The Stolen Rose of Harbor Bay

The day I was born, my parents quietly changed the sex on my birth certificate. They did it because my sister made a wish. My sister has always had this dream about herself.

Everyone around her is supposed to be a knight.

Somebody whose whole job is guarding her. "A little brother would be perfect," she said. "Brothers protect their big sisters." They couldn't stand to tell her no.

So they gave her one. Me. After that I kept my hair short. I carried her bag every day like hired help. I took the beatings. Then I turned seventeen, and I met a boy online.

As myself. The real one. Except he thought my sister was me. He told her he loved her. In front of the whole school.

I had my thumbs on the screen, ready to explain, when the comments started. [What is the second lead even thinking?

Does he really believe admitting who he is will stop the female lead?] [If the male lead finds out he spent all those months talking to a guy, he's going to lose it.] But I'm not a guy.

I'm Rowan. The one who wanted to wear a skirt. Once. My thumb stayed on the screen. I never sent it. Chapter 1 I locked my phone. Around me everybody was still going. "Wait.

Was that Sebastian Voss?" "He's so hot. I walked right past him this morning and he didn't look at anybody." "And he just told Nadia Ashby he liked her. Out loud.

In front of everyone." At Harbor Bay Prep, gossip about Sebastian traveled further than anything else. "You guys didn't know?

He's been into Nadia forever." "My cousin rooms with him.

Says Sebastian's on his phone every night, typing, and his whole face goes soft." "The girl he talks to is all sweet and quiet. Big dreamer.

Her feed is nothing but kittens and princess dresses." I looked out the window. Down on the lawn, Nadia had on a Miu Miu dress. Her hair fell past her shoulders in soft waves.

She threw herself into Sebastian's arms. Even the way she blushed was pretty. They weren't wrong. My sister really did look like a princess.

The guy at the desk next to mine was hanging off the window too. He looked at her. Then he turned around and looked at me, dead serious. "Rowan.

You and your sister look nothing alike." "How so?" Dustin thought about it. "Your sister's a swan. You're like… the help." "Skinny. Short.

And your hair's got split ends." I put my head down on the desk and stopped answering him. He shoved my shoulder. "Come on, Rowan.

Don't be like that." "I'll buy you boba." I started to lift my head. "This one's yours.

And take the other one to your sister for me—" Mine was a onedollar lemonade from the corner store. Hers was a sevendollar grape cheesefoam boba.

I kept my head down. "I'm not doing it." "She doesn't like you. She won't take it." His neck went red. He smacked the desk. "We're guys. Guys don't need the expensive stuff.

Why are you being so dramatic?" "You know what your problem is, Rowan? You're jealous of your sister." Then he took off. The whole class turned around to look at me.

I put my face down in my math problems and made it look like none of it landed. Under the desk my fist was twisted into the hem of my shirt. It hurt.

Chapter 2 I didn't say another word to Dustin that day. After school, when the room emptied out, I cried. It made me think about the hair clip. I'd worn one of my sister's once.

Mom found out and tore into me until I put it back. It sat on my chest for days. Then I posted a picture of it online. Somebody messaged me. [Is this the one?

You don't have to pay me. Let me send it to you.] Later he said: [So you're a pink person. Princess dresses, all of them.

That's pretty girly.] […Suits you, though.] Every time I posted on that feed, he liked it. Every single time. Sebastian thought my sister was me. I couldn't be mad at him.

I was the one sneaking around like a thief, wanting what she had. Watching her life through a crack in the door. After that day I logged out of the burner account.

I never opened it again. At breakfast, Mom gave me the usual. "Your sister's stomach is bothering her today. You're her brother.

Look after her." I chewed my toast. "Okay." Nadia was two years older than me, a senior. Her building sat all the way across campus from mine.

I filled the thermos with hot water and steeped the ginger tea in it. My hands knew the routine. The second the bell rang, I ran.

By the time I got there, sweating, she'd gone to the bathroom. I set the thermos on her desk. Then I thought about it and put a few chocolates next to it.

That's when a guy stepped in front of me with his eyebrows up. Red hair. Slouched.

He looked me up and down and snorted. "What grade are you in?" "You don't know Nadia Ashby has a boyfriend?" I didn't know him. I didn't want trouble.

He didn't wait for me to say anything. He picked up the thermos and dropped it on the floor. "I've been watching you for a long time." "Every morning, every afternoon.

You carry Nadia's backpack. You run and get her boba." "Simping this hard? Look at yourself.

You think you're in her league?" He backed me into the corner by the lockers, saying it like none of it cost him anything. He was too close.

I shut my eyes and waited for him to swing. "Enough." "Reid. You made your point." A flat voice, a few feet away. Sebastian pulled out one earbud.

He gave me a short look. "Take your chocolate back. She doesn't need it." "And from now on, stay away from Nadia." His voice was nice. He was polite about it.

The comments scrolled past. [I'm dying. The second lead is such a clown.] [The male lead didn't even recognize him. He thinks this guy is competition.

He's jealous right now.] [Second lead, have some selfrespect. Don't go up there and be a joke. Even if the male lead learns the truth, he'll just be grossed out.

He's not going to fall for you.] Then Nadia came hurrying back. She took one look at the standoff and laughed with her eyes crinkled shut. "Okay, what is happening.

You two are ready to throw hands over nothing." She hooked her arm through Sebastian's like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Then she pointed at me. "This one's my brother. Blood related." Sebastian's hand stopped on the earbud cord. "Your brother makes your tea?

Walks you to school?" She blinked at him. "Yeah. Like the family butler." "That's what brothers are for, right? Protecting their big sister.

Forever." Nobody said anything for a second. He looked at the thermos on the floor. Then at me.

He put out his hand and said it like he meant it. "I'm sorry." I pulled the corner of my mouth up. Nothing else would come. Back when we were still texting.

Chapter 3 He used to say things just to watch my face go hot. [What are you even scared of?] [We meet up and what, I'm going to do something to you?] I never thought we'd actually meet.

We did. And all he got out was, "I'm sorry." Maybe he felt bad about it. A few days later Sebastian sent something over for me.

Two fat notebooks and a stack of practice tests you couldn't get anywhere.

Reid dropped them on my desk without looking up. "He put those together himself." "Sebastian's number one in his class every single time.

His notes should help you on midterms." I didn't reach for them. Reid dropped an arm across my shoulders. "Come on, don't hold it against us.

That day was on me." "Just don't go running your mouth to your sister." Oh. So he likes her too. I nodded and took them.

I opened the practice tests and a box of chocolates slid out. Good ones, wrapped nice. By the time I looked up, Reid was already down the hall.

He waved without turning around. "Those are from me." "Eat more. You'll grow." On midterms, every problem that looked anything like the ones in that book, I got right.

Every single one. After that, things between us thawed a little. Sebastian and I passed each other at school sometimes. We'd nod. That was it.

I used to take my textbooks out to the breezeway to study. Some afternoons I'd see him crouched at the bottom of the stairs, feeding a litter of orange tabbies.

The wind came through warm. The corner of his mouth kept lifting at something. I couldn't see what.

Then a girl came flying into his arms. "There you are!" Nadia tipped her head at the cats. "Ugh, you're just like my brother.

What is it with you two and plain orange cats?" "I figured you'd want something with a little style. A Maine Coon, maybe…" Sebastian went still. "Your brother likes them?" "Yeah.

Why?" He stood up. "No reason." "Come on. I want to watch you at ballet." They walked off. The kitten wound around my ankles, crying.

I broke off a piece of a hot dog and held it out. After that I stopped studying there. The whole school knew how Sebastian treated my sister.

On her birthday he gave her a sixfigure necklace. Somebody from her class threw a house party. It got to truth or dare. Nadia lost round after round.

He drank her shots for her, every one. I went to find a bathroom, and on my way back I found him leaning against the sink. He'd been sick more than once. It was all over his face.

He'd gone gray. I stood there a second. Then I went and took his arm. "If you feel that bad, you can just tell my sister." My fingers touched his wrist. He stopped.

His eyebrows pulled in. He moved his arm out from under my hand like it was nothing. "You.

Why are you here?" The comments were having a great time. [The second lead is honestly so gross.

Manufacturing runins to get close to the male lead.] [Same with the orange cat thing last time. All that effort, and for what?

Even if the male lead starts to suspect, he'll just pretend he doesn't know.] I put my hand back at my side. "Just walking by." I was halfway down the hall and I could still feel him looking at me.

I went home early that night. Around nine it started to rain. Dad got twitchy about it. "Rowan.

Go bring your sister home." I stayed behind my book. "Somebody will drive her." Chapter 4 Mom's forehead creased. "Some other boy driving her home? I'm not comfortable with that.

Rowan, since when did you get this selfish?" The room went tight. Dad shut his laptop and started talking to her in that soft voice he saves for her.

I put on my rain jacket, grabbed an umbrella, and went out without a word. She must have stayed too long. Bad luck all around.

A few guys had us blocked into an alley. "Rowan, what do we do, I'm scared…" Nadia's voice came out small. It makes people want to fix things for her.

I didn't tell her I was scared too. I set my backpack down. "Sis. When it gets loud, run for the main road. Don't wait for me." That's how it was supposed to go. Right?

When something got broken at home, I took the punishment. Every teddy bear our parents ever bought went to her.

When there was a huge bug in her bookcase, she screamed for me with her face white, and I was the one who talked her down and killed it while my own hands shook.

My whole life, the thing my parents said to me more than anything else: "Swear you'll protect your sister. You're the man of this house." "She was born with a heart defect.

She's fragile. You're healthy. Just spend your life giving in to her." "Our Rowan is so smart.

You understand what we're asking, don't you…" I'd heard it so many times it wasn't even words anymore. So when the bat came down. I didn't think about it. I stepped in front of her.

They got a fist in my hair and pulled. I kicked somebody in the stomach. It got loud enough that somebody called the cops.

Only then did they back off, swearing at us the whole way out. I wiped the blood off my forehead and pulled my sister up by the arm. A couple of strangers drove us to the ER.

Sebastian heard fast. He came through the doors, and the first thing he saw was the scrape on Nadia's knee. "Rowan. Why can't you pay attention?" "She's hurt.

Is this how you look after your sister?" Maybe it was panic. The air around him went cold. The question was out of him before he looked at anything else.

Nadia was crying too hard to get the words out. She shook her head, trying to speak up for me. "Hey. Sebastian.

Slow down." Reid came up and put a hand on his shoulder. "Rowan's hurt too.

His forehead is still bleeding." "You can't put this on him." Sebastian's eyes went to the gauze taped over my eyebrow. He stopped talking.

Then he turned and walked off to go pay the hospital bill. Reid went after him, saying something low. From the other end of the hall, I heard Sebastian, flat as ever. "He's a guy.

Isn't that what he's supposed to do?" "What's he got to be upset about?" "Handing Nadia off to him? No.

I'm not comfortable with that." I looked down and pushed a piece of gravel around with my shoe. I didn't say one word. He walked Nadia to our door.

Then he called after me. "The cops found your phone." The screen was awake, no lock on it. I said thanks and took it fast. I was two steps up when it rang in my hand. I stopped.

I started to look down. Behind me, Sebastian took his own phone away from his ear. "So it was you." We looked at each other across the dark between two streetlights. No surprise.

No guilt about the mixup. Nothing moved in his face at all. He held out a card. Chapter 5 "Rowan. Let's just say this whole thing never happened.

Okay?" "I'd rather nobody else ever found out." "Honestly? The whole thing is kind of disgusting." The rain came down on my face, one drop at a time. Humiliating.

The kind that makes your eyes burn before you can stop it. I snapped the card in half and threw both pieces at his chest. Upstairs, I pushed the door open and couldn't stop crying.

I wanted to scream. I wanted somebody to answer for it. What did I ever do to get this.

Dad looked up and put a finger to his lips. "Your sister just fell asleep…" That quiet is the part that makes you insane. I was crying so hard it came out as shouting. "Dad. Mom.

I don't want to be your son anymore!" "I want to be a girl again. I want to grow my hair out, just once. I want to take ballet…" "Why me? I'm not the reason she got sick.

Why do I have to carry all of it?" First time in my life I talked back. Mom's hand came around and cracked across my face. "What is wrong with you? Who did anything to you?

Don't take it out on us." My cheek went hot and stayed hot. I couldn't be in that house another second. I went out the door. Behind me my sister woke up.

She came out rubbing her eyes. "Why is Rowan crying? A boy. Crying. That's embarrassing." Dad said, "Who upset him?" Mom said, "Who knows." Outside the rain got worse.

I stood under the bus shelter with nowhere to be. I put my arms around myself and cried until there was no sound left in it. Buses came. Buses left.

Then somebody stopped in front of me with an umbrella. "Rowan?" Reid said my name a few times. When I didn't move, he crouched down and put his hand on my forehead. "Jesus.

You're burning up. Do you have a fever?" He started to pull me to my feet. My legs went out from under me and I came down on top of him.

Reid took all my weight with his teeth clenched, and then his eyes stopped on my chest. "You— you're a girl?" I got my eyes open enough to look at him