Julie Anne Peters

“I shouldn't have been there. I should never have been born.”

“That same piercing screech in her voice every time at the hospital. "Do something!" When I slit my wrists. "Help her!" The last time too. "Somebody help her. Help us!" You're helpless, both of you. All of us.”

“You won't know until it's over. You won't find me in time.”

“I didn't tell him. And I never told her the whole truth. What would it matter? There was nothing she could do; nothing anyone can do or will do.”

“Everything seems to be working." Except me. I'm broken.”

“I have no intent. I have no reason to live, that's all. When I'm gone, I don't want to be remembered.”

“But she never just accepted me for the way I was.”

“Why are people so cruel? What did I ever do to them?”

“Because no one can be trusted.”

“I just want the pain to end.”

“No one ever found out what was happening inside me. How the pain was eating me away. No one ever came to my rescue, or stood up for me.”

“Secrets. I can't take then with me. If I do, when I go, when I arrive at my final destination, I'll be . . . impure.”

“Really? It seems too good to be true. I don't trust it. I don't trust anyone.”

“The sad truth is, they should never trust me.”

“I don't sleep. All night long I'm wide awake, thinking, Secrets, secrets, secrets. There are secrets in my past no one needs to know. Secrets in my present that might kill Kim and Chip. I don't want to take my secrets with me when I go. When I pass through the light, i want to be free of everything and everyone.”

“I've never been afraid of the dark. I'm more afraid of the day, of people. I love the night. The solitude. Well, I don't love it. I don't feel love. I hate people, so I hope when I get there it isn't crowded. I hope the light is a momentary phenomenon and the other side is completely black. And silent.”

“I want to tell them, "Chip, Kim, there is no way to suicide-proof a person.”

“I wish I could tell my parents, " If you want to help me, help me die.”

“Stop trying to save me. You couldn't then; you can't now.”

“I'm sorry you don't get it, Mom. Sometimes I don't get why I do the things I do. I just know I wake up every morning and wish I was dead.”

“With determination and purpose, I head into the light.”

“His invitation lingers. So does my question. Why me? I don't know the answer. When I look at myself in the mirror, all I see is a starving, stunted bird who never grew wings and lost all reason to sing.”

“My room is cleared. My head is cleared. Earlier, around dawn, I took out the last load of trash. I look around and see what's left. Nothing. There is no more Daelyn Rice. As I was. As I am. Or will become. I'm a blank slate”

“Trust. That was what this was all about. If you can't trust the one you love, you don't have anything.”

“Would I cheat to save my soul?No.But to save my G.P.A.?Yes.”

“...the man of my dreams is a girl.”

“The best thing about coming out is, it's totally liberating. You feel like you've made this incredible discovery about yourself and you want to share it and be open and honest and not spend all your time wondering how is this person going to react, or should I be careful around this person, or what will the neighbors say? And it's more. It's about getting past the question of what's wrong with me, to knowing there's nothing wrong, that you were born this way. You're a normal person and a beautiful person and you should be proud of who you are. You deserve to live with dignity and show people your pride.”

“Cut the ending. Revise the script. The man of her dreams is a girl.”