Melanie had sat down beside Julie and she was waiting for an answer. Julie looked afraid and very reluctant to answer her. I could tell by the look on her face and her posture. This stranger, to her had asked a very sensitive question and her experiences hadn’t been very pleasant.

I took Julies hand and said to Melanie, “Can you wait here while I talk with my sister please, Melanie. I know you mean well but she is very afraid right now. I think that I can talk to her.”

I asked Julie to follow me and we headed toward my bedroom while Melanie stayed in the living room. Once we were there, I sat down on the edge of the bed and she sat down beside me. I put my arm around Julie hoping to make her feel comforted and safe.

“Julie, my sister,” I said softly. “This woman is one of my best friends and she hasn't ever hurt anyone. I trust her a lot more than I ever trusted that Amber. She is just trying to help you so I will need you to cooperate with her please. Can you do this for me?”

Julie looked up and our eyes met. I could tell she was still afraid and not entirely trusting my judgment but she nodded and said, “Yea, I will try to trust her. If that is what you want.”

“Yes,” I answered. “If you let her, she will help you. So we need to trust her unless she shows that she cant be trusted. But I personally don’t think that will ever happen. Please answer her for us. She will make it so you will live with me and no one will separate us. Can you answer her questions please?”

That seemed to help reassure her. She said firmly, “Yes I can Crystal. Thank you for doing this.“

I knew that she would cooperate even though she had a very unsure, worried expression on her face. I mean, she had a deep frown, her eyes looked around in suspicion, she kept fidgeting, Those were signs that she was upset.

We went back into the living room where Melanie was waiting. I carefully glanced over at Julie and saw that she has a more assured look. It was as if she was ready to tell a big secret. I only hoped that she would cooperate with this woman.

Julie sat down across from the woman. She braced herself and took a breath and let it out very slowly. “You asked me what made me feel that I was better off as a girl?”

She said, “Yes, Julie and I still want to know, that is, if you are ready.”

“I am,” Julie said. “I do not remember exactly when I realized that I felt better as a girl than as a boy. I do know that my mother hated Brian. Even when my sister lived with us, she helped my sister Crystal out and yet she never helped me out with school work and such. She only treated me with hostility. I was treated like a outsider. I saw how she treated my sister and how she treated me. I was around eleven years old when I decided to try being a girl to see if I could win my mothers approval. It only provoked laughter from her, I never showed Crystal for some reason. But I didn’t stop. I kept trying harder to convince her that I was a girl. It didn’t work, but it did get some unwanted attention from a guy that she was dating at the time. But you had asked what convinced me, it was trying to gain my mothers approval at first. But I realized that I fell into it and I didn’t like being a boy after that. I spent more and more time as a girl and then I found that I didn’t want to turn back.”

Melanie listened and then asked, “When did your mother accept you enough to get you onto hormone treatment?”

I noticed that Julie suddenly stiffened uncomfortably. Her face seemed to darken. I wrapped my arms around her and told Melanie, “I don’t think that is important now.“

“It is OK Crystal. “ Julie said, “Melanie, it wasn’t my mother that did that. It was Richard. I said that me dressing like a girl provoked unwanted attention. The first time, I was alone with him. Mom worked late and I was dressed in one of my sisters old night gowns. You see, my sister was out for the night with one of her friends. Richard saw me and told me to come and sit down with him. I remember that I didn’t want to but he was very insistent. He was in that mood where he didn’t accept ‘no’. He pulled me to him and I ended up sitting on his lap. I felt him stiff, under my gown. He started rubbing his hands on me and I remember feeling very, sickened, uncomfortable. He kept asking me if he was making me feel more girly. I remember crying. I was saying no as he started kissing my cheek and my lips. He started moving his hips around and then he stood up and pulled his jeans down. Then he made me rock myself on him until it was too much. Then he pulled my panties down and and…”

Tears were streaming down Julies face. I held her tightly, she whispered, “That was the first time I had sex. Richard had sex with me. I remember feeling so dirty. It hurt a lot but he made sure to use a lot of what he called, lubricant. Mother came in much later and I was still being held near him. Mother smiled and went to bed. He let me go and they seemed to talk about it.

After that, mother seemed to accept me as a girl but she was never warm toward me. But after that, I was being taught how to conduct myself as a girl, by mom and Richard. Richard got me some hormones to start taking. He pushed it all.”

I felt sick. I never imagined that my mother was so cruel. She let this horrific abuse happen under her nose.

She asked, “While he was molesting you, did your mother ever see it happen? Did she ever encourage it?”

Julie seemed to think for a while, then she said, “Yes. but she didn’t care much either way. It was like it gave her a break from sex with him if I took some of the load. She walked in a few times but just walked back out. She left me there knowing exactly what would happen. Some times, when she would leave for a whole weekend, she made sure to dress me extra sexy for the occasion. She made me up pretty. Makeup, lingerie, the works. She had a talk with me, she told me that while she was gone, I was to behave as his wife. It was revolting, but I did it for her approval and love. And I was his wife, because there was no other option. I realized early on, refusing him brought punishments. Rapes, beatings, she would even locked me in my room for days without any food. “

I could see that Melanie seemed pleased. She said, "Since your mother knew it all and let it continue, even helping it, even encouraging it. We can make a good case against her. I think we are better off going against Richard though. We can make him pay for your school. Julie what did she mean by, as his wife?”

“Sex, he had sex with me a lot. I kept the place clean, did laundry, cooking, and sex with him. The sex was: oral, anal, my hand, my breasts, any part of me would get him off, and the various positions of anal too. I never knew how many. Sitting on him, on the floor on all fours, laying on my back on the bed. And when mom brought that latex pussy thing, he would even do missionary on me. That was a strange thing too because, it somehow attached to my senses so that to make me feel the vaginal sex penetration. It was freaky. I felt the sensation of vaginal sex. I could feel contact with the vagina and it got wet. I had to serve him and be subservient, wanting, faking orgasms, Some of them real, the whole model Stepford Wife thing.“

I wanted to puke. Mother was very sick and perverted!! She had let this man rape my brother, making her son pretend to be her own husbands substitute wife. This was beyond sick. They BOTH had a lot to answer for, AND PAY THEY WOULD!!

Melanie stood up and said, “Thank you Julie. You are a very strong girl to go through all of that and answer my questions. You did help me a lot. I will start drawing up the papers to file a suit against Richard. I hope that he will settle and give Crystal enuogh to put you though school but if not, oh well. “

Julie smiled and thanked Melanie but then just walked into her bedroom and shut the door. I guessed that it was emotionally draining. Not all of the questions were answered and now, at least for me, there were even more questions. Like why did I always see Brian when I was fifteen and sixteen if she was being made into a girl. How did they get those doctors appointments to make this all official? It was all very maddening. I simply wanted the truth. It seemed to me that like the truth was hidden from me and I still had no clue about my Sister.

Once Melanie left, I peeked into my sister’s bedroom. Her clothes were all off and she looked like she was crying. She was face down into her pillow, her body was heaving as if from powerful sobs. I went over to her bed and put my arm around her. I asked her, "Is there was something that I can do?"

She looked up with her tear stained face and said, “No, just stay here with me and hold me if you don't mind. “

I just stayed there with my arms wrapped protectively around Julie for a while. I felt her soft cries and the tears making my blouse wet. Her small head was cradled on my shoulder. This was so sweet and I felt myself slowly become even more protective of my sister. I knew that she needed my support and protection now more than ever before. I needed to protect her if she were to ever survive. I seriously doubted that she could survive without me. I fervently hoped that Melanie could help us.

It was more than thirty minutes later when she finely stopped crying and she rose her head up and said, “I feel better now, do you want to go get ice cream?”

“There is always room for ice cream, Julie.” I told her,” but as you can see, I am wet, lets get cleaned up first. “

What she needed was a shower. So I headed to my bedroom to take off my wet shirt and change, and freshen myself up. I changed and heard her turn on the shower. After she finished and came out with a towel wrapped around her, she seemed much better. She was dressed and we were ready to head out. Julie was wearing one of my blue miniskirts and a pink top that hugged her chest. I didn’t see any boy in her at all.

I asked her, "Do you want to go shopping for clothes after we had ice cream?"

Her face burst into a bright smile as she said, Yes, I'd like that very much." Her smile looked like it could brighten a room.

“Lets go and get some ice cream them,” I said cheerfully. We got in the car and drove off.

I kept glancing at Julie. I finely asked her, “Julie how did it feel for you when you had to be a boy?”

Julie seemed like she was fretting for an answer. After a what seemed like a full minute, she told me. “Crystal, when I had to be a boy, it was like I was all tense, I had to watch myself carefully. I had to make sure Julie was hidden. I had to make a big effort to be Brian. Being Julie was much easer and it made me happy. As Brian, I was very unhappy.”

That made a lot of sense. I think that was when finely understood. “Thank you Julie. Don’t let anyone convince you that you aren’t a girl. I love my sister very much.”

We pulled into a Dairy Queen and walked in. I watched Julie carefully to make sure she was safe. We both ordered dilly bars and sat down at a table to eat them. Julie sat down gracefully and smoothed her skirt behind her. I mentally noted that her movements were very feminine. I don’t know how I didn’t notice that before. It is so obvious now. I also saw Julie glance over at a few boys nearby in the next table. There were three boys around the same age as Julie. Julie shifted in her seat uncomfortably as one of the boys smiled at her. She leaned over to me and said quietly but with a touch of fright, “Crystal, lets get out of here please!”

I knew she felt very uncomfortable with boys so I said, “Alright Julie.”

I took her hand and we stood up and left. We passed their table and one of the boys reached over and pinched Julies butt. She jumped and squealed. She hurried out the door as I followed. I felt like decking that boy but I wanted to be with Julie.

She begun to feel sick in the car as we drove away. She said, “Crystal, lets just go home please. I don’t feel like shopping anymore.”

“Alright, Julie. We can shop tomorrow morning. I am sorry about that.”

“It isn’t your fault that boys are jerks. You have nothing to feel sorry about. You protected me. Lets go home and get some sleep. “

We did and she ran up to her bedroom, covered up. She was just curled up in her bed and I stayed with her trying to comfort her.