Reached (Matched, #3)

by Ally Condie

Cassia wants me to know that she loves me. The pain wants to eat me away. I wish I could have one without the other, but that’s the problem with being alive. You don’t usually get to choose the measure of suffering or the degree of joy you have. I don’t deserve either her love or this illness. That’s a stupid thought. Things happen whether you deserve them or not.

I won’t think about what will happen when she has to leave. Right now, she’s here and she loves me.