Crossroads—2026-03-17 (Patreon)

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Chapter 43: MY POV by Devan Collier

I’m going to run through a few things, but let me say this up front… I’m not asking for pity or anything like that.

A lot has happened to me and around me since the beginning of November when our house burned down and mom died. I spent some time living in my car and in a shelter before getting things sorted out. Yeah, it was all hard, but that didn’t define who I am.

Lately, some of you might be thinking I’m giving off some heavy NPC vibes. You might say that, starting at the Christmas party when Shay escorted me to the mistletoe, I’ve been in the sidecar as everyone around me drove.

I see it differently.

On New Year’s Day, Shay told me she wanted to date. I told her I didn’t see that working. She wasn’t having that.

“…All I know is being around you and just seeing your texts… I feel really good. I like how it feels.”

“I do, too,” I said.

“Then we have to try this, right?”

I resisted what I wanted to do, saying it probably wouldn’t work. Still, she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Devon, just let’s try, okay?”

That’s how it began, and all was good until the Ryder family decided they needed to step up security. That did not go over well and led to the whole decoy and swapped-ID situation that is now part of my life.

I agreed to this.

Now hear me say this. If it looks like I’ve been just going along with everything, I’d like to call your attention to a few things.

I choose to do this for Shay. It was this or us taking off on the motorcycle trip that the decoys are on. I don’t know where things are going. Two and a half months into it, here is where I stand.

Things with Shay and me are great. She says she loves me. It might be moving fast, but I’d say I love her as much as possible after seventy-five days. Keep in mind that we live a few yards apart, wake up and can see each other all day, every day. We spend hours together every day sharing life and work.

We’re not talking wedding. But it’s not ruled out, either.

The rest of this chapter is exclusive to Patreon.

So I find myself in a very satisfying relationship with someone who treats me like I’m the answer to every question her life has put up. She respects me. She hangs on my words and ideas, pushing back with additions or challenging me when I need to think about different angles on things.

She says she feels connected to me. I feel the same way. I don’t really think she needs me. But she likes me and wants to be with me. That feels a lot safer.

Did I have to give up things to make this whole security plan work? Sure, I did. But things are working out.

As Evan Calder, I still have my job for Tom. I still get to help keep all his properties maintained. His and my deal that I’d finish my bachelor’s degree within five years is still very possible. Most of my credits from my associate’s degree will count. So I don’t start in fall 2026? Okay, maybe January 2027 or Fall of 2027. It will all work out.

Meanwhile I live in a great place with a lot of great friends. The community vibe there is so strong, I think this must be a lot like what good families feel. It feels like the best of being in a high school church youth group, but we’re in our twenties and we’ve outgrown being petty or overly goofy.

Maybe the best thing is that I see Shay for breakfast and dinner every workday—and lunch sometimes. I can visit her without putting on my shoes if I want to. We have the whole weekend together every week, if we want to. We can mix and mingle with the others or keep to ourselves.

So if it looks like I’m playing the part of an NPC here, I disagree. I made some choices that helped Shay feel better, safer, and connected. I took some losses, but I think I came out way ahead in the end.

Do I have regrets?

That’s a hard no.

Be your best you!

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