Chapter 86

It’s impossible to miss in the brighter light of the fitting room, a raised, thick purple line tracing the place where twisted metal and skilled surgeons changed my body forever. Some days I barely think about it. Other days it seems to arrive before I do, announcing itself in every mirror. 

I hear the curtain rustle, and Jade pokes her head in. “Everything okay?” 

I hesitate. “I” The words feel oddly childish. “Norgot it was there.” 

She doesn’t answer immediately. Instead, she slips inside the fitting room just enough to stand beside me, both of us looking at the mirror together. Neither of us speaks for a long moment. 

Finally she says quietly, “Can’t tell you what I see?” 

I nod. 

“I see the woman who survived a car accident. I see the woman who survived cancer surgery. I see the woman who walked away from a man who spent years trying to convince her she wasn’t enough.” She turns to look at me. “I don’t see a scar, Zara. I see proof that you’re still here.”