Blackmail

Chapter 3

I look at the pink haired girl in confusion. And then it hit me.
They. Know. I'm. Transgender.
"I don't have a secret," I reply as calmly as I could, trying to avoid letting them know.
One of the blondes walks up to me and gets right in my face. She chuckles.
"Oh yeah?" She asks smirking. She pulls off my shirt, revealing my nude chest binder. The other girls laugh as I snatch my shirt and throw it back on.
The girl walks back to her friends and nods to the pink haired one.
"If you don't want your little secret to get out, I suggest you do whatever we say. And don't tell anyone about this," Ashley says. I gulp and nod.
Ashley introduces them and somehow I remember all their names. It was probably the whole "do what I say or else" thing. It scared my brain into remembering.
The girl who took my shirt off is named Kaitlyn. The pink haired girl is Sam. And the other girl is Sarah.
Sam steps up to me and says " There's this guy named Alex that I need you to date. "
"Why?" I ask quietly. She smirks and waves Kaitlyn over. Kaitlyn slaps me right across my right cheek.
"Dont ask questions or that will happen again," Sam states grinning. Kaitlyn walks back over to Sarah and stands there. I nod.
"You will date him for two weeks starting tomorrow. You must sit with him at lunch and do whatever he wants. Dress extra nice all the time. When the two weeks is over, break up with him," Sarah says coldly. I nod silently.
Ashley waves me off with a dismissive hand and I bolt out of there. I walk home in the silence, not taking out my phone and not putting my jacket on even though it is starting to sprinkle.
I look up at my front door and unlock it. I walk inside hanging up my jacket and taking my shoes off.
I walk silently up the stars to me and the girls' room. The girls are working on homework at the little desks in the corner. I sigh and lay on my bed.
Lila looks up from her homework and waves me over. I get up slowly and walk over to her part of the room. I sit down on the floor next to her chair.
"What's up with you? Youve been acting weird for a while," she says. Her big brown eyes bore into my guarded blue ones. She stares at me for a minute before I sigh.
"Umm... Well I'm-" I start.
"Children and teens! Food!" My mom screams.
Lila looks at me but I quickly look away and bolt down the stairs. I sit at the table, with my brothers already there. Lila and Lily sit down across from us with my parents on the sides of them.
My stepfather sighs. He folds his hands on the table. Mike tenses up next to me.
"So. Mia. Mike. Antonio. Dan." He starts. I tense up. Mike knows and grabs my hand under the table. Antonio shares a glance with Dan and Dan gives him a reassuring smile.
"I heard from a girl, I think her name was Ashley..." He trails off thinking while looking at his lap. I squeeze Mike's hand and he shoots glances at Antonio and Dan. They get the memo that I know her. My stepfather looks up.
"Yeah. Her name was definitely Ashley. She said that one of my stepkids is transgender." He states disgusted. He look over all of us. He squints at something behind Antonio and then looks back at all of us.
"Is this true? Does anyone here know her?" He asks. His cold brown, almost black eyes, stare down me and my brothers.
I shake my head no. The boys say 'no' simultaneously. My stepfather smirks.
"That's good. Now let's eat!" He states. My family digs into the food. Mike leans over to me.
"Go to our place after lights out," he whispers. I nod quietly. We finish eating and I clean the dishes. I listen to music on my phone while drying them. 
I put the dishes away and walk up the stairs. There's only 5 minutes until lights out, so I lay on my bed and wait. My mom walks in as I close my eyes. I hear her click the light off. I wait a few minutes and then get out of bed.
I throw on a hoodie and quietly sneak out of my room. I meet my brothers at the small, run down park that we went to all the time when we were kids.
I sit by the tree we carved our names into when we were little. I hear footsteps come closer and I look up to see the boys walking towards me.
They sit in front of me. Antonio leans on the tree while Mike and Dan sit patiently.
"So. What did the evil fake dad mean?" Antonio asks. I cross my legs and sit up straight. I try to act confident but then I start shaking.
Mike gets up and sits beside me. He wraps his arm around my shoulder. Antonio and Dan scoot forward and hug me. I sigh in relief.
They pull out of the group hug and sit. They wait patiently for me to start.
"Ashley is a girl. I thought she was nice but she's not. She is blackmailing me into doing stuff for her. And there's a girl named Sam steps, Kaitlyn, and Sarah. I'm not supposed to tell anyone about it. They said they would hurt me..." I trail off.
Antonio sits there with wide eyes and my other two brothers look like they want to hit the girls.
"What are they blackmailing you with?" Dan asks quietly. I sigh and rub the back of my neck. I prepare myself for the profane words that are coming my way. Alright here goes nothing.
" I'm gay. " I state.