Inevitable

by Kristen Granata

Shakespeare wrote about dozens of twisted families because he knew. He knew how a dysfunctional family can play a direct part in one’s demise.

Hot isn’t the word. It’s too generic. Evangeline is stunning. Gorgeous. She’s a gravitational force pulling me in.

Maybe it’s the fact that he’s nothing like the people in my circle. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s supposed to be my own personal protector. Or maybe I’m just dying to find someone who truly understands me. Aren’t we all?

Because sometimes, we need to be held just a little bit longer than we let on.

“The guy’s like herpes. Just when you think you got rid of him, boom! There he is again, back for more.”

“You dated him because you knew it was a waste of time,” he says, like it’s obvious. “Because it was safe. Because you keep people at arm’s length where they can’t hurt you.”

The movie can’t take you by surprise when you already know how it’s going to end.”

“You’ve got fire in your veins and passion in your heart. Those vapid, trust-fund kids will never be able to hold a candle to you. You’re different.”

I do like predictable guys. It softens the blow when they hurt you.

“You’ve only known me for a few days, yet you seem to understand me better than the people who’ve known me my entire life. Why is that?”

You have to listen in the silence too. That’s when people speak the most.”

“Why shouldn’t you want me?” Her voice is barely a whisper. “Because I can’t give you what you deserve.” “What if I said that whatever you have to offer would be enough?”

My brave girl.

“You deserve more than just enough, Eva. Don’t ever settle for less than everything you want.”

But Eva shines like a beacon of light. She doesn’t see what he sees, what I’ve been conditioned to see. I’m feeling something I’ve never felt for anyone before. Wanting things I never thought I could have. When I’m with her, she makes me believe that anything is possible. Maybe it is.

say. “Pain forces us to grow up sooner than we’d like.”

I think that’s what I love most about him: He gives me what I need, and things I don’t even know I need, without saying anything at all.

“Thank you for sharing this with me.” “Thank you for making me want to.”

“You feel like home to me.”

That’s the hardest part about being hurt by the one you love. The feelings you once had don’t just dissipate.

you can’t change the past. You can only change your perspective, and move forward.

Don’t live in fear,

your story is never finished. There’s always more you can add to it, another way your life could turn.”

“You blow me away, Eva. No one compares to you. You’ve changed me, you make me want to be better. But that doesn’t mean shit if you’re not with me. The truth is: I don’t want to live my life without you in it.

I had to stitch every piece of my own damn heart back together, and it’s jagged and bruised, but it belongs to you. Only you.”