Music Recommendation: The One That Got Away by Katy Perry.
.....
Her mother's question hung in the air, cutting deeper than anything Amara wanted to face.
Her sobs shook her shoulders, sharp and ungraceful, the kind that made her chest ache as if she were breaking apart from the inside. She tried to breathe, but it came out jagged, and unsteady.
"Mom," she whispered, her voice raw, and broken, "You know this. You know I've spent so long being what people wanted me to be. Bright enough, good enough, polished enough. Like I'm made of glass and glitter. Something to look at, but not something to hold."
Her hand pressed against her sternum, as if she could cage her heart before it spilled completely. "And now, when he looks at me, he sees me. And it's too much. Because what if I shatter? What if I don't survive being seen?"
