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“What?” Libby asked as her eyes widened. “What scars?”
I was also shocked with the question, and I was glad Libby was the one who verbalized what was going through my mind.
In reply, Erin turned around and lifted her long hair that was cascading down the center of her back. There, where her hair normally covered, was a large area of skin that was clearly affected with some sort of condition. At least, there was a time in her life where it had been. I didn’t know what it was, but I had seen the condition before, and I had no idea Erin had experienced it.
“What’s that?” Libby asked, her eyes just as wide as before.
“When I was your age, I had this kind of skin sickness that left these scars everywhere. I could treat it with medicated cream, but it still left these marks. I tried to get a tattoo to cover it, but as you can tell, it spread again and now I have more that my tattoo doesn’t cover.”
“Don’t you hate it?” Libby asked.
“Not anymore,” Erin said. “I mean, it was definitely something I had to learn to love about myself, but now I accept every part of me – even the parts I wouldn’t choose to have.”
“Wow,” Libby said. Her tone was awe-struck, and my heart swelled with emotion.
“It takes time,” Erin said. “But you know what? You can learn to accept the things about you that you wouldn’t have chosen, either.”
“You think so?” Libby asked with a tinge of doubt in her voice.
“I know so,” Erin said. “Do you want to start working on it?”
“Maybe,” Libby said.
“Here,” Erin replied as she walked over to a rack and pulled off several shirts. They were much lighter, and though they still had long sleeves, they weren’t nearly as fitted as the ones she’d chosen.
“Would you at least try these?” she asked. “You don’t have to share all your scars at once, but if you get used to it little by little, it gets easier, I promise.”
Libby nodded.
She took the clothes and headed back toward the dressing room with Erin in tow.
I was shocked. I had been trying for as long as I could remember to get her to try something else, but she’d relentlessly insisted that she wear the same dark shirts that were tight against her arms. She didn’t want there to be even the slightest chance that her scars could be seen.
This was definitely a step in the right direction, and I was so proud of Erin for being able to convince her to take this step.
“You do look good in that dress, by the way,” I said to her as she followed Libby.
“Thanks,” she said.
She blushed at my compliment, and I grinned to myself. It was clear she didn’t want me to see the blush, but it was too late. I had seen it, and I was pleasantly surprised by that one. I didn’t know I had that kind of influence on her, and it felt good. Even if I was flirting with danger, I got a thrill with seeing her response.
Common sense told me to take it for what it was and leave it at that, but then, I had never really been one to listen to common sense.
Chapter Fourteen
Erin
Icheckedmyphonefor what felt like the hundredth time.
It was nearly midnight, and I still couldn’t sleep.
I’d been in Key West for just over three weeks, and by now I figured I’d be used to the heat. But I wasn’t. Even with the air conditioning on in the house, even with a fan in my bedroom, I still tossed and turned with all my blankets kicked off to the side, not at all helping with the suffocating heaviness in the air.
I figured anyone who was from here was used to it, and wondered how anyone who wasn’t from here adapted. I expected it to get easier, but for some reason, it never seemed to.
At last, I decided enough was enough, and I wasn’t going to keep tossing and turning in bed, only getting more and more frustrated with the situation.
I had a swimsuit in my drawer from the generous shopping trip the other day, and I now fished it out in the dark and changed.
