“To my mind, modern life just offers too many numbers that we're supposed to keep track of.”

“Edmund cleared his throat. "Pretty as a picture, isn't she?"Fade only nodded. His hungry stare brought color to my cheeks, and I was conscious of the warmth of his fingers when he touched me. Just on the arm, but my skin was bare, and it felt shocking, intimate, too darking in front of my foster parents.”

“A divided heart offers a strange sensation.”

“My body was a machine, plain and simple. I worked it to stay strong; I fed it to keep it running.”

“His reply offers infinite solace in a single word. Always.”

“I want to drag you off and hide you away,” he whispered. “Why?” “I always knew you were beautiful, but now everyone else will too. I won’t be able to keep other boys away from you, and it’ll make me crazy.”

“My heart should be breaking, too, but there comes a point when you’re so inured to loss that you no longer feel the lash.”