The Trouble with Scars

“Who is that?” Jennifer asked.

Audrey told her about how the Garrick case was also the first time she realized that she wasn’t just Audrey Parker but also Lucy Ripley because of the scar on her foot that James Garrick described.

“So you started off thinking that Lucy was your mother then?”

“Yeah.”

“And Vince and Dave knew the whole time and just let you go through that?”

“Yeah.”

“How could they do that? I thought they cared about you?”

“You’ll find out real quick, Princess, that Vince and Dave care more about their secrets than they will ever care about anyone else.”

“But Mary said something about them doing things based on Rhiannon’s command… Do you think maybe you might have thought that it would be safer for you to believe that?”

“You’d think I could come up with a better plan.”

“True, and it’s hard to plan on getting a scar on the sole of your foot. So you have that one and the one that you got when Mary shot Paul in the foot?”

“No. No. That’s the only scar I have.”

“Wait a minute. So as Lucy, you stepped on a piece of glass in the same spot you happened to already have a scar? And wouldn’t you have a scar on the top of your foot if it was identical to a wound that she gave Paul?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I guess it would depend on how the arrow penetrated or how I healed.”

“I mean, I could see that even it if was subconsciously, you would want to give yourself some kind of clue if you were ready to change everything. Like Mary said? Maybe you were waiting for Nathan.”

“But Lucy was afraid of going back into the barn,” Nathan pointed out.

“No, Lucy told me that I told her that I was afraid people were trying to erase me.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“I don’t know. And it’s like you said before Jennifer, it’s hard to plan on getting a scar on my foot or much of anywhere else. At least like that. It’s not like anyone saw Lucy cutting herself on purpose. This instance is really specific. Lucy cut her foot while holding onto James Garrick…”

“Why was she barefoot?”

“Huh?”

“Most shoes would have protected the foot by turning the glass away. Why was Lucy around someone she probably already knew could be destructive because they couldn’t control the speed of their movements barefoot? No matter what your name is, you’re too smart and careful for that.”

“What are you thinking here, Princess?”

“I’m thinking that I would really like to know if William has more than one scar on his foot. Because something isn’t adding up quite right.”

“You think Mary may have lied about putting an arrow into William’s foot?” Nathan asked. “Why?”

“Maybe it’s not her. Maybe Rhiannon or Martha lied about when or how that bond between you and William was made.”

“But why?” Audrey asked. “Why would either of us lie about it?”

“I don’t know. Something isn’t adding up though.”

{This one tests just how closely I want to try and tie my story to Haven Cannon. So far, it's an isolated mystery I haven't particularly wanted to solve as it wasn't my aim when I started writing Stay. Goddam characters. Coming up with their own shit. Jennifer in particular.  I'm interested in explaining this but not sure how I would work it in before the climax of the story and it wouldn't work in the denouement}.