Ignite Me (Shatter Me, #3)

by Tahereh Mafi

“Don’t ask me questions you already know the answers to. Twice I’ve laid myself bare for you and all it’s gotten me was a bullet wound and a broken heart. Don’t torture me,” he says, meeting my eyes again. “It’s a cruel thing to do, even to someone like me.”

“He cares about me—and I care about him!” Warner nods, unimpressed. “You should get a dog, love. I hear they share much the same qualities.”

“Oh.” I clear my throat a little. “Yeah, um, Warner saved my life.” “Shut the hell up.”

I’d rather be shot dead screaming for justice than die alone in a prison of my own making.”

“Have you ever been in love?” I ask, turning on my side to look at him. He stares up at the sky. Blinks a few times. “Nope.” I roll back, disappointed. “Oh.” “This is so depressing,” Kenji says. “Yeah.” “We suck.” “Yeah.”

Kenji points to the middle. “You and me go there.” “Romantic.” “You wish.”

“This is, by far, the craziest shit I have ever seen,” Kenji says. “I really never would’ve believed it. Not in a million years.” “It’s like a soap opera.” Ian nods. “But with worse acting.” “I think it’s kind of sweet,” Winston says.

“You’re not attracted to him?” “I’m attracted to you.” “I’m serious,” he says. “So am I.”

And we are quotation marks, inverted and upside down, clinging to one another at the end of this life sentence. Trapped by lives we did not choose. It’s time, I think, to break free.

“Lift your hips for me, love,”

“You feel so real,” he says. “You sound so real. I want so badly for this to be real.” “This is real,” I say.

“I have never known this kind of peace. Never known this kind of comfort. And sometimes I am afraid,” he says, dropping his eyes, “that my love will terrify you.”

He leans into my ear. Lowers his voice. “Ignite, my love. Ignite.”

Words are like seeds, I think, planted into our hearts at a tender age.