Joy walked me out of the bathroom while holding my hand. I couldn't make eye contact with the girls so I kept my head down. Why does life have to be such an asshole to me?
We sat on Joy's bed while the girls stood in front of us. Joy had somehow convinced me to stay. Her conversational skills were way beyond anything I could contend with.
Gina elbowed Lacy, and she reluctantly stepped forward.
"I'm sorry," Lacy said.
When I glanced up at her, her head was down. She actually looked sorry.
"I-it's okay," I said and looked at my hands.
We all paused for a while; no one said a word. It was one of those moments, like right after my parents fought or when my little sister fell before realizing there was pain incoming.
I looked up, and all the girls were staring at me. Words failed me so I covered my face and fell back onto the bed.
"Walker?" It was Joy's voice.
The darkness from my hands provided me a sort of invisibility or at least that was how I felt. If I stayed there long enough everyone would just go away.
"Will you talk with us about it?" asked Gina.
"It'll make you feel better," Sam said.
Lacy and Alyx were surprisingly quiet.
"Walker?" Joy said again.
I squeezed my eyes shut, turned to my side, pulled my legs up to my chest, and held on to them.
Four impacts hit the bed and I was suddenly covered by several girls' hands in a huge hug.
It was scary for a moment but when no one hit me or whatever other fears my brain could produce, I cried.
Besides my mom, no one had ever been that kind to me. Sure, the small nerdy friend group I had was nice to me but I'd never gotten hugs from them like that before. It felt...nice.
If only Vic could see me now.
Vic was my best friend. We'd known each other since around third grade. Jacalyn Kostairs— the resident bitch of our class— took some of my candy, and Vic got it back for me. We'd been friends ever since.
I laughed at the thought.
Suddenly the hands surrounding me retreated except for one set, which was probably Joy's. I didn't want to open my eyes to check.
"Walker," someone said from behind me. It kind of sounded like Joy.
The sudden release of the air from my lungs as Joy squeezed me made my eyes shoot open. It wasn't Joy's hands around my waist. Sam was squeezing me hard, and I couldn't move.
"Will you just talk to us?" Sam said.
"Yes, yes, yes! Ju— st-stop!" I struggled to say.
She let go and I sat up gasping for air. I glared at Sam.
She giggled. "Works on my brothers all the time."
Someone put a hand on my leg and I turned to see who it was.
It was Joy. "Will you talk with us about it?" she asked.
"I- I guess," I said. Then I turned to Sam. "How'd you do that?"
"Do what?" she asked.
"Sound like Joy."
Sam shrugged. "Oh, I do voices."
YOU ARE READING
Walker's Path
Teen FictionWalker is struggling with life as an intersex teen. He thinks of himself as male but his body is going female. Walker has what he thought was the opportunity of a lifetime. A night alone with his girlfriend. Little does he know that he was actually...
