Chapter 11 Sophia's POV

I woke up still wrapped in Gem's arms. She was snoring mildly, so I knew she was still fast asleep. I felt a little embarrassed about my middle of the night freak out. My male pride had taken another blow. Considering the circumstances, that was not necessarily a bad thing and there was something nice in not having to be the strong one.

My bladder urged me to unentangle myself from Gem and nip to the loo. I was tempted to get back in bed again, but I was wide awake. When we had registered downstairs, they told us that check out was at ten. It was already quarter past eight, so I thought it would be safe to leave Gem to sleep until nine. They had a little kettle in the room with tea and coffee making facilities and I thought it would be a pleasant touch if I could wake her with a cup. From the restaurant last night I knew she drank coffee black with no sugar. I pre boiled the kettle so it would only take a few seconds to re boil and got a cup ready with the sachet of instant coffee.

I was then at a bit of a loss as to what to do. It was only a small room without even another chair, so I ended up retreating to the bathroom with my laptop. I checked my email, but there really wasn't anything on it yet. I had created a new email address the day after the switch, so only Jen really knew it and I had spoken to her last night. The projects I had working on I had already passed on to Katie and I didn't really want to have business evidence in my recent history and if I kept wiping my history it would look suspicious.

In the end I started researching Eve and Laura Kind. I had only really started when Gem's phone went off with her alarm. I quickly set down my laptop and went through. Gem was sitting up rubbing her eyes. I put the kettle back on.

“Good morning.” I said.

“Is it? Sorry, not a morning person. Give me a few moments and I will try and put my smile back on.” She grumbled.

I made the coffee and brought it to her which brought a genuine smile.

“Do you want to shower first. I am still waking up.” Gem said.

“Sure.” I didn't want to have a shower until she was awake in case it was loud. I had a brief but refreshing shower. Before I had finished she told me to leave the shower on. When I stepped out Gem handed me a towel and entered after me. I was going to have to get used to this naked in front of each other thing, women seemed to have going on. Or maybe it was just how Gem and Amy had been brought up. I couldn't help but notice how stacked Gem was. I am guessing she did not go for the breast reduction surgery. It also made me wonder just how big mine were going to get. Already my nipples were feeling a bit itchy and there was a bit of puffiness around them.

I did my morning ablutions and got dressed in the clothes Gem had set out for me when re packing my case. Plain panties, leggings, starter bra, T shirt, Jumper, socks and trainers. I didn't own a handbag or even a purse. What had happened to Richard's wallet I didn't know, and I had removed all money from Dillan's accounts and destroyed the cards. I did have my laptop case which contained my travel necessities. Gem had all my identity documents. I sat on the bed and continued my research. At least with short hair it was easy to manage. Gem seemed to take ages to dry hers with the hotel hairdryer.

Gem came out wrapped in a towel and then chucked it back towards the bathroom and started getting dressed. She didn't interrupt me but when she was finished I shut my laptop down so that I was not being disrespectful by not giving her my attention.

Now she was dressed she sat on the bed facing me with a neutral expression on her face. “So, Sophia. We need to have a talk.”

“OK.” I said slowly, not knowing what she was wanting to talk about.

“When is your birthday?”

Shit! I thought furiously, I should have looked at my passport and memorised it. I think I remember Richard saying he was turning sixteen in a couple of months. “It's not for a couple of months. Why are you asking?”

“I am quite into my astrology. What date is it exactly?”

I could guess but the chances of getting it right were pretty minimal. “It is on my passport, so why didn't you just look.” My answer was pretty lame, but I couldn't think of why I wouldn't know my own birthday. By this point my heart was beating fast and I could feel myself sweating nervously.

She nodded her head slowly as if coming to a decision. “Don't stress, everything is alright. I was just confirming something. Amy kept a diary, and last night I had a chance to read it, so I know you are not Richard.”

When I was seven years old, my mum had made cookies and put them in a jar and to prevent me from taking one she put it on a high counter. When I thought she wasn't looking, I dragged a chair over and literally had my hand in the cookie jar when I noticed her standing next to me looking at me with a smile on her face. The embarrassed, shameful feeling I had then was exactly the same as I had now. “Err...”

“I'm not angry. If you had told me when we first met I wouldn't have believed you.”

“So you know everything?”

“Pretty much. It was a diary not an essay, so I had to work some of it out and I would like some things cleared up. It explains how you sometimes say Amy and sometimes mum. I didn't know Richard, but I had kept in contact with Amy and her description of him was totally different to you. I think it very unlikely that anyone is overhearing us. So, nice to meet you Dillan.” Gem said, holding out her hand.

I shook it. “I don't think Dillan really works anymore.”

“Sophia was you body's original name. Are you happy being called that?”

“I don't mind it. I prefer Jen's short form, Soph.”

“Soph it is then. And Jen is more than just a friend you met on holiday?”

“I know I was only eighteen, but I planned to marry Jen after she finished Uni. Now, neither of us know if that is going to work anymore.” I said sadly.

“I have decided that it doesn't change our relationship. You are still my niece. I now know you have relationships in England that are important to you and, although I don't understand why, you are very hesitant to do anything to let others know what happened, which means we still have to go with my plans of taking you to LA.”

“I really want my parents to know I am alright and I am hoping that Jen is going to help with that. I was about to leave home anyway. It is more my Jen that I am missing. She has to continue her education and for the next five months while she concentrates on her exams it is probably best if I am not around, but I miss her so much.”

Gem moved forwards and held me. “I will let you call her and skype her as much as you want. We do have quite different time zones, but love will find a way.”

“She has never been interested in girls and she has told me that with female hormones going through my system I may start becoming interested in boys. Our love may already be doomed.” I started snivelling, sadness covering me like a wet blanket.

“There are many different forms of love. I always felt sisterly love was more important than couple love. My sister and I dated lots when we were young, fell in love and out of it. Our love for each other never changed. Your relationship with Jen will change. It may end up better or just different. Anyway that is the future, which there is no point worrying about. Let's deal with the present. First of all, what the hell happened on that bus journey?”

I went through what I remembered and also what Peter had found out. Then the visit from the MIB to Jen in England and her belief that we needed to be careful not to reveal the switch. I also explained that Jen had fantastic intuition and I didn't want to go against her suggestions. Gem then got up and fetched a notepad that had a list of questions. She crossed off several that I must have answered.

“OK. Why is Jen in England when you are still out here?”

“Jen and I had booked a week holiday, whereas Amy, Peter and Richard had two weeks. She has got her A level exams in June so our studying was getting intense and this holiday was a last chance to relax before getting stuck in again. She needed to get back, but in this body I am only fifteen and we thought it would be strange if I went back without Amy or Peter. I didn't feel comfortable staying with a family I didn't really know, although Amy and Peter seemed nice, Richard scared me. I wanted to stay in a separate room but there was no availability. Amy and Peter offered me the second bedroom and promised that Richard would stay away.”

“That brings up my next question. Why was there bad blood between you and Richard?”

I sighed. “I don't really know, but I can make a few guesses. I didn't have any gripes with him apart from his clear anger at me that scared me. He was angry when I decided that I didn't want to go through with the whole female to male transition. Jen said that might have been because it meant I was questioning or going against what he had decided was best for this body and he didn't like that. The fact that I was a guy who was now in a girls body meant I should be agreeing with him and to do otherwise was a betrayal. In the end, who knows what he was thinking? The other thing that made him angry at me was about my money.”

“Your money? Why would that make him angry?”

“When I was thirteen I inherited some money from the death of my grandparents. I invested that by setting up a business with Jen's mother, Katie. I have been re investing any profits back into the business and now it is giving a healthy return, a very healthy return. When Richard heard that, he thought he was going to get all that and when I informed him that I had safeguarded it in Jen's hands he was furious. That did piss me off. I mean the money was mine and I had worked hard for it. If I was to guess why that made him angry I would say it was because for a brief moment he thought he was set up for life and then that was snatched away from him. Like holding a winning lottery ticket that someone else had bought, but was blown in his direction and he had picked up, only to have the owner snatch it back.”

“How did he scare you?”

“When he was expressing his anger, he did it right in my face, looming over me and shouting. Don't forget I am still getting used to being a lot smaller and weaker than I was. Even before he attacked me I was feeling vulnerable. Now it is so much worse, I feel as though I am jumping at shadows.”

“Are you going to get your money back?”

“Yes. It is much easier now that you know the truth. The only thing that I need to be careful of is giving away my change in identity. I thought I would pretend to re invest any inheritance from Amy and Peter by buying back my share of the company from Jen. I would then funnel all the money that is rightfully mine into my new accounts. I was due to take my exams at the same time as Jen, but my results really didn't matter. My income is mainly a passive one and the more work I do, the more passive income I generate. It is all net based so I can do it anywhere. You don't need to worry about money. I am happy to share.”

“Thanks but I would be bored out of my mind if I didn't have something to do. One last question. Amy talked about cutting herself and healing much quicker than normal, do you know anything about that?”

“I had a bruise from when Richard punched me that went in a couple of days. So maybe.”

“Amy was wondering to the diary if everyone had been improved a little and if that meant you would develop faster after stopping your medication. She had observed some mild breast development and thought that it was way too fast for it to be normal.”

“I don't know what to say to that. I have noticed a bit of nipple itchiness and perhaps some breast tissue, but I have no idea how fast it should be. If that is the case, maybe I should avoid any doctor examinations until it has settled down. I don't want any red flags in my files.”

“I have a friend who is a doctor, we can probably go and see her off the books. So now I know the truth, if you have any question, just ask. You are still my niece and I will look after you.”

We had a nice long hug before we got ourselves together and went down to breakfast.