Synopsis: Ashley Roberts was terribly abused by his father. Until one-day things got out of hand and the police were called. Ashley's father was sentenced to a year in Jail. six months later his father was released and came looking for his family. Ashley's mother Janet decided the safest course of action for her family was to move to Littleton, Colorado. She had a sister there and thought a new start would be best for her children, far away from her abusive husband. Since moving to Littleton a lot has changed in my life and also a lot of confusion and uncertainty about what laid ahead.
Ashley Roberts and his older sister Megan are forced to move to Littleton Colorado after Ashley’s father was released from prison, Philip Roberts was an abusive drunk with a very foul temper and Unfortunately, Ashley was his main target. Ashley was around 5’6 and weighed maybe a hundred pounds. He had been a disappointment to his father for years
Preface
Boston to Littleton, it had been a 2-day drive as we finally pulled into the city that would become our home. I honestly wasn't happy about leaving I had friends and family there that I doubt that I would ever see again. If it hadn't been for our father, we could have stayed but he was going to be released from jail soon and looking to come home to his family.
As for myself, I would happily live the rest of my life in hell, if it meant I would never have to see his face again. The day he was finally arrested, he was charged with 2 counts of domestic violence. Like so many times in the past, Dad came home drunk and took offense to my existence and proceeded to beat the hell out of me, mom tried to stop him and he started beating her also.
Thankfully Megan was staying at a friend’s place that night or dad would have most likely taken his anger out on her also. We were lucky that night that the neighbors decided enough was enough and called the police. He was arrested, and I spent the next week in the hospital with a broken nose, concussion, and two broken ribs. The police pressed the charges directly, so mom and I didn't have to go to court.
Dad received 1 year in jail and a $6000 fine, that's justice for you, it’s been 6 months now since he went to jail, and we found out a few days ago when he showed up at our home that he had been released on parole for good behavior.
Megan and I had been at school when he arrived. Mom refused to let him inside but knew it would only be a matter of time before he returned. That night we packed up all our clothes along with a few other things that we would need and left for Littleton the following morning.
This is where our story begins
Chapter 1
Littleton, Colorado, what can I say about it? Lots of mountains, perfect for hiking if you’re into that sort of thing. God, I am going to miss Boston, I thought to myself as mom continued driving through the city.
“So what do you think Meg?” I said looking over at her.
“I think we're in hell,” she said sarcastically.
“My thoughts exactly,” I said flicking my long hair away from my eyes.
“Come on kids, it can’t be that bad, give it a chance I am sure you will come to love it here.” Mom said trying to sound excited.
“All I know is if you expect me to wear a brimmed hat and ride around on a horse and carriage I am out of here, “I said trying to sound as assertive as a 100-pound boy could.
“So, what have you told them?” asked Megan referring to our Uncle and Aunt.
“Almost everything honey, they know about the abuse but I never really went into all the details. I figured they knew enough already.” Mom explained.
“What is to stop dad from following us here,” I said asking the question that both Megan and I had been thinking for most of the trip.
“There is a restraining order in place, so it’s not going to be easy for him to get any information about our whereabouts and I am sorry but you can’t tell anyone back home where we're living. If there is a leak he might find out where we are.” Mom explained.
“So what next are we going to change our names?” I said sarcastically.
“That’s not a bad idea, but it’s not something we could really afford.” Mom said flatly
“I was only kidding,” I exclaimed.
“It's still a good idea”, mom said in a low voice.
We drove for another 20 minutes before turning into a long driveway that led to a house that looked to be quite expensive.
Once mom parked the car, the three of us climbed out, it felt good to finally get out and stretch my legs, as we exited the car Aunt Helen, Uncle Brian and our cousin Amy came outside to meet us.
Mom and Aunt Helen hadn’t seen each other in years and hugged for what seemed like an eternity. After mom made the introductions, we made our way inside what would be our new home at least for the near future.
Once inside Aunt Helen told Megan to show us to our rooms and the three of us made our way upstairs, the first room we came too, Amy stopped and turned to Megan, this is my room I hope you don't mind taking the top bunk", Amy said placing Megan's knapsack on the floor next to the door.
“The top bunk is fine, and I love your room,” Megan said stepping into the bedroom and looking around.
“Thanks, Megan, I am always having friends sleep over so, I talked mom into buying the bunk beds. So I guess it makes things a lot easier now that we're going to be sharing a room together.” Amy said with a big smile.
“I hope having me here isn’t going to be too much of an inconvenience, I will try to give you as much space as possible,” Megan replied.
“Don’t worry about it Megan, I am happy to have you here and I bet giving enough time you and I will be as close as sisters,” Amy said grinning.
“That would be cool, so where is Ashley sleeping?” Megan asked Amy.
“I Hope you don’t mind Ashley, but were short of space you’re going to be bunking in the Attic but on the plus side, Daddy just finished renovating it, and you have the room to yourself, come on I will show you,” Amy said grabbing my hand and leading the way.
At the end of the hallway, there was a narrow set of stairs that led up into the Attic. I was actually quite surprised at what I saw as the three of us entered
The Attic didn’t really look too bad, and I could see the potential of turning it into something really special. It had hardwood floors that had recently been refinished as well as all the moldings, and thankfully there was a working air conditioner.
“This is nice Uncle Brian did a great job.”, I said with a smile.
“Yeah, he did,” Amy replied and then looked over to the corner and back to me. “Sorry about all the boxes Ashley, this is kind of our storage area, I will ask Daddy if we can’t move it into one of our carports,” Amy said looking across at me.
“It’s fine don’t worry about it Amy, there’s plenty of room and I don’t really have anything other than my clothes, laptop, and a few other things,” I explained.
“It sucks that you guys had to move the way you did. I don’t know what I would do if I had to pack up and move the way the both of you have.” Amy said taking a seat on the bed.
Megan and I both joined her, “Yeah, neither one of us were that happy. We had a life it might not have been perfect but it was ours.” Megan said sadly.
“Yeah, I feel the same way as Megan.”, I replied.
“Well things are pretty good here, it’s not Boston but Littleton has lots to offer,” Amy replied.
“Like what?” I asked somewhat interested.
“Well if you're into sports, Littleton High has a great sports program and there is always the church youth group, they always have different activities and then there's me, I will show you both around. I know a lot of people too so once you're settled, we’ll go out and I will make some introductions.” Amy said with a big smile.
“Sounds good” Megan exclaimed
“It would be nice to make a few good friends, but I am not interested in sports, or anything to do with the church,” I said firmly.
“Well, I will let you get settled, Ashley. When you're ready to come downstairs mom’s going to be ordering Pizza. I am glad you’re both here, I have always wanted to meet the two of you but mom never explained anything to me until recently.” Amy said with a smile.
“It’s nice to finally meet you too Amy,” I said as the two of them made their way downstairs.
After leaving Ashley's bedroom, Amy and Megan returned to their bedroom once inside Amy turned to Megan. "What’s with Ashley, he seemed a little-pissed off when I mentioned to him about the Sports Program and our Youth Group."
“Don’t take it personally Amy, it wasn’t directed towards you. Ashley has had it harder than mom and me. Our dad wanted the perfect son and pushed him really hard. Dad was an athlete and was good and won all kinds of awards. He wanted Ashley to follow in his footsteps and when Ashley didn’t measure up dad beat him.” Megan said sadly.
“Shit I had no idea.”, Amy exclaimed.
“You have to realize Ashley isn’t like most guys, and I am not just talking about his size, I don’t know if it’s because of the abuse, but he has a hard time when it comes to relationships, and I mean all types of relationships,” Megan explained.
“I understand why he would have issues, especially after everything you just said,” Amy exclaimed.
“Now as far as church goes I have no idea why he feels that way. It’s really the first that I have heard of it.” Megan said in a low voice.
“Maybe the move was for the best, it will give Ashley a chance to reinvent himself,” Amy exclaimed.
“You might be right Amy,” Megan said thinking aloud.
Chapter 2
I spent the next few minutes unpacking what few things I owned and opened up the dresser that was near my bed and started filling the drawers, which didn’t take very long thankfully, we had received compensation from the domestic abuse case, so it wasn’t going to be much of a problem replacing most of the stuff that we had left behind.
After I finished filling the dresser I placed my laptop on my bed and moved over to the corner of the attic to see if there was anything that would be of use to me. It was mostly boxes labeled Amy’s Clothing. Being nosy I decided to take a quick look inside and found some really nice clothes that were still in good shape.
There were bras, panties, jeans and even some dresses which I assumed no longer fit Amy. I thought to myself maybe I should have taken Amy up on her offer to remove the boxes after all. These were going to be too much of a distraction for me.
I looked into a few of the other boxes and found a few pairs of high heel shoes, sneakers and sandals, I removed my sneakers from my feet and tried on a pair of red high heels and discovered they were a perfect fit and thought to myself almost everything I would need is already in my room and then all the old feelings of shame and guilt came back, as I slipped the high heels off my feet and placed them back into the box where I found them. I guess you could say if I had one weakness this was it.
After putting everything back the way that I found them, I decided to make my way back downstairs and join the others. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful after they opened their home to us. after slipping into my sneakers again I made my way downstairs. I stopped outside Amy’s bedroom the door was opened and I peered inside.
The room was empty so I continued on downstairs. Once in the living room, I could hear a conversation coming from the kitchen and found everyone sitting at the table getting to know one another.
“Hi Ashley, grab a seat and I will bring you over a couple of slices, is coke alright?” Aunt Helen said with a big smile.
"Thanks, Aunt Helen, Coke is fine.”, I said as I took a seat at the table.
"Your welcome honey”, she said with a smile and handed me a plate of pizza and a glass of coke.
“Mm… this is really good.”, I said after taking a bite of my pizza.
"It's the best pizza in town and the good thing about it. they also sell their own beer." Uncle Brian said joining in the conversation.
"Beer and pizza, I guess that's convenient," I said looking over at him.
“So how do you like your room Ashley?” Uncle Brian asked
“I honestly love it Uncle Brian you did an awesome job with the remodel and the room has lots of
potential
,” I said looking across the table at him.
“Well you’re going to be staying with us for a while, so feel free to make it your own.” Uncle Brian said with a big smile.
“Thanks, I might make a few changes to it, I am going to need to get a desk for my computer and maybe a few other things, but otherwise it’s perfect,” I explained.
The rest of the night went by with us getting to know one another, Megan and I had never really had contact with Mom’s side of the family thanks to Dad’s interference. So we never really had a chance to get to know one another. I liked Amy a lot she seemed to have a good heart and generally care. Aunt Helen and Uncle Brian both seemed really nice but I was a bit put off when it came to Uncle Brian.
I wasn't used to a man taking an interest in me except for my father and if he took interest in me it usually ended badly. I knew that I shouldn’t judge Uncle Brian he had done nothing to me but I generally had a fear of men thanks to my father and I had a feeling that there was a part of me that always would be afraid.
It was around 10 pm when I finally made my way back to my bedroom. I was pretty tired as I stripped down to my underwear and thought to myself it had been a long journey that started in Boston and ended in Littleton, and I wondered what the future would hold for Megan and me as I climbed into bed and I was fast asleep before I even knew it.
It was 10 am when I finally climbed out of bed. I had slept like a baby but then again I was completely exhausted from the trip to Littleton. I made my way over to my dresser and grabbed a change of clothes and then made my way downstairs and into the bathroom to have a quick shower.
After I finished my shower I got dressed and went downstairs, Mom and Megan were sitting in the kitchen having coffee and eating breakfast. I grabbed a bowl and poured some corn flakes into it. I then poured myself a hot cup of coffee.
“Good morning, where is everyone?”, I said looking up from my bowl.
“Your Aunt and Uncle are at work and Megan left a few minutes ago for school.” Mom explained.
“So, any plans for today?” I asked mom.
“Shopping”, mom said nonchalantly
“Thank god, I can only wear the same close for so long,” Megan exclaimed.
“For once I agree with you, Megan,” I said with a smile.
“Once you finish your breakfast we can head out; I am sure there is a mall nearby.” Mom replied.
“Sounds good, Mom,” I said taking a bite of my cereal.
After about a half hour of driving, mom found The Burlington Mall and she pulled in and we found a parking spot near the main entrance. a few minutes later the three of us were making our way over to the directory to find out what stores we had to choose from. There was a Walmart so that was going to be our first stop of the day.
After a short walk we arrived at Walmart, Mom and Megan grabbed a cart than mom turned to me. “It will be faster if we split up Ashley, you have a $300 limit so try to spread it out as much as possible when you’re done, meet us at the checkout over there.” Mom said pointing toward the checkout where she wanted us to meet.
“Alright mom, see you in a bit,” I said grabbing a shopping cart and the three of us headed off.
I honestly hated shopping, mostly because it was hard to find clothes for my age group that fit me. Most of the stuff they sold in the guy's department was too big for me especially jeans. Which I was forced to pick from a selection for a much younger age group. This was also the same when it came to shirts and underwear.
So over the next hour I moved from department to department and gathered everything that I would need, and then started walking over towards the women's department, to see how mom and Megan were doing as I entered, I saw a sales rack with various Jeans and thought that I would take a quick look and found a few pairs of Jeans that looked to be my size. They really didn’t look much different than the ones I had picked out earlier.
I grabbed them and made my way over to an empty changing room, I had always been mistaking for a girl thanks to my size and my long hair so when I enter the changing area, nobody said a word. I tried on all three pairs of Jeans and I was right about the size they were actually a little tighter then what I was used too but then again most of the jeans I owned were pretty
loose
fitting, to begin with.
After exiting the dressing room, I placed the boy's jeans I had picked earlier on the return rack and placed the Jeans I had just tried on into the shopping cart and continued on.
Eventually, I saw Mom and Megan walking towards the checkout area and made my way over to join them.
“Looks like you did pretty good”, Megan said as I approached.
“Yeah, at least it’s a good start,” I said with a smile.
“Well, let’s get through the checkout and pay for all this stuff and we can get going.” Mom said looking at Megan and me.
We arrived home a half hour later and before long I was in my bedroom, putting away my new clothes neither Mom or Megan, seemed to notice the Jeans that I had secretly added to my shopping cart.
After removing the tags, I placed two of the jeans into my dresser and slipped into the other pair I had left out. I had to admit it felt nice to actually wear jeans that were designed for someone my age even if they were made for a girl.
I then took out my laptop and set it on top of my dresser and plugged it in and started it up. After it finished loading I connected to the internet thanks to the password Amy had provided last night. Once I was online and everything was running, I logged into my Spotify Playlist and the music started to play through its speakers.
While I was listening, I made my way over and started moving the boxes around and came across a box that was labeled books and decided to take a look and see if there was anything inside that interested me. After a few minutes, I found a book that looked interesting and placed it on the floor next to me while I put everything back and then returned to my bed
The book was a romantic comedy called, “Epic Fail”, by Claire LaZebnik. I liked the synopsis of the story and found myself curling up on my bed and started reading.
It was around 4 pm when I heard a knock coming from downstairs, come on up I said sitting up and placing the book I was reading on the bed next to me. I then heard the rumble of footsteps coming up the stairs and saw Megan and Amy as they entered my bedroom.
“Hey Ashley, I just wanted to see how you were settling in”, Amy said with a grin.
“Not bad, just relaxing,” I said as Amy came over and picked up the book I was reading.
“Good book, it’s one of my favorites.” She said and sat the book back down on my bed.
“Well it’s actually yours, I saw a box that was label books, and took a look,” I explained.
“That’s fine Ashley, help yourself to whatever is there, I am kind of surprised though that this book would interest you it’s kind of a romance novel,” Amy replied.
“It looked interesting that’s all,” I said looking over at Amy.
“Ashley isn’t like most guys Megan, he doesn't follow gender stereotypes, just look at the jeans he bought today their girls,” Megan exclaimed.
I looked at Megan, “how did you know?”
“Because I bought the same pair.” She said with a smug smile.
“Does Mom know?” I said looking worried.
“No Mom is completely clueless when it comes to teen fashion,
"I wouldn’t worry Ashley; I seriously doubt anyone else is going to notice but I would like to know why you bought them?” Megan said taking a seat on the bed next to me.
“I was tired of having to buy my jeans from the kid's section, I saw these jeans, they were for my age group and didn’t look much different then what I have already been wearing, and for the most part, I like the way they fit me,” I explained.
“It’s not that big a deal, girls wear boys clothes all the time, and it's not like he is wearing a dress or anything,” Amy said joining into the conversation.
“Anyway, I was going to take Megan out and show her around, do you want to join us,” Amy asked.
“Sounds like fun, I will meet you downstairs.”, I said with a smile.
A few minutes later I joined Megan and Amy downstairs and the three of us headed out. We walked for almost 20 minutes until we came to a park.
It was a nice park, there were lots of picnic tables and had a good size play area for kids. We walked for a bit longer and eventually, we came to the entrance to a bike trail.
“This trail will take us to Main Street, that is where most of the shops are located. There is even a Starbucks there, It’s pretty much the local hangout. “Amy explained.
“Well at least there's a Starbucks here,” I said in a low voice.
“We have almost everything here you would find in a big city Ashley, you just have to do a lot more traveling to find it,” Amy explained.
Like Amy said the path eventually led downtown and once we hit Main Street Amy started pointing out many of the different stores and other places of interest including the library and another two blocks from there we came to The Burlington Mall and made our way inside.
“There’s a Starbucks in the food court, let us grab something to drink and head outside and have it on the deck,” Amy said looking over at Megan and me.
“Sounds good I think that I will have a caramel mocha frappuccino, what are you getting Ashley?” Megan said looking over at me.
“I think that I will have the same as you, Megan”
“Why don’t you grab us a table Ashley, I will get it this time and you can pay the next time,” Megan said and joined the others in line.
I agreed and made my way outside, and grabbed a table towards the back of the deck, there were already a few people outside on the deck, most were about our age. I grabbed the newspaper that was sitting at the empty table next to me and took a seat and started skimming through it as I waited for Amy and Megan to join me.
While I sat there reading the newspaper, I noticed a few people sitting at a nearby table. There was this one guy there that I caught sneaking peeks at me.
There was no doubt in my mind that he thought I was a girl. This was something that tended to happen a lot most of the time I just let it pass it wasn’t worth the trouble setting people straight if I was never going to see them again anyway.
A few minutes later Megan and Amy joined me on the deck, as they came out onto the deck Amy, saw the people at the table where the guy had been checking me out and went over and started talking to them. It looked like she was making the introductions. Because they were all shaking Megan’s hand and they Amy turned toward me and waved for me to join them.
I honestly didn’t really want to join them but decided if I didn’t they would see me as some kind of snob, so I slowly made my way over and joined Amy, and my sister Megan.
“Everyone this is Ashley”, Amy said with a smile.
“Hi”, I said waving my hand at them.
“Hi Ashley, welcome to Littleton, I am Adam Thomas, and this is my good friend James Marshall and his girlfriend Kira Jordan,” Adam said making the introductions
“It’s nice to meet all of you”, I said looking Adam in the eyes.
“Why don't you guys join us there's lots of room,” Kira said with a smile.
Adam, didn’t even wait for a response and stood up and grabbed a couple chairs from a nearby table and place than around the table they were sitting at.
Megan and Amy took a seat at the table, leaving the only seat available to me was the empty seat next to Adam which I reluctantly took.
Over the next hour, the six of us spent the time getting to know one another, and I found myself answering question after question about my life in Boston. Most of the questions he asked were easy to answer, I had learned a few things about Adam and the others also
Adam and James were both members of Littleton High’s Football team, whereas Kira, and Amy were both on the cheer squad. Which was something Megan was interested in maybe joining herself? Eventually, the conversation, lead towards music and our likes and dislikes.
It was getting close to supper time, so the 6 of us said our goodbyes and agreed to meet up at another time and hang out. Before leaving I felt Adam’s hand reach under the table and felt him slip something into my hand.
I walked a little behind Megan and Amy as we left and took a look at what Adam had slipped into my hand it was a note with his phone number saying give me a call.
Chapter 3
We arrive home a half hour later, there was a sweet smell coming from the kitchen and we followed the smell into the kitchen where we found our mom’s setting the table.
Uncle Brian was nowhere to be seen but I could hear a guitar playing downstairs in the basement. I liked what I was hearing and decided to follow it to its source and found my uncle with his back to me playing Stairway to Heaven on his guitar.
I saw another guitar sitting in the corner, and picked it up and plugged it into the amp and started playing along with him.
The combination of my playing startled him, as he turned around, and saw me playing his guitar,
“Sorry Uncle Brian, I couldn’t resist”, I said with a smile and started playing some power cords.
“That’s alright Ashely, your pretty good”, he said grinning then continued playing and started singing the words to the song. I continued playing along with him, he looked over at me and nodded indicating to me to continue singing the words and I started singing the song too.
“Good voice, a little on the high side but good all the same.” Uncle Brian said as we ended the song.
“Thanks, I think,” I said frowning.
“No Ashley, it was a compliment you can do songs that most of us guys wouldn’t be able to pull off.”, Uncle Brian said grinning.
“Think about it Ashley, there are lots of singers out there that have high voices like yours, Freddy Mercury, Adam Levine these are just a couple of examples. All I am saying is a guy having a high voice has no effect on how talented they are as a singer.” Uncle Brian said with a smile.
“Thanks’, I have never really been comfortable singing in public, I have always been a bit uncomfortable when it comes to how other people see me,” I explained.
“Well, I am going to tell you the same thing my father told me, you can spend the rest of your life doing what people around you expect you to do, or you can be brave enough to follow your own path. "
"I came from a family of Doctors Ashley and my parents expected me to follow their path, they believed that being a doctor was in my blood but I wanted to be a musician which wasn’t a choice that they wanted for me, but I had to follow my heart, Ashley.” Uncle Brian explained.
“Did you get a lot of grief from your parents?” I said looking him in the eyes.
“Yes Ashley, but in the end, they accepted my choice, sure I haven’t been able to make a career in Music, and went back to school and took architecture but that was my choice, and I am in a band and music is still a big part of my life.” Uncle Brian explained.
“I love music too Uncle Brian, but I have never performed in front of a crowd,” I exclaimed.
“It’s easy Ashley, once you get out there the fear disappears fast once you see how much people are enjoying your music. If you want to find out first hand you can always join my band on stage for a song sometime.” Uncle Brian said with a grin.
“I don’t think, I am brave enough to do that,” I replied.
“Maybe not yet Ashley, but believe me anything is possible if you are willing to put your heart into it and never give up.” He said with a smile.
“Now Ashley, show me what else you can play, just play whatever comes to mind.”, Uncle Brian said with a smile.
I thought for a moment and started playing, and singing “Falling”, by Jennifer Needles.
My Uncle looked a bit surprised and he joined me as I continued playing the song on his guitar, as I played the song I felt really relaxed as I watched the look on my uncles face as we played together. When we finally came to the end of the song he smiled at me.
“I wasn’t expecting you to play a country song.” He said sitting down his guitar.
“Well, I have always loved country music, but then again I like a lot of other music too,” I explained.
“That was a good song choice by the way.” Uncle Brian said as I put his guitar back on its stand.
“Thanks, but I will admit I don’t sound all that manly singing it,” I replied,
“I will agree with you there Ashley, but that doesn’t really matter you sounded good singing it.” Uncle Brian said then looked at the time,
“We should join the others before they come looking for us.” He said with a smile and placed his arm around my shoulder as the two of us made our way upstairs.
After Uncle Brian and I joined the others in the kitchen, my Aunt Helen asked what had been keeping us. My uncle looked over at Aunt Helen.
“It turns out that Ashley is an excellent musician, and also has an amazing voice.” Uncle Brian said which made me feel slightly embarrassed.
“Really, that’s surprising Ashley hates singing.” Mom said looking across the table at me.
“It’s not that I hate singing mom, I just hate the way that I sound when I sing, I sound like a girl, It’s bad enough people are always mistaking me for one but why do I have to sound like one,” I said in a low voice.
After supper, I returned to my bedroom and climbed into bed. I had always been sensitive about my looks. Growing up I had always been smaller than most of the boys I attended school with and by the time I became a teenager, most of the guys that I went to school with started looking like men whereas I remained the same or if anything I started looking more feminine and as a result I felt more isolated and lonely than ever before.
What seemed to bother me the most, was watching everyone around me, hooking up and falling in love, while there seemed to be nobody that would be interested in me. Well other than guys like Adam who had mistaken me for a girl, but if they knew the truth they would run the opposite direction.
There were times that I thought, deep down I was really a girl inside, that was just looking for a chance to escape and wondered if I would be happier to just give up fighting and just accept that this was who I truly was inside as I slowly drifted off to sleep.
Later that night
I don’t know what’s going on with Ashley, Janet said to her sister and husband while they had a conversation at the table. He’s always been so sensitive about his looks.
“I think you are seeing him through the eyes of a mother,” Brian said taking a drink of his coffee.
“What do you mean Brian,” Janet said looking Brian in the eyes.
“I mean there may be something else going on with Ashley. Maybe it would be a good idea for him to see a therapist, Ashley clearly has issues that need to be addressed.”
“Brian might be right Janet, it does seem like Ashley is struggling with something and if he can’t talk to you about it may be talking to a therapist would help.” Helen chimed in.
“Maybe you’re both right, Ashley has been through so much and seeing someone couldn’t really hurt,” Janet said in a low voice.
“I think that maybe I need to have a talk with Ashley first though, maybe I can get him to open up,” Janet said calmly.
“That might be a good idea, Janet,” Helen said sympathetically.
“But to be honest, I really don’t know where to start, especially finding a good therapist?” Janet exclaimed.
“I can help you there,” Brian said looking across the table at Janet.
“Really?” Janet replied.
“I come from a family of Doctors remember, my sister Barb is a Psychiatrist. I am sure she would see Ashley. I could call her if you want Janet.” Brian said in a low voice.
“Anything you can do to help Brian would be appreciated,” Janet said truly grateful.
“I will call her, but I will let you talk to Ashley first, maybe he is ready to open up about what it is that’s bothering him,” Brian replied.
Janet made her way upstairs and into her son’s room and found him fast asleep, she could tell he must have been upset by the fact that he had already passed out considering that it was still quite early in the evening. She had known for a while now that Ashley was dealing with a lot of depression but up till now blamed it on the abuse that had been inflicted by the child's father.
She debated on whether or not to wake Ashley up, there was a part of her that wanted answers but there was another part of her, that didn’t want to disturb him. She thought for a minute then walked over to his bed.
“Ashley honey, wake up we need to talk,” Janet said reaching out and taking hold of him by the shoulders and shaking him gently.
Ashley slowly started to come around, “What mom?” he said in a low voice.
“We need to talk honey” Janet repeated to her son.
“What about mom, dad hasn’t found us has he?” Ashley said slowly sitting up.
“No honey, we need to talk about you. I know you’re keeping something from me, and I know it’s making you miserable.” Janet said sadly.
“Nothing’s wrong mom,” I said looking over at her.
“Stop lying to me Ashley, I know something is wrong and if there is something I can do to help make things better I will.” Mom said sounding upset.
“Mom, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s true I am not happy and maybe I am a little depressed with my life but that’s nothing to worry about. I am not planning on doing anything stupid.” I explained.
“Alright Ashley, can you at least tell me why you’re so unhappy?” mom pushed for an answer.
“I could site a thousand reasons mom, but I guess to put it simply I hate my life and everything about it. When I look in the mirror, it makes me sick because all I see looking back at me is a girl and I am not the only one that sees her mom.”, I paused and then continued.
“Megan, Amy and I went to the mall today and there was this guy, I knew he liked me, just by the way he was looking at me, he even gave me his number but it wasn’t me he was interested in mom, it was the girl that he thought I was. I know it’s wrong mom, but I like it that he fancied me I have never had anyone interested in me as a boy.”
“I am sure that is not true honey.”, mom said sympathetically.
“It’s true mom, girls are only interested being with men. When they see me they don’t see me as a guy, or at least not manly enough to be considered one and the guys see me as a sissy and tend to avoid me once they realize I am not a girl. I just think sometimes that I should have been born a girl at least my life would start to make sense.” I exclaimed.
“Why would you think being a girl would make everything alright Ashley?” Mom said frowning.
“I don’t know mom, but think about it have I ever really fit in as a guy. I have never been interested in sports, fighting or really anything male-oriented why do you think most of my friends have been girls, it’s because I have always felt more comfortable around them and to be honest I am not attracted to girls at all but guys, on the other hand, I started noticing them when I turned eleven. That was about the same time as Megan.” I explained.
“Baby, I think that we need to get you in to see a therapist, this is not something that is just going to go away if anything it’s going to get a lot worse,” Mom exclaimed.
“I’m not sick mom” I replied.
“Baby, I don’t think you are sick but I do think you are confused and need to figure out who you want to be and I need to know if I have a son or daughter.” Mom said with a smile.
“Mom. are you saying that if I decided that I wanted to become a girl you would support me?” I asked somewhat surprised.
“No honey, what I am saying is you are either my son or daughter, it’s up to you to figure out, but if you’re going to do this you are going to need the help of a therapist, and if the therapist thinks becoming a girl is best for you honey, you will have my blessing.” Mom said calmly.
“I will see a therapist mom,” I said reaching out and giving her a hug.
“Mom, I wanted to tell you but I was afraid how you would react,” I said sadly.
“I know honey, but it's out in the open and we will deal with it.”, mom said returning my hug.
Mom and I talked for a while longer, and I asked her to keep our conversation between the two of us but reluctantly agree that Uncle Brian needed to know the details. So he could explain what was going on to his sister Barb who was most likely going to be my therapist.
Although I didn’t want my secret getting out just yet I had no choice but to trust him. I still wasn’t sure how to broach the subject to Megan and Amy. When it came to Megan, I wasn’t very worried, she was my sister and she might be shocked but she would come around but Amy didn’t really know me and I had no idea how she would react.
When it came to my Uncle and Aunt only time would tell if they were cool with it or not. The only certainty was that Mom and Megan would stand by me no matter what choice I made.
Chapter 4
I tried going back to bed but I was honestly too worked up after talking to my mother, I couldn’t sleep even if I wanted to so I picked up the book I had been reading earlier in the day and continued on from where I had left off.
It was a good book, even though it was a romantic comedy and I found myself falling for the male lead in the story and wondered if Adam was anything like him and then remember that Adam had given me his number. I was tempted to call him but realized that wasn’t really a good idea. He seemed like a nice guy and didn’t need me messing with his head.
As I was thinking I heard a knock on my door and then heard Megan’s voice, “Ashley are you up?”
“Yes, Megan you can come up,” I replied.
“Hey Ashley, I just wanted to check on you, I was worried after what happened at supper, and you have been up here most of the night,” Megan said sounding worried.
I patted my hand on the bed telling her to have a seat, once she was seated I looked over at her, “I have been dealing with a lot of stuff lately, besides the move and to be honest it’s something that is not easy for me to talk about but I told mom tonight and I feel a little better now that she knows.” I said then looked over at her.
“Listen, Megan, what I am about to tell you has to be kept a secret, at least for now. Mom knows and so does Uncle Brian, the only reason he knows, his sister is a therapist and he's going to try to get me in to see her.” I explained.”
“Why would you need to see a therapist, you’re not crazy or anything?” Megan said sounding worried.
“Sometimes I think that I might be going crazy, but that’s not the reason Megan. The truth of the matter is there’s a part of me that thinks I should have been born a girl. I have always felt this way but I am only really coming to terms with it now.” I explained to her.
“Shit, that’s a lot to take in,” Megan exclaimed.
“I know Megan, Mom is still trying to wrap her head around it also,” I replied.
“So do you know what you are going to do Ashley?”
“Honestly Megan, I have no idea the only thing I know is that the more I think about becoming a girl, the more sense it makes, but I need to see a specialist first,” I explained.
“Well, I can’t really say I understand but whatever you choose I will support you, Ashley, I have one question I have noticed from time to time things missing or being misplaced did you have something to do with that?” Megan said with a smile.
“Yes, I have borrowed a few things now and then Megan, I am sorry but sometimes when I feel depressed it makes me feel better, I really don’t know why but it does,” I said sadly.
“It’s alright Ashley, I could tell you weren’t doing anything perverted with them, there were no stains or anything on them, but I am kind of anal when it comes to my things and it was pretty easy to tell that someone had been going through my dresser and closet, but to be honest I wasn’t really sure how to bring the topic up,” Megan said with a grin.
“So how did Mom react when you told her?” Megan asked.
“Better than I thought she would, she was surprised, but also very understanding, something I wasn’t really expecting,” I said with a grin.
“That’s good to hear Ashley, and whatever you chose I will do my best to help.”
“Thanks, Megan, I really appreciate it.”
“So tell me Ashley, has it only been the clothes or have you tried my makeup too?”
“I have only tried on your clothes, not that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind, but there were two reasons I didn’t. The first reason being I didn’t think I had the time to remove it. If either you or mom came home early. The second reason was, it's not a good idea to share makeup.” I explained.
“Well if you wanted to try it sometime Ashley, the two of us could always go to the mall and buy your own makeup and I can teach you how to do your own makeup,” Megan said grinning.
“I would like that Megan, but are you sure you really want to do your brother's makeup?”
“No, I don’t want to do my Brothers makeup, but I have no problem helping my little sister learn to do hers,” Megan said with a smile.
“I love you, sis,” I said reaching over and giving her a hug.
“I love you too Ashley.” She said returning the embrace.
Megan and I stayed up pretty late and the two of us talked to one another like we had never talked before. Until this moment we had been brother and sister, but things were different now. The two of us had somehow become closer. Maybe it was coming out to her and telling her the truth or maybe it was that the fact the two of us were now sisters.
It was 7 am when I finally came around, it had been a late night for me, after telling mom and Megan the truth. It was somewhere around 3 am when I finally fell asleep. I slowly pulled myself out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes and made my way downstairs and into the bathroom. After relieving myself I ran a hot shower and climbed inside.
It felt good as the hot water cascaded down onto my body, I honestly preferred baths but since there was so many of us sharing the bathroom showers were more practical. As the water rained down on me my thoughts went back to the conversation I had last night with my mom and the possibility that I could transition and become a woman.
Until now it was just a thought, sure I had thought about it and what it would be like to live as a girl. There was always a part of me that believed deep down if I could, maybe I would finally be happy, but honestly would changing my gender fix a lifetime of hurt, I seriously doubted it.
“are you almost done in there?” I heard Amy’s voice calling from outside the bathroom door.
“Yeah, just give me a sec, and I will be right out,” I yelled loud enough that she could hear me.
I didn’t bother changing, I just wrapped myself in a towel, making sure it was snug, grabbed my clothes and exited the bathroom and found Amy and Megan both waiting in line.
“It’s all yours”, I said slipping past Amy and made my way back to my bedroom.
Once inside, I dropped the towel to the floor and started getting dressed. I was surprised to find a small box sitting on top of my dresser with a note on top, “for my sweet little sister”, I smiled knowing Megan must have brought it up here while I was in the shower. When I opened the box inside was a pair of pink panties with white stripes and a matching pink bra.
They were not very fancy but I didn’t care as I slipped into them making sure to tuck the nasty worm between my legs before slipping into my new jeans I had bought the other day. They were also girl’s jeans and I know that it was just in my mind but I could swear they fit me better now that I was wearing panties with them.
As I looked down the only thing that was missing was breasts, if I had breasts there would be no doubt if someone saw me that I was a girl. I wanted to put on the bra too but it would be easily recognized by Amy and Aunt Helen unless I decided to wear layers to hide it. There would be another chance for me to wear it. I thought to myself as I took the bra and placed it
in
my dresser making sure to cover it up.
I was lucky that the dresser had a large mirror attached, so I spent the next 10 minutes combing out and styling my hair. When I finished doing my hair, I thought to myself, it looked a little too feminine but there wasn’t really much I could do with it other than cut it and that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
I thought to myself as I pulled my tank top over my head and down my torso and then slipped on my socks and sneakers. It was time to face another day I thought to myself as I exited my bedroom and made my way downstairs and into the kitchen.
When I arrived in the kitchen I found mom and Aunt Helen sitting at the table. They were having a cup of coffee. As I entered the two of them became quiet and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that they were talking about me. I looked over at mom who had a guilty look on her face and knew she had already told Aunt Helen everything.
“I guess, keeping it between the two of us was too much to ask. I said then turned around and exited the kitchen, I couldn’t look at her right now, I was so angry she promised and as soon as my back was turned started telling everyone.
“
Wait
honey", mom said looking upset. I turned to face her, “I don’t want to talk to you right now mom, you come to me, saying you need me to tell you what is going on, knowing full well how hard it was for me to open up to you. Then you go out and tell everyone, I can’t deal with this right now. I said walking out of the door and exiting the house.
I couldn’t believe mom had promised to keep it between us, and as soon as my back was turned she had already told my Aunt, I thought to myself as I fought back the tears. I just kept walking and eventually came to the trail that I had taken yesterday with Megan and Amy, I followed the trail until I reached the mall. There really wasn’t anywhere else I could go being new to Littleton and only knew a few places.
As I looked around I saw the Starbucks and decided that was as good a place to go as anywhere and made my way over and ordered a Caramel Mocha Frappuccino and then found a seat outside, As I took my phone out of my pocket I could see 5 messages from Megan and even a couple from Amy. I sent a quick reply to both
saying
I just wanted to be alone and then put the phone on do not disturb, Megan always took moms side anyway I thought to myself.
Meanwhile back home.
You did what mom, Ashley asked you to keep it between the two of you. He finally opened up and trusted you and the first thing you did was tell Aunt Helen. Sorry, Aunt Helen, it’s nothing against you but Ashley has a real hard time trusting people and that includes family. The fact that he finally opened up to us meant he was finally starting to come out of his shell, this has likely pushed him back into his shell.
“I understand, but what is done is done, we need to find Ashley, do either of you have any idea where he might have gone?” Aunt Helen said aloud.
“The mall is the only place I can think of, I took Megan and him there yesterday. I pointed out some places along the way but if he’s anywhere I would put my money on the mall.” Amy replied.
“I am going to the mall and see if he’s there,” Megan said somewhat worried.
“I will go with you Megan and maybe you can tell me what’s going on,” Amy said frowning.
“Sorry Amy, unlike my mother I keep my promises,” Megan exclaimed.
“I am sorry, you're right I should have kept my mouth shut,” Janet said sadly.
“Yes, mom. you should have, Ashley was going to explain things himself when he was ready, instead, everything came out before he was ready, but anyway I am out of here.” Megan exclaimed and then Amy and her left for the mall.
Chapter 5
I took a seat on the deck and thankfully there weren't too many people there, I just wanted to be left alone until I could figure out what to do next. My solitude didn’t last long when I heard someone calling my name when I turned my head to see who it was. There was Adam with a big smile.
“I thought that was you, Ashley, so why is a pretty girl like you sitting here all alone?” he asked leaning against the railing.
Not really wanting to get into it, I just looked up at him, “I had a fight with my mom and I needed to get away and I don’t really know anywhere else I could have gone.”
“I have been there”, he said with a smile.
I thought to myself, yeah right Adam but I could see he was just trying to cheer me up.
“Ashley, sitting here by yourself isn’t going to make much of a difference, but I do have a solution if you’re interested?” Adam said with a big smile.
“So what is your solution?” I said almost afraid to hear the answer.
“It’s a secret, you will have to come with me to find out.” He said with a grin.
“this better not involve doing the mattress mambo”, I said shaking my head.
“No Ashley, it’s totally innocent, but I have to admit your idea sounds like a lot more fun,” Adam said in between laughs.
“Let me grab a coffee and we can get out of here,” Adam said then made his way inside.
I knew that I shouldn’t be encouraging this but at the moment I just didn’t seem to care. I was pissed off and I needed some sort of distraction and it wasn’t like Adam was taking me on a date or anything, it was just two friends hanging out, besides what harm could it cause.
After Adam returned the two of us headed out together, after walking for about 10 minutes, I turned to him, “So where is this magical place of yours that is supposed to take away all of my troubles.” I said with a smile.
“You’re looking at it Ashley”, Adam said with a big smile.
“You have to be freaking kidding me, mini golf is the answer to all of my problems,” I said sarcastically.
“No Ashley, but it’s guaranteed to take your mind off of them for a bit,” Adam said laughing
I couldn’t help but laugh,” alright Adam but you’re paying.” I said with a smile.
Amy and Megan arrived at the mall, their first stop was the Starbucks in the food court, but there was no sign of Ashley anywhere. Amy was able to find out from the barista that she had served a girl earlier that matched their description, but she hadn’t seen a boy.
Megan turned to Amy, “That was Ashley she was describing, he’s always getting mistaken for a girl.” Megan explained.
“I can see why he needs a haircut bad.”, Amy said with a smile.
“Don’t be telling him that, he loves his long hair, mom has been after him for years to cut it,” Megan explained.
“So where now?” asked Megan.
“He couldn’t have gone far, he doesn’t know the area and would get lost pretty quickly without a guide,” Amy said thinking aloud.
“Let's check out the HMV, maybe he went there to check out some cd’s,” Amy suggested.
A few minutes later Megan and Amy arrived at HMV, there were a lot of people in the store itself but Ashley was nowhere to be seen. “Damn where is he?” Megan said frowning.
“We could try the library? Is that somewhere he might go?” asked Amy.
“Maybe, he does read a lot,” Megan exclaimed as the two of them headed towards the exit.
It had been years since I played mini golf, and I honestly sucked. Adam was gracious enough though not to rub my face in it.
“So how about you tell me what got you so upset Ashley,” Adam said as he hit the ball.
‘Have you ever told someone a secret about yourself, that you didn’t want anyone else to know?” I said hitting the ball and missing the target.
“Sure, I guess it’s happened once or twice,” Adam said looking over at me.
“I told my mom something very personal and I caught her telling my Aunt this morning. I was going to explain things myself once I had a chance to work things out on my own.” I explained.
“You have a right to be mad especially if she promised you she was going to keep it between the two of you. So if this secret gets out how much trouble is it going to cause you?” Adam said looking over at me.
“I honestly don’t know Adam, I just wanted to deal with things on my terms, now everything is out in the open and I wish that I had never opened my mouth in the first place,” I said sadly.
“Is it really that bad, them knowing Ashley?” Adam asked looking concerned.
“Let me run something by you, Adam, say you had a medical condition that kept you from being able to perform sexually and for the hell of it you told a friend and they told everyone at school all about your problem. How would you feel?” I explained to him.
“It would be really embarrassing, and I would want to beat the living hell out of him for telling everyone,” Adam said finally understanding where I was coming from.
“Well, I have a situation something like that and will most likely need surgery to correct the problem. I didn’t mind my family knowing, but there was no need for anyone else to know about it.” I said sadly.
“I see your point, are you going to be alright”, Adam said looking concerned.
“Yeah, I will be fine Adam, I still have quite some ways to go before anything is said and done.”
“Well, if you need anything or you just need someone to talk to you have my number Ashley, don’t be afraid to use it,” Adam said with a smile.
“Thanks, Adam, you never know I may take you up on that offer.”, I said with a smile then took a swing with my club and watched as the ball rolled straight into the hole.”
“I guess 5 times is the charm,” Adam said laughing.
“Very funny Adam, I know one thing that I couldn't possibly miss with this and took a step towards him and watched him start to back away with his hands up saying stop.” Which in the end caused both of us to break down into a bout of laughter.
After spending some time with Adam, I had to admit that being with him did make me feel better and playing mini golf wasn’t that bad either. I decided it was time to let the outside world back in and switched off the do not disturb on my phone to allow messages.
Once the phone was open for the messages I saw a few more from Megan and Amy.
“Where are you sis I am at the mall are you here?”
“Please answer Ashley, I am worried? “
“I am alright Megan; Adam is with me.” I texted back.
Megan turned to Amy, “He’s alright, Adam is with him right now.”
“Where are you?” Megan texted.
“Playing mini golf” I explained.
“He’s playing mini golf, do you know where that is Amy,” Megan said looking at her cousin.
“Yeah it's not far, tell him to stay put and we will be there in 10 minutes,” Amy replied.
“Stay put, were on our way to you Ashley.”
“I guess Megan and Amy are on their way here, they have been looking for me. We should head over to the entrance.” I explained to Adam.
Adam and I made our way over to the entrance and waited for Megan and Amy to arrive, as we waited he turned to me, “You know Ashley, I know what happened really hurt, but try not to let it get to you. Anyone that really cares about you, is going to understand and those who don’t well their not worth having in your life.”
“you're really a good guy Adam, thanks for everything,” I said with a smile.
“It was my pleasure, Ashley, but before they come and take you away from me, do you think I could have your number?” he said with a smile.
“I don’t have a number for Littleton yet, but you can text me for now”, I said then took out my phone and sent him a text.
“There you have my number,” I said with a grin.
“Great, maybe I can talk you into a movie next,” Adam said with a big smile.
“Maybe, we will see,” I said a bit unsure.
I really did like Adam and I didn’t want to string him along and then there was the fact that he thought that I was a girl. I know that I should have been honest with him from the start but I honestly loved the attention and I loved how it felt to be wanted by someone.
Maybe it was selfish on my part, but I was tired of being alone, and I wanted more than anything for someone to love me for who I was inside and someone I could love back.
Adam and I talked for a bit longer before we saw Megan and Amy walking towards us. The two of us walked over to meet them.
“Well I will leave you now Ashley”, Adam said as we reached my sister and cousin, “I will message you tonight, “he said then reached over and gave me a hug.
“Talk to you tonight Adam, and thanks again,” I said as I watched him walk away.
Megan and Amy were both surprised as they witnessed the exchange between the two of us. “What haven’t you seen two people hug before I said and started walking away.”
End of part one to be continued in part 2
Synopsis: Ashley Roberts was terribly abused by his father. Until one-day things got out of hand and the police were called. Ashley's father was sentenced to a year in Jail. six months later his father was released and came looking for his family. Ashley's mother Janet decided the safest course of action for her family was to move to Littleton, Colorado. She had a sister there and thought a new start would be best for her children, far away from her abusive husband. Since moving to Littleton a lot has changed in my life and also a lot of confusion and uncertainty about what laid ahead.
Chapter 6
I had a good time with Adam, and I had to admit I felt better after the two of us talked. When Megan and Amy arrive Adam and I said our goodbyes, I wasn't expecting the hug that he gave me.
There was a part of me that felt that I should be ashamed but then there was another part that felt safe and secure in his arms. I had never really felt like this before and found myself enjoying how it felt as he held me.
After Adam left Megan and Amy came over, I could tell by the look on their faces they had seen the exchange that took place between Adam and me. Megan looked like she was trying to figure out what to say, and I said the only thing I could think of.
"Haven't you ever seen two people hug.", It was blunt but straight to the point and I continued walking straight past them.
"Do you mind telling me why you haven't answered my texts until now Ashley, I have been worried sick, Amy and I have been looking for you for the last couple of hours," Megan asked.
"I was pissed off, and thought you would take mom's side like always," I said calmly.
"Well your wrong Ashley, I was pissed off at mom when I found out what she did. It wasn't her place to tell anyone?" Megan said in frustration.
"Amy, did my mom blab it to you too?" I said looking over at her.
"I honestly have no idea what is going on here, I just came because Megan needed someone to help find you," Amy said calmly.
"Maybe you should tell her Ashley, your secret is already out thanks to mom, and Amy is going to find out eventually, at least this way you have control of how it comes out," Megan explained.
I looked at Megan, "You might be right" I said in a calm voice and then looked over at Amy.
"I wanted to wait and get to know you better before telling you this but since your mother already knows, as well as your father you might as well know also," I said with a nervous tone.
"You can tell me, Ashley I am not going to judge you or anything," Amy replied.
The three of us took a seat on one of the empty benches, and I was quiet for a bit as I tried to figure out how best to explain everything,
"You would have found out sooner or later, I am going to be seeing your Aunt Barbara. I needed a therapist, and your father recommended her. You may think seeing your Aunt makes sense considering my background and it does." I paused then continued
"The reason I want to see her is that I have been thinking about transitioning from male too female," I said in a low voice as I looked Amy straight in the eyes.
"This is a very sensitive subject for me and that was why I wanted to be the one to bring the subject up," I explained to Amy.
"Wow, so this is more than just needing a haircut to fix the problem," Amy said taking in everything I had just said.
"Even with short hair, I was still always being mistaken for a girl Amy and if I am to be completely honest, I have never really been much of a guy." I paused and then continued.
"Most of the time I don't even bother correcting people anymore because there's a part of me that likes being thought of as a girl, especially when a guy is interested in me," I said in a low voice to Amy.
"Shit Ashley, I had no idea," Amy explained.
"Why would you, we barely know one another, but I think eventually given enough time you would have noticed something about me was off," I exclaimed.
"Well, I already thought you might be gay, but I realize now there's a lot more to it. So are you going to have the operation?" Amy asked me.
"I don't know yet Amy, this is something that doesn't happen overnight, and I will likely have to see a therapist for a while before she signs off on it and I can start treatment. Mom says she will approve treatment depending on what the doctor has to say, so at least I have that going for me." I explained.
"So, Ashley how do you see yourself right now, as a man or woman?" Amy asked.
"I guess that I see myself as a woman, for the most part, being a guy has always been a struggle for me. It was hard trying to fit in with other guys because I have always been different. I have never been considered the biggest or strongest amongst my peers." I said sadly and then continued.
"I have never really been interested in girls at least sexually and lastly I have never had any shared interests with guys, girls, on the other hand, I have always felt a connection too. I was into most of the same things as them and it was never a struggle. I could just be myself and not have to put on an act." I said in a low voice that only the three of us could hear.
"A lot of this had to do with our father Amy, he pushed Ashley really hard and tried to force him to become someone he wasn't and when Ashley didn't measure up dad beat him. Dad wanted the perfect son, someone he could bring up to be just like him." Megan explained.
"That really sucks, but I am fine with you becoming a girl Ashley if that is what you really want and unlike your mother, I will keep your secret and help you any way I can," Amy said reaching over and giving me a hug.
"Thanks, Amy I will need all the help I can get," I said as the two of us hugged one another.
"No, that is settled, we need to discuss the girl code Ashley," Megan exclaimed.
"The first rule, you never run off without letting someone know where you're going, or who you're with. That way we don't have to put together a search party." Megan said with a smile.
"The second rule if you're upset then find someone you trust and talk it out. like Megan and I, " Amy exclaimed
“and lastly rule three, never steal another girls man,", Megan said with a big smile.
"Alright, I think that I got it," I said shaking my head.
"Good just remember it, how about a coffee it's my treat, Ashley," Amy said with a smile.
"Sounds good, I would love a caramel mocha Frappuccino," I said with a smile.
"That sounds good, I think that I will have the same," Megan said looking over at Amy.
The three of us made our way back over to the mall, and like before I found us a table outside on the deck, and waited for Amy and Megan to join me.
I felt better after talking with Adam and explaining everything to Amy also seemed to help and in the end. I knew that I had her support which I knew was something that I was going to need in the days ahead. There was no doubt that there were going to be hard times ahead but I also knew that I would have to deal with them.
Chapter 7
Megan and Amy joined me about 10 minutes later, there had been quite a lineup at Starbucks. So I wasn't surprised how long it took for them to join me at our table. Like always my caramel mocha Frappuccino was awesome.
"So tell me, Ashley, this whole situation must have been going on for a while, have you ever dressed or been out dressed as a girl?" Amy asked looking really interested in my answer.
"Yes and no, I have borrowed some of Megan's clothes and wore them at home, but never outside well until recently. The jeans I am wearing came from the women's department at Walmart, and Megan left me a gift, it was a bra and panty set, I am wearing the panties now." I explained to her.
"Really, your mother actually lets you buy jeans from the women's section," Amy said giggling.
"She doesn't know, Ashley slipped them in at the last minute.", Megan said with a grin.
"They look good on you Ashley, but couldn't you have just bought some in the men's department. They make similar jeans for guys." Amy exclaimed.
"Have you really looked at me Amy, most of the jeans in the men's department, wouldn't fit me even with a belt. Usually to find something that fits I have to go to the boy's department, and I was tired of dressing like a little kid, the jeans fit me perfectly and their really comfortable." I explained.
"Yeah, I guess that I can see your point, so what about makeup have you ever tried playing around with it," Amy exclaimed.
"Not really, I was always scared of getting caught, wearing Megan's clothes was dangerous enough especially if dad came home, at least I had a chance of changing clothes fast but with makeup, it would have taken too long to remove it," I explained to Amy.
"I take it your father wouldn't have approved", Amy said in a low voice.
"Our father would beat the crap out of Ashley if he found out that he was dressing as a girl. You're lucky you have a father that is understanding ours was really abusive and not very open to anything but his own views." Megan said in a low voice.
"I am glad that I never met him, he doesn't seem like a very nice person.". Amy replied.
Meanwhile back home
Janet was sitting talking with her sister Helen, she had just finished explaining to Brian what had happened and he was not very happy Janet had not kept her promise to Ashley.
"Janet do you have any idea what you just did, Ashley finely opened up to you with the biggest secret of his life and asked you to keep it and as soon as you had a chance you told Helen." Brian paused and then continued.
"I know this doesn't seem like a big deal to you but it means a hell of a lot to Ashley. If anything you managed to build a barrier between the two of you and I doubt he will come to you again, if something is wrong, god what were you thinking." Brian said in frustration.
"God, I know that I screwed up but what can I do to fix this," Janet said in tears.
"I am afraid there is nothing you can do now Janet. The damage is done, you're just going to have to rebuild his trust and that is not going to happen overnight. Well, at least Barb is going to take him as a patient hopefully she will have some ideas." Brian said softly.
"God I sure hope so, I really screwed up here, I was really surprised though, with Megan's reaction, I didn't expect her to get so mad, she has never talked to me like that before. I think she already knew about Ashley. She went full out into protective mode, that has never happened with her and Ashley before." Janet said wiping the tears from her eyes.
"He must have already told Megan, that is the only thing that makes sense," Helen said joining in the conversation.
"You may be right, but he told me that he wasn't ready to tell her," Janet exclaimed.
"He could have changed his mind, either way, I would give Ashley some space, when he's ready to talk to you he will come to you," Brian exclaimed.
"I am going to take him to see Barbara tonight, I think he needs someone outside the family to talk to right now," Brian said looking across the table at Janet.
"You don't have to Brian, he’s my son, I should take him," Janet replied.
"Janet, I think you should let Brian handle this, Ashley isn't going to be as receptive if the offer comes from you," Helen said looking across the table at her sister.
"Maybe you're right? I am sorry for dropping all this on you guys." Janet said still fighting the tears.
"Ashley is family and part of being a family is being there for one another.", Brian said with a grin.
We now return to Ashley
Megan, Amy and I had a good talk over coffee at Starbucks, Amy seemed to be quite accepting of me. I could see now that I had really nothing to worry about with her knowing my secret she generally seemed to want to help me any way she could. Although I still believe that I had a right to be scared because not everyone would be as accepting.
The walk home didn't take us very long, and we arrived home close to supper time. There was the smell of fried chicken coming from the kitchen. I wasn't feeling very social but I joined everyone in the kitchen, mom tried to talk to me but I wasn't ready to talk to her, and politely ignored her.
After supper, I returned to my bedroom I was sitting on my bed playing my guitar for about an hour when I heard a knocking coming from downstairs and yelled who is it.
"It's me, I heard the answer and I knew from the sound that it was Uncle Brian.
"come on up", I said putting down the guitar.
"How are you doing son?" he said calmly.
"I am a little better now," I said frowning.
"Ashley, just so you know I don't agree with what your mother did and I had a long talk with her about keeping promises. I talked to my sister Barbara, she's a psychiatrist and she’s willing to take you on as a patient." Brian explained.
"So she already knows about me?" I asked him.
"Yes, I called her earlier today after everything went down with your mother and she is willing to see you tonight Ashley if you are willing to go that is?" Brian said with a smile.
"Can you take me, I am not ready to deal with my mother," I said frowning.
"I was already planning on taking you myself." He said with a grin.
"If that is the case I will go," I said with a smile.
"Good, we leave in about an hour, Ashley." He said then started walking towards the door.
"Uncle Brian, do you think I am crazy for wanting to do this?" I said sadly.
"Not at all Ashley, I think you're really brave actually, and to be honest I have a hard time really seeing you as a boy, maybe a haircut would help but that's really doubtful. You just don't really seem like any boy I have ever known," Brian said in a low voice.
"So, if I were to become a girl you wouldn't have a problem with it?" I asked nervously.
"No, Ashley, you are still family it doesn't matter to me if I have a nephew or a niece, I just want you to do whatever makes you happy." Uncle Brian said just before he left my room.
After my uncle left I thought to myself maybe I can do this, everyone seems pretty cool about it and I honestly felt deep down I was already as much a girl as Megan and Amy. I just needed a little bit of work.
Well maybe not a little bit more like a whole lot but I honestly felt becoming a girl was something I really needed to do if I was ever going to find any kind of happiness. I thought to myself as I picked up my guitar and started playing and singing, "Skyscraper", By. Demi Lovato.
After finishing the song, I put my guitar away and went over and booted up my laptop. I took a look at my email and for the most part, all I found was a bunch of junk mail which I promptly deleted. Unlike my sister Megan, I wasn't very popular and only had a few contacts.
I played around online for a bit, and then noticed the time and shut down the computer and started getting ready for my appointment with Barbara.
After taking a few minutes to get ready I made my way downstairs and into the living room Uncle Brian was already waiting for me as I entered the room.
"Ready Ashley," he said with a smile.
"I guess, I am as ready as I will ever be," I said with a slight frown.
"A little nervous are we Ashley?" he asked me.
"Just a bit, I have never had to talk about this with anyone until now.", I said as the two of us made our way outside and over to Uncle Brian's truck.
"You will be alright Ashley, Barb is really good at her job, believe me, the two of you will get along great and before long you will be telling her everything," Brian said with a grin as he unlocked his truck and the two of us climbed inside.
The drive to Barbara's house took us almost an hour but eventually Uncle Brian and I arrived and pulled into her driveway. She had a really nice house but considering her profession there was really no reason why she couldn't afford it.
Once Uncle Brian parked the car the two of us made our way over to the front door and rang the buzzer and waited for a few minutes and were met by a young woman who looked to be in her early 40's who I assumed was Brian's sister Barbara.
"Hey Brian It's good to see you", the woman said with a big smile and gave him a hug.
"You must be Ashley It's nice to meet you, Brian has told me all about you, why don't we go inside Ashley and the two of us can have a little talk."
"I am sure Brian can find something to do to keep busy", Barb said with a grin
Once inside Barb turned to me, "is there anything that I can get you, there some diet coke in the fridge, and there is coffee on in the kitchen." Barb said with a smile.
"Coke sounds good thanks," I said with a smile.
"I will show you where my office is and you can make yourself comfortable, and then I will get you something to drink," Barb said and then led me to a large den that had been converted into an office she then left to get me a coke.
Her office was very nicely decorated, and also very comfortable. I wondered if she saw other patients here besides me.
Barb returned a few minutes later with a couple glasses of coke and a plate full of chocolate chip cookies that looked like they were homemade and not store bought.
After taking a sip of my pop I turned to her, "So how do we do this?"
"My job is to help you sort out your feelings Ashley. You can tell me anything you want and it will stay between the two of us." Barb explained.
"Alright that's fair, so what has my Uncle told you about me so far?"
"He had told me that you have been having issues pertaining to your gender, that is really all
"I know about you at the moment Ashley. Do you want to talk about it?"
"I don't look at it as issues, I have always been different than other guys. I have never really fit in with them, I used to try to be like the boys I knew from school but it was honestly a waste of time."
"Why would you say it was a waste of time?" Barb asked.
"Tell me something, if you saw me at the mall and you didn't know who I was would you think I was a boy or girl," I said looking across at her.
"Well honestly, if I didn't know I would have thought you were a girl, mostly because of your long blonde hair and your build," Barb exclaimed.
"That's an honest answer, and that is what most people see. It's been like this for as long as I can remember. I gave up on correcting people it was more hassle then it was worth and as time went on though things started getting worse, when puberty hit I was around eleven, instead of liking girls like most guys do I found myself attracted to guys." I explained.
"You say you were around 11 years old?" Barb said looking me in the eyes.
"Yes, I had just turned eleven because things for me started to change for me after that. My father didn't like how I was developing and put me on an exercise program."
"He forced me to do all kinds of exercises, he thought if I worked out a lot eventually I would build enough muscle mass that I could join the football team. He wanted me to be just like him the only problem was nothing worked. The only thing the exercises did was get me in shape and helped me tone up." I said calmly.
"There were no other changes Ashley?"
"Not that I could see anyway, why?" I said looking over at her.
"It's just that something you are telling me doesn't make sense," Barb said thinking aloud.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"Well, to start most guys don't start puberty till around 14 years old whereas girls start between 8 years old till 13 and your 16 now, you should be well into male puberty by now, tell me something Ashley do you shave?"
"No, I have never really needed to shave, like I said I have never been like a normal guy," I replied.
"I normally don't ask a patient to undress, in this case, I think that I really should, do mind if I do a little examination on you Ashley," Barb said looking me in the eyes.
"I guess, it would be alright", I said and stood up then started undressing.
After about 10 minutes of poking and prodding, Barb said I could get dressed, she then left me and went and got my Uncle and he returned to her office with her.
"Can you tell me what is going on?" I asked her
"Your body isn't completely male Ashley, you have elements of both male and female at least that is what it looks like from an outside exam. You have signs of breast development, and you have a partially developed woman's pelvis. " Barb paused and then continued.
"The Female pelvis is larger and wider than males. Whereas a male pelvis is taller and narrow. This is why your hips are large compared to other guys." Barb explained.
"Does this mean that I am really a girl and something inside me is messed up?" I said still in shock.
"Maybe, If I was to make a guess I would say yes, but I think the first thing that we need to have done is get you into a specialist that can give you a full examination, inside and out. It's the only way we're going to know what is actually going on inside you Ashley. "
"I will make a couple of calls and arrange for you to see someone that can help straighten out this mess," Barb said in a calm voice.
"Ashley, I still think that you and I should continue our appointments, no matter what happens you are going to have issues that will need to be addressed. The first issue, we need to address though is what are your plans, giving your condition it's pretty much going to be your choice if you want to remain a boy or complete the transition and become a girl?" Barb explained.
"Really, I thought he needed to go through some kind of process?" Uncle Brian said joining in the conversation.
"There is still a process, Brian but where that he has elements of both sexes, he has more options available to him," Barb explained.
"Well. Giving a choice I would rather complete the process and become a girl." I exclaimed.
"I think that is the best option also considering the amount of feminization that has already taken place," Barb exclaimed.
"So how does this work?" I asked.
"Well first, you will be starting school soon, and I think it would be easier for you to attend as a girl, if you start as a boy it will likely be hard for you to transition later," Barb explained.
"Yeah that makes sense the last thing I want is the other students knowing what I am doing, it would make me a target for every bully at school," I said in a low voice.
"I can write you up a letter to bring to school that will explain what is going on with you medically. That shouldn't be a problem and it will exempt you from attending physical education." Barb explained.
"That sounds good, but I think someone will need to explain this to my mother unless she hears it from you she isn't going to sign off on any of this."
"I will call her tonight and explain everything to her Ashley and I will call when I have everything arranged for you to see a specialist."
Chapter 8
Uncle Brian and Barb talked for another hour, about me, as for myself I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders as I sat back and ate some cookies and drank another can of Diet Coke.
I didn't really care about their conversation as far as I was concerned I had already made my choice and it would only be a matter of time before I was truly complete.
I would no longer have to feel guilty for wanting to be a girl because I was already partially female, and once I had the surgery my body would finally match my mind
The drive home I was pretty much overjoyed, and turned to Uncle Brian, "Thank you for helping me Uncle Brian I have never really liked men, especially father figures, my dad ruined that for me but you stood up for me and even tried to help." I said sadly
"I guess what I am saying is you showed me that there are some men out there that I can trust."
"You're welcome Ashley, I am glad I could help but it's not over yet you still have a long road ahead of you." He said with a smile.
"I know Uncle Brian, but that's fine at least I no eventually it will happen."
"So do you think when they change my birth certificate they will give me a discount because all they have to do is change the "M" to an "F", "I said laughing.
"I seriously doubt it; it's the government were dealing with," Brian said laughing himself.
"Well, it's worth a try," I said grinning.
"So how are you going to do this, slowly go into girl mode or go full on?" Brian asked me.
"Honestly I have no idea, there is a part of me that wants to go full out, but I am not really sure how mom is going to deal with it," I said calmly.
"I think you need to follow your heart Ashley, you have lived all your life as a boy and it didn't feel right did it?" Uncle Brian asked.
"Not really, but I thought I was just messed up inside mentally, but it turns out I was actually right, in a roundabout way," I said frowning.
"I just can't believe nobody has caught this until now. You must have seen doctors growing up." Uncle Brian exclaimed.
"If it wasn't an emergency, mom took care of it and the few times I had to see a doctor there was never really an examination, it was mostly for cuts and sprains. Dad wasn't one for spending money needlessly." I explained.
"The more I hear about that man, the less I like him," Brian said looking across at me.
"You might not like him, me I wish he was dead," I said completely serious,
"That's a little harsh", Uncle Brian said.
"Years of abuse does that to you," I said firmly.
"I am not going to downplay what happened to you Ashley, but if you ever want to talk about it I am willing to listen." Uncle Brian said looking over at me.
"Thanks, Uncle Brian", I said grinning.
"Your, welcome Ashley," he said with a smile.
We drove in silence for a while, I think both of us had a lot on our minds. I know that I sure did my whole life had been turned upside down in a matter of an hour.
"Uncle Brian, what has my mother told you about why we moved to Littleton?"
"She said, she was leaving an abusive relationship and needing a new start, why Ashley?"
"Well that is partially true, she was leaving an abusive relationship, but that had ended a long time ago, the last time I saw him he was drunk and beat me really bad. Mom stepped in and tried to stop him and he beat her for interfering.", I paused and then continued
"Eventually, our neighbors called the police and he was arrested and charged with 2 counts of domestic abuse.
The police were the ones that pressed the charges they were afraid that mom wouldn't." I explained.
"I spent a week in the hospital with a broken nose, concussion, and two broken ribs. Dad received 1 year in jail and a $6000 fine. They released him after serving 6 months of his sentence for good behavior." I explained.
"That is a slap on the hand" Uncle Brian said sounding angry.
"Yeah, they went easy on him, and he hasn't really learned anything because he showed up at our house, shortly after being released, we had a restraining order but what good is that so mom packed up and moved us here," I said calmly,
"This had not been the first time the police have been called on dad, all the other time's mom, refused to press charges. She hoped that he would change I guess, but if anything it only made things worse." I said sadly.
"You haven't had it easy have you?" Uncle Brian said sympathetically.
"Not really, but things are starting to look up now," I said grinning.
"Well you have one good thing going for you Ashley, you already pass for a girl, some guys wait until they're well into manhood to transition, but don't look as convincing as you will." Uncle Brian said with a smile.
"Are you saying I am pretty?" I said grinning.
"Well that is not what I meant, but if I was to look at you strictly as a girl I would have to say yes," Uncle Brian said in a low voice.
"I was only kidding but thanks", Uncle Brian.
Uncle Brian and I arrived home almost an hour after leaving Barbs home after he parked the car I looked over at him.
"I guess that I need to talk to my mother now?”, I said frowning.
"Yes Ashley, but I will be there with you." Uncle Brian said reassuringly.
"Good, I don't really want to face her alone," I said looking over at him and then the two of us made our way inside.
After making our way into the house, I saw Megan and Amy curled up on the couch watching a movie together, Megan pulsed the movie when she saw me come in.
"How did things go," Megan asked
"Good, but I think we need to have a family meeting and that includes everyone living in this house," I said looking over at Uncle Brian and then at Amy.
After a few minutes, everyone was gathered together in the living room. Alright, what I am about to say isn't going to leave the house. Unless you really hate me and feel like making my life a living hell. I looked over at my mother who looked visually upset.
"Have you talked with Barbara mom?"
"Yes, honey she called me earlier." Mom replied.
"Good, so this isn't going to be a surprise for you," I said then looked over at everyone else and then continued.
"I guess the easiest way to say this, I was born with an element of both sexes. So in terms that will easier to understand, I am 75% female and maybe 25 percent male." I paused then continued.
"The percentage could be even higher, either way, I will no more once the tests have been run. "
"I entered puberty as a girl that is why I look more like a girl then a boy," I explained and then continued.
"The doctor said in cases like mine, the patient could make a choice which gender they wanted to live as. In my mind I have always known deep down I was a girl." I paused then continued.
"I am going to do whatever it takes to complete the transition and become a girl. I am telling you this because I am going to start living as a woman from this point on." I said firmly.
The room was completely silent as everyone took in what I had just said, mom was the first to speak, "I know you are not happy with me at the moment Ashley, but after talking to your doctor, I understand a lot more than I did before. If this is what you need to do, then go ahead and do it. I won't stand in your way.", Mom said looking me in the eyes.
"You already know that you have my support" Uncle Brian said putting his arm around my shoulder.
"Mine too", Amy said with a big smile.
"Having another nephew or niece doesn't matter to me." Aunt Helen chimed in.
"You know how I feel. Ashley, I have always wanted a little sister.," Megan said with a grin.
"Thank you everyone", I said as tears started to flow and before I even realize mom was holding me in her arms.
"It's alright baby, we're all here for you and I am sorry for hurting you." Mom said soothingly.
"I forgive you, mom," I said pulling her closer to me and returning the hug.
It was that night that all of us pulled together as one family. I no longer just had Mom and Megan to turn too, I had Uncle Brian, Aunt Helen, and of course, there was Amy, who I suspected would end up to be more like a sister than a cousin.
Later that night after returning to my bedroom, there was a knock on my door. It’s opened I yelled loud enough for whoever it was could hear.
“It’s just me”, Amy replied and I heard her coming up the stairs and entering my bedroom.
“I have something here for you Ashley, I know that you are just getting started and I have a lot of clothing that has sat in the closet for god knows how long.” She said with a big smile.
“Thanks, Amy, that is so nice of you,” I said excitedly.
“Your welcome.” She said setting the box on the bed next to me.
“There is one item, in here that I think you will really like.” She said reaching for the box and pulling out a small box and handing it to me.
I opened the box and inside sat two very realistic looking breast forms.” why would you have these?” I asked her somewhat surprised.
“Well between the two of us, I was a late bloomer like you,” Amy said grinning.
“I don’t know how to thank you, Amy, these are going to make my life so much easier,” I said giving her a hug.
“I thought you would like them, there is also a bottle of glue inside that you can use if you want to, or you can just set them in the cups of your bra, either way, it’s up to you,” Amy said returning my hug.
“This will at least hold you over until we can get out and do some shopping, you are going to need a lot more then this if you're going to be living as a girl full time,” Amy exclaimed.
“Well, I will let you get some rest Ashley, it’s been a long day and you look like you could use it,” Amy said with a smile and then went back downstairs.
Chapter 9
It was almost 9 am when I pulled myself out of bed I had slept like a baby and felt really well rested for a change. After a quick shower, it was time to figure out what I was going to wear. I could go all out in girl mode but decided against it. Although I had a few dresses now thanks to Amy, I was not ready to spend the day out wearing a dress.
I decided on wearing a pink bra and panties set, I didn't dare use the glue on my breast forms yet, I would get Amy or Megan to help me with that later.
It really felt funny as I tucked myself trying to hide any indication that I was male, the material felt really nice against my skin, and I found myself wondering why they didn't make guys underwear using the same material.
I guess it would just remain one of life's little mysteries. I thought to myself as I slipped on a pair of my new jeans and a pink tank top Amy had given me and thanks to my newfound friends I looked like pretty much any other teenage girl.
There were a few boxes in the corner of my bedroom, with shoes so I spent a few minutes sorting through it and I found a pair of Amy's old sneakers. They looked to be in good shape so I tried them on and they were a perfect fit. They were a dark shade of pink which left no doubt to anyone that they were girls sneakers.
After a little more searching I found a nice little purse and a nice jean jacket which I tried on, it was a little big on me but not by much so I decided that I would wear it. I spent a few minutes filling my new purse, I didn't really have much, other than my cell phone.
There was a wallet built inside of the purse that came out and I place my identification inside as well as what little money I had and decided it was time for the world to see the new and improved Ashley Roberts and made my way downstairs.
Once downstairs I could hear Megan and Amy talking in their room, the door was opened, so I lightly tapped, on the wall. “Mind if I come in?" I asked as the two of them turned and saw me.
"Ashley, you have boobs?" Megan said matter of factly.
"Yes, I was visited last night by the boob fairy.", I said winking at Amy.
"What do you think though?" I asked referring to my new look.
"You look good Ashley, but there is one thing missing," Megan said with a grin.
"What is missing?" I said looking over at her.
"Makeup Ashley, no self-respecting girl leaves home without it.", Megan said with a grin
"Come on in Ashley, it's time you had your first makeover," Amy said with a smile.
So I soon found myself sitting at Amy's makeup table while the two of them worked on my hair and makeup. By the time they were finished and I was able to see the results, I couldn't believe the girl in the mirror looking back was me.
Megan and Amy had to go really easy on the makeup but the results were breathtaking. The girl in the mirror looked like she could have walked right out of a fashion show.
"Wow, I knew she would look good but damn she looks amazing. I am kind of jealous." Amy said with a big smile.
"Yeah next to Ashley, I feel kind of plain," Megan said as she shook her head in disbelief.
"Enough of that, the two of you are absolute knockouts," I exclaimed.
"So are you Ashley", Megan said with a big smile which caused me to start blushing.
"Now, we need to work on getting moms credit card, so I can take my little sister shopping", Megan said thinking aloud.
"Yeah, Ashley and I talked about that last night, I think the direct approach is the best option," Amy exclaimed
"Maybe you're right Amy, Mom needs to understand Ashley has to look perfect if she is going to fit in, and not draw attention to herself," Megan said in a low voice.
Megan, Amy and I made our way downstairs and into the kitchen, I entered last wanting to see the expression on their faces. As I entered, I wish that I would have had a camera, because the look on Mom's face was priceless.
"Oh, baby you look so beautiful." Mom said getting up and running over and giving me a hug.
"How does it feel?" she asked after releasing the hold she had on me.
"I am happy, and I guess a bit excited, this is the real me mom," I said with a smile.
"Baby I can see that now, you look so alive and you have a spark in your eyes I have never seen before." Mom said with a smile.
"Yeah mom, it's called mascara," I said giggling.
"No honey, it's not mascara, I can see it to", Aunt Helen said as she came over to take a look for herself.
"I can't get over how beautiful you are." Aunt Helen said with a warm smile.
"Thanks", I said blushing.
"I already knew that you were beautiful Ashley, but you have taking it to a whole new level.”, Uncle Brian said then reached over and took me in his arms.
"Thank you, Uncle Brian, you're the best", I said leaning in and hugging him.
After breakfast, I pulled mom aside, and the two of us went into the living room so we could talk in private without everyone knowing our business.
"I am going to be starting school soon, and I am not very prepared, I am going to need a new wardrobe one that is going to fit my new image. I know you have likely already thought of this and were planning a trip to the mall or something but I think it would be best if Megan and Amy took me" I said and then continued.
"I need to fit in with the other kids and they know what is in style. I promise whatever we get will be acceptable, I really don't want to look like a slut." I said looking her in the eyes.
"Maybe you're right, I haven't shopped for Megan in years, I usually just give her the money and drop her off, and if she is going to be with you I doubt there is anything to worry about, but you and I are going to need to do some shopping for outside of school. If you're going to be a girl, then you’re going to need dresses and other items." Mom said with a big smile.
"That's cool Mom I would like that," I said grinning.
Before leaving mom had a talk with Megan and me, about what was appropriate and gave Megan her credit card and a few minutes later Megan, Amy and I were off to The Burlington Mall.
We arrived at The Burlington Mall 30 minutes later and the first place that we went was Walmart. There were so many things that I was going to need to begin with and Walmart seem to be the best place to begin, we would hit some of the other stores later for Jeans, tops, and shoes.
It was still early but the mall was surprisingly busy. As we made our way into Walmart, and over to the women's department and we spent the next hour searching for panties, bras, nylons, and socks. All of these things could be bought in large volume, compared to one pair at a time, and considering I had very little we thought that would be our best choice.
We then moved onto jeans, yoga pants, t-shirts, and blouses and some workout gear. Although I was exempt from physical education, there was no reason I couldn't still use them.
After finishing up at Walmart we made our way over to Bluenotes to check out dresses.
"How about this one?" Amy said holding up a wine colored striped swing dress.
"It's nice, put it in the cart and I will try it on," I said then continued looking.
We really didn't find much I really liked in the dress section, so we move on and started checking out Lingerie, I came across something they called a cold bodysuit, it came in black and pink but I liked the black colored one best, you wore it like a tee shirt but it had the shoulders exposed. I decided to throw it into the cart to try on later.
Next, we moved onto Jeans, which they seemed to have quite a selection. I thought to myself as the three of us started looking through all the different styles.
"These are nice, you should try them on," Megan said holding up a pair of low rise jeans.
"These are nice too Ashley", Amy said handing me a pair of black high-rise jeans.
I put both pairs into the cart and continued looking until I found a pair of Medium Rise Super Skinny Jeans and I loved the style of them and I just had to have them and placed them into the cart, I planned on buying more than one pair.
"Those are nice Ashley, I have a few pairs also," Amy said with a smile.
"Yeah, I love them", I said grinning
Satisfied with the items we found my next stop was the changing room where I tried everything on and between Megan and Amy we sorted out all the right sizes and we were ready to move onto the next store which was Forever 21.
There we found some more dresses and various tops. There was also this nice crushed velvet moto-style jacket which I loved and had to have so I tried it on, on the spot.
"What do you guys think?" I said turning to Megan and Amy,
"You should get it, it’s perfect for you," Amy said with a grin.
"Amy is right, it looks good on you Ashley" Megan exclaimed.
So I placed my new jacket in the shopping cart and the three of us continued shopping. Forever 21 had a better selection of intimate wear then the other stores we had been in earlier so I was glad we waited. This was the one area of the store that made me a little nervous.
I was surrounded by some very sexy looking bras and panties, and lots of stuff that really wasn't designed for everyday wear.
We spent another 30 minutes shopping and I picked out most of the items myself, although Megan and Amy made some suggestions. One thing Megan suggested was a semi-sheer knit lace waist corset. I really liked the look of it but thought it was a little too sexy.
Between Megan and Amy, I was eventually convinced to add it to the cart, with the other items and I had to admit it would help shape my body until I started to fill out on my own. The only thing left was shoes and boots so we moved over to that section next.
Where that summer would be starting soon Amy suggested I get a pair of sandals, after searching for a while, I decided on a pair of leather crisscross sandals.
They were a nice sandal, but also dressy and would be good for even going on a date. I thought to myself as I placed the new shoes into my shopping cart, all that was left was some dress shoes.
I would have to spend time practicing walking but every girl needs a pair of high heels, and I was no different. I thought to myself as we made our way over and started looking for what they had available.
"How about these?" Amy said holding up a pair of Velvet Strappy Stilettos. I thought they looked nice but questioned if I could walk in them and said so.
It's only a 4.5, believe me, you can handle them, Ashley," Amy exclaimed.
"Alright, I guess that I will take them", I said and continued looking.
The last thing we bought was a pair of Suede Booties they had a 4-inch heel but I really liked them and they would go with just about any outfit I now owned.
Chapter 10
After hours of shopping, we made our way to the food court an over to the Starbucks I was glad for the break. Megan took a place in line with Amy and I told her to grab me a caramel mocha Frappuccino and I would find us a table. The only table available was one near the door so I pushed the shopping cart over next to the table and took a seat.
I was completely exhausted, from all the running from store to store and was glad to finally have a break. All that was left was to go to one of the hair salons in the mall and have my hair done. At least with that, I could sit down and relax.
Megan and Amy joined me a few minutes later and took a seat at the table. “It’s nice to finally be able to rest. Megan said taking one of her shoes off and massaging her foot.
"Me too, I am exhausted", Amy said handing me my coffee.
"thanks, both of you for coming, I would never have been able to do all this without your help," I said with a smile.
"It's alright Ashley, it might have been tiring but it was also fun," Megan exclaimed.
"Yeah, I enjoyed myself too. It was nice shopping with the both of you." I said grinning.
"This was better then what I normally do when I used to go shopping with Megan and Mom."
"What did you usually do, I really can't see you going from store to store as a guy," Amy exclaimed.
"Usually, I would just hit the arcade, or the nearest HMV and check out the latest Cd's," I explained.
“I can understand why you would feel that way, especially knowing what I know now, but I guess you will be joining mom and I from now on,” Megan exclaimed.
“Mmm, god this is a good coffee.”, Amy said with a smile.
“Yeah, it is good,” I said with a grin and heard a beep coming from inside my purse.”
After opening my purse, I reached inside and took out my phone and found a text message from Adam waiting for me. “It’s from Adam,” I said aloud.
"Why would Adam have your number?" Megan asked me.
"He asked me for it after the two of us spent the day playing Mini Golf.", I explained.
"Well that could be a problem, all I can say is be careful. He may not be as accepting as Amy and me." Megan said looking across the table at me.
"I have thought about that also, but I don't plan on dating him. If that is what you’re worried about Megan."
"Good the last thing you need right now is to get involved with guys, you already have more than enough on your plate Ashley," Megan exclaimed.
"I wouldn't worry too much Adam is a decent guy, I have known him for years, if he is into you he isn’t going to push things if you tell him you’re not interested but that doesn’t mean he will give up on you either," Amy said grinning.
"Are you saying Ashley should go out with him?" Megan said looking over at Amy.
"No Megan, I didn't say that but if they did get together and Ashley set the rules I doubt there would be any problems," Amy explained.
“This is something that I need to think about, I like Adam and if I could continue seeing him I would, but Megan is right. Guys are a distraction.” I said with a smile.
After a quick coffee, our next stop was the hair salon, there were a few different Hair Salon’s in the mall but Amy, took me over to the Salon she normally went to.
It was called,” Attitudes and Hair.” The first thing I thought to myself was what a stupid name.” but I decided to keep my thoughts to myself as I made my way over to the receptionist.
“Good Afternoon, my name is Julie, and how may I help you today?” She asked me cheerfully.
“Hi Julie, my name is Ashley, and I am looking to get something done about my hair, nails and if possible have my ears pierced, is there any chance that you can squeeze me in my cousin says this is the best Salon in town,” I said with a smile.
Julie looked on her computer, “I can squeeze you in for 3:30 pm if that works with you?” Julie said with a smile.
“That would be perfect Julie, and thanks, I really didn’t want to make another trip since I was already here.”, I replied with a big grin.
“That is completely understandable Ashley, your stylist today is going to be Emily and when she is ready for you she will come out and call your name. There are some style books on the table over there, why don’t you have a seat and see if there is anything you like.” Julie said with a smile.
I returned to the waiting room and joined Megan and Amy, Over the next half hour, the three of us looked through the stylebook until I found a look that I really liked. I then took one of the Salons business cards and used it as a bookmark to make it easy to find once I had a chance to talk with Emily.
A few minutes later a woman in her early 30's came out and called my name. I stood up and made my way over to her."Hi, you must be Emily, it's nice to meet you. I am Ashley." I said with a smile.
“Thanks for squeezing me in, It’s been awhile since I have had anything done with my hair, and i think its time for a completely new look,” I said with a smile.
“Well you came to the right place Ashley, so did you have anything special in mind?” Emily asked me.
“Yes, I kind of like this style”, I said opening the style book and showing her the style I wanted her to recreate.
“Good choice, do you want me to dye your hair the same color?” Emily replied.
“That depend’s Emily, do you think it would suit me.”
“It would but your natural color would look better especially if we added some highlights, and maybe a perm to give it some extra body. What do you think Ashley?” Emily said with a smile.
"That sounds perfect," I exclaimed
“Let’s head in the back and we can get started,” Emily said with a grin.
I followed Emily, into the back and took a seat at her workstation and she ran her hands through my hair. “I see what you mean, you made it here just in time, I think that I can save the patient,” Emily said with a grin.
“But seriously girl, how could you let it get this bad,” Emily exclaimed.
“Does the term tomboy mean anything to you?” I said frowning.
“Well, you will never be mistaking for a tomboy again once I am finished with you Ashley,” Emily said as she lowered the salon chair down over the basin and started washing out my hair.
It felt good as Emily’s hands massaged my scalp, “Well at least you have been combing it out properly, I think we are going to have to give you a little trim to take care of those split ends and then we can start working on styling your hair.” Emily said as she continued.
Emily spent the next hour, washing cutting and styling my hair and then she poured some foul smelling liquid onto my scalp, I knew what it was because, Mom and one of my Aunts, used to buy them to do each other's hair.
After she was finished washing my hair Emily spent the next 10 minutes expertly putting my hair in curlers, once she was finished. she lowered the bonnet over my head and set the timer on the hairdryer.
"I will be back in a few minutes, in the meanwhile i will have Beverly come over and start your nails," Emily said and then left to find Beverly.
A few minutes later an older Asian lady came over, pushing a small cart. "Good afternoon she said with a big smile. I hear you want your nails done."
"Yes, but i am not really sure how long i want them, I play guitar and I don't want it to affect the way i play," i said looking her in the eyes.
"First of all let's decide on what type of nails you want?" Beverly exclaimed
"Sorry, up till now I haven't really paid much attention to nail styles, what would you go with I asked her?"
"I like acrylic nails best, they are very tough and less likely to break, but once they are on they can't come off until your own nails grow out but on the plus side they will teach you to play your guitar, as they grow and in time you won't have to worry about the length affecting how you play," Beverly explained.
"That sounds alright to me but nothing more than a few inches to start," I exclaimed.
"Perfect, now would you like a design on them.", Beverly said in a low voice.
"Yeah, that would be cool what do you have?" I asked.
Beverly opened a book and I looked through all the designs and decided which one i wanted and after making my choice she started working on my nails.
The two of us talked while she worked, She told me that she had been working at the Salon for over 10 years which i found really surprising. Considering these days people tended to jump from one job to another without much thought.
Beverly worked on my nails for about 20 minutes shaping them first and then she asked me what color I wanted and I decided on a light shade of pink.
I was quite surprised with the overall look when Beverly finished they were not very long and they didn’t look like I would have any trouble getting used to them.
After Beverly finished I told her how happy I was with the job she had done and that I would definitely be back. Emily returned a few minutes later carrying some weird device.
“God Beverly did an awesome job on your nails, Ashley,” Emily said with a smile.
“Yes, she did a great job, I love how they look,” I said excitedly.
“So are you ready to get your ears pierced.”
She said holding up the device she was carrying, which must have been her piercing gun.
“Yes, I would like two piercings in both ears like my sister has,” I said nervously.
“Alright Ashley, you're going to hear a loud popping sound followed by a light sting, the pain only lasts for a few seconds, so you're going to have to stay completely still, “Emily explained.
“Ready”, Emily asked.
“Yes, I am ready”, I exclaimed and then felt her bring the gun up to my right ear. I then heard the popping sound and she was right there was a mild sting but nothing I couldn’t handle. She then repeated the process and moved onto my left ear and repeated the process over again. When she was finished, I had had two sets of studs in each ear, just like my sister Megan.
Emily then took the next couple of minutes and explained how long I would have to wear the studs before I could remove them and start wearing normal earrings. I also had to clean the area regularly using alcohol to avoid them getting infected.
Emily left for a few minutes to return the piercing gun when I heard the alarm go off on the hair dryer and it turned off. I was glad it was finally over, Emily had rolled my hair up in curlers earlier and as my hair dried they became tighter and tighter until they started to actually hurt.
I had decided on getting a perm because it would mean less work for me to maintain it. I knew it was something that needed to be done and just tried my best to put up with the smell.
When Emily returned she spent the next 20 minutes, removing and brushing out my hair which seemed to take forever but I had to admit when she finished the result spoke for themselves, unbelievable, gone was the geeky awkward young man, and in his place stood a beautiful young teenage girl.
I now had long strawberry blonde hair, with highlights that gave it a really nice look. there was also a permanent wave that went down just past my shoulder blades.
“So what do you think?”, Emily said with a smile.
“It looks perfect Emily.”, I said looking at my reflection in the mirror and smiling.
“I am glad you like it, Ashley you are a beautiful girl, I am glad you decided to share it with the rest of the world,” Emily said with a big smile.
“Thanks, Emily, but I think you should take some credit, you did a great job with my hair, you’re an awesome stylist and I will diffidently be back,” I said with a big smile.
“Thanks, Ashley, I will give you my card, any time you need anything done you can give me a call.”
“Believe me, I will be calling,” I said with a smile still finding it hard to believe the girl staring back at me was really me.
When Emily and I finally returned to the front of the salon, we were met by a very shocked Megan and Amy. The look on their faces was priceless.
“OMG”, Megan said with a huge smile as she brought her hands up covering her mouth.
“Unbelievable”, Amy exclaimed.
“I take it you both like the new look?” I said with a big smile.
“Yes,” the two of them said at exactly the same time.
I smiled back at them, “I love it too.”
“Wow Ashley, I love your nails I am kind of jealous,” Amy said with a smile.
“Me too, they look really pretty”, Megan replied.
“I want mine done too,” Megan said with a smile.
“Me too", Amy exclaimed.
“It’s a slow day, I am sure Beverly could slip the both of you in. If you want, I can ask her.” Emily said looking over at Megan and then Amy.
“If you don’t mind that would be great”, Megan responded.
Emily left for a few minutes then returned,
“she can fit the both of you in, so who will be first?”
“I will go first, can we add this all on the same bill as Ashley, I am paying with a credit card,” Megan asked Emily.
“Sure that shouldn’t be a problem, I haven't rung everything in yet anyway,” Emily said and then led Megan to the back of the salon where she had done my hair earlier.
Amy then turned to me, “I see you have your ears double pierced too, girl, when you go out you go all out, don’t you,” Amy said with a big smile.
“Megan has hers done this way too, I figured why not.’ I exclaimed.
“Well I like the new look Ashley,” Amy said grinning.
“Yeah but mom is going to shit when she sees the bill for today's excursion,” I said frowning.
“Actually you did, pretty well just about everything you bought was on sale, minus a few items that are impossible to get on sale,” Amy explained.
“Well, I think that we have everything that I will need Amy.”
“Not yet, you need a few more things, makeup and hair supplies and at least one bottle of perfume, for your date with Adam,” Amy said teasingly.
“So where are we going to pick up that stuff Amy?”
“There’s a pharmacy on this floor, it’s just around the corner from here. We can find everything we need there Ashley.”
“Good, it’s been a long day and I am tired,” I exclaimed.
“Me too, we have done a lot of running today.” Amy sighed.
A few minutes later Megan returned sporting a new pair of acrylic nails, that were styled and shaped just like my own. “These look so cool”, Megan said grinning.
Amy was next and followed Emily to the back of the store. Megan turned to me, “It’s so cool having a sister now to do stuff like this with. Believe me, Ashley, I loved having you as my brother but being sisters is so much better.” Megan said reaching over and gave me a hug.
“I love you too sis,” I said returning her hug.
“Mom might not love us, though when she sees today's bill,” I exclaimed.
“Maybe not, but everything that we bought was needed, and almost everything was on sale. She will understand, she knows how expensive clothes are.” Megan said reassuringly.
“True and it’s not like I only needed a few things, I needed a whole wardrobe,” I exclaimed.
“We're not done yet, little sister there are still plenty of things we need to do, but that can wait for another day, I am completely exhausted,” Megan said frowning.
“Me too, there's just one more stop and we can call a cab and head home,” I said in a low voice.
“Where's that?” Megan asked.
“There is a pharmacy nearby, I need my own makeup and a few other supplies,” I explained.
Once Amy returned Megan paid the bill, Amy would sort out what she owed later. Our last stop was the pharmacy, and we didn’t spend very much time there because all I needed was makeup and a few other items. Since Megan and I had a similar complexion. Most of the products were the same ones she used.
The only difference was our tastes in perfumes, but I eventually found a scent that I really liked. I also started picking out some hair products, I needed a hair dryer, and a curling wand, as well as shampoos and a few other items.
After gathering up everything I needed we made our way over to the checkout and paid the bill and exited the store.
“That’s it”, I exclaimed.
“Yeah, time to head home,” Amy exclaimed.
With a full shopping cart, we headed to the main entrance, there were always cabs there, Amy said as Megan and I followed closely behind.
Amy was right, there were a few taxis nearby one of them was a van so we decided it would be best to take the van and went over. The driver climbed out and open the back door and help load the bags into the back.
“So where to ladies,” the cab driver said with a big smile.
“125 Lancaster Road please”, Amy said with a grin.
“Sure thing ladies”, he said then put the car in drive and we were on our way home.
“Mom’s going to flip when she sees you, Ashley, Megan said looking over at me.
“She is not the only one, mom and dad will too and I bet a handsome young man, we all know will like the new you too,” Amy said with a smile.
I found myself thinking about how well things had worked out, I wasn’t happy that I had to move, but I was finally able to accept who I really was inside and found the strength to follow it through and become the person I was meant to be.
End of part 2,
the story continues in part 3
Synopsis: Ashley Roberts had decided to embrace her female side and started on her journey into womanhood thanks to the support of her family. At the moment things seem perfect for our girl, but not everyone is going to be as supportive. .
Chapter 11
It had been a long day for the three of us I thought to myself as we climbed into the cab and started for home. Today had been the first day I had spent as a girl. It had been somewhat nerve racking but also exciting, I really couldn’t believe the difference a visit to the salon made. I thought that I would be passable as a girl but I didn’t really think that I was going to be very attractive but between the makeup and new hairstyle. I realized that I was just as pretty as my sister Megan and Amy who were both very beautiful.
“Penny for your thought?” Megan said looking over at me.
“I am just tired, it’s been a long day and so many things have happened, I am just kind of taking it all in now,” I said with a smile.
“I guess that I can understand, you woke up this morning an ugly duckling, and turned into a beautiful swan,” Megan said grinning.
“That’s a good analogy.”, I said frowning.
“Actually, it’s kind of true, you woke up this morning one person and you are returning home a whole other person,” Amy said grinning.
“I guess that’s true in a way, but then again I am still the same person I was before. I am just the new and improved model.”, I said with a big smile.
“Well, I would say it’s a big improvement Ashley.”, Megan said grinning.
“Yeah, I have to agree with Megan.”, Amy exclaimed.
The drive home only took us 10 minutes, and before long we had arrived home. Amy and I started bringing in my bags as Megan took care of the cab fare. When the two of us entered the house we were met in the living room by my Mother, to say she was shocked would be an understatement.
“OMG, Ashley you look so beautiful, and look at your hair, I would never have guessed you would come out so beautiful.” Mom said as she came over and hugged me.
“Thanks, Mommy, I love my new look and for the first time in my life I feel normal,” I said with a big smile.
“Oh baby, I loved having you as a son, and it’s going to be hard letting my little boy go, but you’re still the same child I raised and I have to remember that.” Mom said frowning.
“I will take the bags, up to your room, and give the two of you a chance to talk alone,” Amy said with a grin
“You never really had a son mommy, the girl inside has always been here. She’s just an excellent actress.”, I exclaimed.
“I wish that we could have taking care of this year ago if only I had known.” Mom said sadly.
“Well, that’s all water under the bridge mom. I would rather look to the future than continue living in the past, but I should really take these bags to my room. You’re more than welcome to join me it will give you a chance to see all the wonderful things we put on your charge card.” I said grinning.
“Sure honey, I will join you in a few minutes.” Mom said with a smile.
Once I left mom, I made my way upstairs and into my bedroom where I found Megan and Amy, had already emptied my bags unto my bed and were busy sorting everything into neat piles., “We're going to have to have my dad build her a closet!” Amy said looking over at Megan.
“You’re right Amy, she is going to be needing it with all of these new clothes,”
“That seems, like a good idea I am sure Uncle Brian can figure something out,” I said sneaking up behind them.
“I will take it from here, mom is going to be coming up to see all the goodies, we bought today,” I said with a smile.
“Alright Ashley, when you are finished with your mother, there's room downstairs in my closet you should hang up your new dresses so they don’t get all wrinkled,” Amy exclaimed.
“Thanks, I will bring them down later,” I said with a smile.
“Let's give her some time alone, mom will be up soon anyway,” Megan said to Amy
“Alright, if you need anything Ashley, we will be in my bedroom,” Amy exclaimed and the two of them made their way downstairs leaving me to organize my room alone.
Amy was right about one thing, I needed more space now that I was going to be living full time as a girl. As a guy, all I needed was a dresser, big enough to hold everything and a closet which held a few jackets, and a couple of dress suits. I would now have, jackets, dresses, skirts, slips and a growing supply of shoes.
Over time I would have a wardrobe comparable to the one that Megan had left behind. I thought to myself as I booted up my computer and logged into my Spotify playlist and music began to play.
A few minutes passed as I started sorting through my small dresser, and tried to make room for all the new clothes I had bought earlier in the day. It wasn’t long before I heard a knock coming from the door on the main level. It’s opened I hollered loud enough that they could hear.
“It’s just me”, mom called as she made her way up the stairs that led to my bedroom.
“Wow, you guys went all out.” Mom said looking at all the clothes laying on my bed in a neat pile.
“Yeah, but it was all things I am going to need,” I explained.
“Don’t worry about it, honey I know how expensive woman's clothes can be.” Mom said as she started sorting through the items I had brought home with me.
“This is a beautiful dress honey; why don’t you try it on so I can see how it looks on you.” Mom said grinning.
“Really?” I said looking over at her.
“Yes, really were both girls right?” Mom said grinning.
“It’s just a bit of a surprise,” I said looking her in the eyes and started undressing until I was standing in front of her in just my bra and panties.
“Wow, they look so realistic.” Mom said referring to my breast forms that were now visible.
“It’s not as good as having the real thing but they do the job as long as I don’t wear anything too revealing.”, I said as I picked up one of my dresses and slipped into it.
“Could you zip me up mom.”, I said turning my back to her.
“Sure honey”, mom said pulling the zipper up and I felt the dress tighten around me.
“So what do you think mommy?” I said turning around so she could see me.
“It really suits you honey, and I never really noticed that you had curves until now.” Mom said referring to my hips.
“I have had them for a while, I just hid them under loose fitting pants,” I explained.
“I should have been paying more attention to what was going on.” Mom said sadly.
“Maybe, I should have been a little more forthcoming, but I was too ashamed to tell anyone and well if dad found out it would have just given him another thing to use against me,” I explained to her.
“You’re right Ashley, he was a real prick to you and if he was here now he would force you to have the operation so you could be a man just like him,” Janet said to her son.
“Well, hopefully, we will never have to see him again,” I said hoping that I was right, but had my doubts, the one thing he was good at was getting his own way and if he wanted to find us, probation and a restraining order wouldn’t stop him.
“Are you alright honey?” Mom asked sensing something was wrong.
“It’s nothing mommy, I am just tired out and my mind is running on overdrive,” I said with a smile not wanting to worry her with what I had been just thinking.
“Why don’t you wear your new dress and come down for supper. I can’t wait to see the look on your Aunt and Uncle's faces when they see how beautiful my new daughter is.” Mom said with a big smile.
“Alright mom, I don’t feel like changing back anyway,” I said in a low voice.
The two of us made our way downstairs, it was already close to 5 pm and we could hear that everyone was already in the kitchen. I looked over at mom, “Are you sure this dress isn’t a little too much to wear for supper?”
“No baby, you look beautiful just relax remember were family. There’s nothing to worry about.” Mom said reassuringly.
Mom’s right these people are my family and they only wanted what was best for me. I was just a little self-conscious. I wasn’t used to living full time as a girl and there a lot of things that I was going to have to learn and get used too. I thought to myself as mom and I entered the kitchen together and I braced myself for their reaction.
Chapter 12
Boston City of Champions at least that is one of the slogans they use. Philip Roberts didn’t feel like a winner when he showed up at his wife's home and found out that she had left with the kids and he had no idea where she would have gone.
In his mind, they were his kids and he had every right to see them, to say he was angry would have been an understatement, he was furious. Sure, he had made some mistakes in the past but he served his time and wanted the life he left behind.
He was determined that one way or another he was going to get his family back. Now the question was where would they have gone.
He knew that he couldn’t get help legally because of the restraining order, she had full custody of the kids. So chances were the authorities wouldn't be much help. If anything they would likely notify his probation officer and he would end up back in jail. He would have to be careful.
The first thing he did was visit a friend that lived in the same apartment building that his family had lived. The two of them had been drinking buddies, and if anyone was going to help him it was good old Jimmy.
Philip made his way into the apartment building, and up to the third floor. He had not talked to Jimmy since his incarceration and wasn’t even sure that he still lived there but went to the apartment where Jimmy had lived anyway and knocked on the door and waited for a response.
After a minute he knocked again and then heard a familiar voice respond, “Goddammit give me a sec.”, Jimmy screamed.
Same old Jimmy, Philip thought to himself. Its 1 pm and he's still in bed. He must have been drinking again. Philip thought as he heard the sound of the deadbolt being released and the door being pulled back.
“Philip, you old bastard they finally let you out, come on in,” Jimmy said stepping aside.
“Yeah, I have been out for a few days now, I came here to see Janet and the kids and found a note left for the landlord turns out Janet skipped out with the kids sometime over the last few days, she wouldn’t have mentioned anything to you?” Philip asked his friend.
“I haven’t talked to her since she had you arrested Philip, and I honestly have no idea where she would have gone. Did you check the mailbox; she might have left the keys to the apartment there. If not, I think that I can pick the lock.” Jimmy exclaimed.
Fifteen minutes later Philip and Jimmy were outside of Janet's apartment, it only took Jimmy a few minutes to pick the lock before the two of them were able to enter the apartment. Janet had left the place a complete disaster zone, you could tell that she left very quickly and didn’t bother cleaning up behind her.
You can tell she left in a hurry, that means there are clues all over the apartment Jimmy said picking up the phone and checking the last numbers that were dialed and found the list had been deleted but then took a chance and hit the redial and the last number appeared. He didn’t let it ring through but took a minute and wrote the number down and handed it to Philip, “does this number mean anything to you?”, Jimmy asked.
“No, I don’t even recognize the area code.”, Philip said looking at the number.
“We will run the number through a reverse search and see what comes up.”, Jimmy said looking over at his friend.
“Does Janet have a computer?” Jimmy said looking over at Philip.
“Yeah, she has a desktop, she keeps it in the bedroom,” Philip exclaimed.
“Let's take a look”, Jimmy said and the two of them made their way into the bedroom.
Jimmy booted up the computer, and it loaded to windows, “This is just too easy, she doesn’t even have a password.” Jimmy said with a big smile.
“I guess the first place I will check is her internet history,” Jimmy said opening google chrome and watched as the page loaded. He then went into the options and pulled up Janet's internet history.
The last 3 items proved to be the most important finds she had checked her email before leaving, Jimmy tried logging into her email and found the username and password had been saved and it loaded straight to her email account.
Once inside Jimmy had access to all her folders, there wasn’t much inside the inbox but what caught his attention was an email that she had sent out it was addressed to Helen Steeves. He opened the email and started reading it aloud to Philip.
Actual Email:
“Hi Helen, thanks so much you don’t know how much it means to me that you and Brian are willing to help. The kids and I have been worried sick that Philip would start trouble once he was released from jail, and when he showed up at my door I knew just from the look in his eyes that this wasn’t over, it scared me shitless.”
“I worry most about Ashley, Philip was so hard on the poor boy and I really don’t think Ashley will ever recover from the abuse that his father put him through. The sad part is there's still a part of me that loves the worthless shit.”
“Anyway, it should only take us around 2 days to get to your place, I have a few stops to make first we will be there soon enough and thanks again sis, you’re a godsend.”
“What a stupid cunt, she ran off to get away from me and then leaves directions straight to her new home,” Philip said with a big smile.
“Yeah you could say that, she also checked out google maps, let's see if we can’t get lucky,” Jimmy said with a smile.
Sure enough, Jimmy was able to figure out the last search she made, it was a map from Boston to Littleton, Colorado.
“Hit the power button on the printer Philip, I am going to print out the map.”, Jimmy said then pressed the print icon and a few seconds later the printer came to life and started printing out the map
“Well now that you know where she is what are you going to do?” Jimmy said looking over at Philip.
“I am going to go and get my family back but there are a few things I need to do first.”, Philip said with a look of determination.
“Do I need to ask?” Jimmy said looking at his friend.
“Yeah, I need the money”, Philip exclaimed.
“Alright, I will make the arrangements, but I need to ask are you sure that you want to do this? Once we start there is no turning back.” Jimmy said with a frown.
“I am sure, just make the calls and let me know when and where,” Philip said firmly.
Present day
I was a little nervous as I made my way into the kitchen, I felt like I was completely on display. Mom led the way and I followed maybe a foot behind her as the two of us entered the kitchen.
I was partially hidden behind the open door so Aunt Helen was really the only one in the kitchen that was able to see me. I couldn’t help but laugh at the look on her face it was priceless.
“Oh my god, Ashley, you look amazing.” Aunt Helen said with a big smile.
“Thanks, Aunt Helen”, I said blushing and I took another step into the kitchen and past the door so the rest of the family could see me also.
“Absolutely amazing,” Uncle Brian said standing up and coming over for a better look. “You look beautiful Ashley he finally managed to say.”
“Thanks”, I said with a smile.
“Well, Amy and I have already seen her in the dress but you are right she looks amazing,” Megan said,
“Amy”, just nodded and smiled.
After a bit more fussing about how I looked I was glad that Uncle Brian changed the subject. Being a Saturday night his band was going to be playing at the Toad Tavern. Which I thought was a strange name for a bar.
“So is this a place that I can go if I wanted to hear the band play?” I said looking over at my Uncle.
“I have been there a few times they just stamp your hand with a red dot that lets the bartenders know you’re a minor,” Amy exclaimed.
“Did you want to come?” Brian said with a smile.
“Yes, as long as you don’t do anything to embarrass me”, I said looking over at him.
“You have my word”, Brian said with a grin.
“How about it Janet, is it alright if Ashley joins me,” Brian said to my mother.
“As long as you promise to take care of her.” mom said looking nervous.
“It’s alright Aunt Janet, I have been their plenty of times and the people there are really nice, and the staff are very protective especially Bob, he’s the bouncer there and nobody will bother Ashley with him around and besides Megan and I will be there too, you just don’t think I would let Daddy take Ashley and leave Megan and I home,” Amy said with a smile.
“How long are you going to be playing tonight?” My mom asked Brian.
“Till 2 am but, I will have the girls back by midnight,” Brian explained to my mom.
“Good because I don’t want the girls out till 2 am.” Mom said firmly.
“I will put them in a cab myself.”, Brian said with a smile.
After supper was finished Megan, Amy and I made our way upstairs to Amy’s bedroom and she shut the door behind us.
“Alright ladies, we need to sort out what we’re going to wear tonight,” Amy said with a smile.
“I thought that I would just wear the dress I have on,” I said looking over at Amy.
“Your dress should be fine, but we’re going to have to redo your makeup, The Toad Tavern. Isn’t very well lit, so normal makeup just won’t do it.” Amy exclaimed.
“It’s not like I am going there to pick up a man or anything. I am just going to hear Uncle Brian’s band.” I said taking a seat on Amy’s lower bunk.
“We are too Ashley, it’s just part of being a girl and this is the perfect chance for you to learn how to do your makeup, for going out in the evening,” Amy explained.
“Alright, but I don’t want to look like a slut,” I said firmly.
So over the next hour or so Megan and Amy showed me how to apply my makeup Amy used Megan as the model and had me, do everything steps by step on my own face, after about I don’t know how many attempts. I was finally able to get the look that I wanted and was starting to feel a lot more confident about being able to do my own makeup.
Sure I still needed, a lot of practice but I thought that I could at least do my own now even if I had to touch it up a bit afterward.
It was around 9 pm when the three of us made our way downstairs, and I found my Mother and Aunt Helen in the living room.
“Mom, please tell me I don’t look slutty wearing all this makeup,” I said slightly unsure of myself.
“No baby, you look fine.”, mom said with a big smile.
“Thank god, I have never had to do my own makeup before,” I exclaimed.
“You did your own makeup tonight?”, mom said looking surprised.
“Well Amy, used me as the model and we showed Ashley step by step how to do hers, she’s a fast learner and an awesome little sister.”, Megan said with a grin.
“I don’t know if I can handle having two teenage daughters.” Mom said with a grin.
“Be glad, Ashley is the easiest one to deal with but Megan, on the other hand, is nothing but trouble,” Amy said with a wicked grin.
“That’s true Megan has always been nothing but trouble.” Mom said with a smile.
“Hey, enough of that you couldn’t ask for a better daughter,” Megan said shaking her head in disbelief.
“Ready to go ladies”, Uncle Brian said joining us in the living room, he was carrying two guitar cases with him.
“Why do you need two guitars?” I asked him
“It’s always good to be prepared, the last thing you want to do is break a string during a set, this way I can just switch out and change the strings while I am on a break.” He said with a smile.
I was a little unsure of the answer he had given me, but I had no reason to doubt him either. Up till now, Uncle Brian has been honest and straightforward with me, but what worried me was if he was planning on asking me to join him on stage but I put those thoughts to the back of my mind as the four of us climb into Aunt Helen’s minivan and headed out.
Chapter 13
We arrived 30 minutes later at The Toad Tavern, it was a nice well-kept building that had a medium size stage. As the four of us entered we were met by a big burly man that looked like he could snap me in half with very little effort.
“Hey Bobby, how’s it going?” Brian said putting down his guitar and shaking the big man’s hand. Which appeared to be twice the size of my uncles.
“I am doing good Brian, I see you brought your daughter, It’s nice to see you again Amy, so who are these lovely young ladies, please tell me you didn’t trade Helen in for a couple of younger models.” He said laughing.
“No, I could never trade Helen in it took me years to break her in,” Brian said laughing. “But seriously, these two lovely ladies are my nieces Ashley and Megan.”
“Well, I am Bobby and if you have any trouble tonight I want you to come see me.” He said with a big smile.
“Thank you Bobby, and I promise if we run into any problems you will be the first to know,” I said with a smile.
After walking over to the stage Uncle Brian turned to me, “Ashley would you mind giving me a hand setting up my guitars, you seem to know what you’re doing and I want my second guitar ready to play if I need it.” He said with a smile.
Why don’t you guys grab a table and I will join you in a few minutes I said then followed Uncle Brian onto the stage.
“Hey guys, this is my niece Ashley, she’s going to set up my spare guitar.”, Brian said with a grin.
“Hi Ashley, I am Jon, and our drummer over there is Steve, and the long-haired freak over there playing the bass is glen. I play the keyboards.” He said with a smile.
“It’s nice to meet you all, I am Ashley, and My Uncle told me absolutely nothing about you,” I said with a smile as I plugged the guitar into the amp and started setting the volume.
After a few minutes, playing with the dials I was happy with the sound and started playing. “Ironic”, by Alanis Morissette.
The club was still pretty empty, so I wasn’t very nervous playing up on stage it would be another story if the place had been busy.
As I played I was surprised when the rest of the band began playing alongside me and Jon looked over at me, “Can you sing it?”
“I thought for a minute the problem had always been that I sounded like a girl and that was no longer a good excuse, and I found myself smile as I started singing the words into the microphone.”
For the first time, I found myself completely relaxed and as I looked out from the stage and saw the place was starting to slowly fill up. I looked over at Megan and Amy they both had a big smile on their faces.
As we reached the end of the song there were about 20 people in the bar clapping I looked over at Jon, “does, it feels like every time you perform?” I said excitedly.
“No Ashley it gets better, especially when you have a full house, that is really into your music and as you can see they like your sound,” Jon said with a smile.
“Let’s do one more?”, he said grinning.
“Do you guys know “Everybody Hurts”, by R.E.M,” I said looking over at the band. The nods I received answered my question and Joh started playing the intro on the keyboard and counted us in and eventually, I started singing.
As I continued singing I was no longer scared anymore and found myself completely lost in the song as I looked over at my Uncle I could see a big smile on his face. I think that he could tell that I had finally found my home. As I started hitting all the high notes, I had been too afraid to hit until now.
When we finally reached the end of the song the crowd was going completely crazy. Uncle Brian hadn’t even started his set yet and the crowd was asking for more. I looked over at my Uncle and mouth the words. “Thanks”, and then left the stage.
“Good evening everyone, that beautiful young lady, is my niece, her name is Ashley Roberts, how about a hand for her, and maybe she will grace us with performing another song with us later.” Uncle Brian said into the microphone.
As I left the stage I was approached by many of the customers, they all seem to love my music and asked me if I was planning on doing any more songs tonight. The attention was a bit overwhelming but I politely said I would likely do a couple songs later. Eventually, I made my way over and joined Megan and Amy at our table.
“Someone is popular tonight”, Megan said with a big smile then reached over and gave me a hug.
“I am proud of you Ashley, you have finally broken free.”, she whispered in my ear.
“Thanks, Megan it felt so good to just let it all out.” I said wiping the tears from my eyes.” I said with a smile.
“Megan is right Ashley; you belong up there with my father,” Amy exclaimed.
“I have never felt like this before, maybe it’s the adrenaline rush, or maybe it’s just the freedom to finally be myself I don’t know but I love the feeling of being on stage and singing. I have no idea why it was such an issue until now.” I explained.
“I need a drink”, I said then made my way over to the bar. As I waited for the bartender to come over and serve me. I noticed a man looking at me, it was honestly starting to creep me out and when he came over I knew what he wanted.
“Hey baby, can I get you a drink?” He said looking at my breasts.
“Does the word’s jailbait mean anything to you. Bobby said coming up from behind and grabbing the man by the back of his Jacket and pulling him towards the exit.” I thought to myself Amy wasn’t kidding when she said Bobby was very protective.
“When the bartender finally came over to serve me she smiled, “You’re Brian’s niece right?”
“Yeah that’s me, can I get a diet coke,” I said with a smile.
“Sure thing Ashley, you have an awesome voice. I hope you decide to do another song later, Brian and the band are good but you have an amazing singing voice.” She said with a big smile.
“Thank you, I may do another song or two later right now I just want to relax for a bit with my sister and cousin. Could you do me a favor have a drink sent over for Bobby, he just rescued me from some kind of pervert.” I said with a smile.
“Sure thing honey, just put the bill on my Uncles tab,” I said then left to rejoin my sister and cousin.
Megan, Amy and I spent the next hour or so at our table and even got up and danced a bit. I was asked numerous times throughout the night by guys to dance and even took a few up on their offers. It was fun but I could feel my uncle’s eyes on me as well as Bobby’s who was keeping a close eye on Megan, Amy and me.
It was about 11 pm when I heard my name being called by Uncle Brian, at that time I had been sitting with Megan and Amy at our table. He wanted me to come up and do another song with the band and I made my way up on stage with the band.
“Do you guys know, “Mad World”, by Tears for fears?” I said looking at Brian and then the others. Everyone nodded and I picked up Uncle Brian’s spare guitar and we started playing the intro of the song and I began to sing.
I had always loved the song, and like a lot of the music, I liked it also struck a chord with me emotionally after finishing the song I turned and said, “Do you guys mind, doing something different? I know you mostly do classic rock but I would like to do a country song.”, I said looking over at them
“We don’t know a lot of country songs, what do you have in mind?”, Jon replied
“It’s a Martina McBride song called, “Concrete Angel”, I can play myself if you guys can follow along,” I explained.
“We can give it a try”, Brian said then took the microphone. We’re going to try something a little different tonight. There’s a song that Ashley would like to do and its country of all things, so bear with us this is the first time we have tried to do this song.” Uncle Brian said then motioned me over to the Microphone.
“The next song we’re going to do is called,” Concrete Angel”. It’s a Martina McBride song and it’s one of my favorite country songs but it’s also very touching I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.” I said with a smile and started playing the song.
I played the song by myself at first and started singing the words, the guys waited till I reached the second chorus before joining me. I could see that the people were enjoying the song just by their reaction and by the time we reached the end everyone was on their feet and clapping.
“That’s it for me tonight, Thanks for a wonderful night,” I said leaving the stage.
“Brian took the microphone again, that was Ashley Roberts, and I am sure you will be seeing her again. We’re going to take a small break and we will be back.”, Brian said with a grin and the band exited the stage and before long. I was making the introductions to Megan.
It wasn’t long before all the chairs at our table was filled, and a round of drinks was brought over to our table. I was happy just to have my coke. My mouth was a bit dry after being on the stage, the stage lighting created a lot of heat.
“It was nice having you on stage with us tonight Ashley, you have a beautiful voice, you will have to come back and join us sometime,” Jon said with a grin.
“I would love too but, if I do then I want you guys to learn a few songs so the next time I am ready,” I said with a big grin.
“Just give Brian a list of songs and we will be ready next time you perform with us,” John exclaimed.
“I have to agree Ashley has an awesome voice, we should kick Brian out and add her to the band,” Steve said with a smile.
“Let’s not be too hasty now Brian”, said with a smile.
“Yeah I agree with Steve, besides she’s prettier than you Brian”, Glen said straight-faced.
“Well, I can’t disagree with you there.” Uncle Brian said and everyone at the table laughed.
“But on a serious side, she does have a good voice, and having her would open up a lot of song choices we wouldn’t normally have,” Steve said looking over at Brian and then to me.
“What do you think Ashley, do you want to join us now and then for a show.”, Uncle Brian said looking completely serious.
“Yeah, sure but I want to make my own song choices,” I said looking at Brian and then over at the rest of the band.
“That’s fair”, Jon said then looked over at the rest of the band and everyone seemed to be in agreement.
“Well it looks like you have yourself a part-time singer”, I said with a big smile.
It had been an exciting night, I thought to myself after saying goodnight to the guys and climbing into the cab with Megan and Amy. I had to admit though it was really fun and I couldn’t wait to do it again.
Chapter 14
We arrived home a half hour later and Megan and Amy couldn’t tell mom and Aunt Helen enough about our night and the band offering me a place with them. As for myself I just let the two of them go on.
“So, I take it you enjoyed yourself, Ashley?” asked my mother.
“Yeah mom, I had a lot of fun tonight, I wish you would have been there tonight though,” I said with a smile.
“Believe me, honey, next time I will be.” Mom said with a big smile.
“You can count on me to be there too; I don’t want to miss out on seeing my niece perform again.” Aunt Helen said excitedly.
“Well, I plan on doing it again soon so I will let you know, but I think it’s time for bed though,” I said yawning and then politely excused myself and made my way upstairs.
The conversation continued downstairs.
“So Ashley was really that good? Janet asked her daughter.
“Yes, it was unbelievable, I have heard her sing before, well in boy mode but he always sounded, how do I say it best, well lifeless. Tonight she was a completely different person and was hitting notes I had no idea was even possible. It was really unbelievable mom.” Megan explained.
“She’s right Aunt Janet it was unbelievable, and from the moment she hit the stage the crowd couldn’t get enough of her,” Amy exclaimed.
“We have to go the next time.”, Janet said to her sister Helen.
“That’s for sure”, Helen said with a smile.
“So how was she the rest of the night?” Janet asked her daughter.
“Good, she seemed really happy and even danced with a few guys,” Megan explained.
“Really, she was actually dancing with guys.”, Janet said somewhat surprised.
“I think you will have to accept the fact that Ashley is into guys, she has always been,” Megan said with a grin.
“She even has a guy interested in her, his name is Adam and he is a really nice guy and Ashley really likes him but is afraid to get close, because of her situation,” Amy exclaimed.
“That’s understandable, do I have anything to worry about with this Adam Character?”, Janet said looking at her niece.
“Not really, Ashley doesn’t want to pursue it. It’s a shame though I think the two of them would be good together.” Amy said with a smile.
“Well, that is one thing I don't need to worry about I hope,” Janet said calmly.
“Yeah, for now anyway, but the time will come when she is serious about a guy,” Megan said with a grin.
Meanwhile upstairs.
It had been an awesome night I thought as I slipped into my baby blue silk nightie, I was glad to be home as I took my phone out of my purse and looked at the message Adam had left me.
“Hi Adam, how are you doing?”, I wrote him back
I waited a few minutes and saw a response and then opened the message.
“Better now that you messaged me, you doing any better Ashley.”
“Much better thanks, I had a good night. I went to the toad tavern with my uncle and played with his band.”
“Really, isn’t that some kind of dive bar?” Adam asked.
“Yeah, maybe but it was fun all the same “, I replied.
“You said you played with the band?” Adam asked me.
“Yes, I played guitar and even sang a few songs, it was so much fun, Adam. I wish you could have seen me.” I said sending the message.
“Well, the next time you play, let me know. I would love to see you. So what else is new?” he asked.
“I will show you, using my phone I took a picture of my new look and sent it to him.”
“So what do you think?” I said hoping he would be happy with my new look.
“You look very beautiful Ashley; I think I might use it as my new screen saver…lol”
“Don’t be silly”, I exclaimed.
“So are you doing anything tomorrow night?” Adam asked.
“Not really why?” I asked him.
“Dinner and a movie?” Adam wrote
Shit, he’s asking me out on a date, I thought to myself. It’s not like I didn’t know this was coming but I was excited all the same.
I thought about the discussion I had with Megan and Amy earlier and how getting involved with a guy would only complicate my life, but when I thought about Adam I wanted that complication and followed my heart. “Yes, Adam. I would love to go out with you.”, I answered.
“Really”, he texted me back.
I smiled wondering if he really thought there was a chance I would turn him down, “Yes really, but I choose the movie and don’t worry it isn’t going to be a chick flick.”
“Alright, I will pick you up around 6 pm, you’re staying at Amy’s right?” he asked me.
“Yes Adam, and I will see you at 6 pm, goodnight,” I said with a smile and plugged the phone into the charger and laid down on my bed.
“I couldn’t believe that I actually agreed to a date with Adam, I told myself before that dating him would be a complication but when he messages me why couldn’t I just tell him I wasn’t interested.” I thought to myself.
Deep down I knew the truth, I didn’t want to risk losing him. He was a nice guy and surely some other girl would come along and snatch him up and I honestly had feelings for the guy.
I wasn’t naive enough to believe that I was in love with him but I had to admit I was attracted to him and knew he felt the same way about me and now the only problem was how was I going to get out of the house without anyone noticing.
As for the moment, I was tired out and would figure out something in the morning. I thought to myself as I climbed under my blankets and fell asleep in no time.
Chapter 15
It was around 9 am when I finally was awoken, I had slept like a baby, and I was ready to start another day. After having a quick shower, I returned to my bedroom and started looking for something to wear.
Thanks to the shopping trip I had gone on with Megan and Amy, I had a good selection of clothes to choose from, not to mention all the nice clothes that Amy had given me. I decided on a baby blue sundress, it was one of the dresses that I had been given by Amy.
The sundress was very form fitting and really showed off all my curves. It was also a little short and went down just below my knees. I had chosen a matching bra and panties set and slipped on my new sandals. Since they were opened toe, I could now see the awesome job that Beverly had done on them at the Salon.
Being Sunday I really didn’t know what to do with myself, as I made my way downstairs. I poked my head into Amy’s and Megan’s room and saw that the two of them were still sleeping. So I made my way downstairs and into the Kitchen and found Uncle Brian sitting at the kitchen table.
“Good morning Uncle Brian, you’re up early everyone else is still in bed,” I said pouring myself a cup of coffee and joining him at the table.
“I am usually up early Ashley; I have to make a trip to Denver, for a couple hours, would you like to come for the drive.”
“Sure, I would like that,” I said grinning
“Well, leave a note for your mother, Ashley before we leave so she doesn’t send out a search party. She is bound to worry more about you now that you have started living as a girl.” Uncle Brian said with a smile.
A half hour later the two of us were climbing into his truck and started our trip towards Denver. “So what is so important that you have to drive all the way to Denver on a Sunday morning?” I asked him.
“You will see”, Uncle Brian said being secretive.
“Alright, I guess you will surprise me, so tell me did you plan for me to perform last night or was it a coincidence.”, I said looking over at him.
“Well honey, I guess you could say it was a little bit of both. I didn’t have to force you to do a thing Ashley all the choices were your own, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t happy you decided to join us. “Uncle Brian exclaimed.
“Well I am not mad, I had way too much fun,” I said grinning.
“Good because the offer the guys made you was based completely on your singing ability and I had nothing to do with that at all Ashley.”
“But there is one thing that I am going to tell you, Ashley, I am so proud of you what your doing is not easy, and facing things head on and not hiding from them and when I saw you take the stage and make it your own I knew that you had finally found your home much like it was for me,” Brian explained.
“Yeah, I loved every moment being up there and seeing how happy the people were. I felt that I played a small part in their happiness. I know that sounds stupid.” I said looking at my Uncle.
“Not really honey, sometimes you can do exactly that people often come in and they’re in a dreadful mood, maybe they are feeling lonely or whatever. Then they hear that beautiful voice of yours and somehow it changes their outlook.”
“Maybe they feel better and meet someone and it leads to something more. What I am saying you never know what kind of effect you are going to have on someone” Brian said grinning.
“I guess that’s true Uncle Brian; I have seen people cry just watching a music video. Hell, I have even done it.” I said in a low voice.
“We’ve all done it, Ashley, having emotions is part of being human and there is always some kind of trigger for everyone,” Brian explained.
I thought about what Brian just said. It was funny how the two of us could talk to one another. I had never really been close to anyone but there was something about him that just made me want to trust him.
Maybe it was because he wasn’t anything like my own father, who never really accepted me. Instead tried to force me to become the person he wanted me to be. Whereas Uncle Brian accepted me for who I was. He offered encouragement rather than judgment.
I wished that I could have had Uncle Brian as my father, maybe I wouldn’t have turned out to be so fucked up, I thought to myself as I looked out the window and watched the scenery passing by.
We drove for a half hour and come to a turnoff that said Aurora, Colorado. Uncle Brian had to take the turn off and was now entering the town of Aurora, I looked over at him. “I think you took a wrong turn Uncle Brian this road leads to Aurora, not Denver,” I stated.
“We’re not lost honey; I have a stop here I have to make first.” He said with a smile.
“Alright, I thought you got distracted or something.” I said and watched as we turned onto another road that eventually came to what looked to be a large campus with a big sign outside that said, “Children's Hospital Anschutz Campus.”
“What are we doing here?” I asked my Uncle.
“I come here every weekend, many of these kids are not going to see the outside of this hospital, and I come here to entertain them and today you’re going to join me. Ashley.” Brian said with a grin.
“You could have just told me what you were up too?” I said shaking my head.
“Sure I could have told you but that wouldn’t have been as much fun as making you guess.” He said with a smile.
“So, I take it you have the spare guitar Uncle Brian?”
“It’s behind your seat Ashley.” He said with a smile.
“Alright lead the way,” I said picking up the spare guitar and following my uncle into the building.
“Is there anything I should know before dealing with the kids?” I said somewhat concerned.
“Yes, for some of the areas were going to have to wear special gowns, some of these kids have very low immune systems. So you have to be very careful how you deal with them. Today we are going to be hitting the first floor, next week I plan on doing the second floor.” Uncle Brian explained.
“Alright I understand”, I said looking over at him.
Our first stop was the nursing station and we were told that we could set up in the Television Lounge, and the nurses would bring the children to us. As we entered the lounge, I saw a small piano and went over and sat my guitar next to it.
“Do you play?” Brian asked.
“Yeah, not as good as I play the guitar but enough to get by.”, I said taking a seat on the bench and lifted up the drawer and started playing, “Say Something, by Christina Aguilera. I always loved this song best when it was played on a piano.
Once I began to sing the song, I saw the nurses starting to bring the kids into the lounge I just smiled and continued playing and singing.
Uncle Brian made himself busy and went over and started talking with the children and before long I had a group of kids come over and took seats near the piano and listened to me play. I smiled at them and when I came to the end of the song I had half a dozen requests.
I did my best to keep the kids entertained and even played a few songs with the kids having them sing along with me. When I looked over I saw my uncle was playing freaking video games with the kids.
We visited at the hospital for over an hour, “Uncle Brian came over and did a few songs, which gave me a break and I found myself surrounded by a group of young girls, and one of them was nice enough to share her Barbie’s.
I had to admit I was having a lot of fun playing with the kids and was kind of sad that we had to go, but I promised that I would be back next week with my Uncle.
While exiting the building I turned to my Uncle, “does Amy ever come with you?”
“She used to, but not so much anymore, not everyone is suited for something like this, some of these children may not be here next week and you have to keep that in mind if we’re lucky maybe they went home.” Uncle Brian explained.
“He didn’t need to explain where the other kids went.”, I thought to myself.
There was a part of me that understood what he was trying to do, it was all about trying to improve the quality of life, at least for what little time some of these children had, and it honestly made me realize no matter how bad my life was it could have been a lot worse.
End of part 3
to be continued in part 4
Synopsis: Ashley Roberts had decided to embrace her female side and started on her journey into womanhood thanks to the support of her family. At the moment things seem perfect for our girl. She seems to have found a new direction in her life and is starting to see life through a whole new set of eyes. .
Chapter 16
It had been a weird morning for me, I had gone for a drive with my Uncle and had no idea where the two of us were headed. We ended up at a Children's Hospital in Aurora Colorado. This was a side of my uncle that I had never seen but I was not surprised all the same.
“So where to now I asked him?”, as I put on my seat belt.
“Denver honey”, he said with a smile and put the truck in gear and the two of us were on our way.
“So, do you come here every week, Uncle Brian?” I said referring to the hospital.
“Yeah pretty much, I know that it’s not something I have to do but, it’s something I have been doing since I was your age. It was originally a school project and for some reason, I never stopped even after the project was finished.” He explained.
“If you wouldn’t mind the company, I wouldn’t mind joining you again next week. If that is alright with you Uncle Brian.” I said looking over at him.
“I would welcome the company.” He said with a smile.
“So what’s in Denver?” I asked him.
“There are two things, we're here for Ashley, the first is the lumber yard, I need supplies, and the second is a store called, Enviro Plus they deal in used furniture were going there to see what I can find to spruce up your bedroom.” Uncle Brian said with a big smile.
“My room is fine Uncle Brian; all I really need is a bit more closet room,” I explained.
“The attic is not really a bedroom honey, but when I am finished with it, it will be.” He said grinning.
“I still don’t understand why you are doing all of these things. Megan and I are just your nieces.”, I said looking out the window.
“That’s where your wrong Ashley, Megan and you are more than just our nieces. We love having the both of you around. Helen and I both talked about it last night. We were going to bring it up to your mother later, but we want all of you to stay.” Brian said with a grin.
“I would like that since I have moved here, I finally found myself and I have found people that I am growing to love,” I said looking over at him.
“We feel the same about you Ashley. I know you have been through hell and back but will always have a home here in Littleton.” He said with a smile.
“I wish you could have been my father, Uncle Brian when I am with you I feel safe. All I ever felt around my father was fear and anxiety. It felt like I was walking on eggshells 24/7 and most of the time, I had no idea what would set him off.” I said pausing and then continued.
“I never really knew happiness other than one time, that was when the police showed up and took him away. I was astatic when that happened, but I always knew he was out there and would eventually try to return” I said frowning.
“You’re safe here Ashley, I promise that he isn’t going to get anywhere near you,” Brian said looking over at me.
“Believe me, I hope you’re right,” I said frowning.
We arrived at Alpine Lumber Company 15 minutes later, I waited in the truck while my uncle went inside to pick up his order and have it loaded on the back of his truck. After the truck was loaded we headed over to Enviro Plus.
Enviro Plus was a small store, that mostly dealt in used furniture, Uncle Brian and I made our way inside and started looking around.
“How about this desk, it would be perfect for your bedroom Ashley?”
“It’s nice I said looking at all the space. It will do but I could really use a mirror to go behind it, that way I could also use it as a makeup table also. “I said looking over at my uncle.
“That shouldn’t be a problem Ashley, we can always pick up a mirror for it or I can even mount one on the wall.” Uncle Brian said then took out his measuring tape and checked the width of the table.
“Will it fit?” I asked him.
“Yeah, but barely I will have to be careful bringing it up the stairs to the attic,” he said looking over at me.
After paying for the desk my Uncle loaded it on the back of his truck and spent a few minutes making sure everything was tied down. Once we were ready, we headed out. It was around 11 am when we started back towards home. We did make one more stop along the way at the McDonald’s drive-through and ordered a bite to eat.
I ordered, a cheeseburger combo, and a diet coke and my uncle went with the big mac combo. To be honest I wasn’t a big fan of fast food. Sure I would eat it but that didn’t mean that I thought it was healthy, I thought to myself as I took a drink of my pop.
So did Barbara happen to mention to you how long it would be before she has all the documentation ready for me to start school?
“Not really, Ashley, you might want to talk to your mother about that she talked to Barb, and maybe knows more.”
“I think that I will do that when we get home,” I exclaimed.
“So, I take it you feel like getting back into a normal routine Ashley.”
“Yeah, that is one way of putting it Uncle Brian, I just want to get on with my life and attending school is part of it,” I said looking over at him.
“You’re just going to have to be patient, these things take time Ashley, I agree with you the letter is going to be a big help, but then there are also your school transcripts that need to be transferred from Boston,” Brian explained.
“I wasn’t thinking about that, how long do you think that will take.”, I said looking over at my Uncle.
“Between the letter, the appointment at the school and the transcripts, I would say a few days to a week, provided we don’t run into any trouble with the school Ashley,” Brian explained.
“Do you think the school will give me a hard time.” Uncle Brian.
“I doubt it, things here are a lot more liberal now than they used to be. In my day though, it would have been a completely different story.” My uncle explained.
“Not everyone is going to be as accepting as your family is Ashley, you should prepare yourself for that.” My uncle said looking over at me.
“I have had those thoughts also, Uncle Brian and I am a bit scared how people will react if the truth ever came out. I also know that the time will come and I will have to be honest with someone if I want a relationship.” I said after taking a bite of my cheeseburger.
“Yeah Ashley, I can see that being hard, rejection is hard under normal circumstances but you also have the added risk of your secret getting out,” Brian said frowning.
“That’s kind of the problem, anyone I open up too I am going to have to really trust and the only way to build trust is through communication and time spent together, either way, someone gets hurt if things don’t work out,” I explained.
“I know that you like this Adam guy, do you plan on taking things further with him?” my uncle asked me.
“I could lie to you and say no, but I won’t Uncle Brian. I have feelings for him. It’s not love but there is a strong attraction, between the two of us.” I exclaimed.
“Oh Ashley, I am not going to tell you not to see him, but be careful and if you start to believe you are in love with him, you’re going to have to tell him the truth. Otherwise, you’re just playing with the poor guy’s head.” Uncle Brian exclaimed.
“I promise if it gets to that I will tell him,” I said looking over at my Uncle.
“Good girl, but if you decide to tell him, it will be somewhere out in public and you’re going to tell me first so I can make sure I am there.” Uncle Brian said firmly.
I grinned at my Uncle and called him, “My own personal bodyguard.”
“You need all the protection you can get right now sweetie.” He said with a big smile.
We took our time on the way back and even went off the highway a few times so he could point out many of the different attractions that the area had to offer.
The idea of moving to Littleton Colorado hadn’t been a welcomed one. I didn’t want anything to do with the move, I have never really been a fan of change but as I looked out the window now I could see the beauty of this place but most of all I could see hope towards a better future for all of us.
Chapter 17
The two of us arrived home around 12 pm, and I saw mom’s car in the driveway but Aunt Helen’s was gone. As my Uncle and I made our way inside. The house was completely quiet.
“I guess everyone is out”, I said looking over at my uncle.
“Well, it looks like just the two of us, we should bring the desk upstairs. I can carry it but, I am going to need you to guide me, Ashley,” He said with a smile.
So for the next half hour, the two of us took our time and carried the desk upstairs. Once we had made it up to the second floor. The real fun began Uncle Brian had neglected to take into consideration the door within his calculations. So we ended up having to remove the door altogether.
“There Ashley, that should do it”, he said with sweat running down his brow.
“Yeah, I think so too”, I said with a smile and took a place behind the door and the two of us carried it the rest of the way upstairs and into my bedroom.
After looking around we decided to set it up next to one of the side windows, there was a wall jack waiting and unfortunately, the attic didn’t have many plugs around.
“There, all done honey”, he said letting out a low sigh.
“Why don’t you grab yourself a shower Uncle Brian, and I will grab us a couple of drinks and make the two of us something to eat,” I said with a smile.
“I think maybe I will do that.” He said with a smile.
After making my way downstairs I headed straight for the kitchen and put on a fresh pot of coffee, and then grabbed a frying pan from the drawer just below the oven. I took out the margarine, and greased the pan and put it on the burner and set the heat to low. I then took some bread and cheese out of the fridge and started making one of my favorites, Grilled Cheese for the two of us.
While the sandwiches were cooking I turned on the little stereo that was mounted under one of the cupboards and played with it until I found the country channel and the music started playing.
Just about the time the grilled cheese was finished Uncle Brian came into the kitchen. I looked over at him, “Take a seat, I will bring it over to you.” I said with a grin.
“Two sugar, two creams, right?” I said looking over at him.
“That sounds perfect honey”, he said with a smile.
I brought him over his sandwiches first, and then poured us two cups of coffee and carried them over to the table. I sat his coffee down next to him and placed mine next to his and then retrieved my grilled cheese and turned off the stove and took the seat next to him.” I hope you like it, Uncle Brian, it’s not much but it’s one of the few things I know how to make, well that and Kraft Dinner, and I am not much of a fan of that anymore.”, I said with a smile.
“It’s great honey, I am glad you chose this then.”, he said after taking a bite.
After doing the dishes Uncle Brian turned to me, “I have a few errands I need to do, will you be alright here alone?”
“Yeah, I might just take a walk to the mall or something “, I said with a smile.
“Do you have enough money?”, he asked me.
“I have my bank card, and a few dollars on me, I should be fine, but thanks,” I said with a big smile.
“Alright, you have my number if you run into any problems call me.” Uncle Brian said with a smile and then left to do whatever he needed to do.
I spent the next hour in my bedroom, setting up my desk, once I was finished and everything was put away I changed into a pair of my new Jeans and grabbed a white tee shirt and slipped it on.
I spent a few minutes touching up my makeup and I was ready to leave. It was still a bit cold out so I slipped on my new jacket, and grabbed my purse and headed downstairs. My bedroom door was still off its hinges so I couldn’t really close it. So I just continued on downstairs and exited our home.
As I was walking, I received a text from Adam, “hru”, followed by a happy face emoji.
“Good, walking to mall.”, I replied.
“Why?”, he responded.
“Bored, need minutes for phone & new number,” I explained.
“Want company? ”, Adam replied.
“Sure, meet me at Starbucks. ”, I texted back.
“See you soon Ashley ”, was his response.
After putting my phone back in my purse I continued on walking towards the mall and eventually came to the bike trail and followed it until I reached Main Street from there the mall was just a couple of blocks away.
After about 10 minutes waiting in line, I found myself finally being served, Starbucks was pretty busy, and there didn’t look to be many free seats available. Like I had feared there were no seats available inside or outside of the store.
So I made my way to the food court and found a seat near Subway and texted Adam letting him know where to find me. After a minute or so he texted me back telling me to stay put and he would come to me.
As I waited for Adam I looked around and noticed that there were a few guys checking me out. This was something I wasn’t really used too yet, sure when I was in boy mode I had drawn my fair share of attention but that attention was unwanted.
Now that I was completely in girl mode and seeing the reaction other guys were giving me validated that I was no different than any other teenage girl and when I saw Adam approaching and the look on his face I knew that he liked the new me.
“There you are and I thought you were beautiful before, but I have to say you completely outdid yourself.” He said with a big smile.
“Thanks, Adam, I felt it was time for a change,” I said grinning as he took a seat across from me.
“Well, it really suits you, Ashley.” He said with a smile.
“So, what are your plans for the rest of the day,” Adam asked.
“Nothing really, I just needed to get out of the house for a bit,” I explained to him.
“Well, how about we start our date early then.” He said with a smile.
“Alright Adam, so what do you have in mind?” I said grinning.
“I was thinking you haven’t really had a chance to see much since you moved to Littleton, how about I give you the tour Ashley,” Adam said reaching across the table and taking my hands in his.
Adam and I talked for a bit while I finished my coffee and once I was finished he took my hand and the two of us made our way outside and after a short walk in the parking lot, we came to a Yamaha YB1 F5B motorcycle.
“Here’s my girl.”, Adam said with a smile.
“She’s a beauty, but I think you can do better.”, I said with a big smile.
“Yeah, I think that you might be right,” Adam said handing me a helmet which I slipped over my head and climbed on the back of his motorcycle.
Once Adam climbed on I wrapped my arms around him and he started the motorcycle and we pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. We drove for about 30 minutes until we reached Chatfield State Park.
I had to admit that I was quite surprised as I climbed off Adam’s motorcycle. The park was absolutely beautiful. There was also a very nice beach that I imagined was quite busy in the summer months.
“You are going to love it here Ashley, It’s almost as beautiful as you are,” Adam said taking my hand and the two of us started walking on one of the many walking trails in the park.
As the two of us walked along the trail, there were areas that were a bit challenging, but Adam was being a gentleman and stopped numerous times to help me get past one obstacle or another.
“I can’t believe this place, it’s so beautiful”, I said looking over at Adam.
“You should see it here when they have the hot air balloon rides, Ashley. The views are breathtaking.”, Adam exclaimed.
“I have never been in a Hot Air Balloon”, I said excitedly.
“Well, I have only been up once, maybe when the season starts we can come back,” Adam said with a smile.
“That would be fun”, I said with a grin.
“Let’s have a seat over there,” Adam said pointing to some benches along the trail.
“Sure”, I said with a smile as the two of us walked to the nearest bench and took a seat.
Once I was comfortable Adam released my hand and slipped it around my shoulders, and I did what any other girl in my position would have done I leaned in and laid my head against his strong shoulders.
“This is nice”, he said pulling me closer to him and before I even knew what was happening he leaned down and kissed me.
The kiss startled me at first and honestly, took my breath away but I found myself slipping my arms around Adams' neck and returning his embrace. The two of us stayed like this for god knows how long but when the kiss ended I knew that it wouldn't be our last kiss.
“Wow”, I said when I finally came back to my senses.
“Wow, doesn’t describe it. I have been wanting to do that from the day we first met.” Adam said looking me in the eyes.
“Well, it took you long enough,” I said with a smile and broke down giggling.
The one thing Adam didn’t realize was this had been my first kiss for me as either gender, but I had to admit I had never been more excited about anything in my life.
Chapter 18
Adam and I were too caught up in the moment, and each other to even notice the old couple that passed by us holding hands. “God that was us 40 years ago Charlie”, the old woman said in a low voice.
I loved the feel of Adams arms holding me, and I didn’t want it to end. The two of us just sat there and took in what had just happened and both of us knew that our feelings were real.
“So, Ashley did you have anyone in Boston?” Adam said looking over at me.
“No, Adam, to be honest, Boston was a very dark place for me. There was a lot of pain and anguish there for me but you know the funny thing. I was completely against moving to Littleton. You would think with everything that had happened there I would be glad to leave.” I sighed.
“Well, I am glad you did otherwise I wouldn’t have met you and kissed those soft lips of yours,” Adam said with a smile and then leaned in and kissed me again.
“Me too, for so many reasons,” I said once the kiss ended.
“So what was so bad about Boston, if you don’t mind me asking?” Adam said looking over at me.
“I am not sure that I am ready to go into all the details with you yet Adam, let’s just say my father was very abusive towards me. He was eventually arrested and served time in jail, but was released recently, and that's part of the reason we moved to Littleton, so we could get away from him.” I explained.
“So please understand Adam, it takes me awhile to trust people, eventually I will tell you more but I am not quite ready yet.” I said frowning.
“That’s alright Ashley, we have just started dating, if you want to call it that.”, Adam said looking me in the eyes.
“Yeah, I would say, after all that kissing the two of us are dating.” I said with a grin and cuddled up against him.
“If that is the case Ashley, I think there is something you need to know. I have a child, a little girl, my parents are helping me raise her, but she is not normal, she has Down Syndrome. I was stupid and made a mistake and my ex-girlfriend ended up pregnant. We didn’t know till later on that the child she was carrying had Down syndrome.” Adam explained.
“That must have been hard.” I said looking over at Adam.
“Yeah, Sarah wanted to give the child up, but I talked to my parents and with their help I decided against giving my daughter up. Mom and Dad have been great through all this but I know that they are disappointed in me.” Adam explained.
“I think your brave for not giving her up, giving her up would have been the easy route, but being a father to her takes a lot of strength. So when do I meet her?” I said looking Adam in the eyes.
“Her name is Abby, and you won’t be meeting her for a while Ashley. She is only 6 months old but gets attached to people quickly, my last girlfriend thought that she could handle it and spent a lot of time with Abby and when it didn’t work out between us, it really upset Abby.” Adam explained.
“I don’t always have the freedom to run either Ashley, the agreement with my parents was, I take care of Abby, accept for when I am in school or attending school events and they only reason they allow me to continue playing football is I have a chance of maybe getting a scholarship.” Adam explained.
“You must have a lot of girls interested?” I said looking at him.
“Yes, there have been lots of girls interested until they find out I have a daughter, and some have dated me, but once they met Abby, they weren’t interested.” He said sadly.
“I can see why, most girls our age are not wanting to start a family, let alone bring up a disabled child and to be honest I am not sure that I am either.” I said sympathically.
“Well maybe, we should be getting back.” Adam said sadly.
“Hold on Adam, I didn’t say I wasn’t interested in going out with you. Let’s just say both of us have our own set of issues were dealing with at the moment but it doesn’t mean you and I are not compatible. “I paused and then continued.
“Now as far as Abby goes, I honestly don’t know but if you and me are going to date, then you can’t hide her from me.” I said firmly.
“Alright Ashley, I will let you meet her, I will talk to my mother and see about having you over for supper sometime this week, but I will warn you now it’s not a quiet household.” Adam said frowning.
“Now, enough of this can we get back to the kissing.” I said with a smile and then wrapped my arms around him and kissed him passionately.
The two of us stayed on the bench for a while longer then Adam stood up and reached down and took my hand. “Come on honey, there’s one other place. I want to show you.” He said with a smile.
After a short walk we came to a clearing, that had a small creek running alongside, hopefully we will see something he said as we went off the trail and followed along the creek, until eventually we came to and area, and I saw about 20 deer grazing in the field. “This is amazing they must know were here, why are they not running?” I said looking over at Adam.
“The park is also a wildlife reserve, their protected and over time they lost the fear of people, you still have to be careful around them though.” Adam said as the two of us continued walking until we were about 10 feet away.
“Let’s have a seat here Ashley, maybe if we’re lucky one will come over.” Adam said looking over at me.
“I better stand, I don’t want to get grass stains all over my new jeans.” I said looking over at him.
“Just sit on my lap Ashley, I promise that I won’t bite.” He said with a smile.
After Adam sat down I slowly lowered myself onto his lap and once I was seated felt his strong arms wrap around me once again.
“Next time I will bring us a blanket” Adam said with a grin.
“I don’t know, I kind of like it on your lap.” I said with a smile and then felt him start to harden beneath me.
Damn, that didn’t take long I thought to myself as I started to realize how big Adam actually was. I was also kind of flattered knowing just how much of an effect that I was having on him.
“Sorry Ashley”, he said looking on comfortable.
“It’s alright Adam, I understand but don’t expect me to do anything about it, you’re lucky I let you even get to first base.” I said with a smile.
“You loved it” Adam said with a smile.
“I never said I didn’t”, I said grinning.
The two of us stayed there for about an hour before starting back, sadly the deer were too timid to come over and join us but I wasn’t too worried I had a great time. It was romantic and everything a first date should be. I thought to myself as I climbed on the back of his motorcycle and we started driving towards home.
We arrive back at my home around 5 pm, I was sad to see Adam go, but we agreed to meet up in a few days. Before leaving Adam walked me to the door and the two of us kissed once again and then said our goodbyes.
As I entered the living room I saw my reflection in the mirror over top of the fireplace, my lipstick was pretty smeared, I guess that Adam was wearing most of it. I thought that I better, clean it up before someone noticed and made my way upstairs, and was about to go to the bath room when Amy and Megan exited their bedroom.
When they saw me I knew that the secret was out of the bag, even I knew there was only one way for a girl to mess up her lipstick this bad.
Amy had a big smile on her face, whereas my sister looked a little flustered.
I looked at them, “Alright, I kissed a guy and I liked it.” I said singing the words and then tried to prepare myself for the questions that were bound to follow.
“Adam”, Megan said flatly.
“Who else would it be.” I said entering the washroom and started cleaning up.
“I thought we agreed it wasn’t a good idea, you seeing him.” Megan said looking frustrated.
“No, we discussed it and I agreed it wasn’t a good idea, but I never said anything about not seeing him.” I said looking over at Megan.
“Well when this blows up in your face, don’t come looking for help from me Ashley, you brought this on yourself “, Megan said walking away.
“Glad you’re happy for me sis, I love you to.” I said as she walked away.
“I suppose you’re against Adam and I being together too Amy.” I said reapplying my lipstick.
“Actually Ashley, no I am not, let’s go upstairs the two of us need to have a little girl talk about Adam.” Amy said walking over and giving me a hug.
Once Amy and I were alone in my bedroom, she turned to me, “Ashley what I am about to tell you, just about everyone in our school already knows.”
“Adam's like you, he's changed a lot over the last year, when I first met him he was an arrogant, self-centered bastard, he dated a lot of girls, it was all about scoring for him he didn’t really care one bit for the girls he hurt.” Amy exclaimed.
“That doesn’t sound like Adam.” I said flatly.
“Believe me Ashley, he was a real prick and when he got Sarah pregnant, he tried to say it wasn’t his and that she was running around on him.” Amy explained.
“Why are you telling me all this, the guy your talking about sounds like a real scumbag.”. I said looking at Amy.
“He was Ashley, and then something happened. There was an accident, and he almost died. He had been drinking heavily, and when he finely left the hospital. He took responsibility for the baby and started working evenings and weekends to pay for everything the child would need.” Amy explained.
“When the child was born, everyone tried to talk him into giving it up, even the mother didn’t want the baby but Adam refused to listen to anyone when it came to the baby, he’s not the same man he was Ashley. I love the man he has become, but it’s not me he wants.” Amy said sadly.
“I am sorry Amy.” I said hugging her.
“It’s alright Ashley, I think the two of you were meant to be together, I knew it the moment I saw the two of you together and I want you both to be happy.” Amy said as tears ran down the side of her face.
“Don’t listen to Megan, Ashley follow your heart he’s a great guy and I know that if you’re honest with him, he will see the girl that you really are.” Amy said with a grin.
“I hope you’re right Amy, but I am not ready to tell him my secret yet.” I said looking her in the eyes.
“Don’t wait too long Ashley, the longer you put this off the worse it will be for him.” Amy explained.
“I guess Megan isn’t too happy with me right now”, I said frowning.
“Just give her time Ashley, she didn’t mean what she said, she’s just being protective of her baby sister and honestly you still have a lot to learn.” Amy said with a grin.
“How about we join the others, our moms have likely already started serving supper.” Amy said with a smile.
“Our Mom’s, that just sounds so weird.” I said with a smile.
“Yeah but I kind of like the idea, it’s like I have two sisters now.” Amy said taking my hand and the two of us made our way downstairs.
I was worried that Megan would have told Mom, about Adam and me, but thankfully she didn’t say anything. Aunt Helen, had made pork chops, mashed potatoes and veggies for supper. I had to admit that Aunt Helen was an awesome cook as I took a bite of my pork chops.
Everyone basically talked amongst themselves, which I was grateful for lately the conversations had been directed towards me, and I really didn’t feel like giving a recap of what happened last on the Ashley Roberts Show. I thought to myself as I just sat back and listened to our parents talk amongst one another.
After supper Amy, Megan and I took care of the dishes as we worked Megan turned to me, “Sorry about earlier Ashley, I just worry that you’re taking on to much too soon.” Megan said sadly.
“You may be right Megan, but I really care for Adam and I am not ready to just walk away.” I said looking over at her.
“If you’re sure Ashley, I won’t stand in your way.” Megan said leaning over and giving me a hug.
“There enough of the arguing.” Amy said with a smile.
“Shut up, I said pulling Amy over and the three of us hugged one another.”
Later that night,
I was watching the late news; two people were left dead after a botched robbery attempt at first General Bank in Boston. Criminals are still at large, and police are asking the public for any information they might have.
Well at least it’s safe here in Littleton I said to myself as I left the news station and loaded the page for youtube. It was a boring night so I found myself looking for something worth watching and loaded up a country playlist.
Once the music was playing i climbed into bed and picked up where I had left off in the book that I was reading and eventually fell into a deep sleep.
End of Part 4
To be continued in part 5
Synopsis: Ashley Roberts has started living full time as a girl luckily she has the support of her family and has even managed to find herself a boyfriend along the way. Life seems good at the moment, but, “There's always a calm before the storm...”
It was Monday morning and it had been a full week now since we moved to Littleton, it was the place I now called home. Since moving here a lot has changed in my life. I had always known deep down that I was really a girl and now I was finally living the life that I was meant to live all along.
There were still doubts in my mind though but not about the transition and becoming completely female. The doubts stemmed with Adam and if It was possible to give him what he wanted.
I believed deep down that I could but when it came to having children I doubted that it was even possible, even if I did eventually have all the plumbing would it be fully functional.
I guess that would be a question that would be eventually answered once I saw the specialists and they ran their tests. I thought to myself as I slowly climbed out of bed and got ready to take on another day.
After taking a shower, I decided that it was going to be a t-shirt and jeans day and slowly got dressed and did my makeup and hair, even though I didn’t have anywhere to go I still needed practice.
Once I was satisfied I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen and found my mother sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee.
“Good Morning Honey”, she said looking up from her newspaper.
“Good morning yourself”, I said as I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat it on the table and then poured some cornflakes into a bowl and joined my mother at the table.
“Mom, there is something I have been meaning to ask you, has Barb, giving you any kind of time frame of when she will have my documentation ready so I can start school?”
“You should have it in a couple of days, Ashley. Once I have the letter, we can get you and your sister enrolled in school and hopefully, it won't be too long before your transcripts arrive.”
“So what is your plan for today mom?”
“I am going to start looking for work honey, I can’t expect your Uncle and Aunt to support us forever. There is also something, important that I want to talk to you and your sister about later tonight, so don’t make any plans.” Mom said looking across at me.
“Alright mom, but if it's about us staying here with Uncle Brian and Aunt Helen, I am completely fine with it,” I said with a smile.
“I guess your Uncle, must have told you, but that’s not the only reason I want to talk to the both of you alone. We have some things that need to be addressed and I thought we could grab a bite to eat and have a talk.” Mom explained.
“Alright, I am fine with that Mom, do I need to wear anything special?” I said looking over at her.
“Wear one of your new dresses and go light on the makeup.” Mom said then took a sip of her coffee.
“Bet you never thought you would be telling me to wear a dress and makeup,” I said grinning.
“Nope, this kind of all came out of the blue., but you’re a beautiful girl all the same.” Mom said looking over at me.
“Thanks’ Mommy, I know this isn’t what you wanted for me, but it means the world to me knowing that I can finally be myself around you,” I said wiping a single tear from my eyes.
“I know baby, and I am fine with it for the most part. There are still some issues that I need to deal with but that has nothing to do with you, honey.” Mom explained.
“I am sorry mom for giving you such a hard time with moving to Littleton, you were right moving here was best for all of us, I was just afraid that Uncle Brian was going to be like dad., but he is nothing like dad ever was,” I said with a smile.
“The two of you have grown pretty close haven’t you Ashley.”
“Yes, I didn’t think it was possible, but I really like spending time with him,” I said grinning.
“It’s alright honey, the two of you are kindred spirits, and you share a lot in common, especially music and he seems to have taken a real liking to you also.” Mom said grinning.
“Yeah, well the feeling is mutual,” I said with a smile.
“So, do you have any plans for today?” Mom asked.
“I was thinking of asking Megan if she wanted to go into town and check out the thrift store with me,” I exclaimed.
“That sounds like a good idea, it will save your poor mother money, how much is this going to set me back.” Mom said with a smile.
“Nothing mom, you have already done enough, I have some money in the bank, but I am going to need to get a new phone number though, any calls that come in right now I am being charged long distance rates,” I explained.
“I will take care of that later today honey. I think it’s time we upgraded to a family plan anyway, those prepaid cards are getting expensive.” Mom exclaimed.
“You may be right mom, some of the family plans are pretty good and you have the added bonus of not running out of minutes,” I said grinning.
“Well, I better be going, I have a lot of running around to do I will see you around suppertime honey.” Mom said getting up and heading towards the door.
“See you later momma and good luck,” I said as she exited.
After finishing breakfast and washing the dishes, I returned to my bedroom. I wasn’t ready to leave just yet and thought it was a good time to start adding Ashley Roberts to the online world and booted up my laptop.
When the computer finished loading, I put on my headset and started up my Spotify playlist and then went to Gmail and signed out of my old account and then started setting up my new account.
Setting up the account didn’t really take very long all I really had to do was fill in the information and then wait for them to send me a text message.
Once the activation code came in I entered the code and the account was ready to use.
After I finished setting up my Gmail account, I went to youtube and signed in using my Gmail username and password which automatically created a new account.
Once that was finished I opened up a new Facebook account and spent the next few minutes filling in all the required information and waited for the activation code to arrive on my phone and then put the code in and the account was verified.
The last thing I set up was Twitter and logged in using my google account and I was finished. I then turned off Spotify and loaded up my recording software and watched as my webcam started and I saw my reflection appear on the laptop's screen.
After doing a check to make sure the microphone was working I grabbed my guitar and took a seat in front of the computer. I was happy that I was using a wireless headset because the wires always got in my way whenever I tried to record anything when I played my guitar.
Once I was sure everything was working I started playing. “Angel”, by Sarah McLachlan. I let the sound build up before I started singing the lyrics and as I sang the song I became lost in the music, which was something that often happened when I really loved a song and there was something about Sarah McLachlan's music that always touched my heart.
When I finished I moved onto “Mad World”, by Tears for fears. Which was a song that I only recently learned to play? I had been watching a television show called, "The Voice" and one of the people auditioning did the song. I liked the song so much that I spent hours afterward trying to play it, eventually, I learn to play the song and memorized the lyrics.
After I finished the song I moved on to, “The Scientist”, by Coldplay. I had always loved the song and had even changed it around a bit to give it a bit of a different sound.
After I was finished, I spent the next 15 minutes looking at the videos then used the software to cut the songs into separate videos and also convert a few of the clips into jpegs to use as pictures for my various accounts.
The videos sounded pretty good so I figured what the hell and posted them to my youtube account and also used one of the pictures as my profile picture.
Maybe it was a little vain on my part but if I wanted to be a singer the best way of doing it was to get my name out there. I thought to myself as I hit the enter button and the upload began. Little did I know at the time that one video being posted would have such an effect on my already complicated life.
It was around 11 am when Megan finally made her way downstairs, I was watching Riverdale, on Netflix. “I see sleeping beauty has finally awoken,” I said with a grin.
“Is there any coffee left?” she asked me looking half asleep.
“Yes, but I wouldn’t drink it, it’s been sitting in the pot all morning,” I explained.
“Guess, I will have to make a fresh pot,” Megan said and then made her way into the kitchen.
Megan didn’t need my help making coffee, so I hit the play button and continued watching Riverdale. When I first heard about the show I thought it would be complete garbage, considering it was based on a kid’s comic book, but I had to admit, I actually loved the show and found myself watching every time they put a new episode out.
About 20 minutes later Megan joined me in the living room and took a seat on the couch next to me. “So what are your plans for today?” she said looking over at me.
“Well, I was waiting for you to wake up to ask you if you felt like taking a little trip into town with me,” I said with a smile.
“What do you have in mind?” Megan said then took a sip of her coffee.
“When I was out with Adam, we passed a thrift store, I was thinking of paying it a visit and see if they had anything there I could use,” I explained.
“I could use a few things too, are you sure that you can find this place though,” Megan said looking over at me.
“Yes, it’s only a few blocks from the mall,” I explained.
“Alright Ashley, let’s get going,” Megan exclaimed.
After grabbing our coats and purses the two of us headed out. I decided to take the long way to the mall, there were still so many things that the two of us hadn’t really seen since moving to Littleton,
I had been a bit luckier because I had been out more than Megan and had a chance to memorize how to get from here to there. Whereas Megan had only been out a few times with Amy and our Uncle Brian.
“Why are we going this way?” Megan asked.
“Don’t worry about it Megan, I know how to get there and you should know this route anyway, come winter the bike trail will not always be usable,” I explained.
“That’s true,” Megan said agreeing with me.
“So, it doesn’t seem like it took you very long to get your bearings around here,” Megan said looking over at me.
“I spend most of my time looking out the window, whenever I am out and it’s not just for the scenery and having a photographic memory doesn’t really hurt,” I explained to her.
“Yeah, that memory of yours has gotten you out of a lot of trouble at school considering how little you actually study Ashley,” Megan said with a smile.
“True but in my defense, everyone thought I was a nerd, and that I spent all of my time in a book. I wasn’t popular like you Megan.” I said looking over at her as the two of us walked.
“The reason people thought of you like that Ashley was that you were always sitting somewhere reading a book and as far as popularity goes you never really gave anyone a chance to know the real you. I have a feeling though you’re in for a completely different experience attending school as a girl.”, Megan said grinning.
As Megan and I walked I thought about what she had just said, she was right about two things the first was, I didn’t allow anyone to get close to me. How could they when I built this huge wall up around me. Reading was one of my many escapes it took me outside of my mind and for a time I didn't have to think about how shitty my life truly was. A place where I could just be myself without the fear of being rejected by my peers.
The second thing she was right about. I was a very good actress and spent years performing as Ashley Roberts the boy and rarely let the girl inside me out. That part of me had to be kept secret, especially when my father was in the picture. Showing any kind of weakness around him would have been a big mistake.
“Something on your mind Ashley?”, Megan asked looking over at me.
“I was just thinking you were right Megan, I didn’t really let many people in. I had built a wall over the years, just to keep everyone out I was afraid if anyone knew who I really was they would reject me, and make my life a living hell.” I explained to her.
“Well, things are different here Ashley, nobody knows your past except for your family. you can finally just be yourself.”
“That’s what is so liberating about this place Megan, I can be myself for the first time in years, and the actress is finally retired,” I said grinning.
“Well, I guess the both of us got something we wanted out of this move, you got to be the girl you always knew you were and I got the little sister I always wanted,” Megan said grinning.
“Was I really that bad as a brother to you?” I said looking over at her.
“No Ashley, you were always nice to me, but the two of us were never really close like we are now. It’s not like I could teach my little brother to do his makeup and hair. That would have been just too weird and as far as shopping goes you were never very much fun when you were pretending to be a boy. “Megan paused and then continued.
“I understand now why you acted the way you did. We were looking at all the things you desperately wanted but couldn’t have.” Megan exclaimed.
“Yeah, those days really sucked,” I said thinking aloud.
“Well, those days are over with now Ashley, you can finally be the person that you were meant to be,” Megan said with a grin.
Megan was right I was now living the life that I was truly meant to live, I knew that things were not going to be perfect, life rarely is but the one thing I could take to heart as I would face my problems head-on as the girl I was always meant to be.
We arrived at The Salvation Army Thrift Store 10 minutes later, along the way I had pointed out a few places here and there. There was a lot more to Littleton then either of us initially realized. There was even a small shopping district that we passed through on our way to the Thrift Store. They sold all kinds of items and we planned on checking it out a bit more later before returning home.
As the two of us made our way to the store, maybe it was the time of day or something but there was hardly anyone there other than the staff. My first stop was the jewelry cabinet. There was a few rings and bracelets that I really liked.
Only one of the rings fit me and the other was just a little too big when I asked Megan if it would be worth getting resized she said it would cost twice what I was paying for it to have it resized so I ended up just getting the ring that fit me and the bracelet. Which I paid for using my debit card and put them in my purse.
We then grabbed a shopping cart and divided it between the two of us. The first stop we went to was the jeans section of the store. They seemed to have a lot of the larger sizes but there really wasn’t much of a selection for our size.
I did find a few pairs of jean shorts which I grabbed, as well as a couple of skirts. Megan found herself a really nice skirt and blouse that looked like new, she put it into the cart and the two of us continued on. We started sorting through the t-shirts and blouses looking for anything usable and found a few other Items that we both grabbed and placed inside of the cart.
There were a couple other items Megan and I had bought but otherwise, it was a disappointing trip, but that is sometimes the way of things when shopping at the Thrift Store, next week they will have more to choose from I thought as Megan and I paid for our items.
“So where to now sis?” Megan said looking over at me.
“Feel like an ice cream, It’s my treat,” I said seeing a sign a few blocks down that said. Cold Stone Creamery.”
“Strange name for an ice cream place.”, Megan said grinning.
“Let’s just hope they don’t give you a stone cold stunner if you don’t pay,” I said thinking back to when I used to watch wrestling. There was a guy and that is what he called his finishing move.
“Only you would know that Ashley, but ice cream sounds good.”, Megan said grinning
“Yup beauty and brains, that’s me,” I said grinning.
Megan just shook her head, and the two of us made our way over to the Cold Stone Creamery. Once inside I ordered too large rocky road ice creams, rocky road was Megan’s favorite ice creams, and also one of mine.
Considering that most of the kids with the exception of Megan and I were in school the place was not very busy, so it didn’t take us very long to be served. The two of us took the stools over by the main window that looked out onto the street.
Traffic was starting to pick up again, it was around noon after all and people were going on their lunch breaks, many were likely headed to a restaurant to grab a bite to eat. I thought to myself as I took a bite of my ice cream and enjoyed its chocolatey goodness.
“So have you giving any thought to what you want to do once we start school again? I know for myself I would like to join the Cheer Squad, that’s if they will have me this late in the year.” Megan exclaimed.
“I haven’t really given it much thought, I would imagine though I will spend most of the semester sitting under a tree reading,” I said grinning.
Megan laughed, “Yeah, right that was the old you, but seriously have you giving it any thought?”
“If anything I think that I want to concentrate on my music, you know me, boy or girl I am not interested in playing any sports. There are just too many bad memories of what dad put me through. I might consider joining the school newspaper or something like that but honestly, I don’t know yet Megan.”
“I suppose with everything related to your transition, you may be busy with other things,” Megan exclaimed.
“That’s true Megan, I have a long way to go, and I don’t really have a time frame set as to when I will start,” I said looking over at my sister.
“Does the thought of having the operation scare you, Ashley, I would be scared.”
“Not really Megan, but it doesn’t mean I won’t be when the time comes to have the operation,” I said honestly.
“What about Adam, are you planning on telling him the truth?” Megan said looking me in the eyes.
“Yes, I am planning on telling him, if the relationship starts getting serious, but for the moment I am going to keep the truth to myself and see where things lead with him,” I explained.
“It’s kind of a rough place you are in Ashley; anyone you open up to could really hurt you,” Megan exclaimed.
“Yeah, but what is the alternative stay single for the rest of my life. it’s not fair that everyone around me is allowed to be happy and I am miserable.” I said sadly.
“You’re right Ashley, you deserve to be happy too,” Megan said reaching over and giving me a hug.
“So, I take it you really like this guy then,” Megan said with a grin.
“Yes Megan I really do; I knew the moment we kissed that it was more than just infatuation,” I said grinning.
“Is he a good kisser”, Megan said with a smile.
“Good enough to take your breath away and tie your stomach up in knots,” I said blushing.
“Wow, that’s intense was he your first?” Megan said with a grin.
“he was my first in either mode,” I said looking Megan in the eyes.
“You will never forget it Ashley, the first kiss is something a girl never forgets,” Megan said grinning.
“I know we spent most of our date making out,” I said with a big smile.
“Wow, my little sister is doing better than I am with the guys. I am kind of jealous.” She said with a grin.
“Don’t worry Megan, once you start school you will have plenty of guys wanting to get in your pants,” I said giggling.
“You are right there Ashley, there is never a shortage when it comes to guys looking to hook up with a girl,” Megan said with a smile.
“Anyway we should start back home, and I also wanted to take a look at some of the shops along the way.”, Megan said looking over at me.
Megan and I returned home about 45 minutes later. The shops in the shopping district turned out to be better than I thought they would be and before I was done, I had spent almost $60, on a lot of stuff I probably didn’t even need.
It had been a botched deal for Philip Roberts, and his merry band of men, but unlike Robin Hood, one of the men he was working with got trigger happy and they were lucky to get away.
They had only netted $100, 000 to split 5 ways. There would have been a lot more money if it wasn’t for Lenny messing everything up, they didn’t have time to stick around once the alarm was triggered. Philip would have to be happy with his mere $20.000. At least until something else could be arranged, after dividing up the money everyone but Jimmy left.
“Well, that was a complete waste of time,” Philip said to his friend.
“Yeah, I would say so, want a beer?” Jimmy said getting up and heading over to the fridge.
“Sure Jimmy, but I think we need to rethink our team, Lenny is way too unstable. If we leave him on the team, he’s going to get us caught or killed.” Philip said taking the beer and opening it.
“I agree with you there Philip, he’s off the team. What do you think about the other guys though?” Jimmy exclaimed.
“Pete is fine, he was pretty calm and handled himself like a professional as did James. I am fine with the both of them.” Philip said looking at his friend.
“So Philip were keeping everyone but Lenny then,” Jimmy exclaimed.
“Yeah, can we trust Lenny to keep his mouth shut, or are we going to need to deal with him,” Philip said calmly.
“I think it would be best to tie up whatever loose ends exist,” Jimmy said with a grin.
“Alright, I will leave the details to you, Jimmy, try to make it look like an accident,” Philip said with a grin.
“Well, he’s a heroin addict, so I suppose an overdose isn’t something that is not expected. It happens all the time to Junkies.” Jimmy said with a smile.
“Good plan,” Philip said then swallowed down his beer.
“I better get going, I have a lot of things that need to be done and $20000, will be a good start.”, Philip said with a smile and then left Jimmy’s apartment.
As Philip left the apartment, he thought to himself, I will be back with my family soon and this time, things will be different. He would make sure they never dared walk out on him again. he thought to himself as he exited the building.
Megan and I had been home now for a few hours and I was honestly starting to really miss school. At least being in class made the time fly, but this sitting around the house was really starting to get to me.
“I am going to run upstairs and check my email, and put my goodies in my bedroom. You can join me if you want?” I said to Megan.
“No, I think that I am going to just watch a bit of television,” Megan replied.
“Suit yourself”, I said with a smile and made my way up the stairs and into my bedroom.
Once inside I clicked the power button on my computer and left it to finish starting up, I took all of the clothes I had bought at The Salvation Army Thrift Store and placed them in my laundry hamper and then set my new jewelry in the first drawer of my new desk/makeup table.
I then grabbed the bag from the laundry hamper and made my way back downstairs and into the living room and asked Megan if she had anything she wanted to be washed. Megan smiled. “Yes, give me a few minutes Ashley and I will bring it downstairs.”
“Alright Megan, I will be in the basement,” I said with a smile and then made my way down the stairs and started sorting my clothes into a few piles.
I put all the whites into the washer first and then as I waited for Megan I grabbed a coke from the bar fridge. Megan arrived a few minutes later carrying the laundry bag from her bedroom. “You sure that you don’t mind, It’s not just my stuff in here some of it belongs to Amy,” Megan explained.
“It's, not a big deal Megan just leave the bag and you can return to your show, I can sort it myself,” I said with a smile.
“Alright, sis, and thanks,” Megan said then made her way upstairs.
After Megan left, I turned on Uncle Brian’s stereo and set the radio to the country channel and started sorting Megan’s and Amy's clothes and added them to the piles on the floor.
I took all the whites and put them into the washer which now made a full load. I then poured in the laundry detergent and started the first load. I made my way back upstairs and into my bedroom and grabbed my laptop, and brought it downstairs and set it on the bar and took a seat in front of my computer.
Once I was seated I opened up youtube and went to the, My Channel page, I was surprised for being a new account it had been pretty busy. I was also surprised when I saw how many comments had been left for me.
Most of the comments were quite positive, although some were quite crude and had nothing to do with the videos I had posted, those comments I just ignored and continued reading, for the most part, people liked what they heard and others were asking me to sing different songs.
I had somehow managed to build a small fan base, that was still growing. I thought to myself as I replied to a few of the comments and also copied and pasted many of the song suggestions into word. I would look at the songs later and see which ones I could play and which ones I couldn’t.
There was a couple of songs on the list, that I knew already so I would do them first. I thought to myself. When a message came in on my cell, when I looked I saw it was 3 pm and the message was from Adam.
“Hey baby, how’s my girl?” he said with a smiley face.
“Good, just doing laundry. How’s my handsome man.” I said with a grin.
“Great now that school’s done, and I am talking to you.” He said with a happy face.
“Give me a minute and I will call you on the house phone,” I said sending the message.
“I then picked up the house phone and dialed Adams cell.” The phone only rang once before he answered.
“Hey Baby”, Adam said cheerfully.
“Hi Adam, so how was school?”, I said then took a sip of my coke.
“Terribly boring, so when will you be starting school?”, He asked.
“Soon, I hope Adam were still waiting for our transcripts to arrive from Boston and my Doctor is sending a letter to exempt me from Physical Education,” I explained to him.
“That's right, you’re going to need that letter, have you heard anything back from the doctor yet?” Adam asked.
“Nope, I am still waiting to see a specialist, and once that happens my family doctor said that I would likely end up having to go for a bunch of tests,” I explained.
“Well, if you need a ride or anything let me know,” Adam replied.
“Thanks, honey, I will remember that,” I said with a smile.
“So, I take it that you can’t get out for a bit today.” Maybe tonight but you can always come over if you want.” I said with a grin.
“I would like that Ashley; I will be there in about 15 minutes,” Adam said sounding excited.
“Alright, I will see you in a bit honey,” I said excitedly and then we ended the call just as I heard the buzzer go off on the washer letting me know it was ready for another load.
After placing everything in the dryer I started on the colors, once the washer and dryer were running I made my way upstairs and into the living room.
The room was empty Megan must have gotten tired of watching the television and went upstairs to her bedroom. I made my way over to the front door and opened it and stepped outside and waited for Adam to arrive.
I didn’t have to wait very long when I saw Adams motorcycle pull into the driveway. Once off the bike he came over and met me with a kiss.
“Glad to see you too,” I said giggling as I took his hand and led him into the house.
“Are you the only one home?” Adam asked.
“Megan is upstairs in her bedroom, and I would imagine that Amy should be home anytime now. Let’s head downstairs I am doing the laundry and I need to keep an eye on it.” I said with a smile.
“This is nice.”, Adam said as we entered the basement.
“Yeah, my Uncle converted it into a rec room and as you can see by all the guitars he’s a musician,” I said grinning.
“Wow, he has some nice guitars.”, Adam said going over and looking at them.
“Yeah, his guitars make mine look pitiful,” I said with a smile.
“I didn’t know you played guitar, I knew you could sing though, why don’t you play me something, Ashley,” Adam said taking a seat at the bar.
“There are a few videos of me posted on youtube, here I will pull them up,” I said going over to the computer and I clicked the first video.
“Can I get you anything, Adam?” I said opening the fridge. “There’s coke, Root Beer, and some Ginger ale. “I said looking over at him.
“A coke would be great thanks”, he said as he continued watching the video.
After I opened the can of Coke I handed it to him, “This is unbelievable Ashley, you have an amazing voice and god girl you can sure play the guitar.” Adam said turning up the volume.
“Thanks, Adam, but it seems you’re not the only one that likes what they hear just look at some of the comments,” I said with a smile.
“Yeah I see what you mean Ashley, it seems you are a hit, although some of these comments are really crude, I do like some of the suggestions for songs though,” Adam said shaking his head and clicking the next video.
“So do you play?” I asked Adam, taking the seat beside him.
“I play guitar also, and I can sing, but I am nowhere near your level Ashley,” Adam said as he watched the video of me.
“I bet you have a wonderful singing voice, why don’t you do a song with me later, there are a few songs on the list that can be done as a duet.”, I said with a smile.
“What do you have in mind Ashley?” Adam said looking over at me just before clicking the last video.
“How about, “say something”, by, A Great Big World,” I said looking over at him.
“I don’t really know the words to the song but there is also, “Little Talks”, by, Of Monsters and Men. I have heard that song so many times I think that I know all the words to it.” Adam said with a smile.
“Alright, that works for me,” I said with a smile and then set up the computer to record the video of us.
“What are you doing?” Adam asked me.
“I am going to record the video,” I said with a smile.
“What if we suck.”, Adam said frowning.
“It will be fine Adam if you don’t like how it sounds, we don’t have to post it online,” I said looking over at him.
“Alright, that’s fair enough.” He said calmly.
“Do you want to play or do you just want to sing,” I asked Adam.
“I will let you play it, Ashley,” Adam exclaimed.
I walked over to my laptop and pulled up the lyrics and sent them to the printer. “I will be right back I said then made my way upstairs to Amy’s bedroom. By the time I arrived the two copies were just finishing printing. What is this Amy said picking up the two pages that had just finished printing and looking at them?
“Little Talks, I love that song”, she said with a smile.
“Me too, are you planning on doing it.”, Megan exclaimed
“Actually Adam and I are going to do it.”, I said with a smile.
“Adam is here?” Megan said looking surprised.
“I guess you didn’t see his motorcycle parked out front,” Amy exclaimed.
“Would it be alright if the two of us joined you, I would love to hear how you guys sound together,” Megan exclaimed.
“Sure, I guess that would be alright.”, I replied.
“Adam is in the rec room; I will meet you guys down there. I have to grab a few things from my bedroom.” I said then left and made my way upstairs.
I was not sure how Adam was going to feel about having Megan and Amy there but I didn’t really think it was all that big a deal and maybe it would give Megan a chance to get to know him considering the two of us were going out.
After grabbing my guitar, I made my way back downstairs and into the Rec Room, and found Megan and Amy talking with Adam. I set my guitar down next to my uncle's guitars and spent the next few minutes setting up the amp and microphones and then ran a patch cord over to my laptop.
I spent the next few minutes playing with the switches until I had the sound that I was looking for. Now that the Amp and microphones were setups I plugged my guitar into the amp and did a quick test to make sure it was ready.
The last step was to run the recording software and place the laptop so that it was pointing at the two of us. Once I was finished I turned to Adam, “We're all set”. I said with a big smile.
Adam came over and took the microphone beside me and I looked over at him, “are you ready.” I said with a smile.
He nodded and smiled at me and I started playing, “Little Talks”, on the guitar and soon started singing Adam came in shortly after me. He had the lyrics in front of them but rarely used them as the two of us sang together.
Adam was right about one thing, he could sing and was honestly a very good singer. As I looked at Megan and Amy I could tell they were enjoying themselves also and by the time we finished the song. I knew that Adam and I would have to do more duets in the future. I loved how the two of us sounded together.
“Wow, you guys are awesome together.”. Megan said with a big smile.
“Yeah, Megan is right you guys sounded great,” Amy exclaimed.
“Thanks, but it was Adam that said he wasn’t that great a singer, what a liar,” I said looking over at him and grinning.
“You’re the one with all the talent Ashley, I just followed along.” He said with a smile.
“Well I think the two of us sound good together”, I said grinning.
“Ashley’s right the two of you sound pretty good together,” Megan replied.
“You do have an awesome voice, Adam,” Amy exclaimed.
“Thanks, guys, but I still think the real talent here is Ashley,” he said looking over at me as we heard the buzzer for the washer go off.
I just shook my head then played back the video, and streamed it to the television. Then went over and emptied the dryer and placed the clothes on the sorting table and then moved the clothes from the washer and placed them in the dryer and ran the last load of clothes through the wash.
As everyone watched the video I started sorting and folding the clothes that had come out of the dryer, and placed them in three piles, Mine, Megan’s and Amy’s.
Meanwhile, Megan, Amy, and Adam were having a talk of their own as Adam showed the two of them the youtube videos I had posted earlier today. As I was working the phone rang and I answered it.
“Hello”, I said answering the phone.
“Hello, this is Dr. Anderson’s Office calling, could I speak to Janet Roberts.”
“She’s out at the moment, my name is Ashley is this about the appointment that Dr. Barbara Stein was setting up for me?” I asked her.
“Yes, I am calling with your appointment Ashley.” The woman replied.
“Well, you can give me the appointment and I will pass it on to my mother.” I said grabbing a notepad from a drawer under the bar.”
“Alright, the best I can give you is Friday morning a 10 am. If you can’t make the appointment please call, otherwise, you will be charged a $50 penalty.” The woman explained.
“There’s nothing to worry about I will make the appointment,” I said with a smile as I wrote down the information the woman gave me and then repeated it back to her to make sure that I wrote everything right.
“That’s correct, and I will see you on Friday morning Ashley.” The woman said ending the call and I continued folding the remaining clothing that was sitting on the table.
After finishing I joined the others at the bar and grabbed another coke from the fridge and took a seat next to where Adam was sitting and looked over at Megan, “that was Dr. Anderson’s Office, I have an appointment for 10 am.”, I said with a grin.
“That was fast,” Megan exclaimed.
“I thought so myself, I guess Barbara doesn’t waste time,” I said grinning.
“Yeah, my aunt isn’t one to waste time,” Amy said looking over at me.
“I guess not,” Megan exclaimed.
While the three of us talked I uploaded the new video to my youtube channel, and once I was done the three of us spent some time looking at some of the comments left from people who subscribed to my channel.
Megan and Amy couldn’t seem to get over how many had subscribed. I was also a little surprised because the number had doubled since I had last checked. I wondered what the count would be once the new video was made public. I thought to myself as the video continued uploading to youtube.
Adam stayed for another half hour before he had to head out. After saying our goodbyes, I made my way back inside and up to my bedroom and grabbed one of my new dresses and placed it on my bed and then grabbed a pair of pantyhose.
I took a seat on my bed and carefully rolled the pantyhose up my legs. I had never worn them before but had heard numerous times how careful you had to be when you put them on. Wearing pantyhose was a new but enjoyable experience. I loved how they felt as they rubbed up against my skin.
As I looked down at my feet, I could see the wonderful job Beverly had done as my toenails glistened a light shade of pink. The next job was to slip into my light blue dress I had very little trouble except with the zipper in the back but eventually managed to pull it up and felt the dress tighten around me.
Like the other dress that I had worn, a few days ago, this one was also very form fitting and showed off my curves nicely. I thought to myself as I ran my hands down my body. The last thing I needed to wear was my high heels, which kind of made me nervous.
The only time I had worn them was the day I bought them and I hadn’t really had much of a chance to get used to walking in them.
I spent the next few minutes getting used to walking in High Heels, It’s surprisingly wasn’t as hard as I initially thought it would be. I just needed to take shorter steps than I normally would.
Megan and Ashley were right; it really wasn’t that hard at all but I wasn’t ready to walk down the stairs wearing them. I spent the next few minutes touching up my makeup and hair and then I was ready.
So I grabbed my purse and slipped on my Jacket and carried the shoes downstairs with me.
When I reached Megan’s and Amy’s bedroom, I called out to Megan,” Are you, ready sis.” I said poking my head into the bedroom.
“Yeah, that dress looks awesome on you Ashley,” Amy said with a smile.
“Thanks, Amy I love how it looks too.” I said with a smile and then took in what Megan was wearing.” Wow, Megan, that dress fits you perfectly.” I said grinning.
“Thanks, Ashley I see you have your new shoes, are you sure that you are ready for them?” Megan asked looking concerned.
“I can walk in them fine Megan, I just don’t trust wearing them down three sets of stairs,” I exclaimed.
“Yeah Ashley, I see your point,” Megan said agreeing with my choice.
“I will meet you downstairs, mom should be home anytime now,” I exclaimed and made my way downstairs and into the living room. I could hear a bit of noise coming from the kitchen and made my way over and found Aunt Helen, preparing supper.
“Hi Aunt Helen, I said entering the kitchen, did mom tell you that we are going to be going out for supper tonight,” I said looking over at her.
“My gosh, you look beautiful, and yes she texted me earlier today letting me know her plans, but thanks for telling me all the same, honey.” Aunt Helen said with a smile.
“Mom must be running a bit late,” I said taking a seat at the table.
“Rush hour traffic baby, your mother is not used to it yet,” Helen explained.
“So, how was your day?” I asked my Aunt.
“Good but busy, it always is this time of year. You wouldn’t believe how many people put their tax returns in late and then scramble to get someone to get them done up. Either that or they did something wrong when they filed their returns and had to make alterations and send the returns back in.” Helen explained.
“Is it really that hard to fill out a tax return,” I asked my Aunt.
“It can be depending on the type of information you might have to add. If you are married, then you file together. You will need to add your information and your spouses, you may have one or more kids, so you need to add information for each child on the returns. That is just the main part of the return, you may have money locked away in savings bonds or what not which still has to be reported.” Helen explained
“Yeah, I can see why someone might have a problem there, doing it themselves and I can see a whole other issue if you own your own property,” I said frowning.
“You are right there Ashley”, My Aunt said with a smile as we heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway and about a minute later heard mom calling for Megan and me to join her.
“Talk to you later Aunt Helen,” I said giving her a hug and then exiting the kitchen and found mom waiting for us.
“Wow baby, you look really pretty.” Thanks, mom I said with a smile just as Megan came running down the stairs to join us.
The three of us drove for a half hour before we arrived at Delvickio's restaurant. Once we arrived. We made our way inside and waited to be seated, after about 10 minutes we were seated at our table and a waitress joined us a few minutes later. Mom ordered us a large Pizza and three Diet Cokes.
Once the waitress left Megan turned to our mother, “Alright as much as I love Pizza mom, but what did you want to talk to us about?” Megan said frowning.
“Two things actually Megan, the first being your aunt and uncle want us to stay, they have the room and I like the idea but I am not the only one that needs to live with it.” Mom explained.
“As far as I am concerned we are already home,” I said with a smile.
“I am happy where we are to, I don’t want to move if we don’t have to mom,” Megan replied.
“Well, I guess that is settled then.” Mom said with a grin.
“The second thing I wanted to talk to the two of you is about Boston, we left a lot of stuff behind, stuff that's very expensive to replace. I have been thinking about returning and packing up everything that we should have brought with us.” Mom explained.
“Are you crazy, mom you know that dad has most likely, been to the house looking for us,” I said in frustration.
“Ashley is right, mom going back is a big mistake were safe here and the last thing we need is for dad to follow you back, nothing we left behind is that important,” Megan exclaimed.
“Alright, I will leave things as they are but we really could have used some of the things that we left behind.” Mom said frowning.
Our waitress returned a few minutes’ later carrying our order and placed the large pizza in the middle of the table and then returned with another tray carrying three glasses of Diet Coke and then left us to enjoy our supper.
I had to admit Delvickio's made an awesome pizza and I was glad mom had ordered a large one for us. I thought to myself, then looked over at my mother.”
“Dr. Anderson’s office called today, I have an appointment to see him on Friday morning at 10 am,” I said looking over at her.
“That was fast Ashley, I will make sure that I am free honey.” Mom said with a smile.
“I was surprised that I was able to get in to see Dr. Anderson so quickly too,” I said looking over at my mother.
“Amy figures her Aunt Barbara, put a rush on it,” Megan said joining the conversation.
“That was likely the case.” Mom said looking over at Megan.
“Barb did say that I had elements of both sexes, maybe there are risks if they wait too long to deal with my condition,” I said looking over at my mother.
“You might be right Ashley, Barb said it was best we dealt with this sooner than later.” Mom said looking over at me.
“Well, I don’t feel like anything is wrong anyway,” I exclaimed.
“You, might not notice honey, but anyway now that you have an appointment. It will be easier to have some of these questions answered.” Mom said looking across at me.
“I have to agree with mom, it will be good once we know more about what is really going on inside of you,” Megan said looking over at me.
“Well, I will worry about it when the time comes, so enough about me and let’s eat our pizza before it gets cold,” I said with a grin then took a bite.
We arrived home later that night, I joined Megan and Amy upstairs in their bedroom while our mother said she had something she needed to talk to our Uncle and Aunt about. Megan and I just assumed it was about us staying permanently. So neither of us gave it a second thought.
“So are we just going to sit around all night. There has to be something else we can do around here.” I said aloud.
“Yeah, I agree with Ashley. Let’s get out of the house for a bit Amy.”, Megan said agreeing with me.
“The only thing, that I can think of is the church youth group. They are likely playing volleyball or something else tonight.” Amy exclaimed.
“I guess that I wouldn’t mind going,” Megan said looking over at Amy.
“Are you going to join us, Ashley?”, Amy asked me.
“No, you guys can go? I am sure that I can find something to keep me busy.” I replied.
“Are you sure Ashley?” Megan exclaimed.
“Yeah, I am sure,” I said calmly and then made my way upstairs and to my bedroom.
I couldn’t really blame Megan and Amy for wanting to attend the youth group activities, but I wasn’t comfortable with attending any kind of church and decided that I would just do my own thing as I grabbed my purse and jacket and made my way downstairs and out the front door.
As I walked, I really wasn’t sure where I was going. I didn’t really have a solid destination. Eventually, I decided that I would head over to the mall and maybe do a little window shopping and made my way toward the mall.
After a short walk, I arrived at the mall, I was used to the mall now so finding my way around wasn’t really all that hard anymore. I didn’t really have any money to spend, I had gone through a major chunk of my money shopping with Megan.
As I made my way through the mall I saw a number of stores that were hiring and thought a job was exactly what I needed and used my cell to record the names of the stores that were hiring.
I would later contact them once I put together a resume and see if I couldn’t find something for a few days a week. I thought to myself as I continued walking. Eventually, I ended up in the food court and decided to head over to Starbucks.
Starbucks was pretty busy but there were still a few empty tables. I took a place in line and waited to be served. There were only a couple people working so the line was very slow but eventually I was served and made my way outside onto the deck. There were a few people there, but nobody I knew, until I saw Kira, sitting alone on the other side of the deck.
I had met Kira Jordan, shortly after arriving in Littleton, it was also the day I had first met Adam. The two of us had talked a bit that day. She was going out with James Marshall. I guess the two of them had been going out for quite a while, but as I looked at her I could tell she looked a bit upset.
As I looked at her I wasn’t sure if I should go over or not. I didn’t really know her that well to begin with, but I also knew what it felt like to feel completely alone. It was something I dealt with for most of my life. I thought to myself and made my way over to her.
“Hi Kira, I thought that was you,” I said as I approached her table.
She turned towards me, “Ashley right?”, Kira said looking over at me.
“That’s me, mind if I join you.”, I said with a smile.
“Sure, it’s a free country.”, Kira said looking over at me.
“Having a bad day.”, I said taking a seat across from her.
“You could say that,” Kira said sadly
“I know you don’t really know me Kira, but if you want someone to talk to I am here,” I said looking across the table at her.
“James and I have broken up, I caught him with another girl.”, Kira said with tears in her eyes.
“I am sorry Kira, guys can be such pricks.”, I said reaching out and taking her hands in mine.
“Ashley, I should have seen it coming, he’s been so distant lately. It’s like he never seemed to have any time for me anymore, and then I find him with of all people, my best friend. God, I could just die how could they do this to me.” Kira said in tears.
“Don’t say that Kira, no guy is worth doing something as drastic as that and that girl was not your best friends, friends don’t do things like that to one another,” I said as my own tears started to flow.
“I am not going to do anything stupid Ashley, I am just upset and pissed off at myself, for not seeing this coming. Tara always liked James, and I knew it, but James was with me how could she do this to me.” Kira exclaimed.
“Like I said, she isn’t much of a friend and James is just as responsible, if you ask me you can do better in both departments,” I said giving her hand a squeeze.
“You’re right Ashley, I deserve better. Thanks for being here for me, you really didn’t have to, god you barely know me.” Kira said looking across the table at me.
“I really couldn’t help it, Kira, I have seen that look in your eyes a thousand times before when I look in the mirror,” I said sadly.
“It sounds like you could use a friend too,” Kira said looking across the table at me.
“Yeah, I really could, are you offering.”, I said grinning.
“Sure Ashley, we can be miserable together,” Kira said with a smile.
“This sounds like the start of a wonderful friendship,” I said looking her in the eyes.
The two of us talked for a while longer, and really started to get to know one another Kira and I had a lot in common and decided that the two of us would have to hang out again sometime but without all the drama.
Kira and I parted ways after she gave me her phone number and I told her that I would text her as soon as I had my new phone and then I started for home. I arrived home a short while later, It had been a long day and I was feeling pretty worn-out and headed off to bed.
Later that night, Janet carried a small suitcase out to her car, she set the suitcase on the back seat and then climbed in. She knew that her children would not agree with her choice but felt she just couldn't throw everything that she had worked so hard for away.
Synopsis: Ashley Roberts had decided to embrace her female side and started on her journey into womanhood thanks to the support of her family. She is now finely starting to come out of her shell and making friends, but the one thing that matters most to her is the relationship she has with Adam and how will he react when her secret is finely revealed.
It was around 9 am when my alarm went off and I slowly pulled myself out of bed and made my way downstairs and into the bathroom. After relieving myself I ran a hot shower and stripped and climbed inside. I thought to myself another day with nothing to do. Amy would have already left for school and Megan, would likely be sleeping in like she did yesterday.
God knows I could have done the same but I wasn’t geared the same way as my sister, I had always been an early riser. After wrapping myself in a towel, I made my way back upstairs and into my bedroom and started getting dressed. I decided that I was going to wear something simple, jeans and a tank top.
After I finished getting dressed I spent the next 10 minutes doing my hair and makeup. Thanks to the last few days of practice I was finished in no time and as I looked into the mirror I smiled to myself and knew that I was ready to face another day. As I passed my sister's bedroom I poked my head inside and saw that she was still dead to the world and made my way downstairs and into the kitchen. It looked like I had just missed my Uncle and Aunt because there was a half-full coffee pot on just waiting for me to finish it off.
As I was pouring myself a cup of coffee, I noticed an envelope and a plastic bag with the name Comcast sitting next to it. The envelope was addressed to Megan and me, I picked up the bag first and looked inside and found two new cellphones as well as cases and glass screen guards.
I took one of the phones out of the bag and sat it on the table as well as the envelope from my mother. After opening the envelope, I took out the contents and froze as I began to read what my mother had written.
Dear Megan & Ashley,
I thought about things and decided I couldn’t just leave things as they were. When we left Boston, I left a lot of things behind that could come back and haunt us later, not to mention, your grandmother's jewelry and a few other items, which I had deposited in a safety deposit box at the bank. Try not to worry about me, I will be staying in a hotel, and will make sure I have someone with me before returning to the apartment.
Love mom.
After reading the letter mom left, I honestly freaked out mom had always been a bit flighty but this was a whole new level even for her. It was one thing to put herself in danger and now she was risking Megan’s and my safety.
I thought to myself as I felt the anger build up inside me and made my way upstairs to break the news to my sister.
“Megan wake up,” I said after climbing the latter to the bunk bed and gently shaking her.
“Come on sis, we need to talk, it’s important.”, I said shaking her again.
“This better be good”, she said finely responding.
“Megan mom, ran off last night,” I said sounding somewhat irritated.
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Megan said looking over at me.
“I wish that I was Megan, but she left us a note explaining everything,” I exclaimed.
“Shit, if dad doesn’t kill her I will Megan said sitting up, I need a coffee Ashley can you put some on I will be down in a few minutes,” Megan said looking over at me.
“Sure, Megan, I will be in the kitchen,” I said and made my way downstairs and put on a new pot of coffee and emptying the cup I had from earlier.
After taking a seat at the table I wondered if she even bothered telling Aunt Helen and Uncle Brian that she was leaving. Something told me that she didn’t because I think the two of them would have tried to talk her out of going if they knew what she was up to. I thought to myself as I started putting together my new cell phone.
As I sat there I could hear the sound of water running upstairs and figured Megan must be in the shower. So I knew that she wouldn’t be down for a while. Once I had the case and screen protector on my new phone I turned it on and let it connect to the internet and set it on the counter so it could update.
I was a bit hungry and grabbed the eggs and bacon from the fridge and started making breakfast for the two of us. While breakfast was cooking I took out my old cell phone and sent Adam a quick message giving him my new phone number. I knew that he couldn’t respond back until recess or lunchtime so I just left the phone.
By now the coffee was finished brewing and I poured myself a cup and added milk and sugar after placing it on the table, and then went over and turned the bacon over. After it cooked for a while I put it on a plate and started frying up the eggs. It was at that time too that I heard the water being turned off upstairs and knew that Megan would be down soon.
Megan joined me 10 minutes later, I was just finishing setting the table as she entered, “god that smells good.”, she said with a grin and took a seat at the table as I sat her plate down on the table in front of her.
“Let’s see if it tastes as good as it smells,” I said with a smile as I sat mine down on the table next to hers.
“Well, that’s settled it tastes as good as it smells.”, Megan said after taking a bite of her bacon and a drink of her orange juice.
“I think that we are going to have to have a talk with Uncle Brian and Aunt Helen. This situation with mom isn’t something we can just let pass Megan.” I exclaimed.
“Yeah, I know Ashley, it was her idea to pull us out of school and move us here, she was so worried about our safety and then pulls something stupid like this,” Megan said looking over at me.
“I would like to know what was so important that she thought that returning to Boston, was a good idea,” Megan said thinking aloud.
“One thing for sure, it was nothing that I owned,” I said looking over at my sister.
“Me either, about all I had was my clothes and a few other knickknacks, nothing that I couldn’t replace without much effort.’ Megan exclaimed.
“Well, whatever the reason, let’s hope she gets in and out without dad finding out,” I exclaimed and took a bite of my bacon.
“Yeah, let’s hope.”, Megan said looking over at me.
“Mom did manage to get your new phone at least. It looks like you will have to set it up yourself though Megan.” I explained.
“Well, that’s at least good news,” Megan exclaimed.
After Megan and I cleaned up the kitchen, I made my way downstairs and Checked my email. I had left my laptop downstairs the previous night. Megan decided to spend her time assembling her phone.
While my computer was booting I picked up my guitar and took a seat and started playing, and singing “Crazy.” By, Gnarls Barkley. By the time I finished the song my computer had finished loading and I set my guitar down and moved over and took a seat in front of the computer and started checking my emails.
As I checked my email, all I really had was a bunch of spam, and notifications coming from my various social media accounts. I clicked on one of the links that led me to my youtube page and was surprised when I was now at 68k subscribers and the last video I uploaded had 566,624 views.
I was completely floored by the number of comments, that were left by my subscribers, on the video that Adam and I had recorded the previous day. Most people seemed to love the video but the question that was asked most was whether Adam was my boyfriend.
After reading some of the comments, I replied with a comment of my own stating that Adam and I were, in fact, seeing one another. Once I finished answering a few other comments, I shut down the computer and carried it, along with my guitar upstairs and into my bedroom and put everything back where they belonged.
I didn’t really have much to do, but took a couple of minutes and texted Kira, my new phone number, and said I would call her later in the day and then picked up the book I had been reading over the last week. There were only two chapters left so I figured that I would have a chance to finally finish it off.
So, I curled up on my bed and continued from where I had left off from the previous day. I read for the next hour or so until I reached the end. I was a bit disappointed by the ending. I thought to myself as I closed the book and set it on my dresser.
After finishing the book, I was left with another choice to make, I could spend the rest of the day sitting around the house or get out for a bit and maybe do some exploring which seemed to me to be the best of both options.
I looked at the time and decided, I might as well get going and grabbed my jacket and slipped on my sneakers and made my way downstairs, and found Megan curled up on the couch watching some stupid soap.
“Hey Megan, I am heading out for a bit want to join me,” I said looking over at her.
“Where are you headed?” she asked me.
“No idea, that is the fun part,” I said with a smile.
“Well, have fun Ashley I think that I will just stay home,” Megan exclaimed.
“Your loss,” I said with a grin then headed out the door.
The big difference between Megan and Me was the fact that I was very spontaneous and tended to do whatever came to mind. Whereas for Megan everything had to be thought out and planned. These two approaches had their advantages and disadvantages.
I decided on taking a walk on the bike trail, and maybe taking a different route than the one that led to the mall. The walk to the park only took a few minutes and when I reached the turnoff that led towards the mall I kept going straight.
As I walked I could tell that I wasn’t the only one there, I saw the odd person here and there, but everyone seemed to be doing the same thing as I was. Eventually, the trail led to a small open field.
When I entered I heard the sound of a large dog barking somewhere up ahead of me, I didn’t think much of it until a large German Shepard came out of nowhere and pounced on me sending me flying to the ground. I discovered quickly that I was in no danger as the dog started licking me on my face.
“I am so sorry, she got away from me.”, an older woman who looked to be in her 70’s said as she tried pulling the dog off me.
Looking at the old woman trying to control this large dog was almost comical. If it wasn’t for the fact, I was laying on my ass at the moment.
“It’s alright, she didn’t hurt me I said slowly getting to my feet,” I said looking at her.
“Are you sure, she hit you pretty hard.” The woman exclaimed.
“No worries, I am alright, but I think you need to maybe find yourself a trainer, she is a bit more then you can handle,” I said looking over at her.
“I know, she belonged to my daughter. When she had her baby she had to let her go and I didn’t have the heart to send her to the SPCA.” The woman explained.
“She’s a beautiful dog, and I understand. I would have felt the same way.” I said reaching out and patting the dog.
“My name is Alana, and this monster here is Shelby, I have never seen you around here before are you new to the area?”, the woman said with a smile reaching her hand out.
“I am Ashley, It’s nice to meet you Alana and yes I am new my family moved here from Boston,” I explained to her.
“Wow, Littleton must be a bit of an adjustment compared to what you're used to Ashley.”
“Yeah, but I honestly love it here,” I said with a smile.
“That’s good honey, Littleton might not be as large or busy as Boston, but I have lived here all my life and truthfully I couldn’t see myself ever leaving,” Alana said with a smile.
“I thought moving here was going to be the worst possible decision my mom ever made, but it turned out to be the best choice she ever made,” I said with a smile.
“Well, I can understand your reluctance, it’s never easy walking away from everything you know and into the unexpected. So, do you live nearby Ashley?” Alana said with a smile.
“Yeah, I live with my Uncle and Aunt, they have a place a few blocks from The Ketring Park entrance,” I explained to her.
“I know that area well, you live pretty close to me, I have a house over on Trident Avenue,” Alana explained.
“Oh, I know where you are, I pass your street every time I come to Ketring Park,” I explained to her.
“I live just a few blocks from the intersection where Main & Trident meet. If you are interested, I could really use some help walking Shelby, as you can see I can barely handle her, I would be willing to pay you a little something if you wouldn't mind walking her,” Alana said with a smile.
“You don’t have to pay me, Alana, I would be happy to take her out for a walk. I just can’t promise that I will be able to do it every day but a few times a week wouldn’t be a problem.” I said with a smile.
“That’s great but I have to pay you something, I really don’t feel right having you wasting your time walking Shelby,” Alana exclaimed.
“If it will make you feel better you can pay me a $100 a month, it will give me a bit of spending money,” I said with a smile.
“That sounds good Ashley, would you mind taking Shelby for a minute.”
“Sure”, I said taking the leash while Alana reached into her purse and dug out a card and then turned it around and wrote her address and phone number down on the back and then handed it to me.
“There you can reach me at either number Ashley,” Alana explained.
After handing her the leash back, I looked at the card, it said cloud 9 importers and looked over at Alana.
“It’s my late husband’s business our son is running the business now,” Alana explained.
“I am sorry for your loss Alana,” I said looking across at her.
“It’s alright honey, we had a lot of good years together and he was a good man, I hope you find someone that makes you as happy as Henry made me,” Alana said with a grin.
“Thanks, Alana, I hope that I find someone like your husband too, I have to get going I will call you in the next couple of days and make arrangements to take Shelby out,” I said with a smile.
“That sounds good Ashley, have a good day,” Alanna said with a smile as the two of us parted ways.
As I walked away I thought to myself what I nice lady, but I had to admit she needed all the help she could get with that dog, but I loved animals so I also knew that I was going to enjoy spending time with Shelby.
As I walked and looked around, I came to yet another trail and had no idea where it was leading me, the name of the trail was called Greenbrier River Trail and like the name implied the trail ran along the side of a river. I had to admit, it was nice getting away from the big city.
This was something I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing in a big city like Boston and if I did try something like this in Boston, I would be scared that someone would try mugging me or worse. Being a girl walking alone in a big city wasn’t always the safest thing to do. I thought to myself as I continued walking along the trail.
Eventually, as I walked my phone went off and after taking it out of my purse I saw a message from Kira, “Hey Girlfriend, I just finished school feel like hanging?”
“Sure Kira, where do you want to meet up.” I texted her.
“Where are you now?” Kira asked me.
“Walking on the Greenbrier River Trail,” I replied.
“Keep walking, until you reach a sign that says, Littleton High School. The trail you are on leads right to the school, I will wait for you here.” Kira explained.
“Ok, I might be a bit,” I exclaimed not really knowing how close I was to the turn off that Kira was talking about but as it turned out after walking a few minutes longer I discovered that I was a lot closer then I first thought as I came to a break in the trail and saw the sign that led to the school and after walking for a few minutes the trail exited into the schools parking lot.
As I made my way across the parking lot, I saw Kira, she was sitting on a bench, talking with another girl who I guessed was one of her friends. She didn’t see me at first because she was sitting with her back to me.
“Hey Kira”, I said with a smile as I came up behind her.
“Hey Ashley, you made it.” She said with a smile and surprised me when she stood up and gave me a hug, which I happily returned.
“Maddie, this is Ashley she just moved to Littleton,” Kira said making the introductions.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ashley,” Maddie said with a smile.
“It’s nice to meet you also Maddie,” I exclaimed.
“I hope you don’t mind but I invited Maddie to join us,” Kira said with a smile.
“The more the merrier,” I said grinning.
“Thanks, I really didn’t want to go home, my brother is being a real pain,” Maddie explained.
“I don’t have a brother thank god, but I have a sister, we get along pretty well but there are times when I need my space,” I said looking over at Maddie as the three of us exited the school and started making our way to the mall.
“So, how was your day Ashley?” Kira said looking over at me.
“To be honest, I will be glad when I can start school again. As much as I hate school, it at least makes the time pass and this sitting around the house is driving me crazy that was why I was out exploring the trails.” I explained to her.
“So, what is the holdup?” Maddie said joining in the conversation.
“We had to leave Boston in a hurry, Mom had to send for our school transcripts, plus I am waiting on other paperwork to arrive, which is going to be needed to exempt me from physical education. I might need surgery in the near future, and I am not supposed to overdo it until my doctor says it’s alright.” I explained to her.
“That sucks, so I guess you’re not going to join the cheer squad next year.”, Kira said looking over at me.
“Nope, and even if I could, I doubt it would be something that interests me,” I replied.
“Now that’s a first, most girls would love the chance to be part of the squad,” Maddie said with a slight frown.
“I am not like most girls, I am not really a fan of sports and to be honest you likely won’t see me at many games,” I explained.
“Damn, girl, I am going to make it my personal mission to get you to join the squad,” Maddie said giggling.
“Yeah, I agree with Maddie, being on the squad is a lot of fun. It’s not all about sports we do a lot of other fun things including travel.” Kira said with a smile.
“Well, it’s going to take a lot to convince me, I will tell you that right now,” I said frowning.
“We have a full year to wear you down,” Kira said with a big smile.
I thought to myself if they knew the truth about me the last thing they would be doing was trying to talk me into being on the cheer squad.
If anything they wouldn’t be talking to me at all, let’s just say as a guy I was never very popular and still found it hard to deal with even now, living as a girl. I still dealt with all the same insecurities I had when I was living as a boy.
It took us almost 30 minutes before we found ourselves waiting in line at Starbucks. As I looked around I saw that the odds of finding a free table was slim and looked out into the food court and saw there were at least some tables available there.
“It looks like we’re going to have to grab a table in the food court,” I said looking over at Kira and Maddie.
“Yeah, it’s usually like this after school, there are not many places around here to hang out so most of the kids from school head here,” Maddie explained.
“It’s a lot different here than in Boston, there is always something to do there, but I honestly like Littleton, better, it’s a lot calmer and safer,” I said looking over at Maddie.
“You’re happy to be here, and all I want to do is leave,” Maddie said in a low voice.
“Yeah, well we have lived in Littleton all of our lives. It’s only normal to want to see what is outside Littleton. Give Ashley a year, and she will be looking for the nearest exit like the rest of us.” Kira said with a grin.
“That’s true, there isn’t much here, to do and by next years she will be so bored she will have no choice but to join the Cheer Squad with us,” Maddie said with a smile.
“If I were you, Maddie, I wouldn’t put any money on that bet,” I said grinning.
“We will see”, Maddie said with a grin and I could see this one was going to be trouble.
I had to admit something inside me like the idea of someone actually wanting me to be part of something they felt was important this was something that I was not used to because I was usually the last person to be chosen it kind of makes you feel like the only reason you are there is because they had no choice and had to have you on their team.
“So, if you are not into sports or anything like that what are you into?” Kira asked me.
“Music mostly, I play guitar and I love singing. I am kind of in my uncle’s band.” I said looking over at Kira.
“I have heard your Uncles band they are pretty good, are you guys going to be performing anytime soon,” Kira said then took a drink of her coffee.
“To be honest Kira, I have no idea but when I have a date I will let you know, you’re welcome to come to if you want Maddie,” I said with a smile.
“That’s cool, what kind of music do you play?” Maddie asked looking really interested.
“Myself, I am into a little bit of everything from country to new rock, but my uncle's band mostly plays classic rock. So I have to bring them up to speed on some of the music that I like before we actually perform together.” I explained to Maddie.
“I am into country too, I don’t think that I could get up on stage and perform in front of a bunch of people.”, Maddie said with a smile.
“It’s not as hard as it looks, I was a bit afraid myself, but once you’re up there It’s easy to forget about the crowd because you are too busy trying to remember all the words,” I said looking over at Maddie.
“So what do you guys like to do other than Cheer Squad?” I said looking over at Kira and then to Maddie.
“You are looking at it Ashley, you might have noticed there isn’t a lot of activities around here, unless you are part of the church youth group. They get together a few times a week sometimes Maddie and I go, just for something to do, but were not what you would call religious fanatics either.” Kira explained.
“Yeah, Amy sometimes goes, Megan and Amy went last night, they invited me to join them but it’s really not my thing. So I decided on taking a trip to the mall and ran into Kira, and the two of us had a little chat” I said aloud. I didn’t go into what the two of us had discussed.
I figured if Kira wanted Maddie to know she would have told her and it wasn’t my place to be sharing that kind of information anyway. I thought to myself as I looked over at Kira and could tell she was relieved that I hadn’t said any else.
“Summers are not bad here though, there is always the beach, and there are always really hot guys there and if you are into volleyball you will have no trouble finding a game to join in.”, Kira said with a smile.
“I actually kind of like volleyball, although I haven’t really played it all that much,” I exclaimed.
“Well, if you feel up to it maybe we can play this summer.”, Maddie said with a smile.
“I may take you up on that offer.”, I said with a grin.
“Have you ever played tennis?” Asked Kira.
“Yeah, I have tried but wasn’t very good, the guy I was playing with was kind of a show-off and rather than give me enough time to learn the game was hitting all kinds of impossible shots that I had no chance of hitting back,” I explained to Kira.
“Well, if you’re interested Maddie and I play every weekend, you’re welcome to join us and I promise that before long you will be able to return whatever we send at you,” Kira said with a smile.
“That sounds like fun, and I think that I will take you up on that offer, well if Maddie doesn’t mind me being there?” I said looking over at her.
“I don’t mind you there at all, it will give me someone else to play with, and if we can find someone else we can play as partners,” Maddie said with a grin.
After finishing our coffees, the three of us made a walk through the mall, none of us planned on buying anything but it really didn’t hurt to look. I had to admit that I found myself enjoying their company. It was nice having friends, that were my own and it didn’t feel like I was freeloading off of my cousin’s popularity.
It was around 3:30 pm when the three of us went our separate ways, Kira, needed to get home, and Maddie worked at the local movie theater, she needed to get home for supper and to get ready for work. So the three of us said our goodbyes.
I didn’t really need to get home anytime soon, So I made my way over to the Library it was only a few minutes’ walk from the mall. Once I arrived I made my way over to the reception area to talk to the librarian.
“May, I help you?”, she asked me as I approached the counter.
“I hope so, I would like to apply for a library card.”, I said with a smile.
“Alright, I will need to see three pieces of identification, and something with your address on it.” The woman exclaimed.
“Well, the identification isn’t going to be a problem but I just moved to Littleton from Boston, so I am afraid that I don’t have anything with my address on it. I live with my Uncle and Aunt, and my cousin has an account here if that helps.”
“What’s your cousin’s name and your address?” asked the Librarian.
After I gave her the information she was able to pull up Amy’s account and then opened a membership for me using the same information that was listed on Amy’s file and then handed me my membership card. Once I had everything, I placed my new card inside of my purse and thanked the woman and headed over to look at some of the books.
I spent the next 15 or so minutes, searching for something that interested me and eventually found myself in the romance section of the Library. I had never dared enter this section when I was still living in boy mode.
As I looked I came across a book by, Samantha Young called “Hero” she was a New York Times bestselling author and the story seemed really interesting. It was about a girl named Alexa Holland the story was about a secret within her family that threatens to tear her family apart. It was a romance novel but also could be considered a mystery too and those were one of my favorite kinds of books.
Having found something that I liked I returned to the reception desk and checked the book out. As I was about to leave I heard a message coming in on my new phone and stopped long enough to take it out of my purse and found that it was Adam finally getting back to me.
“Hey Babe, how’s my girl? “
“Your girl is doing good, she is at the Library, how’s my handsome man?” I texted him with a smile.
“I am doing good; I was wondering if you had any plans for tonight?” Adam texted.
“No why?” I replied.
“Do you feel up to having supper at my place tonight?” Adam asked me.
“Sure Adam, I just have to call home and let my Aunt know where I am,” I replied.
“Call your Aunt, and stay at the Library and I will pick you up. Give me about 10 minutes and I should be there.” Adam exclaimed.
I made a quick call home, the phone rang a few times and Amy answered. “Hello”. She said sounding way too cheerful.
“Hi Amy, It’s Ashley could you let your mother know that I am going to be having supper at Adam’s and I won’t be back till later.”
“Sure I will let her know, so you're going to his home.” She said sounding excited.
“Well, I guess this leaves no doubts the guy really likes you,” Amy stated.
“Yeah, the feeling is mutual, but anyway I will talk to you when I get home Amy.”
“You better, and I want details.” She said sound excited.
“Sure, talk to you later Amy,” I said then ended the call
As I waited for Adam I took a seat out front of the library and opened my new book and started reading the first chapter of the story. I managed to make it halfway through the chapter when I saw Adam pulling up on his motorcycle.
When I saw Adam pulling into the parking lot I slipped the book I was reading into my purse, and made my way over to the curb and waited for Adam to pull up and stopped the motorcycle in front of me.
“Hey baby”, Adam said as he pulled up in front of me and climbed off his bike, he then unhooked a helmet that was attached to the back of his bike and handed it to me.
“Hi honey”, I said taking the helmet and slipping it over my head and securing it.
Adam took a minute to check the helmet and once he was sure it was fastened correctly the two of us climbed onto his bike and exited the parking lot.
I knew having any kind of conversation with Adam at the moment was useless, between the sound of the traffic, and the motorcycle it was impossible to hear one another. It didn’t take us very long though before we arrived at Adams parents’ home and the two of us climbed off his motorcycle.
“I hope you don’t mind pizza; we usually order in every Wednesday. It’s kind of a family tradition. We order something different every week.” Adam explained.
“Pizza’s fine, I was just a little surprised you invited me,” I exclaimed.
“Well, to be honest, it was my mother’s idea. I might have mentioned you a few times and she wanted to meet the girl that has captured her son's heart.” Adam explained.
“If you keep this up, I might actually start to fall for you,” I said with a grin.
“You mean that you haven’t fallen for me already?” He said looking at me and flaunting those big blue eyes of his.
“Alright, maybe a little,” I said shaking my head and smiling.
“So, what have you told your parents about me?” I said looking over at him as I pulled off my helmet and sat it on the back of his bike.
“Well, just the basics that you are new to Littleton and moved here from Boston. They know you’re an awesome singer, I showed them your youtube page and I even played some of your videos and Dad thinks you’re a total babe.” Adam said with a big smile.
“Well, let’s not keep them waiting,” I said looking over at Adam. He then reached over and took my hand in his and the two of us made our way inside his parents’ house.
When Adam and I entered the house, you could hear the sound of a baby crying and before long I saw a woman who looked to be in her late 40’s coming over carrying the little girl. Who had to be Adam’s mother, “Thank god your home.”. She has been whaling like this since you left honey.”
The woman said handing the child to Adam and to my surprise I saw the child’s arms reach out as Adam took her in his arms and the crying stopped.
“You must be Ashley, it’s nice to meet you. I am Karen and this little screamer here is Abby, and don’t let her screams scare you, she’s an absolute darling.”, Karen said with a big smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Karen, I wouldn’t worry about Abby and me, I am sure the two of us will get along just fine, you have a lovely home, Karen,” I said looking around the room there were pictures of Adam, and Abby hanging all over the place.
“Thanks, Ashley, it’s nothing special but we love it here, have a seat can I get you a drink or anything?” Karen asked.
“No thanks, Karen I am fine,” I said taking a seat on the couch next to Adam and Abby.
“So, Littleton must be quite a difference for you after growing up in a big city like Boston,” Karen said taking a seat on the lazy boy across from me.
“It was a bit overwhelming at first, I really didn’t want to move here. I have never been very good with change, but the move here turned out to be the best possible thing for our family but were still in the process of settling in.” I explained to Karen as I felt a little hand reach over and grab hold of my finger.
When I looked over two at her both of her little arms went up towards me, When I looked over at Adam he just shrugged his shoulders and handed Abby to me and I took her in my arms. “Hey sweetie”, I said as I pulled her close to me and felt her embrace.
Karen looked over at Adam and then to me and then the baby. “she doesn’t usually want to be held by anyone but Adam honey, she barely tolerated Trevor or me when we try to calm her down.” Karen explained.
“She is adorable, how could anyone let such a beautiful baby get away.”, I said with a big smile as I lightly rocked her in my arms.
“You surprised me, Ashley, I expected you might be a bit more standoffish when it came to meeting Abby for the first time.
“Actually, I was more worried about meeting you and your husband then I was about meeting Abby,” I said in a low voice noticing that Abby was half asleep.
“It’s usually the guy that is afraid of meeting the parents”, Karen giggled.
“Well, I have never really dated anyone before and Adam, he isn’t like any of the other guys that I have known and I think Abby is the reason for it. Any man that would choose to raise a child like Abby alone, is worth giving a chance I said looking down at the baby that was now sleeping in my arms.”
“He’s come a long way, and I am not saying that because he’s my son. Your father and I are proud of the man you are becoming Adam.” Karen said looking over at her son and then looked over at me, and turned to her son again. “Your tastes in women has gotten better to, I would be nice to this one if I were you.”. Karen said with a smile.
“Hearing Karen say that caused me to blush, I wasn’t used to people talking like that about me but I had to admit, I liked Adams mother she was really nice.
“Do you want me to take her Ashley”, Adam said looking over at me.
“No honey, she is fine where she is let her sleep,” I said as she snuggled up against me.
“I am going to go set the table and give you guys some time to yourself,” Karen said with a smile and then left the two of us.
“It’s surprising how quickly Abby took to you Ashley, she really doesn’t like being held other than by me, my mother wasn’t lying and I have never seen her fall asleep being with anyone holding her but me,” Adam explained.
“I looked down at the child in my arms, she’s special Adam, maybe she sees something in me that she likes but the truth is, it’s questionable if I will ever have a child of my own and I really want to be a mother someday. Maybe somehow Abby senses that need.” I said opening up to Adam.
“Is this part of the medical condition you were telling me about?” Adam said looking concerned.
“Yes, I didn’t quite develop like a normal girl should Adam, I will need some sort of operation to make things right. Eventually, I will explain everything to you honey, but it’s very personal and hard for me to talk about.” I said looking over at him.
“Anytime, you are ready to talk, I am willing to listen,” Adam said with a smile.
“I know honey, and thank you for trusting me enough to meet your family and I have a feeling that Abby and I are going to get along just fine,” I said with a smile and felt Adams' arm slip around me and pulled me closer to him.
“You are going to make a good mother someday Ashley,” Adam said with a smile.
“Well, you already make a great father,” I said leaning over and placing my head on his broad shoulder and snuggled up close to him.
As I laid there cuddling up to my man, I thought to myself this isn’t half bad, and I found myself thinking, I could be a mother to this child, if I really wanted to the question is was it really something I wanted. I guess only time would tell, which also meant I was going to have to come clean to Adam.
Adam and I just relaxed and talked to one another on the couch as Abby continued sleeping when the front door opened and a much older but handsome version of Adam came through the door. He was carrying two large pizzas’ and a bag in his hand.
“Hi, you must be Ashley, it’s nice to meet you. I am Trevor.” He said with a warm smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Trevor, I can see now where Adam gets his good looks,” I said with a grin.
“Yeah, he takes after his old man in the looks department but has his mother’s brain thank god. I see Abby has taken a liking to you.” Trevor said with a big smile.
“She’s not the only one, she’s adorable,” I said looking down at her.
“Well, I am going to bring supper into the kitchen, and we’ll call you once we're ready,” Trevor said then left the two of us.
Once in the Kitchen Trevor, placed the pizza on the table and went over and gave Karen a hug, “She is actually holding Abby and Abby’s not freaking out she’s actually sleeping.”, Trevor said to his wife.
“I know Abby took to her right away, I couldn’t believe it, and neither could Adam,” Karen explained.
“She seems like a nice girl, and I can see why Adam likes her. She seems really mature for her age, not like the little sluts, he’s brought home in the past.” Karen said looking over at her husband.
“Yeah, when I saw her holding Abby, I knew there was something special about her.” Trevor said with a grin, she is also very pretty.” Trevor said looking at his wife.
“I think she’s fine, and she has my blessing,” Karen said looking over at his wife.
“You have talked to her more than I have, I am going to wait and see how the rest of the night progresses,” Trevor exclaimed.
“Your right honey, the whole reason for doing this is because of the disaster the last girlfriend caused. That’s the whole reason, we made him agree to have our permission before being allowed to date anyone exclusively.” Karen exclaimed.
“Actually, it was your idea not mine, but I agree it makes sense considering there is also the trust fund sitting there,” Trevor said looking over at Karen.
“Yeah, but I don’t think that matters, she’s from Boston and doesn’t know a thing about our family, she just seems to be a normal girl, well not normal if you noticed how Abby took to her,” Karen said with a smile.
“Well, at least with Ashley, in the picture, life around here would be less complicated, and a lot less noisy,” Trevor said grinning.
“Yeah, it’s nice not having to listen to Abby screaming,” Karen said as she started putting the pizza on the plates.
In the living room, Abby started stirring and I had an idea why, because of the smell, that was emitting from her backside. I looked over at Adam and smiled, guess what honey, Abby has left a gift for you. I said handing Abby over to him.
Adam didn’t look very impressed, but took Abby and carried her off to be changed. I stood up to stretch my legs and took a few minutes to look around the living room. Adam lived in such a big house, it was really bigger than they really needed, but his parents likely worked their asses off to buy it. I thought to myself.
“Where’s Adam?”, Janet asked coming into the living room.
“Abby left him a gift, so he’s upstairs unwrapping it,” I said with a smile.
“Abby left him a gift, that’s a good one Ashley. Why don’t you join Trevor and I in the kitchen Adam will be back shortly,”, Karen said with a smile.
With that said I followed Karen into the kitchen, and took a seat at the table and Janet began pouring coke into some glasses.
Adam’s father was the first to speak, “So, tell us about yourself Ashley?” he said looking across the table at me.
I kind of knew this was coming, and didn’t really have time to prepare myself for it, so I figured it would be best to keep the story I gave them as close to the truth as possible. I sighed and then went into my story.
“Well, I am 16 years old, I am from Boston, we moved to Littleton for a fresh start and to also get away from my father. Mom, Megan and I are living with my Aunt and Uncle at the moment and maybe for a while.” I explained then took a breath and continued.
“I am not the kind of girl that Adam would go for, and to be honest I really don’t completely understand what he sees in me,” I exclaimed.
“What do you mean?” Asked Karen as she started putting the glasses on the table.
“I have never been in the popular crowd like him, I was kind of always on the outside looking in whereas my sister Megan would have fit right in. I really don’t like sports, or partying, like most of the kids I know. I prefer music, reading, and other pursuits.” I said looking over at her.
“Your right Ashley, you’re nothing like the other girls Adam has introduced to us. Most of them were cheerleaders or girls that ran in his circle of friends but I would say you are one of the more stable ones he has brought home and if you weren’t Karen and I would be against the two of you seeing one another.” Trevor exclaimed.
“I understand Adam has explained a lot to me, and I agree that for Abby’s sake he needs to pull himself together and stay away from people that are only interested in partying and having a good time,” I said looking across the table at his parents just as Adam came into the kitchen carrying Abby in his arms.
“Talking about me,” he said looking over at us.
“Yes, honey but it’s all good,” I said looking up at him.
“We were just telling Ashley that we approve of the two of you seeing one another,” Trevor said with a grin.
“Yeah, you finally brought one home worth keeping, now just don’t screw it up”, Karen said with a big smile.
“I have no intention of screwing this up, believe it or not, Ashley is the best thing to happen to me, in a long time,” Adam said putting Abby in the highchair and moving it over next to us.
Hearing him say those words, I found myself blushing and feeling somewhat embarrassed but happy all the same.
Over supper, I found myself flooded by questions about my home life and what my plans were for the future. I explained to them that my plan was to go into music but I also planned on attending college like my Uncle Brian had but at the moment I didn’t have an idea of what I wanted to take.
I also went into a few details of my Medical condition, but also kept most of the pertinent information to myself. The truth would likely come out in time but that would all depend on Adam. I thought to myself as I enjoyed the pizza and light conversation.
After supper, I asked Karen if she needed any help cleaning up while the guys and Abby went into the living room. So as Karen washed the plates, I grabbed a clean cloth and started drying the dishes.
“You don’t have to do this Ashley, you’re our guest,” Karen said with a smile.
“I know, but it’s not a big deal.”, I said with a smile.
“You know Adam really likes you, Ashley, I have never seen him this excited over anyone,” Karen said making small talk.
“I like Adam too Karen, but only time will tell if things between us will work out,” I said looking over at her.
“Is the problem Abby?” Karen said looking over at me.
“Hell no, I love Abby, she’s adorable the problem is me, I may not be like the girls Adam usually dates but I do come with my own set of baggage,” I exclaimed.
“I take it you had a pretty hard time in Boston?” Karen said looking me in the eyes.
“My father was very abusive towards me, and well he left emotional scars. Let’s just say I have a lot of trust issues when it comes to men and I am only now starting to come to terms with it.” I said sadly.
“Oh, Baby I can understand why you would feel that way, but you are not the first woman that has been through this. Do you have anyone you talk to about these feelings.” Karen asked.
“Well, I just started seeing a therapist so yes, I have someone that I can talk to about it and there is always my sister Megan, and well there is my Uncle, he has been wonderful, and very supportive, but my mother has a habit of blabbing everything so I really can’t count on her for anything,” I said sadly.
“I am sure your mother loves you, but we all make mistakes honey,” Karen exclaimed.
“There is no doubt that she loves Megan and me, but it’s hard for me to open up to anyone, and have to worry about what I said being repeated as soon as my back is turned.”, I exclaimed.
“Yeah, I can see your point, Ashley.”, Karen conceded.
“Well, you have a few people you can talk to if need be, and you can always come to me if you need a shoulder to cry on Ashley,” Karen said with a smile.
“Thanks, Karen”, I said with a smile.
After we finished cleaning up the kitchen, Karen and I joined the others in the living room and I wasn’t sitting for even ten minutes when Abby crawled over to me, I had been watching Adam playing with her on the floor and I could tell that she wanted to be held again, so I took her into my arms and just snuggled her next to me and she was just content to lay there quietly looking up at me.
As I looked down at her, I saw those little hands and thought to myself I was just like this baby and wondered if mom felt the same way when she held Megan and me in her arms, but I knew what the feeling was I was having it was called contentment and in my case it wasn’t a good thing to get to close to Abby. I thought to myself as I held her in my arms.
It was around 7 pm and it was time to head home, Adams father handed him his car keys and told him to drive me home. Adam had a look of surprise on his face but gladly took the keys and the two of us headed out the door after I said my goodbyes to his parents and promised to return.
Abby wasn’t happy when I handed her to Karen, she cried a little but before long Adam and I were out the door and I was climbing into his dads Mazda Cx 5. It was a nice car, it was painted dark red and came fully loaded.
I looked over at Adam as he backed the car out of the driveway, “So, what was that you looked awful surprised when your father gave you his keys.” I said looking over at him.
“You could say that; I haven’t been allowed to drive since the accident,” Adam explained.
“Well, maybe your parents are starting to trust you again,” I said with a smile.
“Maybe, or it could have been because you were there Ashley, for the first time ever both my parents like the girl I am dating.” He said with a big smile.
“I like them too, but it felt weird having them question me so much. It felt like I did something wrong.” I said frowning.
“They are worried, that I am going to fall back into my old behavior honey and they have good reason to worry. I haven’t been the best role model for a son. Hell, I am surprised they haven’t kicked me out of the house by now.” Adam said frowning.
“They love you and only want the best for you and Abby,” I said looking over at him.
“I know Ashley, and I am really trying I just wish they would see it,” Adam exclaimed.
“Well, honey actions speak louder than words and they saw tonight that you are starting to grow up, and move away from your old life. Just keep it up I am sure they will continue to come around if you show them you’re serious.” I said with a smile.
“So, how did you get so smart, Ashley?”, Adam said with a grin.
“Well, I read a lot and to be honest I have never really been part of your crowd. So I haven’t really been exposed to some of the things you have.” I said looking over at him.
“I guess that would give you a different perspective,” Adam exclaimed.
After arriving home, Adam walked me to the door. “I had a great time tonight, thanks for coming.” He said then leaned in and kissed me.
Once the kiss ended, I smiled,” I had a great time to honey, and Abby is adorable, I can’t wait to spend some more time with her.” I said excitedly.
“Yeah, and she sure likes you Ashley and so do I.”, Adam said with a smile.
“Well, the feeling is mutual honey,” I said then gave him another kiss before saying goodnight and I made my way into the house.
I had arrived home after having supper with Adam and his family, As I entered the house I could hear the sound of Uncle Brian talking loudly in the kitchen, and then my Aunt Helen, followed by Megan and then my sister Amy and had no doubt that they were talking about my mother, So I made my way into the kitchen to join them.
As I walked into the kitchen all eyes were drawn to me. “Don’t stop talking on my account as far as I am concerned my Mother needs to be put into an institution,” I said grabbing a coke from the fridge and joining them at the table.
“Have you heard anything Ashley?” Megan said looking across the table at me.
“No, but then again, I haven’t tried to contact her. Mom is going to do whatever she wants anyway; she doesn’t care what we think.” I said then took a drink of my coke.
“What your mother has done is awful reckless, not only is she putting Megan and you in danger but it puts all of us at risk.” Uncle Brian said looking somewhat worried.
“Do you really think that moving here was going to be 100 percent safe, if dad wanted to find us bad enough, he could do it without mom’s help, all she is doing is making it easier for him,” I explained.
“Ashley is right, he’s quite capable of finding us without mom’s help. He knows people and they are not very good people.” Megan said joining in the conversation.
“Then what do we do about Philip.” Aunt Helen said looking over at her husband.
“I don’t think you need to worry Aunt Helen, his rage is directed towards my mother Anything that happens is going to be directed toward Megan and Me,” I said trying to reassure him everything was going to be alright.
“I hope you are right Ashley, but right now your mother is our main problem, she took off without telling anyone she was leaving.” Aunt Helen said in a worried tone.
We continued our family meeting for the next hour or so, and in the end, all we really could do was hope for the best. There was nothing any of us could really do other than hope that Mom was able to get in and out without running into our father.
Once we finished, I made my way upstairs and noticed that Uncle Brian had fixed my door and had painted it a light shade of pink. There was also a plate with my name burned into it which he had also painted to match the color of my door.
He had also installed a doorbell, and I thought to myself, it was a really nice gesture as I made my way upstairs and into my bedroom and booted up my laptop, and placed my phone down on the desk beside and retrieved the book I had gotten from the library and took a seat on my bed.
Once my computer finished loading, I loaded my playlist and the music began to play then returned to my bed and started reading. No sooner then I started reading I heard the sound of my doorbell ring.
I hollered down that the door was opened and then heard multiple footsteps coming up the stairs and knew that it had to be Megan and Amy, I had been expecting them to pay me a visit since I arrived home.
One thing I had noticed since I started living as a girl was there was a lot more communication, than when I was still living as a boy, especially between Megan and I, maybe this was the way it was for sisters but to be honest I was really starting to like the closeness between us. Whereas I felt completely alone when I was still living as a boy.
“How did things go over at Adam’s?” Megan asked taking a seat on the bed as did Amy.
“It went really well his parents are really nice and his daughter Abby is adorable, she took right to me, it surprised everyone, including me,” I said with a big smile.
“Abby has Downs Syndrome,” Amy explained to Megan.
“Yeah, but she’s beautiful, just wait until you meet her Megan. You will fall in love with her just like I did.” I said excitedly.
“This is a whole new side of you, I have never seen before Ashley,” Megan said with a big smile on her face.
“Yeah, your right I have never seen her so happy about anything other than her transition.
“I have a lot to be happy about these days, I am part of a real family finally, I am able to finally live the life I always wanted and I found someone that loves me and for the first time in my life I feel alive,” I said with a big smile.
“I am so happy for you Ashley,” Megan said leaning over and giving me a hug.
“Me too Ashley,” Amy said reaching over and making it a group hug.
So over the next hour, I told them about my day starting with Meeting up with Kira, and Maddie, and how nice it was just to get out and make some friends that only knew me as Ashley the girl. I also mentioned that Maddie, was trying everything under the sun to convince me to join the Cheer Squad and this started a whole new conversation between Megan, Amy and me.
“I think it’s a good idea,” Amy said excitedly.
“Me too, it would give you lots of other experiences living as a girl, especially since you’re going to be part of the popular crowd now,” Megan said with a grin.
“I have never been part of the popular crowd, hell I have never been part of any crowd,” I said looking over at my sister.
“Megan’s right Ashley, you might not have realized it, but you’re already part of it, the moment you agreed to date Adam, you took your first steps, and then you became friends with Kira and Maddie that cemented it,” Amy said with a grin.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said looking over at Amy.
“Nope, I wish that I was,” Amy said with a sly grin.
“Well, I guess your days of being invisible little sister are over.”, Megan said and started giggling.
“You might as well make the best of it, it’s your choice how you choose to deal with it,” Amy said looking over at me
I had never really thought of it but both Kira and Maddie, were cheerleaders and were both very popular, within their circle of friends and I had forged friendships with the two of them and well Adam, was popular in his own right. no matter how I looked at it I was now part of that crowd to some small degree.
“It’s not that bad Ashley, I know it seems a bit overwhelming right now, but honestly just don’t think about it and just be yourself. That is the person that attracted Adam, Kira, and Maddie.” Megan exclaimed.
“Megan is right Ashley, just be yourself, you came here to reinvent yourself and this is all part of that journey but there are things you still need to learn about living as a woman and I think it’s time you learned some of the more advanced stuff before you walk into something you are not going to know how to handle.”
“What do you mean?”, setting my book on the end table next to my bed.
“Your living full time as a girl, but you’re still acting like a guy in many aspects of your life Ashley.”, Amy exclaimed.
“How so?”, I said looking her in the eyes.
“The first place to start is your wondering off on your own a lot, without telling anyone where you’re going. You’re a girl now Ashley, and living as a girl you need to be careful. There are guys out there, just waiting for the opportunity to grab an unsuspecting girl that wonders off alone and do god knows what to her.” Amy explained.
“Amy is right if you need to go somewhere tell someone first and always take the most visible route, even if it takes longer, you are less likely to run into trouble, and if you do there are people around to help you if need be,” Megan explained.
“Always go with the idea of better safe than sorry,” Amy said with a smile.
“Alright, I get it, what next?” I said looking over at them.
“Guys, I know you have a boyfriend now and you shouldn’t have any worries while the two of you are out together but there will be times when you are not and you will need to learn how to deal with them. You are a beautiful girl and you will be attracting your fair share of guys and need to know how to deal with them.” Megan said with a smile.
“The first thing you need to remember all guys have two heads, one on their shoulders and the other that hangs out in their midsection. He will likely, think to himself god she’s pretty, I wonder if she’s single and then he will come over and try to talk to you.”
“Knowing you Ashley, you will talk to him because you’re not a complete bitch and of course the conversation will eventually lead to him asking you out on a date and you will tell him that you are already dating someone,” Amy exclaimed and then continued.
“Now, this is where the guy starts thinking, he asks you how long the two of you have been dating, and when you tell him that you only recently started dating Adam. He thinks to himself there is still a chance. The two of you haven’t been together long enough to be completely serious and then he starts putting on the charm.” Amy explained and Megan took over.
“This is where the fun starts, he says well maybe we can be friends and tries to work his way in and get to know you better. Once he’s in, he tries everything in his power to do things to make you interested in him. Before long word gets out that the two of you are seeing one another and Adam is not happy. “Megan paused and then continued.
Adam finds out and isn’t happy, the two of you start fighting and meanwhile he is setting back waiting for everything to go straight to hell between Adam and you, the two of you break up and because you are close friends you turn to him, and when that happens he makes his move on you.” Megan explained.
“This is just one scenario.’ Amy exclaimed.
“So really, what should I have done?” I said looking over at Amy and Megan.
“Any guy interested in dating you and then wanting to be friends is never a good idea. It’s best to use the bitch approach, just say you're not interested and leave it at that.” Megan exclaimed.
“Another thing you can do is lie, say that you and Adam have been dating for a year or longer, He will most likely move on to someone else, thinking that he's wasting his time,” Amy explained.
“I guess both options make sense,” I said in a low voice.
“There are times though that neither approach will work, and with these guys, you need to be careful. There’s something messed up in their heads, and if you run into one you need to make sure that you have a plan.” Amy paused then continued.
“If you feel like you’re in danger, call someone right away and go somewhere public where there are lots of people and stay put, then take out your phone and call Adam, or my dad. If you can’t reach them you can always call some friends, it really doesn’t matter who you call. These guys usually only make a move on you if your alone, they will usually leave you alone if you’re in a group.” Amy explained.
“We're not trying to scare you Ashley, but this is the best way to deal with anyone that makes you feel uncomfortable, and considering your situation it’s also the safest,” Megan said looking me straight in the eyes.
“Yeah, I can see your point, and I promise that I will start being more careful when I go out. I haven’t really been thinking things through lately and your right there is still a lot that I need to learn about living as a girl full time.” I said with a smile.
I thought about what Amy and Megan had said and had to admit they were right, it would be so easy for me to get in trouble because of the lack of education I had received they had been living all their lives as girls and as for myself I have only been doing this for a short time and was only realizing now how naive I was when it came to being a girl.
Megan and Amy left after that and left me to consider everything they had said, it had hit me pretty hard and for the first time started doubting my own abilities. I still had no doubts that I was doing the right thing, being a girl was the only thing that really made sense to me, but I also realized that most of Megan and Amy’s experience came from actually living their life’s, and a lot of trial and error.
I was lucky to have their combined experience; it would help steer me away from some of the trouble I was bound to run into in the future but I also knew that I had to experience life as the two of them had.
This meant I would have to put myself into positions where I could be hurt. I really didn’t like the idea of being hurt but I knew that living a life without taking risks, wasn’t really living, if anything you were just waiting for the next thing to happen. I thought to myself as I walked over and picked up my guitar and took a seat on my bed and started playing, “Numb”, By, Linkin Park.
I woke up early the next morning, it was around 7 am when I pulled myself out of bed and made my way over to the window and looked outside. It looked like it was going to be another nice day.
After a few minutes of searching, I decided to wear the little blue sundress that my cousin Amy had given me and made my way downstairs and hopped into the shower. The shower felt really good as the water cascaded against my body.
I found myself thinking about the previous night and how much fun that I had. I had spent the evening with Adam and his family which made me wonder if they would have been so accepting of me if they knew the honest truth and I thought to myself that it wouldn’t be long before I was facing that exact scenario.
After the events of last night, I had decided that I was going to come clean to Adam, I had come to the conclusion that I wanted him to be a part of my life and the two of us couldn’t really base a relationship on a lie.
Coming out to him wasn’t going to be easy, and I still hadn’t decided on a place or time to tell him but knew that it had to be sooner than later. I thought to myself as I grabbed the shampoo and poured it into my empty hand and started running them through my long hair until my scalp was completely lathered.
Once I was finished washing my hair, I turned off the shower and climbed out of the bathtub and grabbed a towel and took a couple minutes to dry then I slipped into a fresh pair of panties and a matching cream colored bra and lastly the light blue sundress that Amy had given me. I then exited the bathroom and returned to my bedroom.
I grabbed a pair of my new sandals and took a seat on the bed and slipped them onto my feet and then moved over to my desk/makeup table and started working on my hair. It was then I noticed that there was now a power bar attached to the side of the desk that had 6 power outlets coming out of it. I smiled to myself and reminded myself to thank Uncle Brian for being so thoughtful as I reached down and plugged my hairdryer into it.
After combing and brushing out my hair, I used the hairdryer and curling wand until I had the results that I wanted and then started doing my makeup. Which I could now do with very little thought, whereas before I spent much longer because I was always having to repair this and that, but once I was finished it was easy to tell that my skill level was now no longer at a beginner’s level.
I still couldn’t wear any of my new earrings, while the area was still healing so I grabbed one of my new necklaces and bracelets and slipped both on. I didn’t really have much of a selection when it came to jewelry yet.
That was something I would sort out eventually. I thought to myself as I slipped a couple of rings onto my fingers and I was ready to start my day and made my way downstairs and found my Uncle Brian, Aunt Helen and Amy sitting at the table having breakfast.
“Good morning,” I said with a smile as I entered the kitchen.
“Good morning Ashley, your looking bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning.”, Aunt Helen said with a warm smile.
“Thanks, it’s amazing what a good shower will do,” I said with a grin.
“We didn’t have a chance to tell you yesterday Ashley, but the letter from your doctor came in as well as your school transcripts. You have everything you will need to start school.” Uncle Brian said with a smile knowing damn well I was getting restless sitting around the house all day.
“So how is this going to work, do we need my mother here to have Megan and I enrolled?” I said looking him in the eyes.
“Your mother has already talked to the principal at the school, and told them that if she wasn’t available that either Brian or I would take care of things until she returns.” Aunt Helen explained.
“So you talked to my mother?” I said looking across the table at her as I poured myself a bowl of cornflakes.
“Yeah, I called her after supper she’s safe, she is staying in a hotel somewhere in Boston, and has arranged to have a police escort with her before returning to the apartment just in case your father is hanging around. She should be back in a few days.” Aunt Helen explained.
“Well I guess that is good news, but I am still not happy that she left without telling anyone,” I said frowning.
“None of us are Ashley, it was really irresponsible of her leaving the way she did.” Uncle Brian exclaimed.
“Unto another subject, tomorrow is the big day, and I am going to need a drive to Denver to see the specialist that Dr. Beverley set me up with and I can’t really miss the appointment,” I explained.
“No worries, I will take you, you must be feeling a little anxious.” Uncle Brian said with a smile.
“feeling a little anxious, that’s an understatement. I am terrified that she will think I am completely nuts.” I said laughing.
“Beverly wouldn’t refer you unless she felt that you needed to see a specialist,” Amy said joining in the conversation.
“I guess you’re right, it’s still kind of scary all the same,” I said frowning.
“So, when can I start school?” I said changing the subject again.
“I was going to drop Amy off at school this morning and visit the principle, you’re welcome to join us, Ashely.”
“Cool, I would like that”, I said with a big smile.
“I have an extra binder upstairs; I will grab it for you just in case you end up staying,” Amy said with a smile then made her way up to her bedroom.
“There is not enough time to wait for your sister, I will enroll her and she can start tomorrow.” Aunt Helen said looking over at me.
“No worries, she will likely be in bed until noon anyway,” I said with a smile.
“Should I change or is what I am wearing alright?” I said looking at my Aunt and Uncle.
“You look fine honey”, Uncle Brian said grinning just as Amy returned with a small pink knapsack, and handed it to me.
“Everything you will need should be inside. There’s a binder It’s ready to use and I through in an eraser and a couple pens and pencils.” Amy said excitedly.
“Thanks, Amy”. I said happily.
“Anytime,” Amy said with a big smile.
“Well, if everyone is ready we should get going.” Aunt Helen said looking over at Amy and then to me.
We arrived at Littleton High School 10 minutes later, Amy and I went our separate ways, she had to be in homeroom for attendance and I needed to see the Principle but we agreed to meet up later on in the cafeteria if I ended up being able to attend classes today.
“Ready honey?” Aunt Helen said looking over at me.
“Yup, let’s get this over with.”, I said somewhat nervous.
“It will be alright honey, I have known Principle Johnston for years and your mother has already explained to him about your situation.” Aunt Helen said reassuringly.
“Alright, but I am still nervous,” I said giggling.
Principle Johnson didn’t quite look like the middle-aged bald haired guy I had envisioned in my head. My first thoughts when I saw him he looked like he should be leading some kind of motorcycle gang, he looked to be maybe 25 years old, he was quite muscular, he had short black hair and was covered in tats, and actually quite handsome. Something told me he was the recipient of many schoolgirl crushes.
“Good Morning Helen, it’s good to see you again, and who is this lovely lady.”, he said causing me to blush.
“Hi Principle Johnson, I am Ashley,” I said with a smile.
“Ashley’s mother couldn’t make it today, but I saw no reason that Ashley and her sister Megan couldn’t start school.” Aunt Helen explained.
“Yes, I talked to Janet, she explained everything to me, and seeing you here now Ashley, I find it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that you haven’t always been a girl.”, Principle Johnson exclaimed.
“It’s part of my medical condition, from what I understand I have elements of both sexes, but as you can see the female elements are dominant. I will know more once the doctors finish running all their tests.” I explained.
“I have a letter from her doctor that should explain everything, but I think Ashley explained it best, and here are Ashley and Megan’s transcripts.” Aunt Helen said handing him a folder.
“Yes, I agree Ashley’s explanation is easier to understand than the doctor's letter, I see no problems enrolling her today, the only issue I can see a problem with is the washroom. I think it would be best for her to use the Gender-neutral washrooms, there’s one on each floor of the school. I am not saying this to be mean, it’s just you may run into problems with other students if your secret gets out.” He explained.
“I can see some people might have a problem with me sharing the washroom with them if they knew my secret, and I will use the Gender-neutral washrooms provided It’s not an emergency, but only until my condition is sorted. “I said looking across the desk at him.
“That’s fair, now as far as physical education goes you are exempted and can use it as a study period in the library. I am sure you will have plenty of work to keep you busy with considering that you are behind in many of your classes, but I am sure we can sort that out.”, He said looking through my transcripts.
“So, when can I start?” I said looking over at him excitedly.
“You can start today; I also think it would be good for you to be in the same homeroom as your cousin Amy. I am going to pull up her class schedule and see if I can’t assign you to the same classes as her.”, he said with a grin.
“That would be great, and I really appreciate it,” I said with a big smile.
After a few minutes, Principle Johnson printed up mine and Megan’s class schedule and we said our goodbyes. Aunt Helen stayed with me long enough to show me where my homeroom was and then told me to have fun and then left me outside of the classroom.
As I stood outside of the classroom I felt a little bit nervous as I reached up and knocked on the classroom door and before long I was met by a young woman who looked to be in her late 20’s. “Hi, I am Ashley today's my first day,” I said with a smile.
“Welcome Ashley, I am Mrs. Evans, come on inside.” She said with a warm smile. As I made my way into the classroom.
“Alright class, we have a new student that is going to be joining us. Her name is Ashley Roberts, make her feel at home.” Mrs. Evans said with a smile.
I smiled as I looked at the other students, “Hi everyone”, I said then took a seat towards the back of the classroom near Amy.
“How did you manage to get into my homeroom,” Amy whispered to me.
“The principal thought it would be good to have me in the same classes as you,” I said with a grin.
“That’s cool, we can be study buddies.” She said with a grin.
“exactly”, I exclaimed.
Amy and I didn’t really have much time to speak before the first period, but I was content to listen. Our first class was American History; the class was just getting ready to start a book report.
We were supposed to choose a historical figure and do a book report on them and how they affect the course of history. It was up to us to choose who it was going to be about. There were so many choices that I could choose from but I wanted to do something different from the obvious selections that would most likely be chosen by the other students in my class.
I would have to give it some thought, we had a week to put it together and that really wasn’t a lot of time. I thought to myself as I listened to the teacher drone on about the American revolution.
The rest of the morning was spent going from class to class with only a small break in between classes. Amy took advantage of that time to introduce me to some of her friends. It was all a bit overwhelming but it was also nice.
Most of Amy’s friends seemed pretty friendly for the most part. There were a few hellos and the odd question here and there asked. By the end of the second period, I managed to send out a couple of messages to Adam and Kira. I let them know that I started school and hoped to meet up with them at lunchtime and received a text back for both Adam and Kira, saying they were happy and would see me in the cafeteria later.
After slipping my phone into my purse Amy and I made our way to our 3rd-period classroom, and after a few minutes walking, we arrived at Mr. Bishop’s Science class. Like in the previous classes the teacher made quick introductions.
I soon found a seat and as I looked around the classroom, I saw a familiar face wave to me and found myself smiling when I saw it was Maddie, the girl that Kira had introduced me to the previous day. I waved and smiled back at her as I took a seat and waited for class to start.
I was lucky Science was one of my better subjects and found that most of the stuff the teacher was talking about was stuff, I had already learned. I knew that would most likely be the case with a few of my subjects but like Principle, Johnson said I still had a lot of catching up to do in many of my classes.
To be honest though, I only really excelled in the courses that interested me, and that was mostly by choice and not because I found the subjects hard. If anything many of the subjects were too easy.
I also knew that if I really applied myself that I could be caught up with very little effort on my part. I thought to myself as the bell rang indicating the end of morning classes. After the bell rang and everyone was leaving Maddie came over and had a big smile on her face, “I was really surprised when you came into the classroom.” She said grinning.
“My transcripts and doctors letter came in yesterday and I really didn’t see any reason that I couldn’t start classes today,” I explained.
“Kira’s going to be really happy,” Maddie said with a smile.
“We’re heading over to the cafeteria, want to join?” I said with a grin.
“So, how do the two of you know one another?” Asked Amy.
“I met Ashley, through Kira,” Maddie said answering Amy’s question.
“Yeah, Maddie and I became fast friends”, I said with a grin.
The three of us made it to the cafeteria, I pretty much followed Maddie and Amy considering I still didn’t know my way around yet. We grabbed a table and waited for the others to arrive.
Adam was the first to arrive, as he came into the cafeteria, I saw him looking around when he saw me and came over to our table. “There you are sweetheart”, he said taking me into his arms and gave me a big hug.
“Surprised”, I said wrapping my arms around him and returning his hug.
“Yes, but I love these kinds of surprises, where is your lunch”, he said as he released me from his embrace.
“I didn’t have time to grab anything this morning,” I replied.
“Well, let's grab you something honey, it’s on me.” He said with a smile then reached down and took my hand and the two of us made our way over and joined the line of other students who were waiting to be served.
It took a few minutes but before long Adam and I were served, I ordered a chicken salad sandwich, fries, and a diet coke, whereas Adam ordered fish and chips. The whole time the two of us waited he never took his hands off me, and I was sure by now everyone in the school knew that the two of us were an item.
I had to admit that I secretly enjoyed all the attention and the fact that he was telling everyone to back off because I was taking. Up to now, I had never felt wanted let alone appreciated this was all a new experience for me.
When the two of us returned to our table, nobody had their doubts that Adam and I were together and as I took our seat I notice Kira had also arrived and I saw a smile on her face. When she saw me and Adam return to the table hand in hand.
Kira and Maddie, both seemed surprised to see Adam and I together considering that I hadn’t been in Littleton very long and I had already found myself a boyfriend but they both seem happy that the two of us had found one another.
The afternoon went by pretty quickly, with the first period being math, I spent the second period in the library, it was a study period for me but considering this was my first day I really didn’t have any assignment with the exception of my book report.
I spent a bit of time using one of the computers to do some research on people that I could do my report on. After a lot of thought I decided on Elizabeth Blackwell, she was the first American woman awarded a medical degree by a college and I thought that her story really needed to be told.
So over the next hour, I made my way through the library and found everything I could that was written about Elizabeth Blackwell, but also knew that there would also be a lot of information about her posted on the internet, which I would look up at home on my laptop.
The last class of the day was Social Studies, and the hour went by pretty quickly and before long the last bell of the day rang and it was time to go home. As I was exiting the classroom, I was approached by a girl.
“Hi Ashley, I am Marcy and just wanted to say hi and welcome you to Littleton High.”, She said with a smile.
“Thanks, I am happy to be here, but it’s going to take me a bit to get my bearings,” I said with a grin.
“Well, if there is anything I can do to help just let me know.” She said then walked away.
I waited a couple of minutes for Amy to catch up, and the two of us exited the school together and by the time we reached the parking lot a text came in from Adam.” Hey babe, want to hang?” he said with a happy face emoji.
“Can’t today honey, I have plans,” I said sending him a message.
“Alright, I will call you later tonight, love you baby,” Adam said.
I smiled as I read his text and then sent him one of my own, “Love you More” I said with a grin then sent him the message.
“Adam”, Amy said looking over at me.
“Yeah, he wants to hang but I need some time to figure somethings out,” I said looking over at her.
“Oh, is something wrong?”, Amy asked looking concerned.
“No, things are great, the problem is that I decided to tell him the truth, but I am waiting for the right time and place to break the news to him,” I explained to her.
“Oh, I understand”, Amy said looking over at me.
‘I know it’s fast but I really care about him, and I want the two of us to be together, but we can’t base a relationship on a lie and I also have Abby to think about, I can’t just jump into her life, let her get close to me and disappear. It’s just best to get this over with now before things get too complicated.”, I said looking over at my cousin.
“So, when are you going to tell him?” Amy asked as the two of us started walking towards home.
“Tomorrow night, I want to wait until I see the specialist first. I know he is going to have a lot of questions for me and maybe I will have some answers.”, I explained to her.
“I hope things work out for you and Adam, the two of you are really good for one another,” Amy said putting her arm around my shoulder and the two of us made our way home.
End of Part 6
To be continued in part 7