Jasinda Wilder

“How do you compete with a ghost, Colton?" I whisper the question into a long silence.He shrugs. "I don't know. You don't. You just understand that there's a part of you that you can't give away, because it belongs to a dead person. I don't know.”

“She'll hurt me. I know this. I can see it, feel it coming. She's got so much pain, so many cracks and shards and jags in her soul, and I'm going to get cut by her if I'm not careful.”

“They're in your fucking skin, in your soul, like the essence of who they are is imprinted on you so completely they are the very air you breathe, like each molecule of who you are is tangled together. That's love.”

“It helps - ""No it doesn't. It just pushes it away temporarily. Just like the booze.""But I need - ""You need to let yourself feel. Feel it, own it. Then move on.”

“One breath at a time. One day at a time. Wake up, and be shredded. Cry for a while. Then stop crying and go about your day. You're not okay, but you're alive, and you will be okay, someday.”

“I know most people would say we're just kids, or to young too know what love is. But screw that. I've known you my whole entire life. We have shared everything together.”

“Moments like this, with Colton? They make it all bearable. He doesn't fix me, doesn't heal me. He just makes life worthwhile. He helps me remember to breathe.”

“You don't ever really let go, though. You don't stop. You don't stop hurting, you don't stop loving. It doesn't go away, you just keep living and eventually shit gets pushed into the background of your life so it's not consuming you every day. And then one day you know you're okay. It still hurts, you still miss that person. And yeah, you forget the details. The way she smelled, the way her mouth tasted, how her skin felt, the sound of her voice. It's almost like a different life, a different person that loved her, was with her. But on a day-to-day level, you know you're okay. Sort of.”

“But when you feel that kind of all-consuming need for someone, a person you'd do fucking anything for, no matter what? They're in your fucking skin, in your soul, like the essence of who they are is imprinted on you so completely that the very air you breathe and each molecule of who you are is tangled together. That's love.”

“This kiss...I'm gone. Gone. I know in that moment, that I belong to him. It's what he said: I'm his. How it happened, I don't know. I really wish I did.”

“You bite your lip, and I want to take that lip into my mouth and suck on it like popsicle. I want to lick your lips and bite them and kiss you until you're fucking lost and gasping and puddled on the floor.” Well...shit. I want that.”

“She still blames herself. I always knew she did, and hoped time would cure her of that, but I can see, without having even spoken to her, that she still carries the weight. There’s darkness in this girl now. I almost don’t want to get involved. She’ll hurt me. I know this. I can see it, feel it coming. She’s got so much pain, so many cracks and shards and jags in her soul, and I’m going to get cut by her if I’m not careful. I can’t fix her. I know this, too. I’m not going to try. I’ve had too many goody-goody girls hook up with me, thinking they can fix me.”

“You’re a lot of things, Nell Hawthorne. You’re complex. You’re cute. You’re lovely. You’re funny. You’re strong. You’re beautiful.” She seems to be struggling with words and emotions. I keep going. “You’re tortured. You’re hurting. You’re amazing. You’re talented. You’re sexy as fuck.”

“He stood more than a foot taller than I did, his shoulders like a football player’s pads, arms corded thick. He was huge, I realized. Kyle had been lean and toned. Colton was… something else. Obviously powerful. Hard. Primal.”

“I wasn't always in love with Colton Calloway; I was in love with his younger brother, Kyle, first. Kyle was my first one true love, my first in every way.”

“And now we’re learning how to fall in love together. I don’t care what any one else says. Ilove you. I’ll always love you, no matter what happens with us in the future. I love you now andforever. - Kyle”

“I can tell you what I see. I can tell you what I know about you. I can tell you how I feel. I can’t show you what you really are. But arguing with you won’t accomplish anything. I think we’ve both had our share of people trying to fix us. It doesn’t work. We can only fix ourselves. Let ourselves heal.”

“Feel. Grieve. Let yourself fell the anger at the fact that he was taken from you. Feel the loss of him . Feel the sadness and the missing him. Don't block it out, don't cut so it so stop, don't drink yourself numb. Just sit and let it all rip you apart. And then get up and keep breathing. One breath at a time. One day at a time. Wake up, and be shredded. Cry for a while. Then stop crying and go about your day. You're not okay but you're alive, and you will be okay, someday”

“All we can do is try, do our best. Give as much time as we have to give, one day at a time. One breath at a time”

“Any time spent with you, anywhere, is worth it”

“I'll take care of her. Now and always”

“You can't Nell. Just... hold my hand. I love you" - Kyle”

“You can't hold it in forever," Colton said.”

“You're not broken. You're hurting”

“You need to let yourself feel. Feel it, own it. Then move on”

“I will protect you. From others and yourself. Always”

“Fermented grief is far more potent”

“… when you feel that kind of all-consuming need for someone, a person you’d do fucking anything for, no matter what? They’re in your fucking skin, in your soul, like the essence of who they are is imprinted on you so completely like the very air you breathe… That’s love.”

“I can’t be fixed.”“You’re committed to being broken forever?”“Goddamit, Colton. Why are you doing this? You don’t know me.”“I want to.” It’s the answer to both of her statements.”

“We understand each other, Nelly. We’ve both lost someone we love. We both have scars and regrets and anger. We can do this together.”

“This book is for anyone who has ever lost a loved one, for anyone who has woken up crying and gone to bed the same way, for anyone who has had to learn that it’s okay to not be okay. Surviving isn’t strength, it’s continuing to breathe one day at a time; strength is learning to live despite the pain.”

“I hold her. I don’t tell her it’s okay.“Be mad,” I say. “Be hurt. Be broken. Cry.”

“I want you to let yourself be broken. Let yourself hurt.”

“Forgetting is the mind's way of helping you heal. Helping you move on.”

“I'm still trying to find the words to heal you, To take your pain and make it all my ownSo your beautiful eyes can smile,So you can be at peace. And now that Fate has intervened,Conspired to draw us together,I can't resist the lure of your eyes,The temptation of you beauty,The siren song of you voiceWhispering my nameIn the dark comfort between my sheets.I can't resist you, baby,Because I'm falling still, I'm falling into you.”

“His presence was somehow a balm on the open wound of my heart.”

“I’m not just falling in love with you, Nell. I’m falling into you. You’re an ocean, and I’m falling in, drowning in the depths of who you are. Like you said, it’s scary in a way, but it’s also the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced. You are the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced.”

“You're my eternity, Anna.”

“Empty Sex is like Pringles: You can eat million of them, but they never really fill you up. If you want to be truly satisfied, you have to eat real food.”

“Happiness, I've discovered, is a choice, a habit. It's a mindset." - Shea in the Preacher's Son #3: Unbroken”

“I cry, because I know what I felt from him, even if I cannot and dare not allow it be named.”

“The elevator dinged again, letting them off on their floor. As they exited, Chase still pressed against Jamie's front, they heard the man on the elevator mumble, "Damn kids. Smells like sex in here.”

“I'm in battle mode. Shut down. Hard. I'm not Hunter anymore. I'm Lance Corporal Lee, USMC. Semper Fi, bitches.”

“I am not Sabah. I am Rania. And I feel.”“Good. No more Sabah. Only Rania.”

“Baby? I am not a baby.”“No, I know. It’s…a term of endearment. It’s like ‘honey’ or ‘sweetie’. It just means I love you.”“If you say so, but it is strange, to call the woman you love as a baby. But then, Americans are strange.”

“What is the word for this kind of underwear? Boxings? Something like that? I cannot think of it.”“Boxings? Oh, god, Rania. That’s funny. Boxers. They’re called boxers, sweetheart.”

“I will always love you. You saved me, Rania.”“No, you saved me.”“We saved each other, then,”

“Such awful timing. There’s a dead man in the bathroom, and I’m trying not to kiss Rania. What the fuck is wrong with you, Hunter?”

“I am not a woman, I am a thing. An object, a servant for their needs. Sex is a tool.”

“You are so beautiful. Do you know that?”“I know that men think – ““Man. One man. Me. I’m all that matters. No one else can have you. You’re mine.”