Chapter 2

“Emily, I am…”

Before Kennedy had a chance to say anything more a loud bang of the living room door being slammed downstairs echoed through the house.

“Emily, get down here now and bring your friend!” Her mum shouted. Both Emily and Kennedy shared a look at the way her mum spat friend.

Her mum and stepfather had always liked Kennedy. Steve was another story…

But sadly that was another story Emily hadn’t told her yet.

They both stood up from the bed.

“Do I look like I was crying?”

Kennedy smiled, “No, doll. Don’t worry.” She pecked her lips. “Everything will be fine. Remember I am always there for you.”

“What about what you wanted to tell me?” Emily asked remembering moments earlier. “It sounded important.”

“It is, but it can wait, doll.” Kennedy took her friends hand in hers. “Let’s go see what your mum wants.”

Arriving downstairs they were greeted by not only Diana, Emily’s mum, but also her stepdad, George and stepbrother, Steve. Diana. George had hard expressions, but Steve was smirking. The kind of smirk that a child would wear when they just got someone into trouble.

He saw the girls joint hands and his smile faltered and then he stormed over with a glared on his face.

“This is why you never accepted me? Because you are some dirty fucking lezzy?” He snapped.

Kennedy looked a mixture of confused and anger. She looked to Emily who looked ready to cry.

“Is this true?” Her mum joined in, standing up.

“You rejected your brother for some…” She looked at Kennedy with disgust. “Some abomination against God?!”

Emily was about to snap at her mum but Kennedy jumped in first.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” She was beyond angry at the way she was acting with her daughter.

“You are the one said not to do anything with him! Not that I ever would. He is disgusting!” Emily snapped.

“That was before…” Steve cut her off.

“I’m disgusting, you bitch. What about that?” He pointed to Kennedy.

“Speak about my girlfriend again, I dare you!” Emily sneered. Kennedy felt her heart stop.

She couldn’t help but question herself. Did she really say that?

“Your what?” George finally joined in.

Now all three were standing in front of them.

“You heard me! I don’t know or care what you think.”

“You are just confused because this he/she cunt!” George tried to argue.

He/she? Emily thought confused and glanced shortly at her friend.

Kennedy silently panicked, she would surely never accept her now.

Steve must have seen her confusion because he again started to smirk.

“It didn’t tell you, did it? Tell you that it used to be a man.” Emily wasn’t sure whether to believe her jealous brother.

Maybe he was just saying that to get her to be with him.

“I’m not surprised. Why would it? And risk the chance of losing your sweet ass.” Kennedy wanted to punch him, but really didn’t want to lose her.

“I was surprised too. I admit I was a bit jealous when you first started hanging out. But then me and my friend were hanging out. He happen to catch a glimpse of it leaving and said it seemed familiar.” His dad handed him his phone. “Turns out Kennedy Thompson never actually changed their name it was always Kennedy.” He pushed the phone in front of Emily’s face to see.

“My friend just so happened to go to school with Kennedy. He described him as the once normal football playing boy who all of a sudden after kissing one girl announced he wanted to be a girl. The freak who dressed in his sister’s clothes the last year of school. Continued that way, as if rubbing it in all us normal people’s faces, even after a few people tried to beat him back.”

Emily looked at the screen which showed two pictures, both of the same boy. Her boy…. Girl, Kennedy. In the first she had crew cut raven hair, her beautiful blue eyes sparkled, but their was something hidden in his eyes. The second was of the same boy only a short time later. But this time he wore a girl’s uniform, had slightly longer but still short length hair cut and light make up. He… She had what looked like a week old black eye, but still, her eyes looked happier.

“You should leave now!” Her mum’s voice drew her attention back from the screen. She looked to see her mum was speaking to Kennedy.

She looked so broken. She really looked like she was being rejected. It was only then Emily noticed they were no longer holding hands.

Steve stood back gloating.

“She doesn’t want you anymore! She will be marrying Steve!” Emily glared at her mum.

“I am not marrying my stepbrother!” She shouted.

“You will. He has always liked you. I should have let him take you that time when you were sixteen.” Emily stood there unbelieving what her mum had just said.

“I am leaving,” She said a moment later, not even give her mum a chance to say anything. She looked to Kennedy.

“Wait outside,” She told her before she disappeared upstairs.

Kennedy waited outside as directed, but truly still thought despite this, she was being rejected. At least on a romantic level. Maybe friendship too.

Maybe she just wants to shout at her for not telling her and then get her to drop her somewhere, she thought to herself.

Not even two minutes later Emily came back down with one case and a bag she had literally throw some of her things in, at least the stuff she wanted. She didn’t know what was going to happen, but she was sure she wouldn’t be back. So she took the things she couldn’t live without and left the rest, making sure to take the one thing she had to remember her real dad, a stuffed bunny.

“You are leaving to be with that… That thing?!” Steve yelled seeing Emily heading to the door with her things.

“Yes. I told you she is my girl,” She said stopping only feet from the door.

“Don’t worry, she will be back,” George said confidently.

“And when she is you will teach her what a real man is,” Her mum said.

Emily felt disgusted.

“I would rather eat glass!” She turned to the door.

“You are a disgrace. You are just as bad as Kevin.”

She stopped when she heard her mum say her dad’s name and turned back to face her.

“Your dad was a sick homo too. I gave him a chance even after I found out, but he still left me because he was in love,” She said in a mocking tone.

“I should have just let him take you with him, like he wanted. But no, I had faith that you would be normal and not get his sick genes. I even moved for fucksake, so he couldn’t find you and brainwash you.”

Emily stood in shock, her eyes brimming with un-shed tears.

“You lied to me? He wanted me?” Her voice almost a whisper.

Her mum wore a satisfied smirk, “Yes. He was coming to collect you the night we left. But I moved us.”

Emily didn’t say anything else, she just walked out of the house with her bags.

Kennedy saw a heartbroken Emily exit the house, with a case and bag. She looked as though she was ready to cry. Kennedy quickly went over and took the bags and placed them in her car, before going back to Emily who was now in the front passenger side still with the same expression.

“Doll, please talk to me?” Kennedy begged, feeling herself as if she wanted to cry.

“Can we go to your apartment?” Emily asked in a whisper.

“Yes. Anything.” Kennedy drove in silence to the large river side, one bed apartment her parents paid for her to live in.

But continued to glance it Emily, who seemed to be in some kind of daze. This made her internally panic.

“Doll, we are here,” She said softly. Emily looked up and then to her and gave her a sad smile. “Thank you, Ken.” Another silent walk inside and up the elevator to the floor which the apartment was on. At first Emily went to get her bags, but then Kennedy took them, Emily didn’t fight her.

Once inside Emily broke down, letting the gates fall. She fell to her knees sobbing.

“Emily,” Kennedy gasped, dropped the bags on the floor and rushed over.

Crouching on the ground beside her, she picked her up in her arms and carried her to the living room. Then sat on the sofa with Emily in her arms.

“Please, Emily, talk to me?” She begged. She couldn’t help but let a few tears fall.

“She lied… My mum…” Emily said broken.

“What do you mean?” Kennedy asked with not the slightest clue.

“Dad didn’t leave me…” She went on to tell her everything her mum to her.

“So you see he loved me. He wanted to take me with him.” She had cried herself dry. “Now I have no family.” Her grandparents on her mum’s side died several years ago, only a month apart. She had no other family on her mother’s side and wasn’t in touch with any of her father’s because they didn’t want her either or so she was told.

“You have me, doll. You will always have me. Even if you only want to be friends.” Kennedy kissed her friends forehead.

“I will help you find him.”

Emily looked up at her friend. Kennedy’s cheeks were damp from crying.

Forgetting about her father for a minute, she remembered earlier.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was about too… I wanted to earlier, but you are… I have never felt like this before. I couldn’t risk losing you. I knew I had to tell you, but I kept wimping out,” She confessed.

“Why we’re you crying?” Emily wanted to tell her it was alright, but she needed answers first.

“I hate seeing you cry, doll.” Kennedy went to touch Emily’s cheek but thought better of it at the last moment.

“You may not believe me, but I am so in love with you. It is crazy but I think I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. It hurts me to see you hurt or cry. You are my soul mate. I love you so much.” Kennedy took Emily’s hand in his and looked at her pleadingly. “Please let me be in your life? We don’t have to be anything other than friends. Please? I can’t bear to lose you, Emily.”

It was heart breaking seeing her like this. “Ken, are you stupid?” Kennedy’s shoulders slumped in defeat. She reluctantly let her hand fall from her lover.

“Ken,” Emily was still sat on Kennedy’s lap, she put her hands on her face and brought it up so she was looking at her.

“Do you think me so fickle? I am not going to deny I was shocked. But you are inside and out, the most beautiful person ever. I find you just as attractive as the pictures I was shown of you.” Kennedy was staring at her in surprise.

“I love you too, stupid. I am in love with you. Whether you are a man or woman, I don’t care. You are mine. You choose me, I am so damn lucky.”