A Sweets Life-Chapter 8

I know, I know, all that wait, and it’s a short, sad chapter. Sorry! I have my reasons! This gets a bit nasty, so I bumped up the rating to mature. Do kids really read these?

Candy was starting to realize there were too many windows in her room. The old fashioned regular glass windows really did almost nothing to stop the cold. Her room was so cold, her fingers hurt!

Mom had been talking about putting better windows in, but there was very little money for them. Candy knew that the bills for her doctor and counselor appointments were eating into their cash. Mom made a pretty good salary, but Candy had so many appointments!

She had tried to get some babysitting jobs, but all of the parents didn’t want a “freak” to take care of their kids. Words like that hurt her. She knew she was different, but she wasn’t dangerous!

The first few weeks at school had been a bit challenging, but people were getting used to her, and life was getting better. Candy was actually having fun with her friends! It didn’t hurt that she always hung out with some of the prettiest girls in school. They had become a regular fixture at the football games, cheering Robin’s boyfriend, Mike. People called them The Mike Squad, and they had several people that cheered with them. Mike was a football hero, and he had already talked to a couple of college scouts.

Candy didn’t understand very much about football, but when the cheering started, she joined in, enthusiastically. After all, Mike was a good friend! Besides, she always supported Robin, and supporting Mike felt like supporting Robin.

There were some incidents that told Candy that she couldn’t relax her guard completely. Nothing serious, but she knew that she had enemies. Sometimes it felt like someone was stalking her, just waiting for that opportunity to strike.

It was hard to believe that someone could hate her for wearing different clothes. Of course, Andy had never really felt safe at school, either. It made no sense to her. She had always tried to be a nice person, and really, nothing she did affected anyone but her. If she wore boy clothes, she got beat up by bullies. If she wore girl clothes, people called her names and felt that they had a right to publicly hate her. Why? What had she done?

Jenna knew that Candy was afraid sometimes, and she shared her concerns. It was like an invisible enemy, you knew there was danger, but where, when and how it would strike was a complete mystery. It was maddening! Andy had begun his transition to help reduce his stress, and to really be who was meant to be. Candy was so much more relaxed and happier than Andy had been, but the stress of waiting for someone to hurt her was almost as bad.

She silently thanked God for the friends that protected Candy. That was the only reason she hadn’t removed Candy from the school. The three girls that made up her support team, Tina, Robin and Jennifer, had been joined by others, like Robin’s huge boyfriend. He had been such a good friend, and when he met Jenna, he had been the complete gentleman. Jenna could tell that while he may be a terror on the football field, in real life he was a gentle, caring person.

If only Candy’s father David could have been that kind of person, rather than the preening peacock who bullied his way through life. She knew that David DiVenne had only joined the Army to kill people and become a “hero”. Well, she thought, that didn’t work! What a disillusionment. He had seemed so nice, but as soon as he “scored”, she had been discarded for another conquest. He never even knew about his child, and Jenna knew if he had, it would have made little difference. How such a loving and gentle child had come from such a pompous ass was a puzzle to Jenna.

Could Mike be a person like that? Jenna didn’t think so. She trusted him not only to protect Candy, but the other girls as well, especially Robin. The thought of Robin being forced to go through life like Jenna was completely unacceptable. She had already talked to Candy and Robin. They were sure that Mike was not like that, and Robin had told her it wasn’t going to be a problem, not for a very long time! Mr. Gabriel would be so let down if she did anything like that, and she knew he was watching over them.

Sometimes Jenna had a hard time believing, but the girls seemed so sure. They trusted in the power of God, and they lived their lives to please him. They were determined that they would eventually be in His presence, and disappointing Him was not acceptable.

All four girls walked a little surer, not with pride, but with determination. They knew that their lives would be a struggle, especially Candy’s, but they had a plan. They were all going to college together, and they would always stay in touch. Mr. Gabriel had charged them with protecting Candy, and that was what they would do, somehow. Their determination really concerned Jenna. What would they do if something did happen? Were they really willing to give their lives to protect her daughter?

It was a sobering thought.

At the same time Jenna was considering her daughters future, Danni was seething with hatred, and had absolutely no thoughts of hope. Her father had once again showed her that she was weak, and only good for housework and serving his “needs”. She felt so dirty, and used.

Why her hatred somehow focused on Candy was a mystery. Was it envy? Only Danni knew, but her hatred was like a flame. She burned to hurt that stupid tranny weirdo. She wasn’t sure how, but it was going to be something that fake bitch would never forget.

Her father’s shouting made her cringe, and she knew what he wanted. She hated it, but what could she do? No one was going to help her. She knew her place. She left the kitchen and walked to the bedroom, quickly, so he didn’t beat her again.

End Chapter 8-To be continued, hopefully soon. I apologize for the delay!