Her thoughts were still spinning when a sudden knock echoed through the room.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
She flinched, her heart jumping to her throat.
"Denver?" a familiar voice called from the other side of the door. "Are you awake?"
Her blood ran cold that voice, she knew it too well it was her little brother. Her hand trembled as she slowly turned toward the door. The name still echoed in her mind. Denver, that was her name or rather… his name.
"Bro?" the voice called again, louder this time. "Mom's asking if you're still sleeping. You've been in there since yesterday."
Her mind raced. What was she supposed to say? How could she explain this? How could she even open the door like this?
Her reflection stared back at her in panic.
"What am I supposed to do…?"
"What will he think when he sees me? c'mon think of a plan!"
"D-Denver?" her brother called once more, knocking harder. "Are you okay in there?"
She opened her mouth, but no words came out her heart hammered in her chest. She swallowed, then tried to speak.
"Y-Yeah… I'm up," she said.
The moment the words left her mouth, she froze. Her voice was wrong, it was lighter, softer, and higher than she remembered.
She cleared her throat, forcing it deeper. "Uh… I mean, yeah. I'm fine."
There was a brief silence outside the door.
"…You sound weird," her little brother said suspiciously.
Her stomach dropped.
"I-I just woke up," she replied quickly, trying again to lower her tone. "My throat's kind of dry didn't sleep well last night."
Another pause.
"Are you sick?"
"No!" she said a bit too fast, then quickly added, "I mean no, I'm okay just tired."
She pressed a hand over her mouth, trying to adjust her voice, practicing under her breath.
"Lower… deeper… like before…"
Her little brother sighed. "Mom said you skipped dinner yesterday. You sure you're okay, bro?"
"Y-Yeah. I'll come out in a bit," she said, forcing a rough laugh. "Just… changing."
"…Okay," he replied, still sounding unsure. "Don't take too long."
His footsteps slowly faded down the hallway, she exhaled shakily her back sliding down the door as she collapsed against it.
"That was close…" she whispered.
Then she froze again.
"I said I'm changing…"
She looked down at her new body and felt her face burn.
"…Yeah. I guess I did change a lot."
After a couple of minutes she stayed frozen against the door, listening to the footsteps… then they stopped.
Her heart sank.
"…are you still in there?"
The handle rattled and almost instantly she immediately jolted upright.
"Wait!"
But she was a second to late as the door knob turned.
Click.
It didn't open because she had already locked it in advance but the sound was loud enough to make her forgot.
"Uhm why did you lock your door?, huh that's weird" her little brother asked, his voice now full of suspicion. "You never lock it before."
Her mind went blank.
"I-I was just… uh… changing clothes, yeah" she said, trying to deepen her voice again.
"Changing clothes?" he repeated slowly. "Are you for real for this long?"
The handle rattled again, harder this time.
"Hey just open the damn door you're acting suspicious"
Her hands shook. She pressed her back against the door, as if her body alone could keep it shut.
"I said I'm fine!" she snapped, her voice cracking at the end.
For a moment there was silence and then there was a rattling of keys then footsteps approaching closer.
"I guess you leave me no choice, I'm coming in" her little brother said.
Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
"Don't!"
She grabbed the handle from her side, twisting the lock to make sure it was secure.
"Bro, what's wrong with you?" he demanded. "You're acting really weird today."
She swallowed hard, sweat forming on her palms.
"Just… give me a minute," she said more softly. "Please."
There was a long pause on the other side of the door then, reluctantly, his footsteps backed away.
"…Fine. But I'm telling Mom if you keep acting like this."
She heard him walk down the hallway only when his footsteps disappeared did she finally slide down the door, her legs giving out.
"That was way too close…" she whispered.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror, her heart still racing.
"If he sees me like this… what would he think?"