Not Cinderella's Type (Modern Fairytales #1)

by Jenni James

“Indy, you’re wrong. You think you’ve got the whole world sorted into little boxes, and when someone steps out of their box and does something you aren’t expecting, you try your hardest to push them back in. Well, I don’t fit. I’m not meant to fit. Your walls are high and thick, but I’ll get through them somehow. Wait and see.”

“Life isn’t only about the trials. It’s about how you overcome them.”

“You’re so addicting because you’re an old soul. You see past the negativity—and believe me, you have a lot of negative going on right now—and though you may grumble, you see past it and cope. The hard things thrown your way don’t cripple you—you find ways to stay human and caring and leave your footprint on the world.”

“Anyway, why would I worry about things like what someone wears, or drives, or says, or looks like? Life isn’t about trying to conform to someone else’s idea of what you should be. Life is about being true to yourself, and kind to all those who aren’t quite ready to be true to themselves yet.”

“I’m sorry.” “For?” “For forgetting you’re not in a real family situation. When I get in trouble, my dad chews me out, but he listens because it’s about something that matters to me. When you get in trouble, you become their servant.”

“What is respect to you, Uncle David? What? Doing all the chores? Staying away during family activities and events? Hiding in the basement so your friends and coworkers don’t see me? Basically living in an old storage closet and getting straight A’s in school and having no friends, having no extracurricular activities, being a hermit until you ask me to come up and make dinner for you again? Is that respect? Then what part of that haven’t I been doing? What more could you want from me?”

“I love you, Indy.” Shaking his head, he spoke before I could. “I know it’s weird for me to say this now—I know it’s considered stupid or whatever—but I can’t take not knowing if you’re safe. And the stupidest thing I did—since I’m confessing anyway—was trying to put some distance between us. Seriously, what is wrong with me, telling you to get another boyfriend?”

“It’s all because of you. Your bravery, your zest for life, your ability to shake off the negative. You are radiant now because you chose to be happy and forgive your past.”