Chapter 8
Reggie’s hands were still shaking when Nick parked his car again. He ended up driving out of the city a bit, to a cliff that overlooked the valley. Nick held their hand, waiting until they would able to take a breath. “Reg, I’m gonna give a call really quick, okay? Just to let her know we’ll be later than I thought.” Reggie nodded. “Do you want me to tell her what happened?” Reggie looked conflicted, but nodded. “Okay.” Nick pulled out his phone, pressing speed dial three that Julie set her number to. Reggie was number two. “Hey, Jules. We’re gonna be a little later than we planned.”
“Oh, you guys having that much fun?” Her tone was teasing, and any other time Nick would’ve laughed.
“Not exactly. We were. But something happened and Reggie needed to get away.”
Her tone changed immediately, “What do you mean something happened?” He heard more voices and figured it was Flynn and the guys.
“There were people yelling names, and Reg got scared, Jules. Really scared. I got them out, so when they feel up to it we’ll come back.”
“What names?” Nick almost shuddered at the intensity of her voice. “Nick, what names?”
“Some lady yelled out Regina, and a guy yelled Reginald.” He answered quietly.
“Nick, under no circumstance do you bring Reggie back until I tell you it’s okay. When they calm down, can you possibly take them to your place tonight? Or to Willie’s? They won’t look for Reggie there.” Julie sounded like she was biting back rage, and Nick didn’t know what to do but agree.
“Yeah, sure.” Reggie tugged on his hand, and he looked over, they were motioning for the phone. “I’m gonna put you on speaker, Jules.” Nick clicked the button and held the phone out.
“Jules, they found me.”
“We don’t know that yet, Reg. It might’ve been a coincidence.” She sounded desperate. Like she wanted to believe it herself as much as she wanted them to.
“We both know it wasn’t, Jules. We knew this could happen. Can you- can you please explain it to the others? I don’t think I can.” Nick heard a sniffle, but he wasn’t sure if it was the phone or Reggie, so he just squeezed their hand gently.
“But-“
“I know. It isn’t your story, but please. I’ll tell Nick cause he’s still with me, but I need you to do this for me.”
“Okay. And Reggie?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you. Never forget that.”
“I love you, too, sis. Be sure you tell dad.” Reggie hung up the phone. Nick let the silence hang between them. This was Reggie’s story, and one he was already scared to share, Nick wasn’t going to rush them. They turned in their seat, like they couldn’t get enough space.
“Do you want to sit on the hood? There’ll be more room.” Nick offered, they nodded, opening their door and hurrying out of the car. Nick climbed up on the hood, holding out a hand for Reggie. When they got settled, Reggie took a deep breath.
“I need to tell you how I ended up with Julie and Ray and Carlos. You know that I’ve known Julie for years. My parents were friends with hers. We’ve known each other since we were babies. I was there for her when her mom died, and she’s been there for me. My, uh, my parents argued a lot. Starting around when we were six. Never in front of company, but as we got older I could tell Julie knew something was wrong. She used to say it was like I was waiting for a bomb to explode. And I guess I was. My dad wanted a son. My mom wanted a daughter. Neither were happy with who I am, and my therapist thinks it triggered something in my brain that led to me being gender fluid. Wanting to please both of them.” Reggie paused, reaching up to wipe at their eyes. Nick rubbed their back, not wanting to push but wanting to be there. “My dad was the first to turn physical. When I wore skirt around him the first time. I was like eleven. He pushed me into the coffee table. It broke apart when I landed on it. It got worse after that. Mom would yell and throw things at me when I looked like a boy, and dad would throw things when I looked like a girl. It was like I couldn’t make them happy.” Nick felt tears of his own burn his eyes, but he pushed the feeling back. He was gonna stay strong. “I called Julie once, and we were on the phone talking about the visit we had planned, when I was supposed to meet all her friends last year.” Nick remembered that. Julie had been over the moon, and then the trip was cancelled and she was gone for days. “She heard them yelling, and she asked me what was going on. I hung up instead of answering her. I woke up the next day in the hospital. Her and her dad were asleep in those ungodly uncomfortable chairs, but she was holding my hand. She woke up when I moved, waking her dad up. Apparently I blacked out that night, I don’t remember most of it. I was born a girl. But apparently that night my dad tried to ‘fix’ me. Ray filed a case with children services, and I was removed to his custody. I did online schooling while I finished healing, and then I joined you guys. My parents didn’t know Ray was the one who got custody. They came to the house once, and Julie hid me in her room. But I heard them arguing with Ray. They still couldn’t call me Reggie, and Ray just kept telling them he didn’t know where I was.” Reggie turned their head, staring up at the stars. “And that’s the story. Why my parents call me Regina and Reginald. It’s a lot. I understand if you can’t handle it.”
“Reggie,” Nick waited, until they could drag their gaze down to meet his. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for you. And I understand if you can’t believe that right now. So all I can do is stick around and prove it to you.” Nick wrapped an arm around Reggie, letting the other snuggle closer, and silently vowing that no one would hurt this sweet person ever again.