Restore Me (Shatter Me, #4)

by Tahereh Mafi

I have a great fear of drowning in the ocean of my own silence. In the steady thrum that accompanies quiet, my mind is unkind to me. I think too much. I feel, perhaps, far more than I should. It would be only a slight exaggeration to say that my goal in life is to outrun my mind, my memories. So I have to keep moving.

“The world tried to crush you,” I say, gently now, “and you refused to be shattered.

“But how?” she says, her voice breaking on the word. “How do I get them out of my head?” “Set them on fire.”

“In your mind,” I say, attempting a smile. “Let them fuel the fire that keeps you striving.” I reach out, touch my fingers to her cheek. “Idiots are highly flammable, love. Let them all burn in hell.”

“Those who do not understand you,” I say softly, “will always doubt you.”

“Touch him one more time,” Juliette says quietly, “and I will rip your heart out of your body.”

I love that the girl who blushes so easily in my arms is the same one who would kill a man for hurting me.

“The moment,” she says, “where the anger ends, and the curiosity begins.”

I don’t want to feel anything anymore.