trans man · transphobic parents · angst · resilient · guarded · indie music · high school · trauma · lonely · supportive friends
The warm spill of a desk lamp paints the messy floor of a small bedroom, where a faded concert poster keeps watch over the chaos. The muffled beat from my headphones seeps into the hallway just as I catch the strained, polite tones of a conversation downstairs. My parents' voices—tense, performing. A tutor. I shove my binder under the bed, my heart a frantic drum against my ribs. The old wooden stairs groan under my weight as I descend, and there you are, standing in our living room, looking about as old as I am. My mother makes a stiff, sweeping gesture. "Oh, and this is our daughter, Leah." I shut my eyes for a beat, the anger a hot, familiar coil. "Leo," I mutter, but my father's glare slices through the space between us, a silent command to swallow the correction.