Pale Pink Packet Part 6

Pale Pink Packet Part 6

I throw the pale pink packet to the floor in disgust. I deserve an answer!

“Well!?” I ask with an impatient growl. “Are you going to answer me?”

“Aiden…,” Phoebe interrupts, tugging at my hand to get my attention. “Mom is clearly upset. Maybe you should give her a minute.”

“All she needs to do,” I furiously complain at my sister. “Is tell me the truth, Phoebe. I don’t care how upset she is.”

Mom takes her hand from her face and I instantly see the sorrow written across it. I’d never seen her look so….sad. Still, she’s probably just trying to make me feel sorry for her because she feels so extremely guilty about what she’s done to me.

“We should go sit down,” mom says, rubbing at her sore-looking eyes. “You won’t like that I have to say.”

At that moment, Phoebe pulls me away. She doesn’t stop tugging at my arm until I’m following her into the living room. Mom follows behind us.

Still seething, I could barely sit still. Waiting for mom to sit opposite me and Phoebe in the living room felt like it took forever.

If someone secretly swapped your gender you’d be impatient to know too!

As mom sits, she wipes her eyes and smudges her makeup. I just glare intently at her, waiting for her to tell me whatever story she’d dare to tell. Whatever lies she could come up with as to why she’s forced me into womanhood.

“Your father,” mom says with a labored breath. “You never met your father Aiden, did you?”

“No,” I reply promptly. “You told me he left just after Phoebe was born. What's he got to do with any of this!?”

“I loved your father,” mom replies, her pain obvious to see. “I love him with every ounce of my being! Aiden, you looked just like him before your change.”

“What are you telling me!?” I hiss, leaning toward her. “Because I looked like my dad beat dad you decided to swap my gender!?”

“Please calm down Aiden,” Phoebe says softly, touching my leg in support. “I’m sure that’s not the case….right mom?”

A tear runs down my mom's face before she looks away from us both. Biting her lower lip, she shakes her head.

“I can’t lie. Having to see that reminder of him in you each day Aiden has been hard to a bare” she painfully explains. “I just hope with all my heart that you two don’t share his….weakness!”

Phoebe gives me a quick sideways glance as mom continues to talk. The guy was clearly a loser.

“I still see him….,” she groans, looking me in the eyes and then turning to Phoebe. “I see him staring at me, through your eyes girls.”

I clench my teeth tight. That’s complete bull!

“So you did!” I snap, pointing a finger in her direction. “You’ve done all this to me because you didn’t like that I looked like him!?”

“Stop saying that!” Mom replies with a tense hiss. “I’d never do something so shallow Aiden. I’m your mother! I can’t believe you’d think I’d put you through such a life-changing event if it wasn’t deadly important.”

“So why then mom!?” I screech, feeling my emotions boiling back to the surface. “For what reason have you cursed me to live the rest of my life a woman. Dealing with all this stuff I shouldn’t even know about! I girl made me borrow her bra today—do you know how embarrassing that is!?”

Mom's face becomes shocked and worried.

“Wait,” she replies instantly, looking terrified. “Was she the one that saw through the pink packets deception? Was she the one that told you?”

My face scrunches up in confusion. I look at Phoebe for clarification, but she just shrugs.

“Deception?” Phoebe asks, clearly just as confused as I am.

Fidgeting, mom looks worried. She looks around the room nervously and looks extremely uneasy. Funny how that makes her more uneasy than having to tell me the truth.

“Did she touch them?” mom questions, giving both me and Phoebe an intense look. “Obviously she saw them for what they really are, but Aiden—did she touch them?”

“What are you going on about!?” I reply, rubbing my face in exhaustion. “She saw through the deception—what does that even mean?”

“Don’t be mad,” mom replies, giving me an awkward and forced smile. “That pink packet was disguised for you and everyone in your life so they wouldn’t see what was happening—what you’ve been taking.”

“You’re joking mom!” Phoebe says, holding a hand in front of her mouth as she gasps in shock. “That’s a terrible thing to do!”

Shocked at her audacity, I’m left speechless. I just stare down at the floor.

“Aiden!” mom squeals, ignoring Phoebe to focus on me. “Did you check for any missing!? Are they all there!?”

Eyes wide in complete bewilderment, I nod my head in agreement. “Yeah, I think so. She picked them up and gave them straight back.”

Like a flash of lightning, Mom stands and rushes toward the hallway. Reappearing seconds later, she fumbles open the packet and pulls out the contents.

“Crap,” she howls, giving us both a terrified look. “There’s a whole month's worth of pills missing!”

“So what..?” I answer indifferently. “She’s a girl anyway.”

“No no no…,” Mom anxiously mumbles, pacing back and forward. “We have to find them. Just her having them means she’s in grave danger.”

I give Phoebe another perplexed look as we both watch moms anxiety really take hold of her demeanor.

“Danger mom?” Phoebe asks. “How?”

Stopping still, Mom stares vacantly at the floor for a moment, before gazing directly at me.

“Do you remember her name?” she frantically questions, stepping closer to me. “Do you remember what she looks like!?”

I roll my eyes and think back to those awkward moments earlier. “Her name is Ivy. I remember that.”

“Where did you meet her?”

“At the gym. She made me borrow her sports bra.”

“Told you you’d need one,” Phoebe teases, nudging me in the arm. “You’ve gotta wrap them up.”

They are still sore. Ok, I will give that to Pheebs. Next time I will listen to her superior girl knowledge.

“He’s going to know,” Mom continues, interrupting my thoughts as she talks to herself like a mad woman.

“Mom,” I say sternly. “You're not telling us anything. Why is this girl in danger and more importantly—why have you done this to me!?”

Not reacting to my pleas for the truth, mom looks at us both with importance. I can see the look of fear on her face. If only she was that concerned about me!

“Girls,” she blurts out in haste, strutting into the hallway. “We have to go find that girl right now! If he finds her with it, he won’t hesitate to kill her and her entire family.”

“Holy Moly,” Phoebe gasps, looking at me shocked as we both stand.

“What guy!?” I shout, following mom as she franticly puts on some trainers and her coat.

“Green,” she responds without thought.

“Who!?”

Mom stops rushing around for a moment and stares directly into my eyes. Gently giving me a warm smile, she reaches for me and strokes my hair.

“A very bad person,” mom answers. “Just trust me when I say we have to go RIGHT now! This Ivy girl doesn’t know what she’s got herself into….or worse—she’s working with him!”

“Do you work for the government or something mom!?” Phoebe nervously asks, trying to laugh off just how ridiculous this all is. “I don’t understand why the pills in that pink packet are so important to you all of sudden—are they like top secret government research?”

“No I don’t work for the government Pheebs,” mom scoffs in derision.

“This sounds like shady government stuff,” Phoebe replies with a roll of her eyes. “Either that or you just don’t wanna tell Aiden the truth.”

Clutching at her car keys, mom points at my feet. “Aiden, get your shoes on. I need you to point out this girl to me!”

Looking down at my small feminine feet, I know I’m not going to put trainers on until she gives me some answers.

“No,” I say sternly, folding my arms. “Not until you tell us why these pills are so important and why they could get this girl killed. Some dude called Green can’t be that scary—this ain't a horror movie.”

Placing a hand on her hip, mom gives me a dirty look. Letting out a long sigh, she looks away as she pulls out the neckless she has on to show us.

Dangling the shiny colorful rock out in front of me and Phoebe, she swings it back and forward. I’ve seen mom wearing this neckless for years, why is she showing it to us now?

“This,” she says, stopping it from moving as she hangs it from the chain. “This is a shard of something from mommies homeland. It has somewhat special properties and those pills have been touched by that. You two have to trust me on this—people are looking for this and we can’t let anyone have it—not even a tiny piece of it in those pills!”

Glaring at the shiny surface and the ever-changing colors, I feel the rock hanging from the chain calling to me. It wants me to touch it. It wants me to hold it. I can’t explain it! Nothing matters but that rock!

I must touch it!

Reaching out towards it, mom snatches it away and stuffs it back under her top. Instantly I feel a weight lifted from my shoulders.

Shaking my head, I feel dazed and like I’m waking from a nightmare. My body is in a cold sweat.

“Mom,” I say, actually a little scared at how my body reacted to it. “I don’t feel so good.”

Feeling extremely fatigued all of a sudden, I lower my gaze and find my head weighs an absolute tone. My body feels as heavy as solid iron!

“Aiden!” I hear Phoebe and mom scream as my vision blurs and my legs cave.

Before I know it, my head is hitting the ground with an almighty thud. The world around goes black and I go cold.