Page 27 of Beautiful Scars

"Yes." He squeezes my hand. "Let me do this for you. Please?"

The sincerity in his eyes makes my chest ache. I want to argue, to tell him I can't accept something like this. But I also, equally as much, want to pretend that I'm a girl, spending the day at the mall, shopping with her… Levi.

"Okay," I say finally. "But nothing crazy."

His whole face lights up. "Define crazy."

"Levi..."

"I'm kidding." He leans over and kisses my forehead. "Mostly."

I roll my eyes but can't help smiling. "You're impossible."

"That's not a no."

Taking a deep breath, I look back at the mall entrance. The glass doors reflect the morning sun, making them look almost welcoming. "I might need a minute. Before we go in."

“We've got all day." Levi settles back in his seat, still holding my hand. "Take all the minutes you need."

I watch another group of people enter—a mom with two kids, an elderly couple walking arm in arm, a guy a little older than us carrying what looks like a guitar case. None of them look threatening. None of them look at our truck or seem to care that we're just sitting here.

"The last time I was here..." I start, then stop, unsure if I want to share this memory.

"Tell me." Levi's voice is soft, patient.

"It was my thirteenth birthday. Dad took me." The words come easier than I expected. "We spent the whole day here. He let me try on ridiculous outfits at every store, even though we didn’t get any of them. We shared this massive pretzel from the food court—it was bigger than my head."

Levi stays quiet, his thumb still tracing gentle patterns on my hand.

"He bought me books. So many books." I smile at the memory. "Said a girl could never have too many stories to escape into. I still have them all, hidden under my bed where..." I trail off, not wanting to mention Garrett.

"We don't have to go in," Levi says after a moment. "We can drive somewhere else, do something different."

I look at him then, really look at him. At the way his eyes hold nothing but understanding, the way he's completely still beside me, letting me work through this at my own pace. No pressure, no expectations. No disappointment

"No," I say, surprising myself with how firm my voice sounds. "I want to go in. I want..." I pause, trying to find the right words. "I want to make new memories here. Better ones."

"Yeah?" His smile is soft, and gentle—the one I've noticed he saves just for me.

"Yeah." I squeeze his hand. "But you have to promise me something."

"Anything."

"If I start to freak out, or if it gets too much..."

"We leave. No questions asked." He raises our joined hands and places them on his chest. "On my heart."

I take another deep breath, looking at the mall. It still looks intimidating, but less so now.

"Okay," I say. "Let's do this."

TheboutiqueLevileadsme into is nothing like any of the stores I've ever shopped at. Sparkling glass chandeliers cast warm light over racks of flowing dresses and delicate tops. Even the air smells expensive, like an expensive floral perfume.

"I don't know about this." I tug at the sleeve of my oversized hoodie. Everything here looks too pristine, too untouchable.

"Just look around." Levi's hand settles on my lower back. "No pressure."

The saleswoman is nice—genuine nice, not fake nice. She doesn't even seem to notice my ratty clothes or hesitate to hand me expensive dresses to try on. When she says I have a lovely figure, I almost believe her.

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