Intersex

Chapter 17.

My heart was pounding. Brian's reaction didn't make it any easier. All I could feel was fear. The door slowly opened and revealed a small shadowy figure on the other side.

"What's up?" Brian said. "Is everything okay? It's kinda late..." the person on the other side walked into our apartment as Brian gestured for them to do so.

"I can't sleep at home tonight..." a young boy whimpered. His voice was somewhat high pitched and unsteady. He couldn't be older than fifteen.

"What's wrong?" Brian asked and pulled the hood off the boy's head to reveal his face. A dark bruise covered his right cheek, it looked fresh. "Who did this?"

The boy didn't answer. He just stood still, staring at the floor. His dark hair was wild, standing in all directions in a way that reminded me of a palm tree. He had freckles over his pale skin and his fingernails were chewed down to short tips.

"Did he start drinking again..?" Brian mumbled and the boy nodded as he pressed himself against Brian's chest.

"Wh-who..." I stuttered. He might've just been a kid but he was bigger than me and I felt intimidated. I wasn't exactly short but I was definitely below average by about two inches and the kid in my apartment was only a bit shorter than Jayden whom I considered tall. Brian was taller than him though and Brian was probably taller than Kennedy who was pretty tall. Again, I felt like a baby.

"This is Corey..." Brian mumbled. The young boy's head snapped in my direction and his breath hitched as he tried to back up. "Calm down, I told you that I had a roommate... that's Micah, I've known him for some time and I trust him with my life, you can trust him too..."

"Hi..." I mumbled and tried to smile at him. He looked so scared.

"Corey's the older brother of one of the kids at the daycare... his parents are divorced and his dad's been handling it pretty poorly since his mom remarried and had another kid... so I told Corey that he could come here whenever he felt like he couldn't stay with his dad..."

My heart felt heavy with guilt. Here I thought he'd be some scary criminal knocking on doors demanding bloodshed. But as I looked into his pale brown eyes I could relax. He wasn't dangerous at all. I slowly release me the right grip I had on my belly and let out a deep sigh of relief. I had become a lot more hostile ever since I found out about my baby.

"I'll make some hot chocolate..." I mumbled and began wobbling into the kitchen.

"Nope!" Brian called as he saw my shaky legs. "You've moved enough today... get some rest..."

"Stop worrying about me, I've got this..."

"It's not you that I'm worried about, it's Smith... don't strain yourself..."

I nodded as I placed a hand on my belly, I probably scared my baby every time I got stressed about something.

"Hey, Corey?" I said and turned to the boy who was still standing with his coat on by the door. His eyes slowly and carefully made their way to mine. It was like he feared eye contact. "Let's watch a movie..."

Brian nodded to the boy and he hesitantly took his wet shoes off. Was it raining outside? His coat had been wet too. I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. My knees were achy. How annoying. As I scrolled through the movie list Corey slowly walked into the living room. I looked up and smiled at him. My previous thoughts about him being bigger than me were thrown out the window when I saw him without his coat. He was stick-thin, no fat whatsoever and barely any muscle. He was taller than me though. This kid was definitely struggling.

"Here..." I said and pulled my blanket off my shoulders. "You look cold and this one's already warm! Wouldn't wanna catch a cold!" I said with a bright smile. He seemed hesitant at first but slowly approached me to take the blanket before taking a seat next to me.

"Th... thanks..." he mumbled shyly. I felt bad for the kid. No one should have to deal with a parent like that. I carefully put my hands on my belly again. I wasn't going to let my kid grow up like that.

⚥ ⚥ ⚥

I watched as Corey slept soundly on our couch. We fed him, let him take a shower and let him borrow some comfortable clothes.

"How old is he?" I mumbled as I soothingly stroked my stomach. It had been feeling gassy lately, as gross as it sounds.

"He's fourteen..." Brian said as he tucked the boy in with a second blanket.

"He's so tall..." I grumbled.

"He's not that tall, you're just short, no offence..."

"None taken..."

"You should get some rest..." He said and ruffled my hair. I hated it when he did that and Brian knew that. Yet he couldn't resist.

"I will..." I mumbled. "Will Corey be alright out here?"

"Yeah, I think so... it's surprising how soundly he's sleeping considering that he's never been here before..."

"He probably doesn't sleep much at home..."

⚥ ⚥ ⚥

"I want tacos..." I mumbled groggily as I wandered out into our kitchen. I was only wearing a pair of briefs and a snuggly sweater which felt better than I would ever admit. I was both warm and cool at the same time, the perfect combination.

"For breakfast?" Brian said, raising a brow as he handed me a glass of apple juice.

"With only cheese and corn..." I sighed. My pregnancy vitamins were waiting for me on the counter and I lazily swallowed them along with some apple juice.

"Well we've got taco shells and cheese but I'm not too sure about corn..." he mumbled. Brian was the only one tall enough to reach the pantry so I patiently watched as he searched it. "Will you cry if you don't get corn?" He mumbled.

"Yes..." I whimpered. My stomach growled loudly.

"Well..." he sighed. My heart sank when he turned to me with a sorry expression. I tested up and Brian shook his head as a smirk made its way across his lips. "Good thing I found THIS then!" He exclaimed and pulled out a lonely can of corn. I squealed and yanked it from his hands while he carefully placed taco shells on the counter. "What do we say?" He mumbled and raised his brows at me.

"Thank youuu!" I sang as I shot him a bright smile. He'd make someone so happy one day.

During my small triumph, I had failed to notice the young boy gobbling eggs at the table. My head snapped to the side as I heard his fork and I shrieked loudly as I turned around. He jumped and shrieked when I shrieked. We stared at each other wide-eyed. I had forgotten that he stayed the night.

"Brian..." I mumbled. My roommate turned and looked at me. "Do you mind making some scrambled eggs for me too..?"

"Sure..." He chuckled.

Our eyes met again. Corey still looked shocked, maybe even frightened. His eyes were red and swollen, had he cried? I felt bad for this boy. I wanted to protect him. We were strangers but I still felt a connection to him. He was shy and I wanted to help him get over that. Every part of me wanted to make him confident and strong. To build him up again and send him on his way to a better life away from that dad of his. I shivered. I had never met the man and I already despised him.

Corey's situation made me worry about my own future. I didn't know what it was like to have separated parents but it seemed awful. The last thing I would want was to have my family in different places. I wanted everyone together where I could feel loved and show them how much I loved them back.

Could Jayden and I be a real family? It was hard to imagine. I didn't love him like my parents loved each other. To be honest, he annoyed me. There were moments when he was the sweetest guy on earth and then there were moments when I wished that I never met him.

"Damn it, Smith..." I whispered.

⚥ ⚥ ⚥

"We need to talk..." I growled at Kennedy and Jayden who were chatting on the steps to the campus.

"Me..?" Jayden asked as he looked up from his phone.

"No, f*****g Santa Claus, get your ass here right now..."

"D-do you want me to stay here..?" Kennedy mumbled.

"Yes..."

Jayden and I stood face to face a fair distance away from Kennedy. He was staring at us, rejected and excluded.

"I've actually been meaning to talk to you too..." Jayden sighed.

"What are we?"

The colourful leaves were wet on the ground. It had rained during the night. Dark clouds dragged themselves over the sky. I wanted to sleep. Jayden's light grey eyes pierced through my stern facade. A cold drop fell onto my cheek. He looked like an angel and it was pissing me off.

"Depends on what you mean..." he said. Without hesitating he moved his hand to my face and stroke the raindrop away. It was a nice try, but I wasn't going to let him swoon me.

"What am I to you?" I said sternly.

"You're my... friend..?" He mumbled. "Why? Do you us t-"

"I picked a baby name..." I interrupted him.

"You... you did?" He seemed taken back, probably being able to tell that I was annoyed with him.

"Smith..."

"Smith? That's a surname..." He grumbled. "You want our baby to have two surnames and no first name?"

"I like it. I've made up my mind. If it's a boy then I want to name him Smith."

"I guess that's okay... I guess it's common to have first names as surnames and surnames as first names nowadays..."

"What did you wanna talk about?" I said quickly, avoiding to leave any awkward silence between us.

"Well I guess it's something a bit too complicated to bring up..." he pulled his hand out of his pocket with his phone and glanced at the screen before putting it back down. "Seventeen minutes before my first class..."

"Wait what time is it?" I said with a slight sigh as I started fumbling for the phone in my inner pocket.

"9:58..."

"f**k!" I yelled before taking off at maximum speed.

"MICAH, DON'T RUN!" Jayden panted behind me. I felt his arms wrap around my torso as my shoes slipped over the wet ground. "Idiot..." He whimpered, voice cracking and on the brink of tears as I dangled in his arms. "There are wet leaves all over the ground, you f*****g moron..." He presses his face against my shoulder. One of his hands cupped my stomach and he let out a relieved sigh. Flutters and goosebumps made their way through me as he held me, gently touching my belly as if it were the most sacred thing in the world.

Another pair of arms suddenly wrapped around me, this time from the front. "Dumbass..." Kennedy breathed shakily in my ear. My stomach fluttered again. This was an entirely different kind of hug, one that I hadn't experienced before. "What if you fell on your stomach..?"

"I'm sorry..." I whimpered. If Jayden hadn't caught me I would've definitely landed on my face. My foot had slid backwards as I tried to run and my leg went shooting back while the other one was mid-air. Jayden and Kennedy's scents mixed when they hugged me. It smelt oddly nice. Woodsy yet minty, fresh and crisp. Overly masculine. I relaxed in their arms.

After a few seconds of silence and hugging Kennedy's hand snuck up alongside Jayden's. They both cupped my stomach, gently rubbing, stroking and drawing small circles over it. Their hands were warm, both of them.

I glanced at a falling leaf in the distance. It was yellow and round. Leaves of all colours and shapes covered the wet ground. It smelt like dirt and rain, crisp yet musky, I liked it. I closed my sleepy eyes. This was perfect, comfortable, warm, loving.

Jayden and Kennedy entwined their fingers on my stomach. My phone buzzed.

"What's that?" Jayden asked, still holding Kennedy's hand on my stomach as he held me tightly.

"Dunno..." I reached into my inner pocket and slipped my phone out. As I looked at the screen my body relaxed. "Class was cancelled... the professor slipped and fell on his way here..."

We were silent. It was obvious that the two of them were scolding me inside their heads. So I would've slipped while running to a class that wouldn't happen. I grumbled to myself silently.

"I kinda feel like ditching..." Jayden mumbled. "You guys wanna go grab some coffee?"

"Sure!" I beamed.

Knowing full well where Jayden kept his car I started skipping toward it.

"Did you ask him..?" Kennedy whispered to Jayden.

"Soon... don't make me do it alone..."