The Skeletøn Bøy

TWENTY-SEVEN

    Elliott felt faint. She felt a panic attack coming on. She felt sick. "How long have you know?"

    Wes tightened his grip. "Since Anna found out. My dad told me later that night."

    Elliott threw her face in her hands. Wes noticed her distress immediately, and pulled her closer. "Shhh. Elliott, it doesn't change a thing. Well, actually, it does. I like you, okay. A lot. I wouldn't have kissed you if I didn't. We could be together-"

    "No! We can't!" Elliott wrenched herself from his grip. "I'm not a girl! Well, I am, but not mentally! Don't you see? I've grown up a boy. Every part of me screams male! I don't know how to be a girl. I don't even know if I want to be a girl!"

    Wes felt her pain. He felt it so strongly it made him want to wrap her in his arms. Even dressed as a boy, he thought she was beautiful. And he wanted her so badly. Wanted her to love him. It was a dangerous thought.

    "I'm sorry, Wes. I have to go. Excuse me." And with that, Elliott ran from the store like it was on fire. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid! Kissing him. Letting Anna find out. Who was next?

    Elliott began to cry. Mother would find out. She would find out and punish her. Kill her. Bury her alongside the skeletons that begged her to join them.

    She stomped all the way up the stairs in her house and shut herself in the bathroom, turning the shower on. She stood under the spray, letting her memories consume her.

    "I. Am. A. Girl!" Elliott screamed to her mother. Mary was having none of that, as he grabbed Elliott by the hair and yanked her into the punishment chair. Elliott wasn't even phased.

    "Why does it even matter, mother? On the inside, we're all the same, whether or not we're girls or boys! Our skeletons are the same!"

    Mother turned her deadly gaze on her son. Her son.

    "So you want to be a skeleton, huh?"

    Elliott shook her head. "No! I'm just saying, all skeletons are the same! And since we're all made of skeletons, why does gender matter so much! Why do I have to be Elliott? Why do I have to be a boy!"

    Mother slapped Elliott across the face. Once. Twice. Three times. Then, she raided her closet full of toys. "You know why. You killed your brother, you nasty little slut!"

    Elliott began to cry. "No! No, I didn't!"

    Mother turned, grabbing the whip. Her favorite. She brought the whip down hard on Elliott, loving the way her son screamed. "You did. You did, you did, you did! And I'll make you regret it! You're the one that should have died, not my precious son! You're not going to escape. You're Elliott now."

    Elliott trashed. She was stubborn and brave. "No, I didn't kill her! Baba did!"

    Mother froze. Her eyes narrowed and she hissed at him. "Don't tell me lies, boy!"

    Elliott looked mother straight in the eyes. "I'm not."

    Mother stumbled back, dropping the whip. Her head ached, and her heart shattered. She had trusted Baba with her life. She could see her playful grin, and the way her eyes lit up when she smiled. She had been her first real friend. And she had single handedly ruined everything.

    "No. She loved you kids. She wouldn't have killed Elliott."

    Elliott stopped struggling in the chair and watched her mother break down. It was a rare sight, one Elliott had never seen before.

    "How did she do it?" She trembled.

    "Stabbed him. Tried to get me too, but I ran away. She said it was revenge for what you did to her."

    Elliott watched as mother dropped to the ground. She began to cry, then. Cry so hard her body shook.

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