Blackmail

Chapter 9

Antonio stares at me shocked. I shrink back a bit in fear. He comes over and hugs me.
"I'm sorry Max. I'm so so sorry," he apologizes. Alex and my other friends stand there watching. Cody and Julie run in the direction that the girls left. I watch in silence as Anna and Milly stare after them. Alex stands there looking out of place.
Anna walks over to him and give him a hug. He hugs her back and I smile sadly. Milly walks over and joins the hug. My other brothers walk over to us.
Mike and Dan sit down beside me and Antonio. Dan grabs my hand and squeezes it reassuringly. Mike rubs my back and I lean against him. Cody and Julie walk back over to us.
Antonio looks up at them and they shake their heads sadly. I tense up. They're going to tell our parents and then I'll be kicked out. I will never get to see my friends or my brothers again.
My vision starts to go blurry and I grasp onto Dan's hand. He looks over at me concerned. My breathing quickens as my brothers try to calm me down.
"Stop crowding around him. Give him some space," a voice says. My brothers walk away from me and a person crouches in front of me.
"Okay. We're going to do a breathing exercise. Breath in for four seconds," they say. I try to breath in but my breath catches and I start to panic even more.
" Its okay Max. Try again, " they encourage me. I collect my thoughts and breath in for four seconds.
"Now hold your breath for seven seconds. I hold my breath for seven seconds and my vision starts to come back to me.
"Now breath out for eight seconds," the voice, that I now recognize as Alex's, says. I breath out for eight seconds. We repeat the exercise a couple of times until I feel calm again. He smiles at me.
"There you go," he says. I smile at him and he gently wraps his arms around me, leaving me room to slip out if I need to. I lean into his chest and sigh.
"I really don't want to go back there," I tell them. My brothers looks at me sadly. They know what our parents are going to do. My phone goes off and I stop everything I'm doing.
I glance at my friends and pull put my phone. I go into my messages and see one from my mother. My brothers had gone off at the same time and I knew I'm in trouble.
Family Group Chat
Mother: WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?
Stepfather: COME HOME NOW AND EXPLAIN!
Lila: What's going on?
Lily: And please stop yelling.
I look over at my brothers. Milly and Cody stand over by Dan who's showing them his phone. Anna and Julie are over with Antonio who looks about ready to cry. Mike and Alex stand beside me.
Stepfather: Oh you want to know what's going on? Well I'll tell you! Mia is a trans freak!
I flinch as I see that text. Alex grabs my hand and rubs circles on the back of it. I smile at him sadly.
Lila: Why would something like that matter. They can be who they want to be.
I smile at Lila's use of pronouns. She doesn't know if it's true or not so she used neutral ones as not to offend me. But that might anger the parentals.
Stepfather: YOU KNOW WHAT I DON'T CARE! GET THE HELL HOME NOW!
Well I was right in thinking that would anger them. I look over at my brothers and they nod slowly. I give Alex a hug and walk over to my other friends.
"I'll talk to you guys later," I say. They wave and I walk to my Mike's car. I get in and watch my friends as we drive off. They wave to me and I wave back sadly.
I look out the window for the entire ride home, not wanting to go there. Antonio sits beside me and goes on his phone. Mike pulls up to the house. Dan and him turn around to face me.
"No matter what we aren't leaving you. If they kick you out, we're leaving too," Dan says. I nod slowly. I get out of the car and walk with my brothers to the front door.
I hesitate on the steps. My blood runs cold as I hear Lila scream. I burst through the front door and see my stepfather holding her up by her arm.
I look around and see Lily hiding behind the couch, her usual spot for when something like this happens. My mother walks out of the kitchen with a butchers knife in her hand.
I stare wide eyed at my mother. She walks over to my stepfather. I run over and kick him in the back of his knee. He drops Lila, whom Mike grabs, and falls to the ground.
Lily runs over to Dan who picks her up in his arms. He walks out the front door, supposedly to put her in the car. My mother stands there clutching the knife in front of her.
My stepfather picks himself off of the floor and walks over to my mother. She hands him the knife and he smirks over at me. Out of the corner of my eye I see Dan walk back in. Mike hands him Lila and he walks back out to the car.
My stepfather strides towards me and slashes at my right arm. He tears through the skin before I can move away. I wince in pain and try to move farther away from him.
"Aw. Is someone scared?" He asks menacingly. I shake my head no defiantly. Antonio walks out, frantically talking to someone on the phone.
Mike tries to come over to me but our mother holds him back. My stepfather comes at me again, cutting me repeatedly with the knife. The last thing I see is Mike getting out of our mother's arms before I fall to the floor.