Somebody To Hold (Book 0.5) (AU series) - INTERSEX

Chapter Fifteen

I made it through the night without being yanked out of Dr. Montega's house. She insists on me calling her Kelsie, but she is older than I am. Not my mother's age, but nearly ten years older than me, so I want to be respectful. No matter how many times I stated I'd sleep on the couch, she made me sleep on her bed. I only lasted 20 minutes alone in her room before I bursted into tears and felt her crawl into bed next to me and swaddle me in her arms.

I slept there for the majority of the night while she rubbed my stomach to fall asleep. There was nothing sexual about it. It was more like she wanted to look after me. As if she were my mother, or at the very least, an upgrade to my mine. My mother would never swaddle me. I'm convinced my parents locked me in a room until I stopped crying as a kid.

I'm in Kelsie's arms right now. She snores, lightly though. Not obnoxiously. I lay there in her embrace, savoring the warmth and security she provided. When I look down, her arms are still wrapped around my stomach. I assumed she was sleeping until I felt her fingertips delicately glide across my exposed belly, realizing my shirt had ridden up a bit. My first instinct is to tense up in response to her touch, but instead, I sigh and start crying again. She brushes my hair away from my face and softly hushes me, just as she did last night.

"Josephine dear, please don't cry. I know your hormones are all over the place because of the baby, but I've told you you're safe here."

I nod my head and wipe my tears. "I know. I just..." I breathe in deeply. "I've never been held before. Not like this. Not in the way that makes me feel... safe."

"Oh honey." Tears fall down my cheeks more forcefully, and she grips me even more tightly. We stay like this for about 10 minutes until she gets me up to help her make breakfast. She plays music and dances carefree around the kitchen as I grin at her. For the first time, I saw how mesmerizing she is. She has laugh lines around her mouth and a cute indentation between her brows. Her nails are long and blue, and she has curves that fit her perfectly. Not only does she look stunning on the outside, but she is also beautiful on the inside from what I've seen so far with her willingness to help me.

"Eat up," she says this as she sets a dish of eggs, bacon, and fruit in front of me. Her tone is both authoritative and reassuring, as if she means no harm and is only concerned about me and my child's well-being. "I have two patients today. You can come with me if you like, and we can take a look at the little one." I rub my stomach and take a bite of my strawberry.

"You can do that?"

"Legally, no. But I need to make sure everything is okay." She sips her coffee and takes a bite of her bagel.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because I once was you... minus the pregnancy. I don't want kids of my own for fear I'll be like my father. I had an abusive and controlling parent, and I wished every day I had the help I needed to get out of the situation."

I nod and push my eggs around on my plate. "Is he still around?"

"My father? No. He died a few years ago from liver failure. He drank too much. I was the only one that could donate a liver and made the decision not to. He died six months after."

"That doesn't haunt you? Not helping him live?"

She looks towards the microwave clock as if she was thinking. "He lived his life the way he wanted to. I owed that man nothing. Maybe if he weren't so abusive, I would have considered it, but it's not on my conscience. My hands were washed clean of him after my brother and I left at 18. We were lucky to have left with our lives intact, and so are you. Some people aren't as lucky."

"Yeah," I whispered, sipping my juice.

"After the clinic, we can go and get you some more clothes. We can even find out the sex of the baby to get them some clothes if you'd like. You're due any day now."