Page 45 of Breadwinner
“Wren needs help,” Lily said quickly, “and I’m not sure, but I think it needs to be you.”
Her eyes shifted from Lily to Wren and back as she stood, quickly assessing the situation.
She came around her desk, heart catching as she took in the look of pure worry and panic on Wren’s face, her eyes shining with the hint of tears threatening to spill.
“Wren, sweetie, come in,” Sarah said gently. “Lily, wait outside for a few minutes so I can speak with Wren privately,” she added, unsure exactly what kind of trouble Wren might be in, her instinct to protect Lily swooping in.
Lily nodded, immediately slipping back into the reception area, the door clicking behind her. The second it shut, Wren crumbled.
Sarah barely had time to open her arms before Wren collapsed into them, sobbing with a raw, full-body sound that nearly knocked the air from Sarah’s lungs. She held her tightly, one hand smoothing circles over Wren’s back, the other steadying them both as they stood there in the middle of her office, Wren clinging to her like a life raft.
“It’s okay,” Sarah said softly against brown curls, as she held Wren tight. “You’re safe. You’re okay.”
Sarah didn’t rush her. She let Wren fall apart, take as long as she needed, until the full-body tears softened into shudders and then to shaky breaths. When Wren finally pulled back, her face was blotchy and tear-streaked, her eyes cast down in embarrassment. Sarah crouched slightly, gently guiding her into one of the chairs in front of her desk.
“Take your time,” she said, sitting in the chair beside her, hands on the armrests of Wren’s chair. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Wren took a shaking breath, her eyes rooted to the floor. “I’m in trouble, and you’re the only person I could think of who mightbe able to help.” A pause. Then, all at once, the words began tumbling out. “My aunt, she found something—a note. It was just something I wrote after practice. I didn’t mean for anyone to see it. I don’t even... no one was supposed to...” Wren’s voice cracked as she gulped air, trying to calm herself and push through her scrambled thoughts.
“What did the note say, Wren?” Sarah asked gently, squeezing Wren’s shoulder.
“That I think I’m gay,” she said, between hiccups.
Sarah’s heart broke for Wren, understanding all too well what it was like to feel so lonely in that realization. Not knowing what to do or where to start, and the overwhelming fear of what it all means. She stayed completely still, calm and focused, letting Wren steer the conversation.
“And then my aunt found it the other day when she was going through my stuff. She’s been weird for weeks, snapping at me for no reason, and now she says she’s going to tell my parents. I think she doesn’t want to be my guardian anymore, and this is her excuse to get rid of me.”
Sarah felt a wave of protective anger welling up. Part of her itched to pick up the phone right now and call Wren’s aunt to chew her out for being one of the worst people Sarah had ever known, but she knew that wouldn’t help the situation. Instead, she kept her expression measured.
“Okay,” she said quietly, trying to think of the best way she could help Wren. “And what would that mean, if your parents found out?”
Wren swallowed. “Nothing good. They’ll make me come home, to Spokane. They’ll pull me out of soccer. They’ll say it’s corrupting me or something. And they’ll make me go to their church again.”
“Their church?” Sarah frowned. This was the first time Wren had told her anything about her parents, other than the fact that they lived in Spokane.
“Yeah.” Wren sniffed, wiping her nose with the sleeve of the Puget Sound Pride hoodie she was wearing. “They got really into this new church a few years ago. You know, for community stuff, like potlucks and volunteering, but then it got really intense. They started talking about how women should be obedient and serve their husbands, and how being gay is a choice, and that all gay people are corrupting children and deserve to go to hell. I really started noticing what they said about people on the news and at school ... and people like me...”
Sarah felt something break inside her, knowing exactly what it felt like to hear the people you love say such terrible and untrue things.
“I can’t go back there,” Wren said, the words bringing tears to her eyes immediately.
Sarah pulled her chair closer. “Have your parents or your aunt ever been physically abusive, or threatened you with violence?”
Wren shook her head. “No. It’s not like that. There’s a lot of yelling and name-calling, and the church stuff, and sometimes my dad drinks more than he should, and it’s just emotionally a lot.”
Sarah exhaled slowly. “That’s still harm, Wren, and it matters.”
“I want to get emancipated, Sarah,” Wren said. “I’m serious. I looked it up. I’ve already been living apart from them for almost a year, and technically, I have a job playing soccer, and my grades are solid. I could qualify, right?”
Sarah didn’t answer right away.
“You’re already seventeen,” Sarah said gently. “You’ll be legally an adult in six months. Do you think you can hang onuntil then?” Sarah immediately hated herself for asking that. She knew exactly how severe this situation was. She had been Wren once: afraid and alone, without a plan. “Emancipation is a really big move. I’m not saying we can’t explore it, but it does mean legally separating yourself from your family, forever.”
“I know,” Wren said immediately. “But you don’t understand. My aunt—she’ll do it. She’ll tell my parents, and once that happens, everything changes. They’ll take away everything I love.”
Sarah sat back, pressing a hand to her mouth for a moment as she processed. This was bigger than anything Wren had ever said out loud, and she could see the toll it had taken, how carefully Wren had been holding all of this in.
“The worst part,” Wren added, barely above a whisper, “is that they weren’t always like this. When I was little, they were a lot of fun. My mom used to let me stay up late watching Women’s World Cup reruns with her. Now, she says soccer is full of ‘lifestyle propaganda.’”