CW:

The face I had expected to come out of that announcement was probably shock, maybe even confusion. Instead, Sam looked concerned and worried, and Victoria had an unreadable expression on her face. I was starting to get worried at seeing a repeat from yesterday before Sam spoke up.

“Auntie, did the spell do more damage than we thought?” She asked, not breaking eye contact with me. Spell? What was she on about? I was distracted by her Aunt as I noticed Victoria just sat there staring at me, a look of recognition and horror started to dawn on her. It seemed she was about to go into tears. She asked me the question I had asked myself through most of my childhood during my egg phase.

“Forgive me if I’m wrong…”She started with a worrying tone, “But are you trans?”

I hesitated but nodded, tears already forming in my eyes. I guess there goes my last friend in the whole world. The reaction from Sam didn’t seem very supportive when I told her I wasn’t Ev-- that I wasn’t him anymore. Before I could even notice Sam’s reaction to me confirming I was trans, Victoria jumped up and ran as fast her old legs could take her to the other side of the table.

I feared being hit again, the sight of my father figure taking her place for just a second. As her hand reached out I cringed backwards, but what I didn’t expect was for her to wrap me up in a hug. I could hear her softly crying as I heard the sound of a chair softly scraping against the floor. A moment later I was hugged from behind as well. I sat there for a while, being overwhelmed by the emotions I felt from my best friend and her adoptive mom. Sam wasn’t crying but I could tell she felt supportive. I cried more when I realized that this was exactly what I could never get from my parents, I just wanted them to be supportive.

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It took a good while for all of us to calm down. Sam spoke up first, which surprised me.

“I'm sorry Ev-” She caught herself and looked apologetic before continuing, “I'm sorry I wasn’t there to help you, you’re my friend and I had no idea you were going through something like this.”

“It’s not like I was being very open about it, I kept it buried for a while, Sam. Afraid of what people might say, afraid of what my parents would say.” I said as I stared at the floor, I knew I should have told her first. For some reason, I had it in my head that I had to tell my parents first, and I don’t know why. I feel bad now that I didn’t go to her first, I feel like an idiot that I trusted my parents over the person who's been my friend for the longest.

“Is this why you were out in the park in the middle of the night?” Sam asked, Victoria looking as she listened in. Her eyes were looking at me, but it felt as if she was reliving some memory from long ago. She had that distant look to her.

I nodded to Sam’s question. “I came out to Mom and Dad last night. Guess you can tell it went about as well as expected.” She nodded, she knew how bad my parents could get sometimes. I continued on.

“Dad immediately got angry at me, said that I was and will always be a man. That I was going against God's plan and that he wouldn’t allow this in his house. I told him that this was who I am, and he said that until I abandon the idea I wouldn’t be allowed back in the house. I tried to reason with him, but you know how that goes. I was kicked out in the middle of the night with just the clothes on my back. Mom never even said anything, she simply just glared at me until I left.”

Sam gave me a sympathetic look, and Victoria looked on the edge of tears again. She spoke up again.

“Do you have a new name to go by darling?”

“Emma,” I said with a small smile. The second I found the name I knew it was for me, it felt perfect and just right.

“I'm glad to meet you, the real you Emma,” Sam said while giving me a smile before she turned to her aunt. “I don't mean to change the topic, but Auntie you seem a bit more emotional than I would have expected when you just met Emma today. Is everything okay?”

I had to agree with Sam, it was nice with how supportive Victoria was but it felt like there was something she was hiding. Victoria looked uneasy and wasn’t sure if it was something she wanted to talk about. She looked at the two of us before letting out a small sigh.

“Sam dearest, did I ever tell you about my brother?” She said as she stared a hole into the table.

“No? You’ve never talked about your family before.” 

“For a good reason.” She said with a sigh, she looked at me before continuing. “Emma, I'm sorry if what I say next is a bit too close to home. If you want to leave the room for a bit if it gets too much it's fine.”

I nodded but I stayed seated, curious as to what she could be about to tell me and Sam. She gave me a moment to leave, and seeing that I chose to stay she continued on.

“About thirty years ago, me and my identical twin brother still talked with our family. We were twenty at the time, and he came to me to tell me of a big secret of his that he held onto for all his life. I was curious, but supportive as I listened to him tell me that he felt wrong. He said he hated being born a girl, and that he always felt as if he should have been born a guy.”

She was smiling as she thought back to when her brother first came out, that smile quickly fell when she remembered what happened next.

“He wanted to tell our parents, I wasn’t sure if that was the best idea but he was determined to tell them. They didn’t take it well. The world was even more backwards thirty years ago than it is now. They threw slurs at him and kicked him out on the streets. I couldn’t take it and went with him. We moved from place to place, trying to find somewhere accepting. Somewhere we could live in peace. Everywhere he went that he told people who he was, was met with hatred and- and…”

She stopped, taking a deep breath. Me and Sam shared a glance with each other, worried about what was coming next. 

“He was dealing with the dysphoria, and it hit him hard. There really wasn’t much I could do to help him, and good luck finding a therapist or a specialist for cheap that wasn’t a bigot back then.” 

She stopped a tear, trailing down her cheek. Before the next words that came out hit hard, and I felt myself tearing up as well.

“H-he never made it to twenty-two. He left me a note about how sorry he was and I...I..”

Sam reached over and comforted her auntie as she sobbed. “It's okay Auntie, you don’t need to continue. Just breathe.”

Victoria took a few moments to calm herself before a look of anger took over. “The worst thing is, our parents didn’t care when I told them. Those bastards sounded nearly happy over it, I cursed them to hell and back and blocked their numbers. They tried to write but I eventually moved and cut all contact. Good riddance.” 

Victoria looked over at me before continuing. “Emma I don’t care what your parents say, what anyone says, you are who you are. You will always be welcomed here. Sam trusts you, and that means I trust you.”

I could only smile, tears in my eyes threatening to release themselves. I managed to whisper a weak thank you.

I may not have gotten the support of my parents, but with how much support I’ve gotten from the two ladies in front of me. It felt like it all ended up for the better. Victoria felt like the parent I wish I had growing up. I almost felt happy realizing I had a place to belong to, that I wasn’t going to be bullied and abused like I did at my old home. 

That thought hit me hard. The fact that I haven’t even spent a day here, yet it already felt more like home than my last one ever did. As I was thinking upon this new realization of mine, I remembered that my original question never did get answered. I was starting to worry again about it, so I went ahead and asked Victoria.

“So how did I get here again?”

Sourie

This chapter is pretty short, so I'll make up for that by uploading another one soon. TBH it's hard to not be tempted to post it all at once, but I wanted to do last-minute editing.