A long time ago...
"You look very handsome, dear." Her mother cooed, pinching her cheek tightly, making her wince in discomfort.
"Thanks, mom." She smiled awkwardly, looking at herself in the mirror and seeing her mother's wide beam over her shoulder.
She always hated the galas. Her father and Richard Price would have them at least once a year to fund whatever drug mafia thing they had going on. When she was younger, they told her it was for charity, but since she turned twelve, she was considered 'a man now' and ready to be a part of the family business. So it was all drug deals and murder and guns and all that fun stuff that she wanted absolutely no part of. But God did she love the money.
The designer shoes, the expensive shirts. Hell, even her socks were gucci. It was phenomenal - if only she didn't think about where that money came from. Or how her father was likely going to disown her when she told him the truth. Today, she had decided it was the best time. He was usually in his best moods on gala days, nothing could drag him down. Except for maybe the realisation that his son wasn't actually his son.
But rather his daughter.
"Your father wants to see you, when you're ready." Her mother patted her shoulder before exiting the room.
She stared at herself in the mirror, deep into her own eyes and wondered - what was her name? The one she was given didn't seem to fit anymore, like an old sweater that was too loose; but not in a cosy way, in a way where the fabric was warped beyond recognition, hanging awkwardly.
Daisy? Too flowery.
Patricia? Too 70's.
Opal? Maybe.
"Pearl." She said quietly, watching her smile widen in the mirror.
"Hi." She said to her reflection, holding out a hand, "My name is Pearl Montgomery."
"Son?"
Pearl whirled around to see her father standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame and watching her with a raised eyebrow.
"F-father, I...I..."
Her father observed her silently, a blank expression on his features.
"I'm a girl." She stated firmly.
She expected her father to fly off the rails, to grow red in the face and scream obscenities at her. Instead, he swept her into a tight hug, swinging her back and forth, a wide grin on his face. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him smile.
"You have no idea how happy you have just made me. You've fixed everything."
Those words should have been everything she wanted to hear; love from her father who had withheld it from her for her entire life. Yet...she felt nothing. She hung loosely in his grip, wondering why the feeling of acceptance panged hollowly in her chest.
YOU ARE READING
Don't Stand By Me (COMPLETE)
Teen Fiction| WATTYS 2022+2023 SHORTLIST! | Becoming a grown-up is something you dream of since you're six years old, wondering if you're going to become a princess, or an astronaut, or president. In reality? You're a twenty two year old college graduate trappe...
