He looks at the girl, now a shadow of who she once was, and his heart stops. Even as she looks utterly defeated, she is the most beautiful being he has ever seen. He thought he would feel pity for her. He thought that when he finally saw her again, he would feel sorry for what had happened to her—what he had saved her from. Unfortunately for him, all he felt was complete pain. He’d never known her before that one phone call, but from the pictures he’d seen of her mere weeks ago, she was vibrant and happy. In front of him today, he sees a girl who is broken into the smallest of pieces, and he wants to put her back together again.

She stands in front of the mirror staring at herself with unbridled hatred. She can’t believe she even survived, and she wonders why. She never thought of herself as someone who would get themselves into that situation, a situation where she literally had to beg for her life. She sees the scar running from her hip to just below her bust on the right side, and she sees destruction. In her mind she has been destroyed, and she needs to punish herself for letting it happen. It was all her fault. She deserves the pain.

“I am hideous,” she whispers.

“You are beautiful,” he counters.

“I am useless and disgusting.”

“You are priceless and amazing.”

“I let him beat me and break me. I didn’t fight hard enough.”

“You survived him because you fought more than enough.”

“I am weak.”

“You are the strongest person I know.”

“I deserved to die . . . I let that happen to me . . . I deserve—“

“You deserve peace.”

“I hate me . . . more than anything . . .”

“Then I will love you enough for the both of us, and one day, I will make sure you love you too.”

“I am nothing.”

“You are perfect.”

They stand there staring at each other. He wonders if he can make good on his promise. She wonders why he would even promise such a thing. They wonder if she is even fixable to begin with. He will try to make her better with his last breath, and she will let him. She has no fight left. It was all stolen away from her during the night when trust disappeared.