Too Late

by Colleen Hoover

I cried because I realized that no matter who he’s become, a part of me still has empathy for him… because I don’t know how not to.

Damn him for being everything I wish Asa was, and everything I wish I could have.

how sometimes it’s necessary to sacrifice the lives of the few for the good of the many.

No one should have to experience a life never feeling truly cared for—not even by the parents who created them. Yet I’ve lived that for twenty-one years now. Until this moment.

I read once that the difference between an extrovert and an introvert isn’t how you act in a group setting. It’s whether or not those group settings give you fuel or drain you. An introvert can outwardly appear to others to be an extrovert, and vice versa. But it all comes down to how those interactions influence you internally.

but the only thing love relies on for survival is respect. And you don’t get that from him.”

That’s all those were. Words. A few simple words

strung together, but they held just enough power to physically stop me in my tracks.

I’m not even going to look in your direction,” he says. “But know that you’re all I see. You’re all I fucking see, Sloan.”

Somewhere deep inside, I know he is the way he is because of the hand he was dealt as a child. A part of me can’t fault him for that.

“looks have shit-all to do with love. Love isn’t found in the attraction you have to someone. Love isn’t found in the laughter you share. Love isn’t even found in all the things you have in common. Love is not, in any way, shape, or

form, defined by nor found in the abundance of bliss it brings two people.”

“Love is not found. Love finds.”

“Love finds you in the forgiveness at the tail end of a fight. Love finds you in the empathy you feel for someone else. Love finds you in the embrace that follows a tragedy. Love finds you in the celebration after the conquering of an illness. Love finds you in the devastation after the surrender to an illness.”

Having to walk away from her like this is nothing short of devastating. It’s tragic. And that’s where love finds you… in the tragedies.

I thought maybe everyone’s life had an equal balance of good and bad and the only difference was that the good and bad luck was dispersed to each person differently at different points in their lives.

Some might call that bitter. I just call it karma.

And this kiss is just the beginning of a whole new book. A book where maybe miracles aren’t that far-fetched.

It’s the first time in my life I feel like my burdens aren’t all mine. I’ve never met anyone who brings more relief to my life than they do stress.

Love shouldn’t feel like added weight. It should make you feel as light as air.

I guess that’s the difference between being loved the right way and the wrong way. You either feel tethered to an anchor… or you feel like you’re flying.

It doesn’t matter how the members of my family came to be. What matters is that this is my family.