“Thank you for the offer,” I say after taking a deep breath, “but I decided to go through with the surgery. I need to own this. I hope you both understand.”
“I have been advising everyone the surgery is what you needed. I knew what was best for you,” James says placing his hand on my shoulder. Something about the gesture makes me feel suffocated. I shrug his hand off and push Nate’s hands away.
“You don’t get to do that,” I say looking James in the eye. “This is my consequence for my actions.”
“Of course, we both will comfort you as you grieve—” Nate starts.
“You don’t get to do that either,” I say acidly. “Who said I needed to grieve? I will have to relearn a lot of tasks, but I want the challenge. I want to live. I want to live as a stronger version of myself. I want to be the girl who survived a month of torment to cut herself from the chains.”
“We are sorry it happened to you,” says Nate.
“Yes, we feel sorry on your behalf,” adds James.
“That’s the problem,” I thunder. “If you were listening, you would know I’m not sorry. You don’t have the right to be more upset, more offended, or more…more…anything, than me! You can’t take this away.”
2 thoughts on “Marilynn Barr”
Thank you so much for hosting Aurora and the Strawberry Shifters pack! We had a blast!
Fascinating interview, excerpt, and video. Wishing you good luck and great sales for ROUND OF APPLAUSE, Marilyn.