***Taylor

It was a bit of a walk to get home. Any other night I wouldn’t be worried about walking home alone. Still, with everything that was happening, it made me more cautious than ever. The sounds of explosions and sirens could still be heard in the distance. I tried to remember what I had done to that guy encase someone tried to attack me.

            As I saw my house come into view, dread crept over me. I didn’t know what was going to happen, or even if my parents would accept me. Looking behind me, I watched my tail lazily swing back and forth. I couldn’t be upset with what happened to me when I loved the new me. They would just have to accept me for who I am. I knew that my sister never would. She was too stuck up, and anyone different was the first person she would go after.

            I stood there looking at my door for what seemed like ages. There was no way that I was ready to go through what I was about to. With a sigh, I opened the door to my house. Everyone had seemed to have gone home after everything that had happened, though they left the place a mess.

            “Mom, Dad, I’m home,” I said. With my ears, I could hear their footsteps approaching. The looks on their faces said it all before they even opened their mouths

            “What the hell are you doing here, you freak. I can’t believe they let you out. It’s bad enough that you had cops at our house, but you have the nerve to come back after what you did. You’re just like Ashley. I can’t believe either of you could have been so damn reckless,” My dad said.

            “I didn’t ask for this dad, and what do you mean I’m just like Ashley, what happened to her, and where is Emily,” I asked. I wanted to know what he meant.

            “Your sister was taken somewhere where she can’t be seen by the public. I will not have freaks living in this house. You are no longer welcome here! And as for Emily, she is no longer your concern. She is the only child we have,” my dad spat as he moved toward me. My mom stepped in front of him.

            “Honey, maybe we should call up Dr. Lenzo, see if we could get those things removed. You can’t just throw out our little girl,” My mom said. I don’t know if she was sincere or if she only cared about her image.

            “It’s too late, Martha. There is no fixing this. It will take years to recover from what they have done,” He said to mom before pushing her out of the way and standing right in front of me.

“You need to leave right now. You and your sister are no longer our daughters. All of your things are out in the shed. You have five days to remove your things, or they will be taken to the dump,” My dad said, pointing his finger to the door. With tears running down my eyes, I ran out the door. I couldn’t believe that he would do this to us. We were his daughters. There had to be some part of him that loved me, but it didn’t seem that way when he didn’t even try to understand. And where was Ashley? What happened to her?

.           And what happened to Emily? I know by now you’re probably confused as Emily was the one throwing the party. Still, technically Emily is my sister by a legal standard. But biologically, she was my cousin. We never really got along. She always thought she was better than me. Even Ashley hated her, and she could be the most judgmental person in the room. But enough about her.

            I had wandered around for what seemed like an hour before realizing that I was in Angels’ neighborhood again. With a little apprehension, I began walking to her house. I hoped that maybe her mom was more understanding than mine.

            It didn’t take long to find Angels’ house. After being there, it was almost like I had known where she lived all along. I sighed as I looked at her house. Most of the lights were off. Reluctantly, I walked up to the door and rang the bell. I heard some shuffling inside, and then the door opened.

            “Can I help…. Oh no, not you too. Little Taylor, what are you doing here?” Mrs. Avory asked. Looking at my feet, I tried not to cry. How could I tell her what happened to me? She must have noticed because the next thing I knew, she had placed her hand on my shoulder.

            “Why don’t you come inside. I’ll fix you something to eat, and you can tell me what’s wrong,” Mrs. Avery said, not giving me much of choice before pulling me in the door and closing it behind us. I had never been inside their house, but I knew Angel’s mom because my parents had tried to buy the company she worked for, and she had come to our house to cuss them out for trying to steal her idea. I guess the game that she was working on is important. It was supposed to be a game that fully immersed you into it—something about being able to feel everything that happened within.

            After eating two grilled cheese sandwiches, I began telling Mrs. Avory what happened with my parents. As I told her, I could see her face change from soft and caring to angry. She looked like she was about to blow a fuse.

            “Those damn bigots. Throwing their own daughters out and claiming that their niece is their only daughter. Do they not have a single brain cell in their head,” She said. I could have sworn that when she talked that her eyes flashed red like fire. I pushed it out of my mind and sat there, listening to her rant.

            “I am sorry, Taylor. I wish there were something I could do to make your parents take you back, but it sounds like their minds are made up. And Susie didn’t even defend you,” She said with a sigh.

            “Mrs. Avory…. I have nowhere to live. I do not know what I am going to do. I don’t even know where my sister is,” I said as the tears began falling. Like a real mom, she was right there, wrapping her arms around me. Burying my face into her shoulder, I cried even more. Why couldn’t this have been my mom? Why didn’t she convince him to change his mind? I just sat there crying until my eyes burned.

            “Little Taylor, you can stay with us. I will make sure you are taken care of, I promise you that,” She said as she pulled my face out of her shoulder and held my chin, so she was looking in my eyes. Seeing her smile made my heart stop for just a moment. It was not a fake smile, like taking family pictures that you did not want to take. It was a genuine smile.

            “Now, I do not really have anywhere for you to sleep tonight, and the couch is not that comfortable to sleep in, so tonight you can sleep in Angel’s room. I am sure she would not mind. She’s probably fast asleep,” Mrs. Avory said as she ushered me down the hall. Turning to the right side of the hallway, she opened the door we were in front of. Inside was the room of a boy. I knew what a boy’s room looked like because I would sometimes go to my cousin Jeffrey’s house and play in his room.

            And that is when I really realized something. Laying in bed was a very furry girl whose tail was draped over the side of the bed while she faced the wall. Mrs. Avory walked over to the bed and gently picked Angel up, and placed her further against the wall. She then signaled for me to lie on the bed. It was weird to think technically I was going to be sleeping in a boy’s bed. This was not something you did when you first officially met someone, but this is what I was doing.

            “Sleep well, little Taylor,” Mrs. Avory said before walking out of the room and closing the door. Laying there, I tried to clear my head of what had just happened but found that it was easier said than done. I did my best not to make a sound as the tears started falling again. I was so tired and so hurt. My life was over as I knew it, and there was nothing I could do. Slowly, I felt my eyes getting heavy. I tried to keep them open, but the stinging of my tears made it difficult. The last thing I remember thinking was that I was now abandoned. Then my eyes closed, and everything faded away.