“Yet sometimes being a friend meant letting people do things that hurt, like putting distance between you, just because it made them happy.”

“Most people weren’t aware enough to fear the things that could really hurt them.”

“My heart raced. He needs you, I thought. Don't let him down. I couldn't remember ever being so happy... or so scared.”

“Stalkers lips curled into a sneer. "You won't make a move without him, huh? That's embarrassing.""No," I said softly. "It just hurts because you wish it was you.”

“People try to make sense of things, and if they don’t know the answers, they make them up, because for some, a wrong answer is better than none.”

“As I dive between the legs of a big Gunnar, I see Mair wind up and slam her shockstick hard as she can between the V of another guy’s thighs. Falling, he makes a noise that I can’t say I’ve heard a human utter before, sort of like I imagine a puppy would sound being put through a juicer.”

“Sometimes the past needed to stay buried; it was the only way you could move on. And sometimes you had to dig it up, because that too was the only way.”