But it can heal the meaning of the body, which is very nearly everything.

Chapter 16 — You Never Asked

And that was the moment the door banged open and a voice filled the room.

“What in God’s name is going on in here?”

It was Colton.

The facility director had called him that morning, seeing the commotion in the lobby, assuming some family emergency, and he had driven out annoyed, already talking.

“Mom, I had to cancel two meetings to come out here, what’s happened n—” And he stopped.

Because he saw Natalie, and he saw Veronica, and he saw his mother standing at the window with her blouse open and her back bare — and for the first time in his entire adult life, Colton saw the scars.