She reached down and gently brushed a finger along Tori’s cheek.
“My father always told me he’d have been prouder if I’d been a boy. I heard it more times than I can count. He said it when I cried. He said it when I got the best marks at school. He said it when I asked for help. And even when I didn’t. It made me believe that being a girl meant being not quite enough…”
June sighed deeply.
“I remember once, I scraped my knee at school, and he told me to stop crying like a girl. As if that was the worst thing I could be.”
I felt the breath leave my chest. She had never told me that.
“I didn’t want to do that to you,” she continued. “I didn’t want to pass that shame down my blood to my baby girl. So when they said you were a girl, I panicked. I thought I’d ruin you.”
She paused and leaned over, kissing Tori’s forehead.
“But I won’t,” she whispered. “I’ll walk beside you through every hallway. I’ll be right there when men make you feel small or confused or like you have to shrink to be safe. You’ll never wonder if you’re enough. You’ll know.”
She straightened, and her voice wavered once more.
“Your dad will protect us both, Victoria. I know he will. He always has.”
I backed away from the door — slowly, quietly — my heart full and breaking all at once.
Because she was right.
I will. Always.
If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you: When Riley discovers her niece crawling through the doggy door, she assumes it’s cute and innocent. But whispers start to follow her — secrets someone shouldn’t know. As her world unravels, Riley begins to suspect the betrayal isn’t coming from outside the home… but through it.
