Che was 5 years old when he realised he wasn't a shifter like his brothers. He was 8 years old the first time he threw up from his nocturnal issues.
He was 19 when he met Nathan.
And he was 23 when they got married.
This novella explores Che's past...
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Ryan and Aidan played the shooting game while I watched. I liked watching them play. They were way better than me and it was like watching a film. Not to mention, the cables weren't long enough to reach the couch, so I got the whole couch to myself, while they sat on the floor.
"Look, Chester," Aidan said and smiled up at me. "This is the bit with the ball."
I nodded and hugged the pillow even harder. I loved the bit with the ball.
The door opened and Dad appeared in it.
"Come on, boys." He jerked his head at us. Ryan and Aidan turned the game off and followed. I did too. I hated this. I had to stand on the porch, watching them all shift into birds and fly off without me. I wasn't a shifter. I couldn't fully shift. And what always happened was that I wanted to so badly, my face got covered in feathers.
Dad never commented on my feathers but the way he looked at me was enough. I was humiliated.
They all shifted into their bird forms. Aidan and Dad were both eagles. Ryan was an owl just like me. They took off and left me on the porch with feathers all over my face.
"Come on, Chester, dear," mom said very softly from behind me. She crouched down and held her arms out towards me and I walked right into her embrace. "Let's bake some cookies. Would you like that?"
I nodded and sniffled. My mom was the best in the world and she never made me feel bad about not being a shifter like my brothers. She never made me feel bad for being who I was.
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"Hey Chester! Catch!" Charlie laughed and threw the football at me. I caught it and held it up in the air, proudly showing it off. "You should be on the football team."
"Maybe next year." I was never going to try out. I despised everyone on the football team.
"You'll be a good fetcher," a boy named Kyle said.
I threw the football back to Charlie, ignoring Kyle. It was easy enough until he and his group of friends started barking at me. I caught the football again and clenched it between my fingers. They had started this stupid joke because Jessica from our class had a dog named Chester. It was so annoying and I was about to launch the ball in Kyle's stupid face when I heard Ryan's voice.
