“I know how to take care of myself,” she said.

They assumed she meant that she could harm someone who was trying to harm her, and that was true.

But it also meant that she knew how to buy herself flowers when she was feeling like the world was devoid of beauty.

She also knew how to stay in bed when she was sick, how to make herself a cup of tea when she was feeling fragile, or pour herself a drink when she was tired of processing all the bullshit she’d been handed.

It also meant she knew how much pain she could handle, and how far and fast she could run, and when to keep going, and when to say “when.”

It meant she liked herself, even on bad days. Even when no one else seemed to notice or care.

“I’ll be fine,” she said.

And even if they doubted it, she knew she would be.

Because she would absolutely take care of herself.