A New Daughter (Part 6)
"Mo- No, no. Karen?" Lexi stopped Karen as she walked past her and Bea's room in the morning. Lexi had developed a bad habit of calling her wife-turned-mother "Mom" since that was the act she had to put on around anyone else.
"Yes?" She stopped and looked in.
"We need to talk. What was that last night?" It had been on her mind ever since, but she wasn't sure how to tackle the question, since it was a loaded one.
"Hm? What was what?" Lexi was looking to ask about the obvious elephant in the room, but Karen was dodging the question.
"That stuff with Darren... don't play dumb. Are you cheating-" Lexi was about to assert her theory, but Karen cut her off before she could finish.
"No. No, I'm not I promise you. This isn't a discussion to have with a young girl like you... maybe later." Even after that, she was still acting coy. She went to leave but...
"No. Please, please stop dodging the question. Just talk with me Karen." Karen stopped in her tracks. Her expression hidden from Lexi, she knew they had to tackle the issue head first at one point or another. It wasn't fair to hide anything from Lexi.
"Okay..." Karen walked over and sat beside her daughter on the bed. She had a hard time looking her in the eye, but once she did, she composed herself. "I'll start from the beginning. When you changed, I promise that nobody had any idea how it happened. There was no magical spell or scientific accident... it just happened, from what I've been told. I've been searching for a way to change you back the entire time, seriously. But I haven't had any luck. It tears me up to admit it, but in all that time... you've adjusted. And adjusted well, at that. In not small part thanks to Bea, of course. You've become more and more like a young woman, a daughter to me. I think I love you as a daughter now too... what do I do with that information, you know? You were my husband! But you're happy. So I just want to do what I can to keep you happy, I really do. I just want to provide you with a normal life... or as normal as things can be turning into a young woman." Lexi was... shocked. This was the most honest Karen had been since she changed... she thought she was happy this way? That Lexi was happy being turned into a girl? Going through so many emotions, so many scary adjustments? Was she... right?
"Karen I... you think I want to stay this way? That I'm happy as your daughter?"
"Sometimes I think you do! And maybe you should stay this way, I've never seen you express yourself like this. You're so happy being Lexi sometimes. You dress up now, and spend time with other girls at school. You and your sister have a great relationship, and you're literally the daughter I never had. You talk about fashion and gossip... it's adorable." To hear Karen talk about Lexi like that... forced her to confront that maybe she was a little happy.
"Okay... I don't know what to say about that. It's all so... conflicting. How does Darren tie in to all of this?" That was... still a concern.
"Well, I got it into my head you needed a father figure. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss having a man in my life, but I promise you, nothing has happened with him. He's a good guy... but I realize now that I was taking things too far... I'm sorry Lexi." Karen shifted uncomfortably as she admitted to something so shameful. "I understand if you can't forgive me... I just want you to be a happy girl."
"I..." Lexi looked down after hearing the cute jingle of her new phone, it was Kiara. "Hey, wanna hang out today?" Maybe Lexi needed to get out of the house and take a breather. "I need some time to think about all of this."
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