"I've got you. I'm here. Let it out."
"I can't—I don't—" The words won't come. "I don't know who I am anymore."
"You're my sister. You're Fenrir and Charm's daughter. You're Gunnar's fiancée. You're Ingrid."
"That woman in the mirror isn't me. That—that broken thing?—"
"That woman in the mirror is a survivor." Astrid's voice is fierce. "That woman fought through something horrific and she's still here. Still breathing. Still standing."
"I'm not standing. I'm sitting on the bathroom floor crying."
"So? You're allowed to cry. You're allowed to fall apart. That doesn't make you weak. It makes you human."
I press my face into her shoulder.
Breathe in the familiar scent of my sister.
Lavender.
Vanilla.
Home.
"I keep seeing his face," I whisper. "Every time I close my eyes. I keep feeling his hands on me. Hearing his voice."
"I know."
"Will it ever stop?"
"It gets better. Not right away. But eventually."
"How do you know?"
She's quiet for a moment.
"Because I've been there. Maybe not exactly what you went through, but—I know what it's like to feel broken. To feel like you'll never be whole again. And I also know that you can come back from it. That the pieces can be put back together."
I pull back.
Look at her.
"When?"
"A long time ago. Before Geirolf. I was—" She stops, takes a breath. "I was in a bad relationship. Someone who made me feel small. Worthless. Someone who convinced me I deserved every terrible thing he said and did."
"I didn't know."
"No one did. I was ashamed. Thought it was my fault. Thought if I could just be better, love him more, try harder—" She shakes her head. "It took me years to realize it wasn't me. That some people are just broken in ways that make them want to break others."
"How did you get out?"
"Geirolf." Her smile is grim. "I spent a long time putting myself back together. Learning that I was worth more than what he made me believe."
"I didn't know any of this."
"You were young. We all wanted to protect you from the ugly parts." She takes my hand. "But I'm telling you now because I need you to hear this—what happened to you was not your fault. The Facebook post, being alone at the spa, not fighting back hardenough—none of it. The only person responsible is the man who did this. And he is going to pay."
"Gunnar keeps saying that too."
