“I was here with the most amazing man. He didn’t even care about my past. He wanted me exactly how I was, even if I was broken.”

“Maybe he didn’t really encourage me to do things, but he didn’t prevent me from doing them either. But after a while, I didn’t do things because I didn’t want him to think different about me. But the thing is, I wasn’t being honest. So, why would I care whether or not he loved me when he didn’t really even know me?”

“I just wanted so badly to start over, be someone new, and then he came into my life. I didn’t expect him, never even wanted anything like him before, but here he is. Now I kind of need him.”

“My life changed in a heartbeat. Just like that” – she snapped her fingers – “everything was taken away from me. My dad and Eric were dead; my cousin and best friend, the only person who knew exactly how I felt, was moving to another country; my aunt didn’t even want to keep in touch. My greatest fear to this day is that people I care about will be torn away from my life and I won’t be able to do anything about it. I realise that’s what most people are afraid of, but I know how it feels at first hand and I never want to go through it again.”

“I won’t even pretend I didn’t care. I wanted to win. I mean, if you don’t care about winning the competition, why show up?”

“I made love to a woman who didn’t exist, and I can’t remember how it didn’t feel. It amazes me how often I think about not thinking about it.”