Genomorph

Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

Dear Mom,

Do you believe in love at first sight? I met someone last night, a girl named Melissa. Three goons were attacking her in an alley and of course you know me. Don’t worry I didn’t hurt them too much.

I feel something when I look at Melissa…it’s more than just sexual attraction, much more. I felt it from the moment I first saw her. She’s not very big, about five six, but she was not going to go down without a fight. Then when we got back to her house and she told me she’s a lesbian…well I had to take a long hot bath and I finally broke in the vibrator I bought. It was definitely interesting. The feeling of having it inside me was incredible. The only problem is now I find myself thinking more of what it will be like with the real thing.

Could it be that even though I am programmed to be bisexual, that I still retain a preference for women? Even in the few days I have been out in the world I have had to fend off plenty of advances from men, and it is by no means easy. But I know that if Melissa were to make a pass at me I wouldn’t be able to resist, and that adds another level of concern. How can I ever know for sure if it’s me or just my programming that is causing these feelings?

The oddest thing about her is she seems very familiar to me. I have searched my memory though and I am sure I never met her before. Of course it would have had to be as Brandon, and it has been years since I was in California. But I can’t shake the feeling that there is something familiar about her.

Her roommate Karen is really nice too. She’s a bit more reserved than Melissa though in no way any less spirited.

I don’t know what I’m going to do. They are looking for a roommate and I am looking for a place to live. I’ve spent the whole night walking up and down the beach, trying to come to a decision. As I sit here looking out on the ocean as the first rays of the sun hit it from the east, I think I could really fall in love with this place. Actually I already have…

Bye for now,

Brandi

The sun was well up in the sky when Brandi returned to the house. Melissa was seated at the dining room table, drinking a cup of coffee and browsing through the morning paper as Brandi entered. She looked up and smiled when she heard the door open.

“Have you been out all night?” Melissa asked as Brandi walked in. “I looked in on you when I got up and it didn’t look like you had slept in your bed.”

“I don’t really sleep that much and I had a lot of thinking to do,” Brandi said. “How’s your face?”

“It hurts like hell,” Melissa replied. Brandi stepped over to her, lifting Melissa’s face and gently touching her left cheek. “Karen’s getting dressed right now so she can take me to the ER.”

“You might have a fractured cheek bone,” Brandi said, a look of concern on her face. Melissa’s left eye was now swollen shut and she was obviously in a great deal of discomfort.

“It’s good that you’re having it looked at…”

Brandi cut her words short as she felt a tingling sensation in her fingers; the same sensation she felt when her body was healing. She started to pull her hand away but then saw that the swelling was decreasing. As she watched, Melissa’s eye slowly opened and the discoloration decreased significantly.

Melissa felt the same pleasant tingling sensation, and in seconds the pain in her face was gone. The pressure seemed to ease and she realized she could now see through her left eye.

“Wow, it doesn’t hurt anymore!” Melissa exclaimed, her hand flying to her cheek. It was still a bit tender but the swelling had obviously gone down considerably. Her own eyes widened and she bolted out of her chair, rushing to the bathroom in the back hall.

She was gone for several minutes, and when she returned, Brandi was sitting at the table with a sullen expression on her face.

~ So much for worrying about when I tell them. How the hell did I do that? ~

Melissa said nothing as she returned to her seat, just stared at Brandi expectantly.

“What’s going on?” Karen asked. She had emerged from her bedroom just as Melissa came out of the bathroom. In answer, Melissa turned her face so Karen could see the left side. There was still some swelling and redness, but the injury was significantly healed.

“Brandi touched it and …,” Melissa said, not sure how to describe what had happened. She and Karen both turned to look at their new friend.

“I didn’t know I could do that,” Brandi said quietly. “You better both have a seat, this is gonna take some explaining.”

Over the next thirty minutes Brandi told them her story. She gave them the whole truth; the mission in Iraq that had left Brandon scarred and crippled; the offer from Susan, everything about who she had been and how she had become the person she was now. By the time she finished she was struggling to keep her tears in.

Melissa was silent for a moment, and Brandi buried her face in her hands. She was hoping she had not just made a terrible mistake, afraid that they would ask her to leave. Then she felt a gentle touch, and Melissa pulled her hands away and then stroked her face.

“Oh Brandi … I knew there was something about you but I had no idea ….”

Brandi pressed her face into Melissa’s hand, craving the contact, and then Melissa rose, knelt before her and pulled her into a tight embrace. Karen joined them and they held her as she cried herself out.

Finally, they separated and when Brandi looked into Melissa’s face she saw a strange expression there. Karen looked stunned, but then who could blame her.

“There’s one more thing you need to know,” Brandi said. “The day before I came to LA … I killed a man.”

She told them about the hijacking of Arnie’s truck and then paused a moment before saying, “I understand if you want me to leave.”

“No, no, not at all,” Melissa assured her. “I was just thinking that my whole world view has just been radically altered. Yesterday, I had this neat little picture of the world and now it’s totally changed. It’s like that movie ‘Men in Black’, when Tommy Lee Jones tells Will Smith, ‘Imagine what you’ll know tomorrow’.”

At the mention of that particular movie Brandi stiffened noticeably, and Melissa’s mouth formed an O.

“I guess that movie isn’t as funny to you anymore, since you have the real thing after you,” Karen remarked.

“Yes, I do, and that’s why you both have to be very certain about this,” Brandi said with a deadly seriousness to her voice. “These people aren’t going to pull out a ‘flashy thing’ and erase your memory if they come. At best they would lock you away somewhere and at worst they … they ….”

“They’ll kill us,” Melissa said, and then she reached out and caressed Brandi’s cheek once more. There was a look of fiery determination in her eyes. “Then let’s just make sure they don’t find you, because I swear they’ll have to drag you away over my dead body.”

Brandi looked from Melissa to Karen, who nodded her head and put her hand on Brandi’s shoulder.

“Dammit, now I’m gonna cry again!” Brandi said.