© February 2013

Part Two

Chapter Three: Who are you?

    Josie woke and looked confused as he couldn’t remember falling asleep, and the bed felt too nice to be his, so he cracked open his eyes worried that he had fallen asleep with one of Karen’s customers, but he found himself to be alone in the bed. His head didn’t feel as foggy now and he remembered that Karen had rented him out to another woman and she was much nicer than Karen ever was to him.

     “Hello, how are you feeling now sweetie?” Emma asked when she saw Josie look at her.

     “Who are you, and what is it you want from me?” Josie asked with fear in his voice as he pulled the covers up trying to protect himself a little more.

     “I want to help you, and you’re totally safe here with me and my friend.” Emma said in a calm quiet voice as she got up out the chair she’d been sat in and then sat on the edge of the bed.

    Josie had become very untrusting of everyone in the past couple of years, but there was something about this woman’s smile that put him at ease and he was happy to let her brush some stray hairs out his eyes.

     “Will you send me back to Miss Karen when you get bored with me?” Josie asked looking worried.

     “No, but I do want your help in getting her arrested for what she’s been doing to you.” Emma said. “Did she take you from the streets?” Emma asked.

     “No, she’s my foster mother, but no one ever comes to check up on me.” Josie explained. “I was given to her when I wouldn’t keep quiet about my sister and how she was murdered.”

     “What happened to your sister?” Emma asked.

    Josie explained in great detail what he saw and how the police and everyone in the town covered it up just to keep their jobs and to stop Kevin Nobles going to prison for it.

     “As soon as I’m old enough, I plan to return to Charmington and kill Kevin Nobles for what he did.” Josie added at the end.

    Emma could tell by the look in his eyes that he was serious about it. “You’ll need a plan if you want to get away with it and not get caught.” Emma pointed out as she played along with him for the time being to earn his trust. She would talk some sense into him later, once he was not pumped full of drugs and confused.

     “Em’s...? Can I have a quick word with you out in the hallway?” Debbie asked before she could say anything else to Josie.

     “Sure.” Emma said looking over her shoulder at her friend. “That’s my best friend Debbie.” Emma added as she stood up and followed Debbie out the room.

     “What the hell are you saying? You can’t make it sound like getting revenge by killing someone is a good idea.” Debbie said in an angry whisper.

     “I need to earn his trust, and right now he needs to think that I’m on his side when it comes to getting even with the man who killed his sister.” Emma explained. “Once we have him off the drugs, then I can start work on talking him out of it.” She added with a smile.

     “Just as long as I don’t find the two of you running off to kill this Kevin Nobles whoever he is.” Debbie frowned.

     “Don’t worry, if we do, I’ll get you to drive us there.” Emma grinned making a joke of it just before she turned and walked back into the bedroom.

    Debbie wanted to call out to Emma, but she was worried about upsetting Josie, so she kept her mouth shut and followed Emma back into the bedroom where they found Josie now sat up on the edge of the bed looking around the room.

     “I hope this room will do you for the time being?” Emma asked as she joined Josie on the bed.

     “It’s a really nice room.” Josie said. “Much better than the little place I normally sleep in the basement back at Karen’s.” She added with a shudder.

     “She keeps you in the basement?” Debbie asked sounding shocked.

     “Yes, Miss Karen keeps me locked down there most the time.” Josie said in a matter of fact way.v

     “How are you feeling now? Are the drugs wearing off any?” Emma asked trying to ignore Josie’s comment about him sleeping in the basement of Karen’s house.

     “Things do seem a little clearer now, but I still feel confused about what’s real and what’s a dream.” Josie said with a shake of his head.

     “Do you remember meeting my friend Lisa and the tests she did on you?” Emma asked.

     “Yes, I think so.” Josie said looking deep in thought as he tried to remember what had happened earlier in the day.v

     “I’ve bought you some new clothes if you want to get changed?” Emma said as she pointed at the shopping bags across the other side of the room. “I’ve even got you some boy clothes if you want to get away from pretending to be a girl.” Emma smiled to let Josie know that it was okay for him to look like a boy again.v

     “Really...?” Josie asked looking shocked to hear this.

     “Sure, you can be whoever you want to be while you live here with me.” Emma smiled some more.

    Josie was soon up off the bed and looking through the shopping bags and pulled out a pair of boy’s jeans and t-shirt and some boys boxers like he use to wear before Karen got her hands on him. He was excited to be dressing like a boy again right up until he felt how scratchy everything felt on him, and then he found himself wishing that his boy clothes felt as nice as the girl clothes he’d been wearing all these months.

    Once he was dressed he walked over to look in the full-length mirror he saw on the back of a door to a walk in closet. This is when he got another shock when all he saw was a pretty girl trying to look like a tomboy, and not doing a very good job of it. He just let out a sigh and then walked back to the bed and sat down looking defeated.

     “What’s wrong?” Emma asked.

     “I still look like a girl, even with boy clothes on.” Josie sighed again.

     “I’m sure you would look more like a boy if we cut your hair.” Emma pointed out as she picked up a hand full of Josie’s long blonde hair.

     “But I like my hair long; it reminds me of my sister.” Josie said as he slid away from Emma looking worried, but Emma could see something else in his eyes as well.

     “Do you like pretending to be a girl Josie?” Emma asked with a smile.

    Josie just looked at Emma like she was maybe trying to trick him, but he finally gave her a little nod to say yes he did like pretending to be a girl.

     “Do you want to try on the girl’s clothes that I bought you then?” Emma asked.

     “Yes please.” Josie said as he got to his feet and walked across the room and removing the t-shirt as he went. He was soon naked again, but he didn’t look bothered about there being two women in the room with him as he removed the girl’s clothes from the shopping bags and started to get dressed.

    First he stepped into a pair of white cotton panties and then he slipped on a silky vest style top before he pulled out a pale pink short sleeved blouse and slipped that on and did up the buttons at the front. He then pulled out a denim skirt and stepped into that before pulling it up and then doing up the button and then the zip. The last items were some ankle socks and a pair of pink trainers.

    He walked back over to the mirror once he was fully dressed and he actually smiled when he saw himself this time and nothing felt scratchy this time.

     “Does that feel any better Josie?” Emma asked as she watched him pose in the mirror.

     “Yes thank you Miss Emma.” Josie said as he walked across the room and knelt at her feet before he kissed her hand.

     “What did you do that for?” Emma asked as she pulled him up again and sat him on the bed next to her.

     “That is how Karen taught me to show my thanks to anyone that did something nice for me.” Josie explained looking worried that he might have done something wrong.

     “Just a simple thank you will do from now on sweetie.” Emma said as she took hold of Josie’s hand. “I must admit that you do look much prettier dressed like this than in those boy’s clothes you were just wearing.”

     “Thank you Miss Emma.” Josie smiled back looking happy for the first time since she met him.

     “Please, just call me Emma, or Em like Debbie does.” Emma grinned as she looked at Debbie stood in the door way watching them get to know each other.

     “You can call me Debbie or Deb as well.” Debbie smiled at Josie, which earned her a smile in return.

     “Hello Debbie.” Josie said with a little wave. “It’s nice to meet you.” He added sounding more like a girl than a boy.

     “Are you hungry?” Emma asked as she rose to her feet and then held out her hand to help Josie get up. Josie looked at the time like it wasn’t time for him to eat yet, something that Emma didn’t miss. “Did Karen only let you eat at a set time?”

     “Yes she did.” Josie whispered sounding worried again.

     “We eat when we’re hungry around here.” Emma grinned as she dragged Josie out the bedroom and down towards the kitchen with Debbie leading the way.

    Josie was soon sat at the breakfast bar while Emma and Debbie sorted out dinner for them all. Josie even giggled as he watched the two of them playing around. Josie hadn’t seen this sort of thing since before his sister died and she would play around with some of the staff at the Nobles house on her break when he was at the house with her.

    Once the meal was ready they all sat down to eat, but Emma and Debbie noticed that Josie’s hands had started to shake, and he was looking a little pale like a junky in need of a fix.

     “Are you feeling alright Josie?” Emma asked looking worried.

     “No not really.” Josie said through gritted teeth. “This is how I get just before Karen gives me my evening pills, and it’s already a couple of hours past the point she would give them to me, but I like being able to think clearly.” Josie whined because he really didn’t want to take them anymore.

     “My friend Lisa is working out what the pills do to you, so you won’t have to take them very much longer, but for the time being it would be best if you carried on taking them.” Emma said with pain in her voice due to her not wanting to see Josie become the robot type person he was when she first met him earlier in the day.

     “Okay, but can I wait until I’ve finished eating before I take them?” Josie sighed.

     “Sure, just as long as you’re not in any pain.” Emma sounded worried for Josie, which made Josie smile at the fact someone was worried about him.

    Josie managed to eat most of what was given to him, but he was soon taking the hand full of pills from Emma and washing them down with a glass of water. It didn’t take long for him to zone out and Emma helped him get to bed again where he was soon fast asleep.

    Debbie found Emma sat at the side of Josie’s bed a little later in the night and she could see that Emma had been crying.

     “Are you alright Em?” Debbie whispered as she pulled up a chair and sat down next to Emma.

     “No Deb, I’m far from being alright.” She whispered back sounding very angry. “I’m going to help Josie get his revenge for what was done to him and his sister.” Emma added with determination in her voice.

     “I know what I said earlier, but you can count me in.” Debbie said as she took hold of Emma’s hand and looked just as determined as Emma did when she looked Emma in the eyes.

    The two women left Josie to sleep so they could make their way down to the kitchen so they could have a glass of wine while they started to form a plan to help Josie get her revenge on the people who wronged her and killed her sister.

     “The first thing we need to do is help Josie get off those drugs, and while we do that, I will have a team find out as much as they can about this Nobles Family and their son Kevin.” Emma said through gritted teeth as she thought about all the different ways she wanted to hurt him at that very minute.

     “Are you going to let him carry on dressing as a girl while he recovers?” Debbie asked.

     “I think we can both see that Josie is a girl to look at, and calling her a boy is just cruel.” Emma frowned.

     “I must admit that he did look like a pretty girl trying to be a boy when he had those clothes on earlier.” Debbie giggled. “I’m sorry; I know it’s not a laughing matter.” She added as she tried to get control of herself.

     “Don’t worry about it; she did look funny dressed as a boy.” Emma agreed as she used the female term for what Josie was.

     “So we’re going to think of Josie as a girl then?” Debbie asked with a smile.

     “Do you think we could keep referring to her as a boy when she looks so cute and girlie?” Emma asked.

     “I’ve been having trouble seeing Josie as anything but a girl since we first met her, so I don’t have any trouble with it.” Debbie agreed. “I do think we will have our work cut out for us though, as I doubt she’s been shown very much about being a teenage girl.” Debbie warned.

     “Very true.” Emma agreed. “I think we should just treat her like a blank canvas and show her everything.”

     “I just hope Lisa can find some way to get her off those pills without too much suffering.” Debbie said as she looked up at the ceiling in the direction of the bedroom where Josie was sleeping.

     “If anyone can, it will be Lisa, or she will know the right people to help her.” Emma said with confidence in her friend.

     “What do you plan to do about the dressing though, and the fact she is still really a boy?” Debbie asked.

     “We focus on getting her off the drugs and thinking with a clear head, and then we can look at finding out just how much of a girl she really is. We have all the time in the world to help her out.” Emma smiled.

     “What do you plan to do about Karen when she comes looking for her?” Debbie asked looking worried.

     “I plan to get the police involved so we can get her on tape admitting to everything she’s done to Josie.” Emma grinned. “You do realise that Karen will come looking for you first though, due to you two having some history together and she doesn’t know where I live.” Emma pointed out.

     “I’ll have a word with David and see if he can spare a couple of his guys to keep an eye on me until we get this sorted out.” Debbie said not looking to worried by the fact she could be in some danger. David was Debbie’s brother and he ran his own security company that specialised in protecting high profile people. “You do know he’ll want to have a couple of his men keep an eye on you as well.” Debbie added with a grin.

     “David should know by now that I don’t need looking after.” Emma smirked.

     “I really can’t understand why you keep playing so hard to get Em; you know that he’s had a crush on you since high school.” Debbie frowned.

     “I know, but I’m just worried about spoiling our friendship if it didn’t work out.” Emma whined.

     “That would never happen, and it would be fun having you as my sister in-law.” Debbie grinned.

     “Sister In-law...? That would mean marriage and we’ve not even been out on a date yet.” Emma gulped as she looked a little pale. “Don’t go getting ahead of yourself.” She added.

    Debbie just started giggling as she threw her arms around Emma and started calling her sis. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to offer to protect you himself.” Debbie grinned.

     “I’d be happier if he was the one keeping an eye on you.” Emma frowned.

     “David spend more than an hour with me?” Debbie laughed. “I will need protection then, from him.” She added with more laughter.

     “True, you do seem to wind each other up still.” Emma agreed as she thought about all the times they had got each other in trouble and fallen out over the smallest of things, but David still came running when ever his little sister was in trouble. Debbie was actually a year older than David, but she was only five feet three inches tall, where as he stood at a little over six, so he always called her his baby sister, just one of the many reasons they still argued a lot.

     “Do you want me to give him a call and fill him in on what’s going on then?” Debbie asked as she stepped over and pulled her cell phone out her purse and waved it in front of Emma’s face while grinning like a Cheshire cat.

     “Alright...” Emma sighed in defeat. “Give him a call, but ask him to come over so we can explain in person. I’m not sure how he’ll feel about helping us once he finds out about Josie being Transgendered.” Emma added looking worried.

     “He’ll be fine with it.” Debbie said like she already knew how her brother felt about such matters.

     “How can you be so sure?” Emma asked with a raised eyebrow. “He doesn’t like to...?” She started to ask.

     “Oh god no!” Debbie said as she burst out in a fit of giggles when she realised what Emma was getting at. “Please don’t put that image in my head.” Debbie said as she closed her eyes and started shaking her head from side to side as she thought of her brother in a dress.

     “Then how can you be so sure he will be okay with it all?” Emma frowned.

     “He has a friend from his days in the marines whose transgendered and is now a woman, but please don’t go saying anything to anyone about it.” Debbie said in a whisper, even though they were the only two in the house other than Josie who was fast asleep upstairs. “She works for David, so you might even get to meet her once you explain everything to him; he did a lot of research into the subject when Lesley first came out to him.” Debbie added with a proud smile for her brother, which was a rare thing to see given how much they argued.

     “Have you ever met this Lesley?” Emma asked looking more interested in finding out more about this friend of David’s.

     “No, but David and I did talk about it when he couldn’t think of anyone else to confide in.” Debbie shrugged.

     “He confided in you?” Emma asked looking a little shocked to hear that.

     “We talk a lot about stuff like that, I can be a good listener when I want to be and play the big sister.” Debbie said in a hurt tone, but she was soon grinning again, so Emma knew she hadn’t hurt her friend’s feelings too much.

     “You better give him a call then and invite him over.” Emma said just before taking another sip from her wine glass. She watched as Debbie pushed some buttons on her cell phone and then waited for David to answer the other end.

     “Hello brother dear, I love you too,” Debbie said in a sweet voice when she heard him answer his phone. “I’m round at Em’s place and she seems to be in a spot of trouble and could use some help from you.” She added in the same tone of voice. “I thought that would change your tone.” Debbie giggled. “She wants you to come over now, if you’re not too busy? We’ll see you soon. Bye...”

     “I take it he’s coming over then?” Emma asked, not that she needed to, having heard what Debbie just said.

    Yes, he was all ‘what the hell do you want’ until I said you needed his help.” Debbie grinned. “Then it was ‘I’ll be right over.” Debbie added in a deep voice trying to sound like her brother.

     “I guess the least I can do is let him buy me dinner after all this.” Emma sighed.

     “Now that would make his day.” Debbie giggled as she clapped her hands together excitedly. “I would say you should buy him dinner, but I know my brother to well, and he’d never let a lady pay for a meal.” Debbie added.

     “I know; that is one of the things I find so sweet about him.” Emma smiled.

    Emma got up to answer the door when someone rang the bell, she looked through the spy hole and saw it was David, so she took the chain off and opened the door to let him in.

     “Hi David.” Emma smiled as she let him in and then gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek.

     “Hi Em’s.” David grinned when he broke the hug with her. “What trouble you been getting into now?” He asked with the same grin plastered on his face.

     “You better come into the living room and take a seat so I can explain it all to you.” Emma said looking more serious now as she led the way into the living room where Debbie was sat with a glass of wine in her hand.

     “Hi sis.” David smiled as he took a seat next to her on the couch, while Emma took a seat on the other couch facing them both.

     “Hello brother dear.” Debbie smiled back at him. “I hope you don’t mind, but I told Em’s a little about your friend Lesley.” Debbie warned.

     “Why would you do that?” David asked looking angry. “She’s no different to any other girl.” He added in his friends defence.

     “She only told me because it bears some relevance to what I need to talk to you about.” Emma said as she stepped in to stop David having a go at his sister.

     “Just what kind of trouble are you in Em’s?” David asked looking worried.

     “I was out having lunch with Deb’s earlier today when we bumped into a woman that runs an escort agency that your sister used to use.” Emma started to explain.

     “You use escort agencies?” David sniggered as he looked at his sister. “I thought you said you were a chick magnet sis?” He asked smugly.

     “I am.” Debbie frowned as she punched her brother in the arm. “I only use them when I need a date to fool mum and dad into thinking I’m straight.” Debbie explained.

    Debbie was a lesbian, but her parents didn’t know anything about it, so to keep the secret Debbie would hire a guy from an escort agency whenever she needed a date for a family get together. She found it was better to have some guy from an agency, rather than give some poor boy the wrong idea by just hooking up with someone in a bar. She could also pick through a list to find the right guy to impress her parents.

     “I could set you up with a couple of guys from work if you want me to.” He offered.

     “That could get complicated when they find out I don’t go that way though bro.” Debbie pointed out. “I don’t do guys remember, and they always expect it to get there at some point.” She sighed.

     “True, but what has all this got to do with Lesley and this trouble Em’s in?” David asked looking confused.

     “If you shut up and listen, she will explain.” Debbie said sarcastically.

     “Sorry, please continue.” David said as he looked at Emma to carry on explaining.

     “Debbie had explained to me some time back why she stopped using this woman’s escort service, so I knew who it was the minute Debbie said her name, but the thing that made me angry was the way she treated the young girl she had with her.” Emma said through gritted teeth as she thought about the way Karen Jones had spoke to Josie when they first bumped into her at the mall.

     “Why did you stop using this woman’s escort service?” David asked as he looked at his sister.

     “I found out she was into some very shady things which involved children.” Debbie said.

     “Did you report her?” David asked sounding angry.

     “It was just rumours I’d heard, so there was nothing I could do.” Debbie said in her defence. “And the evil bitch was way too smart to get caught.” Debbie added sounding angry.

     “So what’s changed then?” David asked as he realised that they must have something to use against her now, and wanted his help to use it against her.

     “The young girl this woman had with her was actually a young boy, but she was treating him like dirt and calling him a boy, just to embarrass the poor child, not that he realised any of this due to him being drugged up on a cocktail of drugs she’s been feeding him.” Emma explained.

     “How do you know all this?” David asked.

     “Because the child is asleep up stairs in a guest bedroom.” Emma said in a matter of fact way.

     “You stole the child away from this woman?” David said looking worried.

     “No, I’ve kind of rented the child off her for a month, not that I plan to give her back.” Emma said looking serious about it.

     “You’ve paid this woman money to rent a child off her...?” David asked with anger in his voice. “Do you realise how many laws you’ve broken by doing that?”

     “I had to do something to rescue the child.” Emma snapped back. “And I’d do it again if I had to.” She added.

     “Did you sign anything?” David asked as he tried to get his anger under control. He wasn’t so much angry with Emma; it was more over the fact that anyone could treat a child like this and just rent them out.

     “No, she never even bothered to ask me where I live.” Emma frowned. “She was just interested in getting her hands on the money I was offering.”

     “How did you pay her this money?” David asked.

     “I wrote her a cheque, but she wouldn’t let me take the child until it was cleared, so we ended up going to a bank so I could cash the cheque and pay her cash. The money grabbing evil bitch.” Emma spat out the last part angrily.

     “Be grateful she is, because that means there is no money trail to lead her back to you.” David pointed out. “May I ask why you keep referring to this boy as a girl if he was being forced to dress as a girl against his will?” David asked as he got side tracked from the main topic.

     “Because Debbie and I think the child might be transgendered.” Emma said. “I bought him some boy clothes and then helped him to get dressed in them, but he just looked like a pretty girl trying to be a tomboy, and he didn’t look happy in them, so we let him dress as a girl again and he was much happier then.” Emma explained.

     “That may just be some form of brainwashing though.” David frowned. “Or the drugs she has him on.”

     “Lisa has taken some blood and urine samples, and she’s also got some of the pills to see if she can find out what the bitch was giving him.” Debbie said.

     “That’s good then, but you will need to find him some real help from a shrink, and if he’s addicted to any of these drugs she was giving him, he may need to be put someplace where he can’t hurt himself or others.” David said looking worried about Emma and Debbie getting hurt if the child became violent.

     “That’s why we called you bro.” Debbie smiled.

     “I’m not a shrink.” David said missing the point Debbie was trying to make.

     “I know that dopey, but Lesley must know a couple of doctors we can take Josie too.” Debbie explained. “We need to get her in with a shrink that understands the problems she’s going through.” Debbie added.

     “Josie: is that the child’s name?” David asked when he realised that he’d never thought to ask that.

     “Yes it is.” Emma nodded. “it’s really Jon, but after he tried to run away a couple of times, the woman started dressing him as a very young looking girl in frilly dresses, so the other woman that work for this Karen Jones started calling him Josie.”

     “Is this Karen Jones his legal guardian?” David asked.

     “Foster mother, but I have a feeling that it wasn’t a legal thing in the true sense of the word.” Emma frowned. “I’m going to get some of my people to look into it all, but I need your help to keep Debbie safe.” Emma added as she looked at Debbie still sipping her wine.

     “Why do you need to keep Deb’s safe?” David asked looking confused.

     “Even though this bitch never got any of my details, she may still have Debbie’s from the time she was using her escort service, and I don’t want anything to happen to Deb’s because of something I’ve done.” Emma explained with pain in her voice over the worry she felt for her best friend.

     “God help anyone who lays a finger on my sister.” David said with an evil look in his eyes as he thought of all the ways he would hurt the person that even looked at his sister the wrong way. “Lesley has just finished working on another bodyguard job for me, so I can get her to help keep an eye on you sis, and I’ll take care of keeping you safe Em.” David added with a grin.

     “Thank you, I’ll pay you the going rate David.” Emma smiled.

     “Let me buy you dinner sometime, and we’ll call it quits.” David joked, he asked Emma out all the time and she always said no to him, but he never gave up, so what Emma said next left him with his mouth hanging open in shock.

     “Okay, but you will have to work it in around me helping Josie.” Emma replied.

     “I can help with looking after Josie while you two go out on a date.” Debbie grinned.

     “Its dinner, not a date.” Emma frowned.

     “Whatever you say girlfriend.” Debbie grinned as she looked at the goofy smile her brother had on his face.

    David went over some more details with the two women, and he told Debbie it would be best if she stopped with Emma for the time being to help make it harder for this Karen Jones to track her down.

     “I was planning to stop here and help take care of Josie.” Debbie smiled as she saw how good her baby brother was at his job.

     “I’ll talk with Lesley in the morning and come back over then to meet up with this Josie and we’ll take it from there.” David said as he was getting ready to leave.

     “What’s this Lesley like?” Emma asked. “Does she pass?” She asked looking nervous about asking such a question.

     “I’ll let you see for yourself tomorrow.” David smiled; he was still on cloud nine over finally getting a date with her, even if she had stated it wasn’t a date.

     “I hope she won’t mind that I know about her past?” Emma asked looking worried.

     “I doubt it, she’ll just be glad to offer Josie some help if she can.” David smiled.

    Emma and Debbie walked David to the door and then he waited for them to lock up before he left and got in his truck and drove away. Emma looked in on Josie and found her to be fast asleep still.

     “Do you think one of those pills we gave her this evening helps her sleep?” Emma asked Debbie as the two of them watched the child sleep in the middle of the large bed.

     “Probably, the evil bitch seems to have everything else in that cocktail of drugs the poor child has been forced to take.” Debbie said as she found it hard to not sound like she wanted to go and teach Karen Jones a lesson she’d never forget.

     “She’ll pay for what she did, as will the people who covered up her sister’s death.” Emma said with promise in her voice.

    Emma led Debbie to another guest bedroom and then she went to her room to try and get some sleep, but she knew it was going to be hard finding sleep while she worried about Josie and how hard it was going to be getting her off the drugs Karen had been giving her.

Chapter Four: Feeling Safe

    Josie sat up in bed looking confused as to where she was to begin with, but memories of the day before started to come back to her. The drugs had started to wear off, which was both a good and a bad thing, good because she was thinking more clearly at the minute, but also bad because she was feeling edgy and nervous like she always did when she first woke, and before Karen arrived with a hand full of pills and a glass of water to wash them down. Josie smiled as she knew that Karen wasn’t going to walk into the room and start tormenting her with promises of embarrassment by taking her out in another pretty dress she’d found for her to wear.

    She looked around the room and saw a sports bag that she knew to have her things in that Karen had given to Emma, so Josie slid out of bed and went over to see if her dolly was in it. The doll had belonged to Hannah, and was the only thing she still had to remember Jon’s sister by. The fact Jon wouldn’t let the doll out of his sight was one of the reasons Karen had started dressing him as a girl, but the plan to torment him backfired on Karen when Jon found he liked dressing as a girl. All the women that worked for Karen started calling him Josie, and pretty soon he was just being treated like any other girl, and the drugs helped for him to deal with all the things Karen tried to torment him with, to the point of him now thinking of himself as a girl.

    Josie opened the bag and smiled when she saw the doll sat on top of the frilly girl clothes Karen always dressed her in. Josie smiled when she looked down at what she was wearing now and saw that Emma or Debbie had dressed her in a teenage looking oversized pink t-shirt style nightdress with Hello Kitty on it. Josie liked the things Emma wanted her to wear, they were far better than Karen’s dress sense. Josie would look at what the other girls her age were wearing while Karen took her out, and she would wish so hard to be able to dress like them, but that was the only way Karen got her revenge on Josie, and Karen knew it.

    Karen took a sick pleasure in dressing Josie like a five year old in over sized frilly dresses and Mary Jane’s while taking her out to public places. Karen would then take pleasure in telling anyone who walked up to her and said how pretty her daughter looked, that it was her foster son, but he was a little simple and loved to dress like a little girl. The drugs helped Karen sell the fact Josie was a little simple because Josie always looked a little spaced out most the time, and even looked confused when asked a question, like she didn’t quite understand what she was being asked.

    Josie walked back over to the bed and sat on the edge of it as she hugged the doll close to her chest, partly because it made her feel closer to Hannah, and also because if had a secret hidden inside.

    Jon had hidden his cell phone inside the doll when he found out that the police were under the control of the Nobles, and the phone he’d given the police with the video of their son choking and raping his sister had gone missing, and whenever Jon tried to tell anyone about it, they just looked at him confused while telling him that his sister had died from a drug overdose. Jon had realised then that the only way he would ever get justice for his sister was to find someone that would listen to him, but the Nobles had used their money and power to get him placed with Karen Jones. Jon had tried running away several times, but he was always caught and returned to her. It was after the third escape attempt that Karen had the idea to start dressing him like a little girl when she saw how he always clung onto the doll that once belonged to his sister.

     “I’m going to help you fit in a little better if you’re going to keep carrying that doll around with you.” Karen had said just after the men had left who had brought him back to Karen’s home in the middle of the night.

    Karen had been good to her word, and pretty soon Jon was wearing pretty little girl dresses and was being called Josie. Jon wasn’t very tall for his age, and he looked far too pretty to be a boy, so all the women that came and went from Karen’s escort service, just thought Josie was a girl, and they all treated her nicer than they ever did Jon. Karen had hated this little fact, and that is why she had started telling everyone that he was her foster son. Most looked like they didn’t believe that the pretty looking girl in her party dress could really be a boy, and the ones that did believe Karen, just looked at Josie with a sad look before leaving as fast as they could.

    Josie was so lost in thought that she jumped and let out a little squeal when she heard a voice talking to her from the doorway. She let out a sigh when she looked up and saw it was Emma smiling at her.

     “I’m sorry sweetie; I didn’t mean to scare you.” Emma said as she walked over to where Josie was sat and sat down beside her while pulling the frightened looking child into a hug. “How are you feeling?” Emma asked as she hugged the shaking child.

     “I feel edgy, but I always feel this way when I wake.” Josie started to explain. “It passes once Miss Karen has given me my morning pills.” She added in a worried whisper.

     “I’m hoping my friend Lisa can help us find some way to get you off those things.” Emma said with a frown as she thought of all the ways she would like to beat the crap out of Karen for what she’d done to this child. “I think one of the pills I gave you last night was a sleeping pill, given how long you slept.” Emma added with a smile as she tried to hide her anger with Karen, not wanting Josie to think she was angry with her.

     “It would be the sort of thing Miss Karen would do to me.” Josie sighed. “She also locks me in my room so I can’t roam around her house, or try to escape.” Josie added in a matter of fact way.

     “Please feel free to roam as much as you like around my home.” Emma smiled. “I’ll give you the ten cent tour later if you’d like?” Emma asked with a warm smile.

     “Yes please.” Josie smiled back just before she cuddled back into Emma’s side. Josie found there was something she really liked about this woman, and her friend Debbie was nice as well, nothing like Karen or the people she spent most her time with.

     “That’s a pretty doll you have, did Karen buy it for you?” Emma asked when she saw how protective of the doll Josie was.

     “No, it belonged to my sister, Hannah.” Josie informed her as she hugged the doll even tighter. “This was the reason for Karen to start dressing me as a little girl, because I wouldn’t stop carrying the doll around with me.” Josie added with a pout to her voice which made Emma smile at just how much like a girl Josie was.

    Josie had learned to keep some things a secret from people, so she left out the part about the doll having Jon’s cell phone hidden inside, the same cell phone that had the pictures he had taken at the party on the night his sister was killed, as well as a copy of the video which he had sent to himself for some reason, but he was glad he had after what happened. Josie was going to wait and see if she could trust Emma and her friends before letting them see any of that though.

     “Are you hungry?” Emma asked as she looked down at Josie still snuggled in tightly to her while she looked at the doll.

    Josie looked up into Emma’s eyes and smiled as she nodded her head up and down. Emma rose to her feet and pulled Josie to her feet at the same time and led her from the bedroom and down the stairs towards the kitchen, where the smell of something nice cooking, wafted its way up Josie’s nose and let her know just how hungry she was.

     “Morning Josie..!” Debbie shouted when she saw her and Emma enter the kitchen. “I hope you’re hungry because I’ve made a bit of everything because I didn’t know what you liked to eat.” She added with a grin as she waved her hand across the counter that was full of different things people ate for their breakfast.

     “Wow...” Was all Josie could think to say as she looked at all the food. “I normally eat what I’m told to eat.” She added as she stepped over to the counter, but looked too scared to actually try anything.

     “Well don’t just stand there, get stuck in.” Debbie said as she pointed a spoon she was holding towards the counter top.

     “Can I really just help myself?” Josie asked.

     “Sure, why would you think otherwise?” Debbie asked with a puzzled look.

     “Miss Karen doesn’t normally let me eat too much, and never anything like this.” Josie said as she licked her lips while looking at all the plates filled with bacon and pancakes as well as yogurt and fresh fruit.

     “Well that evil bitch isn’t here, so splash out and have a feast.” Debbie giggled.

     “Deb’s...! Don’t use that sort of language in front of the child.” Emma scolded her friend, but she was thinking the same thing as Debbie.

     “Well she is, and I bet Josie agrees with me.” Debbie said in her own defence.

    Rather than give Debbie an answer, mainly due to her being programmed to not do or say anything that might get her in trouble, she just sat at the counter and started trying all the things Debbie had cooked.

    Emma and Debbie looked at each other, and without saying a word, they both thought the same thing, and that was to stop Karen from ever doing anything to hurt Josie again. They were soon helping Josie to eat the food and they all ate in silence until there was a knock at the door.

     “Don’t look so worried Sweetie, it will be Debbie’s brother.” Emma said when she saw the frightened look on Josie’s face when she thought it might be Karen coming to pick her up.

    The fear Josie had just felt, put her off wanting to eat anymore, so she placed the fork down on the plate and pushed it away. “Thank you for the breakfast Miss Debbie, but I’m full.” Josie said in a whispered voice.

     “As long as you ate what you wanted Josie, and please stop calling me Miss.” Debbie said with a giggle as she playfully slapped Josie’s arm.

     “Sorry Debbie, old habits.” Josie giggled back. She soon stopped giggling and looked worried when she saw Emma walk back into the kitchen with a tall man and a woman that wasn’t much smaller following just behind.

     “Hi bro, want some breakfast? We’ve done.” Debbie said as she smiled at her brother.

     “Are you sure?” David asked, but he was already taking a seat at the counter and filling up a plate.

    The woman that had entered with him just looked at him and shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t know where you put it all.” The woman said with a smile in her voice.

     “Help yourself if you want to.” Debbie said as she looked the woman up and down, while thinking how cute she looked for such a tall woman.

     “I thought you were going to bring Lesley over to meet us today?” Debbie asked after seeing that there was no way this woman was once a male, and was in the marines with her brother.

     “This is Lesley sis.” David said around a mouth full of food while trying to grin at the fact he’d just fooled her.

     “You use to be a...?” Debbie said as she looked more closely at the woman stood facing her trying not to grin. “You look amazing.” Debbie added when she managed to get her mouth to open and close again.

     “Thanks, but it’s been a long hard road, and I never would have done it without Davie here.” Lesley said as she stepped over and kissed David on the cheek while hugging him from behind.

     “Are you two an item then?” Debbie asked with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

     “Oh god no...!” Lesley frowned as she broke the hug with David. “I had enough of boy bits while I had them, so I’m batting for the other team.” Lesley added, trying to keep it all cryptic in front of the child, while looking Debbie up and down.

     “She’s all yours sis, if you can handle her.” David smirked, just before he shoved another fork full of food in his mouth.

     “Minors or majors?” Lesley asked still trying to keep things sounding cryptic.

     “Majors.” Debbie replied in the hopes that Lesley would understand that she only dated other women. “I’d love to grab a drink sometime and chat about your favourite team.” Debbie added, sounding in full flirt mode now.

     “What you doing later?” Lesley asked with a grin.

     “Nothing much. How about you?” Debbie asked.

     “I’m going to be taking this beautiful woman out for a drink I just met.” Lesley replied. “Pick you up at seven?” She asked.

     “Sounds good to me.” Debbie grinned.

    Josie had sat quietly watching Debbie and Lesley flirting with each other, while also watching David eat what was left of the food on the counter top.

     “Is this the little trouble maker then?” David asked after swallowing another mouthful of food.

    Josie shied away from David looking worried as she turned to see what the look on Emma’s face said. Josie was worried that Emma might send her back to Karen if she’s too much trouble.

     “She’s not a troublemaker David.” Emma said as she stepped over and wrapped her arms around Josie in a protective way a mother would when someone threatened their child.

     “I was just kidding.” David chuckled. “Sorry kid, bad joke I guess.” He said with a sad look on his face.

    Josie still looked worried, but she felt better with Emma’s arms wrapped around her, this was something new for Josie. She’d been hugged before, but only by creepy men that wanted to see her dressed in weird clothes and then have her sit on their knee. She didn’t see David as one of those men though, he seemed nicer, and he didn’t look at her like she was some prize he’d just won.

     “I filled Lesley in on what you told me last night, and she’s willing to help in any way she can.” David said once he’d finished clearing the counter of food. “So where do you want to start?” David asked as he looked at Emma for an answer.

     “I was thinking of calling Lisa and seeing if she knows what this cocktail of pills are that that evil woman has Josie hooked on.” Emma said, struggling to keep the anger out of her voice.

     “That sounds like the start of a good plan, and I was hoping we could give Lesley a little time with Josie, so they can talk about how Josie is feeling at the minute.” David said with a smile.

    Josie just looked even more worried as she looked up at Emma as if to say she didn’t want to be alone with this new woman.

     “Don’t worry sweetie, Lesley was just like you once.” Emma said calmingly.

     “I wasn’t born with the right girl parts.” Lesley said when she saw the puzzled look on Josie’s face.

     “You were like me once?” Josie asked, not looking quite as scared now. “So I can be a girl when I grow up?”

     “You can be anything you want to be.” Lesley said with a promise in her voice. “Please feel free to come and talk to me at any time about any problems, or feelings you’re having trouble dealing with.” Lesley added.

     “Thank you.” Josie smiled a little bit.

     “You’re most welcome honey.” Lesley smiled back as she cupped one of Josie’s cheeks in her hand. “I have the numbers for some really good doctors in the field, and I’m sure they will be able to put you in touch with some experts that deal with young transgendered people.” Lesley added as she looked at Emma.

     “Thank you for offering to help us out Lesley.” Emma smiled as she looked at this woman that looked like a super model in her female business suit with the medium length skirt that hid very little of her long slender legs.

     “Just give me five minutes in a room alone with this Karen Jones, and you can call us even.” Lesley said with an evil grin.

     “You may need to get in line for that one.” Emma grinned back. “I’ll be first in the queue.” She added.

     “I’ll hold her for you then.” Lesley grinned back.

     “Sounds good to me.” Emma giggled. She’d only just met this woman, and already she could see them becoming good friends. Emma also liked the fact Josie seemed to like Lesley as well.

    Emma wandered off to call Lisa, while David was volunteered to help Debbie with the dishes. Josie offered to help as well, and she soon found herself stood at the sink washing, while Debbie and David dried and put away.

    They were just finishing up in the kitchen when Emma walked back into the room looking worried.

     “Did Lisa find out what those pills are?” Debbie asked.

     “Yes, and she wants us to get Josie back to the hospital right away.” Emma said as she held out her hand to take Josie up to get dressed, so they could leave the house and get her back to the hospital.

     “What’s in them?” Debbie asked.

     “Let’s just say none of it is very good, and Lisa was glad we didn’t give Josie any of them this morning, because she says we need to get it all flushed out of her system as soon as we can.” Emma said sounding worried.

     “So what was she giving her?” David asked looking angry with this Karen Jones.

     “One was a female hormone replacement, there was also a testosterone blocker as well as a form of Methadone to keep her addicted in the hope of stopping Josie from running away, and something called Ketamine, which is the thing that makes Josie looked spaced out most the time.” Emma said sounding angry. “Lisa said that the evil bitch could have killed her if she’d kept giving her all those drugs.” Emma added as she pulled Josie into a hug to let her know she wasn’t angry with her.

     “We'll make her pay for what she’s done.” David said with a promise in his voice as he stepped over and placed one hand on Josie’s shoulder, and the other on Emma’s to let her know she wasn’t going to be alone in any of this.

    Emma pulled herself together and soon had Josie dressed and a small bag packed, as Lisa had said Josie would need to be kept at the hospital for the next week or two while she got over the worst of the withdraw from a couple of the drugs she was being forced to take.

     “Why are you packing my things up?” Josie asked close to tears. “Did I do something wrong?”

     “No sweetie, but my friend says she needs to keep a close eye on you, so she can help you get better.” Emma said as she pulled the shaking child into her arms and hugged her. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you again, nor will Debbie, David or Lesley.” Emma promised.

    Josie was soon holding Emma’s hand as she was led out of the house and into the back of David’s SUV. Josie was sat between Emma and Lesley, while Debbie was in the front with David behind the wheel.

 

To Be Continued Next Friday  

 

Story by SaraUK

 

Edited and Posted by SamanthaK

    EDITORS NOTE: Please Comment and/or leave Kudos and let Sara know you like her work please, Any comments on spelling, grammar or the layout of the story please PM me “Samanthak” not Sara. Thank you