“He knows how much it hurts when somebody makes you feel disgusting because of your body,” she said. “He knows what it’s like to be embarrassed. So why would he do the same thing to me?”
I reached across the table and held her hand.
“I don’t know, sweetheart.”
“Do you think he wanted me to feel as bad as he does?”
“Not necessarily. Sometimes people who are frightened of being humiliated try to protect themselves by joining in with the people who humiliate others. Sometimes they think that if they can point out someone else’s flaws, people will stop looking at their own.”
Emma frowned.
“But he made me feel exactly the way those boys made him feel.”
“Yes.”
“And he knew how bad it was.”
“Yes.”
She pulled her hand away and looked toward the window.
“That’s not fair.”
“No, it isn’t.”
I didn’t tell her to forgive him. I didn’t tell her to forget what happened because he had suffered too.
