Mistakes

Nine

Luke

"What do you mean she fainted?" I asked Calum.

"She asked me if Ash was really her dad and I said yeah and she fainted!" He told us.

We all looked back at Ashton, who was on his phone. Michael snatched his phone out his hands, and put it in his pocket.

"Give that back." Ashton whined.

"We're talking about your daughter, and you're on your phone? What a great dad." Michael told Ashton off.

"I'm new to this stuff, sorry!"

"You're the one who even went to get her. I told you it wasn't worth it. Now you have to take care of her. She's your child now." I told him.

"I didn't want her to feel bad." Ashton shrugged. "And I didn't want to adopt anyways."

"I said sorry!" Michael shouted.

Dale moaned from behind us. We all looked back at her, who was waking up. She was laying in bed, her hair messed up from Michael picking her up.

She stared at me, then Michael, then Calum. But she didn't even glance at Ashton. She looked like she was going to cry.

"What happened, Dale?" Calum sat on the edge of her bed.

She finally looked at Ashton, who was on his phone again. I wanted to throw that phone out the window.

Dale shook her head no.

"What?" Calum asked.

She shook her head no again.

"I know!" Michael ran out the room.

We all stood in awkward silence. Michael came running back with paper and pen. He gave it to Dale, who immediately began writing on it. It looked like she was writing a paragraph. Once she was done, she gave it to Calum, who read the first word and gave it to Ashton.

When he got it, he read it silently, I tried to take a peek at what it said, but Calum pulled me away from being able to see. He pulled me next to him on the edge of the bed. I sat, and stared at Dale. She looked tired, and hungry.

"You hungry?" I asked her.

She shook her head no.

"You tired?" I asked her.

She nodded, then shook her head no.

"Yes or no?" Calum asked.

She shook her head no.

"So-"

"Boys." Ashton walked out the room.

"Hold on." I said, walking out into the hall with the others.

"What?" Michael asked Ashton.

"Look." He gave him the paper.

I looked over Michael's shoulder and read it silently.

"Ashton, Don't you get it? I am a boy. And I'm not your son."

"Oh god." Michael giggled. "She burned yo-"

"Not the right time, Michael." I cut him off.

"Sorry." Michael gave the paper to Calum.

He read it and put his hand over his mouth, gasping loudly.

"Wait, she's a boy?" Calum asked, sounding stupid.

"No, she's a girl." Ashton told him, sounding angry.

"She said she's a boy." Michael defended her.

"She's a girl." Ashton told him.

"She wants to be a boy." I told Calum in case it still wasn't clear to him.

"Oh." He made a confused face, like he still didn't understand.

"I'm not keeping the little brat." Ashton muttered.

"WHAT?!" I shouted, absolutely enraged.

"Don't shout! Michael go check on her!" Ashton said.

Michael and Calum walked into her room, starting conversations.

"First you get her, I mean him, because you don't want him to feel bad, and now you want to give him back? That's worse than not taking him in the first place!" I told him.

"Oh, well."

"Why?"

"Because." he shrugged.

"Because what?"

"Because, it's not normal for a girl to want to be a boy."

"It's called transgender. The lady at the orphanage told you didn't she?"

"I didn't know what it was."

"So what if he wants to be a boy? Let him be a boy."

"I don't want her to. She was born a girl so she's staying a girl."

"It doesn't matter what he was born. If he wants to be a boy now, let him."

"You don't understand."

"No, you don't."

"She's sick in the head. Who would want to be the opposite gender they were born?"

"Oh my god. It's not a sickness, it's who he feels he is."

"SHE!"

"What's wrong with him wanting to be a boy? If I wanted to be a girl, what would you do?"

"I'd get you out of my sight."

"You're disgusting."

"No, she is."

"HE'S YOU'RE SON!"

"IT'S SHE AND SHE ISN'T MY SON. SHE'S MY DAUGHTER. IF I DON'T WANT MY DAUGHTER TO BE LIKE THAT THEN SHE SHOULDN'T."

"HE CAN HERE YOU!" Michael stuck his head out the room. "YOU MADE HIM CRY."

"SHE!" Ashton yelled.

"HE!" Calum poked his head out the room too.

"SHE!" Ashton yelled.

"HE!" Michael, Calum and I yelled.

"You're all sick." Ashton spat.

He stomped down the stairs.

"HE!" We yelled again.

Dale sobbed loudly in her room. Michael and Calum ran back in, and I ran after Ashton. He can't take Dale back to the orphanage.

He can't.