The Honeymoon

by Phoenix Cinders

  For once, I feel like I belong.

  Chapter 10: Alessandra Curry

  As I leave Charlie’s room the next morning, I feel like I’m on cloud 9. My life is pure bliss. I can’t even help it, I’m skipping because I'm so happy.

  As I make my way to see my mother, the one voice that ruins everything catches my ear. “Hey, tranny.”

  I freeze in place and turn to find Amber. She’s wearing her usual satanic smile. “I see you found some guy that must be a freak like you. Why else would he be into such a pathetic excuse of a human being?”

  I don’t even know what to say. “Why do you hate me so much?”

  “Because you’re everything that’s wrong with the world. You disgust me,” she says.

  “Amber, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Pat asks as he walks up behind her.

  She freezes in place. Her eyes go wide before she turns around to face him. “I was just asking your brother about the people he was with.”

  “You mean my sister, right?” Pat asks. “And you are such a liar. I just heard everything. You are such a bitch. I can’t believe I fell for your shit. What the hell happened to you to make you so cruel?”

  “Excuse me?” she says, her eyes sharpening like daggers.

  “Why do you have to be such a bitch to my sister?” he asks. I’ve never been so shocked and so proud of my brother in all of my life.

  “You have got to be kidding me. Since when have you ever supported that freakshow?” she spits out.

  “Don’t talk to her like that. You know what? We’re done. You can find someone else to drain the happiness and joy from. Come on Sandra. Let’s go,” he says. I think I’m as shocked as Amber is. Clearly, she has no idea what to say to that. Her jaw just hangs there. I walk past her to Pat and we leave her there looking so stupid.

  This day couldn’t get any better. After we leave her behind Pat turns to me. “Sandra, I’m so sorry. I should’ve stood up to them and stopped them from harassing you. I should’ve stood up to dad too and I didn’t. I just let them walk all over you and I hate myself for it. You were always my best friend and I feel like I betrayed you.”

  I can’t fight the tears back as I lunge into his chest and wrap my arms around him. I’ve never been so proud of my brother in my life. “It’s okay. I totally forgive you. Let’s just start over. I’m so glad to have you back.”

  “Sandra?” I hear my name and I turn to see Ariana and her friends. “I thought that was you. Pat…”

  “Hey,” he says with a more than friendly smile. “You were right. I should’ve stuck up for my sister. I’ve learned and I just dumped the witch.”

  “Well, good. So what are you two up to?” she asks.

  “I have no idea now. I came here with my friends and now I no longer want anything to do with them,” he says.

  “Well… You’re more than welcome to hang out with us,” she says.

  “That sounds great,” Patrick says with his signature smile.

  “Well, I’m going to meet up with mom. You two have fun,” I say.

  “You’re welcome to join us afterward,” Ariana says.

  “Thanks, I might just have to take you up on that,” I say smiling.

  I meet up with my mom for breakfast and go over all that has happened including Patrick sticking up for me against Amber. She’s delighted to hear that Pat and Amber are over. She never much cared for that girl.

  “How are things going with you and dad?” I ask.

  “They aren’t going. He’s been locked up in the room this whole entire time. I’ve about had it,” she says.

  “I’m sorry. I was really hoping things would change with him,” I say.

  “It’s okay. Things haven’t been right between us for a long time,” she says.

  “Is it because of me?” I ask.

  “Oh no, honey. Our bickering was going on long before you came out. Sometimes the fires of love burn out. He just isn’t the same man I fell for and I’m not the same woman,” she says. It hurts hearing that. Before I came out, I always looked up to my parents as an example of love. To see them on such bad terms with each other breaks my heart. Even if my dad doesn’t approve of me or wants to disown me I don’t enjoy seeing him and mom like this.

  After breakfast, I head over to find Charlie with Cody, Ariana, and Pat by a pool. Charlie doesn’t hesitate and pulls me into his lap. I fall into his arms and feel like I belong.

  “Will you two get a room?” Cody says.

  “Says the guy who was snogging yet another random girl last night at the bar,” Ariana says.

  “Hey, that’s a different story, we were both drunk. I wouldn’t do that sober,” he says. Both Charlie and Ariana raise eyebrows. “Okay. Alright, you got me. I totally would.”

  “Pat was just telling us about how when you were young the two of you used to sneak into the back of your Aunt’s bakery to steal cookies.”

  I give Pat a death glare as my face flushes with heat. “As I recall, he was the one who pressured me into going with him. I only went along because I didn’t want him to get into trouble.”

  “Yeah, we did get caught quite a few times. Eventually, Aunt Christa just started leaving cookies out for us. She’s the best,” Pat says.

  “She really is,” I say. Charlie runs his hand up my back and it sets my skin on fire. I really could get used to his touch. Especially the way his fingers run circles around my skin. It’s so soothing.

  “Well, it was nice talking to you all, I see my next conquest,” Cody says.

  “When are you going to grow up?” Ariana asks.

  “Hey, this is my honeymoon. Okay! I’m not going to grow up until at least after this trip is over,” Cody says. We all laugh except Pat. He’s out of the loop. With that, Cody gets up and chases some red-head.

  “Well, we’re going to go for a walk before meeting up with my friends,” Ariana says as she gives Pat a look of longing.

  “Have fun,” Charlie says.

  “See ya later,” I say. Now it’s just Charlie and me.

  “Do you want to go for a walk?” he asks.

  “Yeah, I would love to,” he says.

  “Great,” he smiles as I get up off him. We start out at a casual pace with Charlie sliding his hands in his pockets. “I have to say that these past few days have been truly amazing. Best I’ve had in a very long time, if not ever.”

  “Me too,” I admit.

  We don’t make it very far before Charlie stops and turns to face me. He looks me directly in the eyes. “Sandra… I really like you.”

  “I really like you too,” I say with a bright smile as my face heats up.

  “I was wondering…” But before he can finish what he was going to say, we’re interrupted.

  “Charlie! There you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” a very beautiful woman with perfect blonde hair and a supermodel body says.

  Charlie’s eyes widen. “Lexi? What are you doing here?”

  Hearing her name makes my heart drop into my stomach. His ex! What is she doing here?

  “I’ve come to win you back,” she says. “It was such a mistake. I’ve regretted it and I feel terrible.”

  She’s come to win him back. How can I compete with her? She’s perfect. Flawless. I feel self-doubt creep in and along with a feeling of inadequacy. It feels like reality finally caught up to me and reminded me of who I am. A trans girl living in a cis world. I’ll never belong here. I feel the tears welling up in my eyes. “I think I’m going to go.”

  “Sandra, wait,” he says, but before he can say anything I walk away and start to run. I don’t know where I’m going, I just need to be alone.

  Chapter 11: Charlie Sheppard

  “Lexi. What makes you think I want you back?” I ask her. I’m so angry right now, I can’t even think straight. Just when things were going so well, she had to show up.

  “Charlie. Please, let me explain myself. I’m so s
orry,” she says.

  “It doesn’t matter how sorry you are, you never truly cared about me,” I say.

  “That’s not true,” she says.

  “Really? Then why did you cheat on me?” She stammers and stutters. “Can you even name one thing about me that no one else would know?”

  Once again she’s left speechless. “That’s what I thought. It was always about you. There was never an us. You’ve not only wasted both of our time, but you’ve driven away the one person that really does care about me. I’m sorry, Lexi, but it’ll never work out between us.”

  With that, I walk away. I try to look for Sandra but after I can’t find her, I end up back in my room. I pick up my phone for the first time since I’ve been here and see it’s blown up with messages and calls from Marion. I quickly call her.

  “Charlie, what the hell? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for the last few days. We have a huge emergency and we need you back here immediately. I’m going to book you the next flight home.”

  “Marion, I can’t come back right now. I have to finish something here.”

  “Charlie, this could break us. We need you here!” she says. The tone of her voice makes no mistake of how dire the situation is. I can’t leave without talking to Sandra first.

  “Look, I’m on the airline website right now. I can get you on the next flight that leaves in an hour. A lot of people are depending on you and this company. We can’t fail now,” she says.

  “I know. I’ll be there,” I say. How can this be happening right now? Everything was going so great and now it feels like it’s all coming crumbling down like a house of cards. I quickly change and pack my bags. I text both Ariana and Cody to let them know. God, I didn’t even get Sandra’s number. How stupid am I?

  I take as much time as I can afford to search for her everywhere but I can’t find her anywhere. I hang my head and get on the bus back to the airport. I feel so defeated.

  Chapter 12: Alessandra Curry

  How could I be so stupid? To think I could have some semblance of happiness. Idiot! Now I’m alone in tears. How could I be so stupid?

  To think a guy like Charlie could ever fall for a girl like me… Was I just some spring break experiment? Something to try before getting back with the girl he was going to marry?

  God, life is so hopeless. I don’t know how long I sit here on the beach, hidden by a few palm trees. Eventually, I get up and try to pull myself together. I head back to the resort and find my mom.

  She immediately sees something is off. “Ooh, honey, what’s wrong?”

  “Charlie’s ex came to win him back,” I say as I try to fight back the tears.

  “Oh, honey. I’m sorry. Have you told him how you feel?” she asks.

  “I told him I liked him. He was going to say something to me before she interrupted us,” I say.

  “Well, don’t you want to know what it was he was going to say to you?” she asks.

  I nod. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. How can I compete with her?”

  “Baby, she’s got nothing on you. You are kind, compassionate, and caring. Go talk to him. Find out what he was going to say. What do you have to lose?” she asks.

  She’s right. I at least need to talk to him. “Thanks, mom.”

  I rush off to his hotel room. I knock and wait, but no one comes. I look everywhere for him but I can’t find him anywhere. I eventually run into Cody. “Hey, have you seen Charlie?”

  “Yeah, I got a text from him. He had to leave. He took the next flight home,” he says.

  “Oh…” It feels like all of the happiness has literally drained from my body from his words. He left with her. That’s all there is to it. I lost, she won. I walk away with my head hanging so low, I’m surprised it’s not dragging on the ground. I feel so defeated.

  I head back to the room and my dad’s still there, drinking. He takes one look at me and returns back to the tv, taking a long sip of his drink. “What are you doing here? I thought you were with that fag.”

  My mother walks out of the bathroom. “Seriously, Ed? You are such an asshole. I’m done. We’re getting a divorce. Come on Sandra. If you want, you can head home with me.”

  “Yeah. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

  After we pack our things, we find Pat with Ariana. My mother explains what happened between her and our father to him and that we’re leaving. He decides to stay with Ariana. In a way, I’m happy for him. Ariana’s really nice and he deserves to be happy. I give him a hug before we make our way back to the airport and catch the next flight home.

  Epilogue: Alessandra Curry

  It’s been almost nearly a month since the vacation. Life has really sucked. I’ve become really depressed. My mother and I have since moved out. My brother only stayed behind to finish school. It turns out he and Ariana are going to be going to the same college together. I’m happy for him. I haven’t spoken to Charlie since the vacation. I think about him every day.

  As I sit in my room, my phone suddenly goes off. I immediately go for it hoping it’s Charlie, but when I answer it, a woman speaks.

  “Is this Alessandra Curry?” she asks with a crisp clear voice.

  “Uh. Yeah, who’s asking?” I reply.

  “Hi, this is Marion Webster and I work at EIB Entertainment. The company that created the Aratheon video game along with the book franchise,” she explains. My breath catches. What could they possibly want? Is this a prank? “I’m calling because we are recruiting new game developers and we heard that’s something you’d be interested in.”

  “Is this a prank?” I ask. How could they have possibly known that? I never applied for any position. The only people who I’ve told are my family and Charlie.

  “No, certainly not. We would love to fly you out here to Michigan for an interview. We’ve already got tickets for the flight and hotel. All we need is a yes,” she says.

  “Umm. Yeah, I would love to,” I say, timidly. For the first time since the vacation, my hopes have risen. Who would spend that kind of money on a prank? She might just be telling the truth.

  “Great, I’ll text you the information. If you could text us back your email address, we’ll send you the tickets and hotel information. Please wear something professional,” she says.

  “Thank you so much!” say.

  “You’re very welcome. I look forward to meeting you,” she says before hanging up. I immediately go tell my mom and she’s super excited and happy for me. Not even a week later I’m on a plane to Michigan. They have someone there waiting for me. They drive me to the hotel. The next day, I put on the best dress skirt, blouse, and jacket I have before a driver picks me up and takes me to EIB Entertainment’s headquarters. It’s really them. My doubts about this being a prank wash away as they escort me inside. This is really happening.

  However, I can’t help but fight the looming fears that something could go wrong. What if they discover I’m trans and call the whole thing off? As I enter what I believe to be the main office, I’m greeted by a familiar voice.

  “Hi, you must be Alessandra Curry, I’m Marion. It is so good to finally meet you,” an elderly woman says as she shakes my hand. She has a very elderly beauty to her and has an aura of confidence.

  “Thank you, it’s so nice to meet you as well,” I say.

  “May I call you Sandra?” she asks and I nod. “Good, now if you’ll follow me, there’s someone who’s been looking forward to this moment for a very long time.”

  “Okay,” I say as giddy anticipation fills my body. I have no idea what’s going on, but I follow her all the way until we reach the door of a conference room. She opens the door I walk in and see none other than Charlie there waiting for me. My heart tries to leap out of my chest. I reach over and pinch my own arm just to make sure I’m not dreaming.

  “I tried to look for you,” he says.

  “Well, I’m going to leave you to it,” Marion says before she takes her leav
e.

  “I thought you left with her,” I say.

  “Never. I was called back for an emergency with the company. I completely told her off. You’re the one I want to be with,” he says. I’m not even going to try to fight the tears.

  He walks up and pulls me into his arms and kisses me. I finally found where I belong.

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