More Than This

by Patrick Ness

“Oh, it was real, all right,” she says. “We lived it; we were there. If you go through something and put up with it even if you want to get away from it more than anything in the whole world, then it was definitely bloody real.”

Maybe all that happened is that they forgot you were there because they were too busy with their own crap.” “And you don’t think that’s bad?” “Of course it’s bad! Don’t worry, I’m not trying to take away everything that makes you feel sorry for yourself, since you seem pretty damn good at that!” “Regine,” Tomasz warns, “he has just found out his brother is –” “But maybe,” she keeps shouting, “maybe their world didn’t revolve around you, Seth. Maybe they thought about themselves as much as you thought about yourself.” “Hey –” Seth says. “WE ALL DO IT! Everyone! That’s what we do. We think of ourselves.”

“I can understand pain,” she says. “Feeling so bad you want to get out. Believe me, I understand that. I’ve looked into the darkness. You aren’t the only one.” “I never said I was,” Seth says. “But the difference is that I think you never do it. Even if you’re tempted, even if you’re really close, because who knows? There might be more.”