Katie McGarry

“Having nothing left to fidget with, i rested against the counter and tried not to stare at Noah. But i wanted to. He had his jacket off and his black t-shirt fit him perfectly. Today, during lunch, Grace had tunred her nose up when she spotted the bottom of his tattoo on his right bicep. I'd silently agreed with Lila's comment-yum. My inides had melted when Noah produced his wicked grinand gazed at me like i was naked. Luke used to give me butterflies. Noah spawned mutant pterodactyls.”

“She had exposed her hands while she tutored me. Shit. I'd forgotten about her scars. Hell, she'd forgotten about her scars-until now. I wanted that moment back, and to see her smile again. "Then who did? I't's been a while since i've been in a fight. My rep will be ruin if i'm good for too long." She fought it, but i won. The smile returned for a brief dazling moment.”

“Craving more of her touch, i shifted on the floor so my arm touched her shoulder. Echo's lips never moved, but my siren sang nonetheless. Her song seared my skin and my nose burned from her sugar and cinnamon scent.”

“A warm, tickling touch crashed me back to earth. Maybe it sent me straight to heaven. Either way, it dragged me out of hell. Echo's pink fingernails caressed the back of my hand. "Who did you lose?" "My parents." No pathetic sympathy crossed her face, only plain understanding.”

“Guess that makes me a cheater, huh?" "No, it means you have a brother who cared.”

“Her green eyes shone when i asked questions and she gave me the siren smile each time i clued in. That smile only made me want to learn more.”

“He shoved his hands in his pockets. His hair fell into his eyes, blocking my new favorite view.”

“I stared into his eyes and waited his response. Neither one of us moved. Dear God, Lila and Natalie were right. He was hot. How could i have missed a body built like this? His unzipped jacket exposed hit t-shirt, so tight i could see the curve of his muscles. And those dark brown eyes...”

“Here's the thing- I love you and I love her, but I swear to God I'll kick your ass if you hurt her.”

“I need you.""I'm here."And we sit in silence.”

“Jocks usually aren't smart. Their muscles feast on their brains.”

“Baseball isn't just a game. It's the smell of popcorn drifting in the air, the sight of bugs buzzing near the stadium lights,the roughness of the dirt beneath your cleats. It's the anticipation building in your chest as the anthem plays, the adrenaline rush when your bat cracks against the ball, and the surge of blood when the umpire shouts strike after you pitch. It's a team full of guys backing your every move, a bleacher full of people cheering you on. It's...life”

“He took a step toward me and whispered in my ear "I really did love you." Leaving out the unsaid word; Once. "Me too." Once.”

“Echo already felt like a heavy drug. The kind I avoided on purpose—crack, heroin, meth. The ones that screwed with your mind, crept into your blood and left you powerless, helpless.”

“Everything inside me twisted in pain and relief. My brothers. I was in the same room as my brothers.”

“Yellow light. Yellow light!" And she ran right through the red. "Jesus Christ, you can't drive.”

“Noah's smile gave me flutters.”

“Her perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed as she ran through what i said. I loved how her lips twiched in humor and a blush touched her cheeks.”

“I consider giving her crap about her lack of organizational skills, but decided not to. It took some major balls to be alone with a punk like me.”

“I'm destined to die a virgin."Maybe i should have gone off with him. Not to get high, but to...well...not die a virgin.”

“Do you have some sort of issue with jackets?”

“She'd come home with me to act as my barrier for Family Friday-or as i liked to refer it, Dinner for the Damned.”

“Ashley waddled back into the room and dropped into the seat next to me. "What did i miss?" I'd honestly forgotten she existed. Oh, if only dad would, too.”

“My father was missing some very important meeting, and my stepmother from Oz? I'm sure she was missing her brain.”

“I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? 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.”

“What if there's another fire? You're not going to be there to save me.""I'll always save you." Because I would. I'd move heaven and earth. I'd willingly walk into hell and stay there. I'd give up anything and everything for him.”

“A gunshot screamed into the night. Both Isaiah and I froze. I prayed to God that nothing warm or wet left my body, and I wasn't referring to piss.”

“I wish I could sleep with you,” Echo’s sexy-ashelldrowsy voice mumbled through the phone.“Say the word, baby, and I’ll rock yourworld.”

“Noah,” she breathed out, unknowinglyfulfilling one of my many fantasies involving Echo”

“-Echo, ¿cómo crees que te dejaría? ¿Cómo puedes dudar de lo que siento? —Porque me viste enloquecer. Me viste casi volverme loca.— Te vi luchar contra el peor recuerdo de tu vida y te vi ganar. No te equivoques, Echo. Luché a tu lado. Necesitas encontrar la confianza en mí...en nosotros.”

“Crecer significa tomar decisiones difíciles y hacer lo correcto no necesariamente significa hacer lo que te hace sentir bien.”

“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 your side. If you want to go 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.”

“Echo, how could you think I would leave you? How can you doubt how I feel?”

“Te amo lo suficiente para nunca hacerte escoger.”

“Sus hombros nunca se sacudieron. No había lágrimas corriendo por su rostro. El peor tipo de llanto no era el que todos podían ver, el llanto en las esquinas, el desgarro en la ropa. No. Lo peor sucedía cuando su alma lloraba y no importaba lo que hiciese, no había manera de consolarla.”

“You really fucked this up, Einstein.""You hate her.""She grew on me. Kind of like moss.”

“Look, man, I get it. We don't do attachments. We depend on something or someone and the system rips it away from us. But Echo's not the system, man. She's a girl who looked like shit yesterday and chased you down when we all decided you should play the dick instead of being her friend.”

“I really did love you." Leaving out the unsaid word, once."Me, too." Once.”

“I added a fucked-up thought to another fucked-up thought and I created a pile of shit.”

“Sometimes when you see the line, you think it's a good idea to cross it--until you do.”

“Because the only way anyone will ever be okay with me is if they love me. Really love me enough to not care that I’m damaged.”

“We walked toward the arcade and Noah shifted his hand to allow his fingers to rest beside mine. My heart galloped like a horse. This was Noah Hutchins. The Noah Hutchins that refused steady relationships or even dating. The Noah Hutchins that only wanted one-night stands. A stoner. My opposite. And right now, everything I wanted.”

“Once upon a time, my world revolved around you.”

“Do you think we can just take it on faith right now that I want you, you want me, and we'll figure out the happy ending part later?”

“Normal. She wanted normal and so did I.”

“ Doing the right thing doesn't necessarily mean doing the thing that feels good ”

“Echo, I can’t tell you what’s going to happen because I don’t know. I don’t hold hands in the halway or sit at anyone else’s lunch table. But I swear …on my brothers that you’ll never be a joke to me and you’ll be much more than a girl in the backseat of my car.”

“Dear Lord, I think I broke something, like my liver.”

“I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me.”