River Wild Quotes

“You mother-fudging son of a C-U-Next-Tuesday!”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“Fudgesicles.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“I can feel his hand trembling as he lifts mine and places it against his chest. Over his heart.
I flatten my palm. I can feel his heart pounding beneath his solid chest.
“You make it do that,” he roughly tells me.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“I feel it – the exact moment something shifts between us. Like it snaps and then clicks into place. I know he feels it, too.
I don’t quite know exactly what it is or what it means, but I just know that it matters.
It matters a lot.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“Because you’re my best friend, Red,” he says softly, eyes sweeping the floor beneath our feet. “My only friend.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“You want to take me out for dinner?” I say slowly.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He gives me a look that says I should already know the answer. “Because you’re my girl, Red.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“I’m not good, Carrie.” He stares down at his hands that are stretched out on his thighs. “There’s a darkness inside of me.”
“No. There’s a survivor inside of you.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“You’re my best friend, Red,” he said softly, eyes sweeping the floor beneath our feet. “My only friend.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“Love is like a river, never ending as it flows but gets greater with time.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“I love you,” he says. The words spoken so simply…easily but with so much meaning.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“I wanted to ask you something.”
“Do I have to answer?”
“Only if you want to.”
“I really don’t.”
“Okay.”
“For fuck’s sake.” He sighs and turns to look at me. “What is it?”
I feel a bit stupid now But I started this, so I have to forge on. I rub my hands together. “Well, I was just wondering…are we…friends?”
“Wait.” He holds up a hand. “Have I just defied the laws of time and travelled back to grade school?”
“Funny.”
“I know. And, no, Red, we aren’t friends.”
“Oh. Right.” My heart dips. I bite my lower lip to stop it from turning down.
He sighs again. “I don’t do friends, Carrie.” His voice is lower now. “But if I did, then you’d be the closest thing I have to one.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“I know that look. I used to see it in my own eyes every time I could bear to look in the mirror. I still see it now.
Like your soul is empty. Hollow.
The anger and pain and hurt have swallowed you up completely, and there’s nothing left but emptiness.
He’s felt pain. He knows what it’s like.
He’s like me.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“Say this saltshaker is me.” He picks up the pepper with his other hand. “And the pepper is you. To the outside world and even to us at first, we don’t seem like we should go together. I’m brash and hard. You’re soft and beautiful. But we do go together, Red.” He presses the shakers together. “We go together perfectly.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“You will always be safe with me. You and Olive. I will never let anyone hurt either of you.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“Yeah, River Wild. Your new neighbor. Hot as Hades. Crazy as Kanye. And as mean as Regina.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“Then, you walk away. But, if he hits you first, then you beat that boy’s ass to the ground. You don’t hit first, River. You hit second, and you hit harder.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“I walk out the front door, leaving Annie Coombs behind, and become Carrie Ford.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“Monsters lurk in plain sight. They wear ordinary clothes. Have ordinary faces. Work ordinary jobs. Live ordinary lives. But the monster is always there. Lying in wait, beneath its ordinary skin. Waiting for its moment. And when its moment comes. And it breaks free. You won’t see it coming. But I will. And I’ll be ready.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“You don’t have to.” His dark eyes meet with mine. “I know. But I’m still going to.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“Sexual predators care for only one thing—themselves and their sick, fucked up wants. They don’t care about the destruction they leave in their wake. They’re fucking monsters. And don’t ever be fooled into thinking you know what one of those sick fucks looks like. They’re not the image of old, dirty, greasy, seedy-looking men that we once believed to be true. They are men and women of any age, any look, and any job. They can be the server at your local deli or the man who fixes your car. They can be the doctor you’ve visited for years. The person you trust to educate your child. Your dentist. The kid who bags your groceries. Or the middle-aged woman you take that Zumba class with. They can be your best friend, aunt, uncle, mom, dad, or fucking stepdad. They are and can be anyone. They look just like you and I do. Monsters in plain clothing.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“River is staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“You don’t get it?” I frown. “Olive is a leek this week, and I just … leaked water.” I point down at the amniotic fluid on the floor.
“Oh, I got it all right. I’m just waiting for you to get it.”
“Huh?” I tip my head in confusion.
“That you’re in labor, Red. And, instead of standing here, cracking shit jokes, we should probably be getting you to the hospital.”
Oh.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“But, sometimes, it’s the simplest of things that matter most.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild

“I can feel his hand trembling as he lifts mine and places it against his chest. Over his heart. I flatten my palm. I can feel his heart pounding beneath his solid chest. “You make it do that,” he roughly tells me.”
― Samantha Towle, River Wild