Walker's Path

Chapter 4 Made Over

I crossed my arms which made me aware of my boobs so I put my hands down to my hips and balled them up. "You just can't leave it running!"

Alyx stared me down. "You didn't have to push through us to shut it off!"

Being defensive wasn't my usual but I couldn't let it go. Not with the shit, I went through growing up.

"Why do you care if the fan's on anyway?" Joy asked.

"If there's no one in the room the fan doesn't need to be on. That's all," I said.

Alyx leaned in. "Ask us to move or something next time." She backed up and shook her head. "Jesus H."

I put my head down. They didn't understand.

"Let's just go back upstairs," Joy said.

"What about pizza?" Alyx asked.

"Shit." Joy pressed her fingers against her eyes and then removed them. "I'll go talk to the other girls and you two go back in there."

In protest, I leaned against the wall and looked away.

Alyx didn't wait and walked down the hall toward the dining room.

Joy joined me. "You know, that was really rude."

"What?" I asked.

"We were talking an—"

"It's important!"

"Why, why is it so important? It's just a fan, Walk—"

"It just is, okay!"

Joy put her hands up. "Can you at least wait in the dining room with Alyx?"

The thought of going back into the room with her parents and Alex made my stomach churn. "Can I go with you?"

"Whatever, let's go," Joy said.

She led us to her room where Lacey, Gina, and Sam were sitting on her bed.

"Hey," Joy said.

The girls turned to us.

"You okay?" I asked. I knew what Sam was going through and if Joy was telling the truth then the girls here felt the same way.

Sam squinted at me. "Like you care. You're probably laughi—"

"Sam," Joy said.

"He doesn't know what I'm goi—"

"Yeah, I do," I said.

"As if," Gabby said.

"Yeah, as if," Lacy copied her.

"What do you mean, Walker?" Joy asked.

I took a step toward Sam. "None of the clothes I want to wear fit me."

"Your clothes fit fine or at least they fit me fine," Alyx said from the door.

Joy and I turned to look at her.

Alyx, Joy, and I were around the same size so I got what she meant. She was still wrong though. "Those are girls' jeans," I said.

"Really?" Joy asked.

I nodded. "I had to get the shirt two sizes too big or else these show." I pointed to my chest. "So, just like her, I have t—"

"So your clothes are custom made?" Sam asked.

"Some of them." I pointed at the pile of my clothes. "Like the binder."

Alyx cleared her throat and looked at Joy. "Oh, your parents wanted us to come back downstairs."

Joy let out a sigh. "You okay to go back down?" she asked Sam.