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Playlist “In My Blood”—Shawn Mendes “Nobody’s Home”—Avril Lavigne “You Are My Sunshine”—Elizabeth Mitchell “i hate u, i love you”—Gnash ft. Olivia O’Brien “Late Thoughts”—Hanx “Team”—Noah Cyrus & Max “How You Remind Me”—Nickelback “Goodbyes”—Post Malone ft. Young Thug “My Immortal”—Evanescence “Soon You’ll Get Better”—Taylor Swift
I didn’t want to know that Mama’s eyes turned gold when she cried. They were always a shimmery, golden brown when I was around.
Mama’s house is colorful, quaint. Dad’s house is…normal. I never understood normal.
UGG boots are making a comeback.
During my worst days, I’d stay in bed with a book by my side. There are always two on my nightstand waiting to be loved.
“I find that the books with the saddest endings are the best because they make us feel. We don’t always get a happily ever after no matter how hard we work for it.”
Mama probably wishes she could see us live out that old dream. Identical twins living in identical houses, raising families together and being happy. Coffee dates on Sundays. Our children on swings in a park somewhere. Lots of smiling and laughter.
cheese pizza is my weakness just like any other person, and carbs are my one true soul mate.
Pain comes in countless forms. The worst is seeing what your suffering does to everyone around you.
Mama likes getting lost in a life she doesn’t live, just like Grandma loves losing herself in drama that isn’t her own.
“I know everyone thinks I’m a total moron, but you know what? It’s easier to be a fly on the wall when people don’t think you’re capable of listening in.”
“Because we like books?” He lets me go down the staircase first because of the narrow structure. “Because we like them more than reality. It’s easier to lose yourself in fiction, right?”
“Think again, Mouse. People want to believe the world is this beautiful place. Some of us just aren’t as stupid.”
I’ve never heard a teacher talk to Kaiden like that, and I’m sure plenty have witnessed how he treats the other students. I assumed it had to do with his spot on the lacrosse team, because every school seems to give free passes to the boys who fill the trophy cases.
There are lots of quotes about time. Time is fleeting. Time is valuable. Time shouldn’t be wasted. The trouble with time is that we only think we have it. It’s an illusion—an excuse to linger in existence. Some people use it to be reckless; others use it to hold themselves back.
“Frankly,” Kaiden murmurs in a tone so low it caresses my skin, “the only reason I’m not going to fuck you senseless is because I’ve seen what one little touch does. Imagine what I’d do to your body if I got between those pretty little legs of yours.” I stop breathing. “I’d ruin you, Em.”
His smirk is wide. “Have to say, Em, I like my name on that mouth of yours.”
So we pretend. We pretend our loved ones are still close to us. We pretend we’re okay. It’s not denial. It’s coping. It’s reassurance. It’s how we get through another day.
“You’re probably the kind of guy who loves the color gray even though it’s boring. Heather gray, not light. And you don’t listen to emo music, whatever that is. You listen to rap. Probably R and B too. I bet you loathe country music based on principle alone and that the only thing you do in the darkness of your room is—” I stop myself and blush. “Uh, well, you know.”
“I’m surprised you’re not reading something smutty. I hear people love reading all about different sexual positions and calling it research.”
Fiction is the perfect platform to talk about the things nobody wants to have conversations about in real life. When you’re reading about a character’s struggles, you find ways to relate from a distance. It doesn’t always hurt as much, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt at all.
Diet is always important to stay healthy, but healthy isn’t a universal concept.
I wasn’t the kind of feminine most people considered, but it didn’t change his mind about wanting to spend time with me or kiss me or watch movies with me.
