Girl in Pieces

After Charlie moves into her new apartment, Mikey returns to Tucson, and they reconnect.

Charlie leaves her new address for Mikey, feeling triumphant at having secured her own apartment. A few days after she moves in, Mikey visits. They embrace, and she cries from happiness, feeling safe in his arms. He takes her to lunch and asks her about her diagnoses: Non-suicidal self-injury, impulse-control disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mikey is sorry that he never knew how difficult her life was and that she was cutting. He reveals that he is clean now. DannyBoy is also clean and has a job taking care of the elderly. Charlie is grateful: Casper has told her to stay away from drugs and alcohol. It will be easier with Mikey clean. He too seems relieved and happy, saying he was “so tired of all that shit” (174). He notices that she has put on weight, saying it is a good thing, and she is hopeful that his noticing her body might mean that he can see her romantically.

He asks to see her scars and is upset. Recalling Casper urging her not to keep silent, Charlie forces herself to explain that everything felt too big and heavy.