Author's Note: I've been an avid reader of TG fiction for quite a long time. I especially enjoy stories that are sweet and sentimental or those in which the character is punished with love and compassion (if you want to know what that means, read any of the Aunt Jane stories by Tigger). Anyways, this is my first attempt at a story and I hope you enjoy it.

All the usual copyright and "viewing if you're legal" rules apply. There is no sex in this story, the character is far too young, but there is implied violence. It is a work of fiction and all the characters are fictional, any similarities to the living are chance.

 

Audra: A New Life

by Joanne Foxcourt

 

Chapter 21: Why people hate

"Get in here boy!" Robert Grant shouted at his son.

Bobby Grant reluctantly dragged himself into the living room of his house. He knew what was coming and dreaded it more than anything.

"Are you some kind of freak? Are you?" Robert shouted.

"I'm sorry," Bobby mumbled.

"Sorry don't cut it. I didn't raise my son to be some sort of pussy! What did I tell you would happen last time you did this?"

"I don't remember…" Bobby remembered all to well, but fear of his father held his tongue.

Robert removed his belt from around his waist. "Pull down your pants. If I can't teach you to be a man, I'll beat it into you!"

Bobby slowly, and reluctantly, undid his pants and pulled them down from his waist.

"Again?!? Holy shit boy!"

Bobby's face went red from embarrassment and shame even as Robert's fist connected with Bobby's cheek. As he started to lose consciousness from his father's beating, all he could hear was "you fucking freak" over and over again.

***

"Why do you do it Bobby?" Amy, Bobby's sister asked as he came to in the living room with the sounds of his father shouting at his mother in the distance. She was tenderly wiping his face with a cold wash cloth, hoping to keep the bruising on his face from swelling too much.

"I don't know. I can't help it," he whispered as he struggled to pull up his pants without losing consciousness again.

Robert stormed back into the living room. "Get your pansy ass upstairs and get changed. If I catch you in your sister's panties again, I'll rip your dick off and make you look like that Wilson freak. Have you got it?"

Bobby nodded as he pulled himself up and slowly made his way from the room.

***

"I hate him."

"Me too," Amy replied. Both were avoiding their father as best they could after Bobby had gotten changed.

"I'm going to kill him," Bobby stated quietly.

"And become like him?"

"What else can I do?"

"Why did you pick on Audra?" Amy suddenly asked.

"He'd beat me if I didn't."

Amy nodded.

"He hates Audra because he thinks that's what I'll become."

"Do you hate her?"

"No, but her just being there makes my life hell."

"Yeah. You're going to have a wicked shiner," Amy noted.

"I know. That bastard."

***

"Good afternoon. Doctor Coulson's office," Sheila said as she answered the phone.

"Sheila? It's Marianne Wilson calling," Marianne said from the other end of the connection.

"Marianne! What can I do for you? Is everything okay with Audra?"

"Audra's fine, though a bit upset at not being able to play baseball with her old team. That's not why I called though."

"What's the matter?"

"Audra's former coach stopped by. One of her ex-teammates has been really rough on her and was kicked off the team. His father confronted the coach and said some really nasty things about Audra. Nasty enough that the coach thought he should warn us. He said that the hate there was very real."

"Hate is a very strong term," Sheila noted. "People don't usually develop that kind of issue without something in their background to cause it. Do you have any idea why?"

"I wish I did. Robert Grant, the father, is quite a well-respected businessman, though he has a reputation for being difficult to work with. I don't know why he would have such hate without even knowing Audra, and why he would push his son in that direction."

"Is he abusive?"

"I don't know. Judy, his wife, is pretty shy at social functions. She seldom talks much to anyone," Marianne told her.

"That's not a good sign. It sometimes indicates an abusive household."

"Really? She doesn't look abused."

"Abuse isn't always physical. I have some friends in the Social Services department and I'm going to ask them to check out this Robert Grant. This sort of reaction to an uncontrolled injury is suspicious."

"Thank you Sheila," Marianne replied.

"My pleasure. Say hello to Audra for me."

"I will," Marianne promised as the two hung up.

 

Chapter 22: Signs

Audra answered the ring of the doorbell. "Mike!"

"Hey Audra, how's it going?" Mike asked.

"Okay, I guess."

"The team heard. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I should have figured it out," Audra told him.

"Coach Clarke kicked Bobby off the team."

"He did? Why?"

"Because Bobby was picking on you."

"Oh no!"

"Why? It's good that Bobby is off the team," Mike stated.

"It's only going to make it worse."

Mike thought about that for a second, "Maybe."

"No 'maybe' about it."

"Yeah."

"Do you want to go swimming?" Audra asked suddenly.

***

"Missus Grant?" The lady at the door asked.

"Yes?" Judy Grant asked, curious at a having a caller early on a Wednesday. Robert had already left for work and the two kids were in the kitchen eating.

"Good morning, I'm sorry to disturb you. My name is June Marsden and I'm from the Social Services department."

"My goodness! Please, come in. What brings you around to our house?"

"Thank you Missus Grant," June replied as she entered. "Well, this is a difficult thing to discuss, but we've received some tips about your husband that has us quite concerned."

Judy Grant stiffened, "What sort of tips?"

"The person who contacted us has reason to believe that your husband may be abusing your children."

***

"Who's at the door?" Amy asked as Bobby peeked through from the kitchen.

"Some stranger, I've never seen her before."

"Weird."

"Shut up, I'm trying to listen," Bobby instructed.

***

"I think your caller must be mistaken," Judy Grant replied woodenly.

"That's what we're trying to ascertain," June Marsden replied gently. "Please believe me, we don't simply come calling unless our information has some credibility."

"Well, whoever they are, they're wrong!"

June studied the other woman closely. Judy Grant was showing some definite signs of somebody who was experiencing a lot of fear. Her eyes darted about and her hands were wringing endlessly. "I see," June commented.

"I think you had better leave."

"Alright Missus Grant. I'm sorry to have bothered you."

***

Mike followed Audra up to her room. "Did you bring your suit?" Audra asked.

"Uh huh, like I usually do," Mike replied.

Audra dug out her new swimsuit from her dresser. "I'll change in the bathroom. Knock when you're dressed," she told Mike as she headed to her bathroom. Audra examined the one piece swimsuit in front of her. It was a light blue, medium leg cut, with cross-over straps at the back. "This is going to feel weird," she muttered as she climbed out of her shorts and top.

As she tugged the suit on, she heard the knock at the door. "Be right out," she told Mike. Pulling the suit into place, she examined herself in the mirror. Staring back was that cute girl again. Audra stuck out her tongue and was rewarded with the same in return. Giggling at her private joke, she left the bathroom.

"You look good," Mike told her.

"Yech! You're supposed to be my best friend, not admiring me!" Audra told him, laughing.

Mike shrugged, "Girls have cooties anyways, but you look good." He smiled as Audra punched him on the arm.

"Let's go swimming before I kill you!" Audra told him. Laughing, they ran down to the pool.

***

"I'm sure of it," June Marsden told Sheila over the phone.

"How sure are you June?" Sheila Coulson asked.

"The signs are there, she was incredibly nervous and fearful, more than I would have expected under the circumstances. I also caught a glimpse of her son as he tried to listen in on us."

"What did you see?"

"The boy had a definite bruise on his face."

"I understand that he's something of a bully, it may just be from a fight."

"Perhaps, but his being a bully is another sign."

"It's thin June, very thin," Sheila noted.

"I know, but instinct is nagging me on this one."

"Your instincts are usually sound."

***

Audra and Mike splashed around the pool. Mike hadn't said anything, but he was still stunned from Audra's appearance. If he had harbored any doubts that Audra was a girl, they were gone. Audra definitely did not have the body of a boy.

"Hey! Pool party?" Susie shouted from the patio doors.

"Sure!" Audra shouted back as Mike nodded in agreement. Susie ducked back inside to make some phone calls.

 

Chapter 23: It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to…

By the time Susie had finished making phone calls, a crowd of pre-teen and early teen kids had already arrived. It was one of those hot summer days that just seemed to create the need for kids to be a pool and all of them jumped at the chance to swim in the Wilson pool, widely acknowledged to be the best in the neighborhood.

Susie and Dana dragged a cooler full of ice and pop from the patio door as Julie plugged in the stereo and tuned it to a local radio station. Shortly, loud teeny-bopper music came pouring out of the speakers as Ken, who was sent out to supervise, winced in pain. Ken was a classic rock fanatic and found modern music to be formulaic, repetitive, and boring. Sighing to himself, Ken settled into a lawn chair. This is going to be a long day, he thought to himself.

Audra climbed out of the pool and went to lounge on one of the chairs. She was still feeling self-conscious about her appearance, especially in something as revealing as a bathing suit, but she figured that nobody would pay attention to her while she was on the chairs.

"Hey."

Apparently, Audra decided to herself, I was wrong. She looked up to see the smiling face of Jason Stewart looking down towards her. "Hey Jase, how's it going?"

Jason sat down in the chair beside her. "It's going good," he mentioned.

"Cool."

"It's true, huh?" Jason asked.

Audra sighed. "Yes, it's true."

Jason grunted in a typical boyish manner. "What's it like?"

"What is what like?" Audra asked, looking at him.

"Being a girl, I guess."

"What do you think it's like?" Audra asked crossly.

"I dunno. I'm sorry. I don't mean it that way. It's just, well…"

"I hate it."

"Why?" Jason asked before he could stop himself.

Audra stared at him.

"I mean," Jason stammered, "you're pretty and smart..."

"You think I'm pretty?" Audra asked, incredulous.

"Well, yeah, I do."

"Um… I'll be right back." Audra fled to the house.

Susie watched her sister run to the house as she stomped up to where Jason was sitting. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing!" Jason replied, defensively. "I just said that she was pretty."

Susie rolled her eyes, "Boys!"

"What?!?" Jason looked around. "I don't get it!"

Susie ran after her sister.

***

"Audra, what's the problem?" Susie asked after she had caught up.

"Nothing." Audra replied tersely.

"You're crying! Something must be wrong."

"Nothing is wrong. Nothing!"

"Is it what Jason said?"

"No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know!"

"You are, you know. Pretty, I mean," Susie told her.

"He's a boy!" Audra shouted.

"So?"

"I'm a boy!"

"You are not! You're a girl! Why can't you accept the facts?"

Audra raised her tear streaked face and looked at Susie. "I'm neither, I'm a freak. I was made into a girl, but I never wanted to be one. I don't fit in with boys or girls now. I don't know how to be a girl and I'm not allowed to be a boy."

"I…"

"Just leave me alone right now Susie."

***

Susie wandered back out to the pool party feeling depressed. Jason hadn't meant any harm with his comment, but Audra was obviously still having a hard time and wasn't prepared to hear them.

"Is she okay Susie?" Jason asked anxiously.

"She'll be okay, just give her a minute," Susie told him.

"What did I do wrong?"

Susie sighed. "Nothing, really. Audra just isn't ready to have a boy tell her she's pretty."

"Oh."

 

Chapter 24: Acceptance

"Hey sport! Why aren't you out at the pool?" Ken asked as he wandered into the kitchen.

"I just needed to be alone for a while," Audra told him.

"Is that why you ran off?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe? What did Jason say?" Ken asked.

"He said I was pretty," Audra said.

"And?"

"He's a boy!"

"You know, Audra, life didn't end with him telling you that you're pretty."

"I know. It's just that it, well, feels strange."

"You know, more than anything, I wish this hadn't have happened," Ken told her seriously.

"Yeah, I know."

"No you don't. I would have never have wished this on you in a million years, but there is something more special about you now that it's happened."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. I can't put my finger on it, but it's there. Other people see it too. I think Jason saw it."

"I don't understand," Audra replied, confused.

"Neither do I. All I know is, as great a guy as Aaron was, Audra has become him and more. Why don't you come back out to the pool and have some fun. You could use some, you know."

Audra nodded absently and Ken could see that she was thinking about what he had said.

***

"Hey slugger!"

"Daddy! Why are you home?"

"It was a light day at the office, so I decided to take an early day of it. Why the long face?" James asked.

"It's nothing," Audra hedged.

"What happened?"

"Am I that obvious?"

"To me. Give."

Audra proceeded to tell her father the story from the pool and then Ken's chat afterwards. She hadn't gone back to the pool because she had been thinking about what Ken had told her.

"He's right you know," James told his daughter.

"I…"

"Did you know that Ken blames himself for what happened?"

"No!"

"Yes, he does. He feels that since he's your older brother that he should have protected you. He felt it again after that incident at the baseball game."

"Why?"

"Because he loves you. We all love you. All we really want is for you to be happy. It's hard, I know, but it seemed like the best choice of a bad lot."

"I know, I guess, but nothing seems to be right anymore," Audra cried.

James pulled his daughter into a hug. "It takes time. It's time for you to heal, time for you to adapt, and time for everyone else to adapt. You're strong, Audra, I know you can do it."

Audra continued to cry into her father's chest as he gently rocked her. Soon, she fell asleep, but yet he held her.

***

Marianne walked into the kitchen to see her husband cradling a sleeping Audra. Even from the door, Marianne could see that Audra had been crying. "Is she okay?" Marianne whispered.

James nodded. "I think she hit a crisis point today," he whispered back.

"What?"

"Jason told her she was pretty."

Marianne's eyebrows rose as Audra began to wake up. "Good afternoon sleepyhead! Do you feel better?" Marianne asked her kindly.

Audra nodded and that looked suddenly surprised at where she was. "I fell asleep? Here?"

James and Marianne laughed. "You did slugger," James told her.

"How long?"

"About an hour."

"Thank you Daddy," Audra said as she kissed her father on the cheek.

"Why don't you go back out to the pool party Audra?" Marianne suggested.

"Okay Mommy," Audra agreed as she scampered back out to the pool area.

Marianne raised her eyebrow again. "I think she may have turned a corner," she noted.

James nodded and smiled.

***

Jason looked up as a shadow crossed the chair he was in. "Hey Jase. Sorry I ran off," Audra told him as she sat down in the chair next to him.

"No prob."

"So, do you really think I'm pretty?"

Jason could only nod and smile.

   

   

   

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