My Secret Love Song #TransPRIDE

28. Milo's New Name

~Milo POV~

"Are you ready for this?" 

Mika asked as stood in front of the concrete steps to the Los Angeles family courthouse. I gave him a small nod with a nervous gulp and he chuckles slightly, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. 

"Hey, I can tell you from experience that you'll be just fine. All they want to do is make sure you are who you say you are and you're not trying to take someone else's identity." He says but it doesn't make me feel any better. I had never been to court before and I never wanted to. 

But Mika is a big corporate lawyer for Grayson Tech and before that he was a defense lawyer with a long resume and impressive track record. He basically lived and breathed the law so this was nothing to him. But this was life changing to me.

"Thank you for taking time out of your day to do this with me. I really appreciate it," I thank him as we start walking up the stairs and he smiles.

"Milo, I meant what I said in the hospital. I know what it's like to grow up without a family and it sucks to have no one in your corner with no one there to support you. Since I'm intersex, I was also assigned female at birth. But I grew up in a very small village on the outskirts of South Korea and when I tried to tell my family that I was a boy, they said I was an abomination and tried to kill me," He confesses and my mouth drops. 

"So believe me when I say that you are like another son to us. Sure, I know it looked like Pierce wasn't all too happy with my decision but it wasn't because of you personally. He's always been overly protective of Kailani since the moment she was born. So it wasn't you, he just doesn't want anyone touching his baby," He explains as we go through the security line and make our way to the courtroom. He pulls my folder out of his briefcase and looks through a few things as we get into the elevator.

"I hope you know that I would never do anything to hurt Kai," I tell him honestly and he rolls his eyes instead.

"I know that. You're a kind, respectful young man and I have faith in you. But whether or not things work out between you two, I will always be proud to consider you my adopted son." He says and I was in a state of disbelief from his kindness. 

While waiting for our appointment, he turns to me and gently fixes my tie.

"Sophia Evans?" 

They call out my dead name and Mika pats my shoulders.

"Relax," 

***

"Milo Jacob Evans, look at you," Mika congratulates me as we walk out of the courtroom together and I hold onto my permanent name change certificate. He gently ruffles my hair and we walk down the stairs and back to the car before looking at his watch.

"Oh perfect timing too, we can go pick up Kai's present," he says and I clutch my paperwork to my chest.

"Wait, what kind of pre-" 

But we're both suddenly disturbed by a woman screaming her way through the middle of the parking lot. She's an older woman with reddened brown eyes, dirty dark brown hair that looked like it was in a birds nest, a dirty white shirt covered in brown stains and white powder, the short sleeves showing off her wrinkled arms covered in purple bruises and injection marks, her shorts nearly in tatters. 

I froze in place and my smile disappeared as my mother walked towards us. 

"Who's that? Do you know her?" Mika tries to ask me but I was at a loss of words. 

"SOPHIA! SOPHIE BABY IT'S MAMA! THE WOMAN YOU ABANDONED!" She screamed and I blinked a few times. She tries to get a hold of me but Mika quickly stands between us.