The Switch

by Beth O'Leary

Arnold is basically Shrek: a grumpy green ogre who’s forgotten how to be nice to people. And I plan on being his Donkey.

Except I’d call it worrying rather than thinking, most of the time, so I hope Samantha’s not like me, for her sake. My brain doesn’t know when to shut up. I bet you I can think up twenty worst-case scenarios before you could even think of one.” “Never been one for worst-case scenarios,” Jackson says. He crouches to dip his roller in the tray; his wrists are flecked with paint now, new, brighter freckles. “When they happen, you cope. And it’s usually one you’ve not thought of that gets you, so why worry?”

“You deserve to be with somebody who makes you feel more yourself, not less.”

But when you lose someone you love, you don’t lose everything they gave you. They leave something with you.