he does chase you at all. I think you should text him and tell him you're free on Saturday night," I suggest.

"Why Saturday night?" She asks.

"Because Friday night is our last movie night for a while and I can do your hair and makeup before you go out Saturday," I choke on my words, realizing how soon I'm going to be leaving my friends and my home.

My dad just landed a new job located in Sacramento, California as a partner at one of the biggest law firms in America. My dad is a very successful lawyer. He's a millionaire, almost a billionaire but we don't really live like it. We don't always like to flaunt our money. Every now and then my dad likes to spoil me and buy me expensive gifts and I like them, but it's not necessary.

I work for my father as his paralegal and his assistant. He pays me a lot of money to do this for him because it's a lot of work. He pays me so much that I could retire now if I wanted to. Taylor works as her parents' paralegal and assistant because they co-own my father's firm, which my dad is signing over to them completely.

Sacramento is a much more populated area than Timpson. It's a huge city, and Timpson is a very small town so I know it's going to take some getting used to. I'm used to mud, boots, four wheelers, and roughin' it. I have lived the luxurious life at times when I go charity events with my father. I'll buy myself a completely ridiculously priced gown, matching jewelry and heels. I love going to charity events because I love dressing up, but I also love rolling around in mud. Maybe I'll like the city life. Who knows?

"Why do you have to move now? Our senior year," Taylor whines.

"Ya' know I'm not super thrilled about it either but maybe it's a good thing. Plus you can come visit me and I'll come visit you. It'll be okay. It's not like I have a whole clique that'll miss me anyway. You know that nobody at that school likes me," I roll my eyes at that truth.

"True. You better send me pictures of all the hot guys in Cali. Especially when you go to the beach and they're all shirtless and angelic," she giggles.

"Definitely."

I pull my Rav4 into Taylor's driveway to drop her off. Her bright red Mustang sits under the carport, basically spotless.

"Why did I drive you again? You have a perfectly beautiful Mustang that runs just fine," I point at her car.

"Uh because I'm not going to get my Mustang all muddy, you selfish bitch," she jokingly gives me an attitude.

"God forbid you get mud on your washable car. I'll see you tomorrow. We have the tattoo appointment at three o'clock so I'll pick you up at eleven."

"I'm so excited! Okay gotta go. Love you!" She slams the door behind her and I watch her until she gets into the house.

I smile as I pull out of her driveway and head home. Taylor and I have been through thick and thin and our friendship is unbreakable. Taylor and her family were there for me when my mom died. Her whole family loves my dad and me like we're their own. We have dinners, movie nights, bowling tournaments, we even go hunting together. They are my family and I'm going to miss them when I'm gone.