After I Dressed as a Man, He Mistook Me for His Rival Chapter 07

After I Dressed as a Man, He Mistook Me for His Rival Chapter 07

Tavish sat beside me and stayed through the night while the IV dripped.

At some point, he seemed to remember something.

“Where’s your phone?”

His tone turned teasing. “A girl’s out all night, and she doesn’t check in?”

“Your parents are going to think I kidnapped you.”

I stared at the empty chat box and went blank for a long time.

Mom was an award-winning honors teacher. She never raised her voice at students, much less laid a hand on them.

She believed girls should be cherished. Boys could tough things out.

At first, she never touched me either.

But after years of calling me her son, she and Dad seemed to forget I was their daughter.

The first time it happened, Maribel and I were fighting over a slice of cake. She started crying, and Mom slapped me before I could even speak.

“Sutton, you disappoint me.”

“You’re her little brother. Shouldn’t you let your sister have it?”

The second the slap landed, both she and Dad froze.

That night, Mom came into my room and apologized in a whisper.

She cried while putting ointment on my cheek.

“I’m sorry, Sutton.”

“Mom forgot you were a girl…”

She promised she would never lay a hand on me again, and she kept that promise.

Until tonight.

This was the second time she had raised her hand against me.

But the apology I kept waiting for never came.

So I turned off my phone.

By morning, after the last IV bag emptied, I washed up quickly.

I was changing when Tavish called from outside.

“Sutton?”

He pushed the door open with a towel in his hand.

Then he finally realized what he had done.

His ears turned red all the way to the tips. He squeezed his eyes shut and backed out fast.

“Uh… sorry. I forgot you were a girl.”

I felt awkward too.

After all these years, he seemed to be the first person around me who had found out the truth.

“It’s fine.”

By the time we caught the bus, morning rush had already started.

The aisle was packed, but Tavish still managed to find me a seat.

“Sit, Sutton.”

He stood beside me with one hand in his pocket, leaning lazily against the pole.

But somehow, he still kept himself between me and the crowd, blocking people from bumping into me.

I lowered my head, suddenly unsure what to do with myself.

“Thanks.”

“Give me your backpack. I can hold it.”

Tavish looked down at me and pressed his fingertips lightly against my forehead.

“No. Take care of yourself first.”

There was a smile tucked into his voice.