Katie McGarry

“Nothing makes you think you might need years of therapy like saying the word breasts in front of your mother.”

“I don't care that you smoke pot. I mean, I'm not going to join you and I'd prefer to hang out with you when you're sober, but I'm not looking to change you.”

“The universe had a strange sense of humor.”

“The entire sky erupted into hundreds of streaks of light. I never felt so alive. I wished that you were here with me or me with you. But I think you were. Call me crazy, but it was a moment, Lila, and I'm glad I shared it with you. Even if it was from a couple hundred miles away. ~Lincoln”

“Will you go outside on the 28th and watch the meteor shower? I know what you're thinking: 3:00am? But I think it will be beautiful. Besides, it will be cool to know that you're watching the sky at the same exact time as me. ~Lila”

“Yeah, I'm great." And I meant it. It's a small humongous realization: I'm always going to be scared of something-spiders, the dark, being on my own-but I don't have to let the fear be in control.”

“Her kiss is soft and warm-inviting. We both explore, a hesitant dance as we glide over lines neither of us imagined crossing.”

“And then I wonder what it would be like if he really was falling for me, because Lincoln in real life is a million times more intense than Lincoln in letters... and I'm seriously falling for him.”

“Everything is changing. My relationships are changing, my future is changing, my feelings are changing. My life is one big constant state of flux. I grew up scared of spiders, bees and dark corners in dimly lit basements. But this foe...change...it terrorizes me like nothing before.”

“If it wasn't for Noah, Echo would need me more... she would still be insecure, she would still be obsessing over the scars on her arms. She possibly wouldn't have recovered her memory of the night she got them. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be moving on with her life. Damn him for being a great guy.”

“I glance left, then to the right. Disoriented. Lost. Not knowing which way is home. But that's been the problem since the beginning. The root of all my evils.”

“I'm wrong. My house isn't a volcano-I am, and the past two years have created a dormant giant who no longer will tolerate being ignored. I'm tired of this. Tired of how everyone's become so obsessed with themselves, obsessed with the moment, that we've ceased caring what's going to happen next.”

“Is it weird that I feel so close to you even though you're hundreds of miles away and we've only met once? I hope not. I'm glad that you're in my life. ~Lila”

“And no, I don't mind if you want to write me again. Even if you do it in one of those kitten-hanging-from-a-tree cards. ~Lincoln”

“If he’ll let me. But he left the hospital without talking to me. I don’t know what that means.”Screw that. “Yes, of course I’ll see him again. Isaiah and I are friends and he’s going to realize that evenif I have to take a two-by-four to him.”

“All of us prayed for normal. But so far, normal only meant more misery.”

“I have never wanted anyone like I want you. There’s nothing you can do wrong when just breathing makes everything right.”

“Let him be, Beth. Sometimes you can’t help who you fall for.” - Isiah”

“Just like she’d said, she’d gone back to her life and, in theory, I’d gone back to mine. Problem? I didn’t like mine, not without her. - Noah”

“Noah held my hand and my bag as he escorted me to the third floor - the Women's Pavilion. The elevator bell rang and the doors opened. "Jesus, Echo, circulation in my hand would be a good thing," said Noah. "Sorry." I tried to let go, but Noah kept his fingers linked with mine.”

“You scared the shit out of me last night, so forgive me if I don't want to hear fine as an answer."I rubbed my eyes, hoping it would keep the burning tears away. The warm water of the shower had finally calmed the tears, but the thought of Noah walking away brought them back. "What do you want to hear? That I'm exhausted? Terrified? Confused? That all I want to do is rest my head on your chest and sleep for hours, but that's not going to happen because you're leaving me?""Yes," he said quickly, then just as quick said, "No. Everything but the last part." He paused. "Echo, how could you think I would leave you? How can you doubt how I feel?""Because," I said as I felt the familiar twisting in my stomach. "You saw me lose it. You saw me almost go insane."The muscles in his shoulders visibly tensed. "I watched you battle against the worst memory of your life and I watched you win. Make no mistake, Echo. I battled right beside you. You need to find some trust in me ... in us."Noah inhaled and slowly let the air out. His stance softened and so did his voice. "If you're scared, tell me. If you need to cry and scream, then do it. And you sure as hell don't walk away from us because you think it would be better for me. Here's the reality, Echo: I want to be by your side. If you want to go to the mall stark naked so you can show the world your scars, then let me hold your hand. If you want to see your mom, then tell me that, too. I may not always understand, but damn, baby, I'll try.”

“I've got you. I swear to God, I've got you," said Noah. "Stay with me, Echo."I wanted to. I wanted to stay with him, but the shouting and screams and glass breaking in my mind grew louder. "Make it stop."He tightened his grip on my arms. "Fight, Echo! You've got to fucking fight. Come on, baby. You're safe.”

“Please, Noah, I don't want to do this wrong. Tell me how to make you feel good."He shifted so that his body rested beside mine, his leg and arm still draped over me. I felt small under his warmth and strength. His chocolate-brown eyes softened. "Being with you feels good. Touching you-" he tucked a curl behind my ear. "-feels good. I have never wanted anyone like I want you. There's nothing you can do wrong when just breathing makes everything right.”

“Noah?"A welcome voice - not my mother's, but welcome all the same: Echo. A smile spread across my face. This was too good. Me in a towel, alone in the house with my nymph. I left the bathroom.”

“Come here, baby." And with my words, Echo leaned into me soft, pliant, broken. "You're not alone," I whispered into her hair as I cradled her in my arms. "You're not alone, because you have me." And I love you, more than you could ever know ”

“I wrote about the person I love most, my older brother, Noah. We don't live together so I wrote what I imagine he does when we're not together.""And what is that?" prodded the stout man. "He's a superhero who saves people in danger, because he saved me and my brother from dying in a fire a couple of years ago. Noah is better than Batman." The crowd chuckled. "I love you, too, lil'bro.”

“I must have killed a lot of cows in a past life for Karma to hate me this much.”

“Noah drew me closer to him. "It's okay. I've got you.”

“Not sure how I felt about Antonio and Echo, I linked my fingers with hers. Antonio cocked a surprised eyebrow. Damn straight, bro. I just marked my territory.”

“You know a lot about math," I said. You know a lot about math? What type of statement was that? Right along the lines of "Hey, you have hair and it's red and curly." Real smooth.”

“Wait." I began to pull off his jacket. "You forgot this.""Keep it," he said without looking back. "I'll get it from you on Monday. When we discuss tutoring."And Noah Hutchins - girl-using stoner boy and jacket-loaning savior - faded into the shadows.”

“Ya he perdido un pedazo de mi mente. No puedo confiarle a usted lo que queda”

“Estoy destinada a morir virgen.—Mi propia confesión me sorprendió. ¿Esas palabras salieron de mi boca? Froté el suave material de la chaqueta de Noah. Tal vez debería haber ido con él. No para drogarme, pero para... bueno... no morir virgen.”

“Fuck me and the rest of the world, i was in love- Noah”

“His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?"No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.”

“My siren had sung to me for way too long, capturing my heart, tempting me with her body, driving me slowly insane. Now, I expected her to pay up.”

“El fracaso es tu único enemigo. La única manera de llegar arriba es no mirar abajo. Tenemos éxito porque creemos.”

“Sometimes life happens.”

“They say be a good girl, get good grades, be popular. They know nothing about me.”

“Because growing up means making tough choices, and doing the right thing doesn’t necessarily mean doing the thing that feels good.”

“How could he love her when she’d destroyed so much?”

“My father was a strange combination of drill instructor and Alice’s white rabbit: he always had someplace important to go and enjoyed bossing everyone else around.”

“Silence. I hate silence. Silence means thinking and thinking means judgement.”

“Both of my hands wove into her hair again and clutched at the soft curls. No matter how I tightened my grip, the strands kept falling from my fingers, a shower of water from the sky.”

“Echo might be on the outs since she became a cutter and all, but she's still a popular chick. She'll bail on you and treat you like shit in the end." She took another draw. "There's only so many times people like us can have our hearts ripped out. She's a ripper.”

“I met his dark brown eyes. His fingers skimmed the back of my hand. The sensation tickled like a spring breeze yet hit me like a wave rushing from the ocean.”

“Wow. I thought I was the only person at this school faking every moment.”

“She gave me the same smile I'd seen on Saturday night. That type of smile caused men to write those pussy-ass songs that Isaiah and I made fun of. I'd sit in Mrs. Collins's office for hours and wake my ass up early to go to calculus in order to see that smile again.”

“I've already lost a piece of my mind. I can't trust you with what's left.”

“Trust. Why not ask me to do something easier, like prove the existence of God? Even God had given up on me.”