Whatever Next? Chapter 3 by Angharad Copyright© 2022 Angharad

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(title picture Andrea Piacquadio)

In another room, John Peters asked the obvious question, “If this bloke Meadows, is looking for Gaby, why not bring back Drew? End of problem.” He smiled at his own cleverness; Dave and Jenny were a lovely couple, but rocket scientists, they were not.

“He’d go after Maddy,” said Dave awkwardly. “Like he did before.”

“He did what? Jesus, Carol, why didn’t you tell me?” He jumped out of his seat and stood in front of his wife, waving his arms about.

Carol burst into tears, “I was going to …” she sobbed, “I was going to … I’m sorry.”

“Okay, okay,” said John embracing his wife. “It’s okay..” He hugged her tightly and then they sat down together on the sofa. “Did you know about this?" he asked Dave.

Dave looking sheepish nodde., “I assumed Carol would tell you,” he said. He then sat down and related the story of Maddy’s abduction and Gaby’s heroic rescue of her cousin.

John’s eyes widened several times during the narration, “Christ if I’d known that I’d have been down there and brought you all back home.” He paused, while he reflected on the story, then asked, “So this nutter, can’t tell the difference between Maddy and Gaby?”

“I can’t say for certain, but that looks to be about it,” replied Dave.

“So bringing Drew back wouldn’t help then?” asked John.

“It might help Gaby, but could endanger Maddy. Besides, it might not be possible for other reasons ….” said Dave.

“Like?”

“Gaby appears to be developing female characteristics, that is physical ones.”

“What, breasts and things?”

“Yeah.”

“What do the doctors say?”

“We’re still waiting on an opinion. She’s very sensitive about it all, and we think it might be why she told the police she wanted to be a girl, full stop.”

“Crikey! John said, “Poor kid, yet she had bal ...” he coughed, “yet she had spun .., you know what I mean.” They all laughed at his attempt to make a statement that was gender neutral, which eased the tension.

Maddy wandered in, “I’m making some tea, anyone wanna cup?” She saw her mother with red eyes and her father’s arm around her, “Everythin’ all right?”

“Dave just told me of your ordeal at the hospital fair,” John held out his hand to her, which she grasped and he pulled her to him protectively.

“It was horrible, Daddy, “ she said and began to cry.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you, darling girl.”

“I think I’m going to turn in,” said Dave making a tactical withdrawal, pulling Jenny with him.

“Put the kettle on, will you?” called John.

“Yeah, sure.”

The sleeping arrangements that night were far from perfect, but they worked insofar as everyone had a place to sleep; that most had little sleep varied from person to person.

Jules was still cross about leaving the love of her life behind in Dorset; Maddy was now reminded of her vulnerability and the fire attack on the Bond’s house reinforced it; the adults were all worried about the safety of the Peters’ house and John and Dave secured the letter box before going to bed. Drew was worried about his mother leaving, what the other kids would say if and when he went public, and their safety from Meadows. His bravado was gone, and he now felt scared.

Drew tossed and turned until he heard Maddy start to stir, then feeling guilty about disturbing her, he tried to lie still. He lay as relaxed as he could taking deep slow breaths, it helped somewhat but he couldn’t sleep.

I’m dead whatever happens, if that maniac gets me or when everyone else finds out that I’m Drew. It’s cool with the gang, so I’ve got some support, but when the others find out.. I’m mincemeat. What am I gonna do?

He felt the tears form and the warm, wet feeling as they dribbled down his cheeks and onto his pillow. Part of him wished he’d died instead of recovering from his pneumonia, that way Meadows wouldn’t have won and he wouldn’t have to face the humiliation of being outed at school. That was almost worse than meeting Meadows, at least he might be able to escape his attacker; he would not however, be able to avoid the sniggers and insults of his peers at school and outside.

What made things worse was that he was well known in school, so he couldn’t escape the notoriety that would happen. The teachers would do their best, but it wouldn’t be enough, he knew that.

He drifted off into an uneasy slumber ...He was in school, in the boys changing room…it was a P.E. lesson. Just as he began to undo his shirt he felt the bra straps and the horror that planted itself in the pit of his stomach made his blood run cold. “Come on Bondy, what ya waitin’ for?” called one youth. Another glanced at him and his eyes almost came out on stalks. Drew hastily pulled his shirt together, but it was too late. “Bond’s wearing a bra!” exclaimed the kid and the others came running amid gasps of wonder and disbelief.

“Show us yer bra then, Goldilocks,” sniped one..

“Show us yer tits!” called another and they all laughed.

Drew felt his face burning as a scarlet blush seemed to engulf his face and upper body, he felt so hot he was almost on fire. The spiteful comments continued and he felt the scalding wetness as tears ran down his face. He tried to grab his stuff and leave but they stopped him; hands grabbed his shirt and ripped it open and suddenly his pale pink satin bra and small cleavage were displayed, worse still his nipples were hardening in the cooler air and pointing out like two bullets. He wanted to die, he wanted to collapse and at least be unconscious, why couldn’t he faint or something? Instead he simply stood there silently weeping while a dozen schoolboys stared and gasped at his exposure.

Unable to stand it any longer, he screamed, “Leave me alone… Go away.” A pair of hands touched him and he screamed again and fought against them.

“Gabs, it’s me, Maddy, you’re safe, it’s okay, it’s okay.” She spoke with a gentle firmness and as his consciousness permeated his sleep he began to relax and she hugged him.

Moments later, two sets of parents were in the room wondering which one had screamed and why. Amazingly, Maddy managed to get rid of them while still hugging the weeping teen, saying that she could cope and that Gaby would be okay.

“Wanna talk about it?” she asked as she cuddled into her cousin, still hugging him.

“It was horrible,” said Drew, sniffing.

“Meadows?” she asked, knowing how she had dreamt of him catching her again and one of the reasons she was glad to have Drew share her room.

“Not this time,” sniffed Drew, clutching her tightly. He paused for a moment knowing he would now have to tell her what it was. “I was undressing for a gym class and suddenly realised I was wearing a bra..”

“Oh shit!” exclaimed Maddy, she almost wanted to know which one, but resisted the urge to ask.

“Yeah, I looked down and saw this pink thing on my chest and Dawson spotted it.”

“What, Donkey Dawson?” she asked, the nickname arising from his similarity to a donkey braying when he laughed.

“Yeah,” sobbed Drew.

“Oh shit!” exclaimed Maddy, clutching him tightly; “What happened next?” she asked after a short pause and a squeeze.

“He shouted out that I was wearing a bra, an’ they all came to see…an’ I felt so, like embarrassed an’...” he paused and cried for a moment, then continued, “...Oh, Mad, it was so horrible… they were like, just standing there …an’ my nipples started to grow… an’ like they all just stared like I was a freak…oh,' Mad, I am a freak… help me, Mad, help me…” at this he broke down into a full collapse of sobbing and shaking. His cousin was also crying while holding him as tightly as she dared, felt his pain searing through her own heart.

“I’m here Gabs, I’ll always be here for you, like forever.” They held each other tightly and eventually drifted off to sleep, locked into their embrace of mutual protection.

Carol looked in as the adults set about their ablutions and breakfast, the two teens were yet fast asleep, entwined together. She felt a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, she felt it was lovely to see them cuddled up so close, on the other, she worried that officially one of them was still a boy, and as the parent of the other, she should be concerned.

Then she stopped and pondered for a moment, was one of them a boy and for how much longer, and that was assuming that madman didn’t catch either of them first. She closed the door quietly and left them to sleep.

The conversation of the adults was muted and mixed. None had slept very well and red eyes were aplenty. They were discussing Drew’s nightmare when the door of the dining room opened and Maddy entered. It suddenly went very quiet.

“How’s Gaby?” asked Carol pouring her daughter a cup of tea.

“Still asleep,” said Maddy, barely awake herself.

“Does she get many nightmares?” asked John, wondering if this was going to happen again.

“No,” said Maddy with a firmness that surprised both her father and herself.

“Any idea what it was about?” asked Jenny, “You seemed to do very well in calming her down.”

“Going to school,” said Maddy, buttering some toast for herself.

“Is school that bad?” asked her father in some surprise.

“It could be if you were a boy last week and a girl this one,” said Maddy in such a matter of fact way that no one took on board the importance of the statement for several moments.

“Oops!” said John blushing, “We’ve been so worried about that lunatic, I suppose we hadn’t even thought about that aspect. What are you going to do?” he asked Jenny and Dave.

“Dunno,” said Dave, “Hadn’t got that far yet.” He looked at his wife.

“I suppose we need to ask Gaby what she wants to do and take it from there.” She looked guiltily at Dave and Maddy, knowing full well she wouldn’t be there for the crisis if it happened.

“I suppose she could go sick, I’ll have a chat with Mr Woods and the doctor.”

“Isn’t that just postponing the dreaded day?” asked Carol.

“Yeah, but it buys some time and I’ve got plenty on my hands at the moment.” Dave shrugged as he spoke, they all knew he had lots of worry on his plate and yet his wife was going back to Germany. John looked at her with a degree of disbelief, she felt his eyes boring into her and she rose saying something about “checking on Gaby” and left the room.

“They could always come and stay with me,” said Josie, “It doesn’t look very safe here.”

“No, but there’s more of us to protect them,” said John.

“Is there? You’ll be in work, Dave will either be in work or trying to sort out the house, Jenny will be back in Germany. Carol will be here, but the chances are they know about this place, or only need to follow you from the other house. They might not know about my place.”

“I don’t know Mum,” said Dave, “It’s taking an awful risk.”

“Why don’t we ask them, see if they’re willing, if not then forget it.” Josie felt her pulse quickening as she spoke. She couldn’t actually keep them any safer, but as she suggested, the attackers might not know of her whereabouts and she could take all the children if necessary although she doubted Jules would go, preferring to stay with her pals.

“Maddy, who was finishing her breakfast, voiced her opinion, “I’ll come if Gabs wants to.”

“Is she up yet?” asked Dave, remembering he had to go and see the police.

“I’ll go and see,” said Mad cheerfully. She peeped around the bedroom door Drew sat hugging his mother.

“But I don’t want you to go,” he was sobbing on his mother’s shoulder.

“I know sweetheart, I don’t want to go either, but I have to or I’ll lose my place in the team and that will be the end of my career. Is that what you want me to do?”

“No,” sobbed Drew, “cor…’snot.”

“If I don’t get back into training soon, I’m going to lose my form and then I will be stuck. So I have to go, I don’t like it, but we all have to do things we don’t like at times, don’t we?”

Drew nodded and clung on tightly to his mother.

“Are you scared?” she asked him.

He nodded and mumbled, “Yeah.”

“What’s scaring you, that horrible man?”

Drew nodded.

“Anything else?”

Drew nodded again.

“What sweetheart?”

“School.”

“School is scaring you?”

“Mmmmm,” sobbed Drew.

“Can you tell me why it scares you?”

“They … (sob) ... they’re gonna laugh … (sob) ... at me.”

“Who is?”

“All… (hiccup) … of ... (sob) … them.”

“Why should they laugh at you?”

“'Ccccos, they’re gonna know I’m Gaby.”

“You think they are going to figure out that Drew and Gaby are the same person?”

“Yeeeeessss (hiccup),” he wept onto her shoulder.

“Can you go back as Drew, assuming we get you some more clothes?”

“I don’t (sob) know, jus … look at my bodeeeee (hiccup),” this was followed by more heavy weeping.

“Gaby, I know this is upsetting for you, as it is for all of us, but I can’t talk to you if you are crying all the time. Come on now, take control of yourself, deep breath, that’s it, now tell me what you think.”

Drew tried to sit up, his eyes were red with crying and his face looked hot and where he’d leant against his mother’s jumper it was ribbed liked the pattern of the knit. He took several deep breaths finally the hiccups stopped and he spoke in a whiny cracking voice, “I don’t know if I can go back as Drew because my body is changing into a girl.”

“We can probably get around that with looser clothing, I’ll speak to Mr Woods, get you off games and gym, so you’ll have little need to take your blazer off.”

“My boobs bounce up and down when I walk.”

“You can wear a sports bra to stop that.”

“It’ll show.”

“Not through a jacket, you can always wear a vest or something underneath your shirt, if it’s all rather loose, it shouldn’t show. If you want, I’ll take you into Sheffield and we can check it ou. If you get a haircut as well, your image will change dramatically.”

“What about Maddy?”

“What about Maddy?” repeated Jenny, looking puzzled.

“If I stop being Gaby, that maniac is gonna think Maddy is and attack her again.”

“Maybe we could change her hair colour or something, disguise her.” Jenny paused, “Or we could do the same with you, you could pretend to be a new girl, until this lunatic is caught.”

“What happens to Maddy then?”

“We could disguise both of you.”

“What with false noses and things?”

“Not quite that, but a new hair colour and cut would make you look very different, and with different clothes ....”

“Why can’t I go back to being Drew then?”

“You can if you want to.”

“Yeah, like Drew with tits!”

“I wish you wouldn’t use that expression, Gaby, it’s breasts not tits. Tits are little garden birds that eat peanuts, please try and remember that; besides we can try and make them less obvious.”

“I can’t get boy’s trousers to fit me.”

“What?”

“My bum is too big.”

“If that is the case and I doubt it is, we’ll get you some plain girl’s ones, they’re much the same except in cut. I need to measure you, I wonder if Carol has a tape measure I can borrow, wait here.” Jenny left Drew as she went off to find Carol.

He didn’t know what he felt, the shock of the house fire and loss of all his clothes was only now really permeating his brain and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling. He also wasn’t sure who he thought he was anymore either. Before it had been so easy, he was Drew who occasionally for a laugh changed into Gaby.

Now he was Gaby and he wasn’t sure he could go back to being Drew again. His body seemed to be making decisions for him, and not ones he liked or with which he necessarily agreed. He felt a little powerless and angry about it.

When Jenny went to find the measure, she walked in on the discussion about Josie taking the girls away. “I’m not entirely happy with it, no reflection on you Josie, but I feel we can protect them better here until this nutter is caught.” John was airing his views, “What do you think Jen?”

“About what?”

“Josie wants to take Maddy and Gaby back with her, I think they’d be safer here. How about you?”

“I hadn’t thought about it John, it might be a good idea,” said Jenny, but didn’t qualify it.

“I thought it might be something to remove them from the area of danger.”

“Good idea,” said Jenny, “Although we don’t know for sure that they know we’re staying here, do we?”

Everyone had to agree with that. “If they found our place Jen, they probably know this one too.” Dave was being a realist as always, “Unfortunately, we’d only really know if they tried something here as well.”

“So my idea would prevent that, wouldn’t it?” asked Josie smiling nervously. While she desperately wanted to protect her grand ‘daughter’ and Maddy, she felt a little apprehensive about it.

“What if they follow you?” asked John, “Aren’t you then going to be in the same boat, but without the back up?”

“If we travelled separately and went by a roundabout route, like they do in spy films...”

“Mum, this isn’t a spy film, it’s real life, people get really hurt or really dead,” said Jenny.

“But we could lose anyone trailing us, go into Sheffield or Nottingham or go from one to the other then up to my place.”

“I don’t like the idea of splitting the girls up, together they’re probably safer,” said Dave.

“I agree with that, and we could disguise them a bit,” said Jenny. It went silent and Jenny looked at Carol, “Can I borrow a tape measure?”

“Goodness, Gaby, you have a smaller waist than I had at your age, and it’s smaller than your sister’s,” said Jenny noting Drew’s statistics.

Maddy, who was watching rolled her eyes and said, ”That is so unfair Gabygirl, you’ve got a smaller waist than I have!”

“It’s only a centimetre, and my butt’s the same size,” said Drew, then realised what that meant.

“I can see why boys pants are a problem,” observed Jenny after her measuring. “If they’re loose enough at the hips they’ll be far too big on the waist. Hmmm,” she said pausing to think, “I suppose we could always go for elasticated waistbands.”

“I’m not wearing elastic-waisted trousers unless they’re joggers or cycling shorts!” offered Drew with indignation, “Old ladies wear them, or fat old men. And I can’t wear them to school.”

“I was only thinking out loud, Gaby, give me a break will you?”

“So what we gonna do?” asked Drew.

“It looks like it’s going to have to be girl’s trousers, I’m sure we can get some that look like boy’s ones.”

“Should we ask Gaby about going back with her gran?” asked Maddy.

“Can I take my bike?”

“Wouldn’t that, like identify you?” asked Maddy.

“Aw come on, unless I ride soon, I’m gonna be so unfit.”

“If you’re dead, you’ll be even less fit,” suggested Maddy.

“No darling, the bikes stay here, they’ll be quite safe.”

“In which case so do I.” Drew folded his arms over his chest attempting to show determination or obstinacy, he wasn’t quite sure which, but it looked like the sort of thing one did to convey the firmness of the statement.

Jenny, wishing to lighten an already tense atmosphere said, “Okay kiddo, but I’m going to town to look for trousers for you, they may fit better if you come too.”

“Aw Mum, you spoiled my determined stance,” whined Drew, at which Maddy nearly fell over.

“Hey, d’you wanna try my school trousers for a look see?” offered Maddy.

“Now someone is thinking cogently,” said Jenny. Drew standing alongside her rolled his eyes upwards and Maddy sniggered.

“They fit alright,” said Drew.

“They rather scream ‘GIRL’ at you. If you go as Gaby, they’ll be fine, but not for Drew I’m afraid.” Jenny shook her head as she spoke and Carol, who had been passing the door agreed with her.

“This might be more difficult than I thought,” admitted Jenny. “Get yourselves organised, let’s get to the shops and back, remember I have a plane to catch later.”