Ugly Love

by Colleen Hoover

“Somebody stabbed you in the neck, young lady.”

She always has such a funny way of starting her books — I love it, but nothing beats Verity.

“What he didn’t realize is that God gave me a lot of great things to accomplish in my life, and right now, I’m so far behind I ain’t ever gonna die.”

We should aspire to be this optimistic in life

The hand with the wedding ring on it.

Ugh. Men

Oh, no, you don’t. I reach beside me and cover all the buttons on the panel with my hands to hide the illuminated eighteenth-floor button, and then I press every single button between floors ten and eighteen. He glances at the panel, confused.

I love her

I feel sorry for his wife.

Poor woman

“Catch you later, Tate,” he says, just as the doors close.

That’s so strange — I can’t remember why they don’t know who she is. I read this book back in 2021

I remain alone on the elevator as it stops on every single floor until it reaches the eighteenth.

Well that backfired

I find the message on my phone and cringe. It’s 1816.

Uh oh

His eyes meet my knees, and his eyebrows furrow as he slowly leans forward with a deep scowl on his face. He lifts a hand and pokes my knee with his finger, almost as if he’s never seen a knee before. He drops his hand, closes his eyes, and falls back asleep against the door.

???

twenty-three,

I read this book when I was 18… now I’m 22 and re-reading it to annotate it for you

You’re going in the bra.”

The best pocket

He makes an attempt to push the apartment door open with his other hand, and this immediately sends me into panic mode. I pull my legs the rest of the way inside, and his hand comes with me. I use my free leg to kick the door shut, slamming it directly onto his wrist.

I would piss my pants

He called me, so who else would be answering it who sounds exactly like me?

“Corbin, please don’t tell me the guy you called to protect me from the drunk guy is the drunk guy.”

completely empty gallon of milk still sitting on the top shelf.

Why would someone place an empty gallon of milk back in the fridge?! Ofc men

set my suitcase on top of the bed.

Ew suitcases are dirty hope she changes the bed sheets after

he was Corbin’s best friend.

Messy

I lived with my most recent boyfriend for more than a year before we realized we wanted two separate things out of life.

Wow. How do you go that long with someone without your life goals aligning.

He’s crying. Hard. So hard he isn’t even making a sound.

:(

“I’m so sorry, Rachel,”

I have no idea who Rachel is or what he did to her, but if he’s hurting this bad, I shudder to think what she’s feeling.

For the first time, I notice a faint, jagged scar, about four inches long, that runs smoothly across the entire right side of his jaw.

Lowkey twins

Detention is something every male in high school should accomplish at least once. I have the rest of my senior year to achieve it, though, so there’s that to look forward to.

What an odd guy

Is she hot?

Ugh men

I never want to look down again.

I instantly become aware of my legs and their inability to stand. My mouth forgets how to speak. My arms forget how to reach out to introduce the person they’re attached to. My heart forgets to wait and get to know a girl before it starts to claw its way out of my chest to get to her.

This is why im so delusional btw

I’m gonna fall in love with you, Rachel.

When words come out of her mouth, it makes me wonder why words are so much better coming from her mouth than any other mouth.

I’m rolling my eyes.

But I don’t say anything. I don’t have to, because the only one who needs to be aware that I want Rachel is Rachel.

How chivalrous

Instead, I discreetly take a picture of her from where I’m seated.

Not weird or stalkery at all

“She’s gonna have all my babies.”

It all comes back tenfold, spilling over like a flood and I’m the dam. The pounding, the sweaty palms, her name, a newfound insecurity I never knew existed, burying itself in my chest. All of it takes over and feels like it’s building a wall around her.

Her writing is truly amazing

I don’t do any of these things, though.

I would

How is this the same guy who cried himself to sleep last night?

Complete 180

He’s leaning against my bedroom door with his arms folded across his chest.

I find that stance very sexy

roll over, still not quite finished with sleeping, even though he thinks I owe him some sort of explanation. I pull the covers over my head.

As she should

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to drown out the smooth sound of his voice as it slides into my ears and makes its way through every nerve in my body, warming me in places this flimsy blanket failed to do all night.

Oh wow that was fast

If this guy and his attitude are going to be my neighbors for the next few months, I’d better set him straight now.

You go Tate!

“Do me a favor and take a step back.” Surprisingly, he does. I keep my eyes locked with his until the bedroom door slams in his face and I’m looking at the back of the door. I smile and walk back to my bed. I lie down and pull the covers over my head. I win.

I’m taking some much needed notes

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he yells.

Was it really necessary to yell?

And this is great. I’m neighbors with a guy who gets shit-faced on weeknights and obviously brings home so many girls in the process that he can’t even remember which ones he messed around with.

Jumping to conclusions never helped anyone

I’d say they were as clear blue as the waters of the Caribbean, but I’ve never actually been to the Caribbean, so I wouldn’t know.

Love the doubtful simile

Sometimes it’s easy to forget how much you miss people until you see them again.

True

Miles nervously clears his throat as he washes the glass and places it back in the cabinet. His discomfort with his lapse in memory makes me laugh.

Me too

I might keep this façade going for a while for my own sick enjoyment.

As she should

His jaw is firm. “Try what again?” he asks.

He didn’t even thank her.

Miles is not the person I want to be feeling this for.

Likewise Tate.

I stare back, because no matter how good-looking he may be with that attitude, I’m still waiting for the thank you I never got.

As she should

“Miles Archer. I live across the hall from you.”

Finally. Took him a while

The way he steps back and keeps his eyes locked with mine makes me a little uncomfortable, since Corbin is standing only a foot away.

Uh oh