“You never let things go unanswered for too long. Emails. Phone calls. Questions. As if you know the waiting is the hardest part for me.”

“bolster, v.I am very careful whenever I know you’re on the phone with your father. I know you’ll come to me eventually, and we’ll talk you through it. But I have to wait — you need your time. In the meantime, I’m careful what songs I play. I try to speak to you with my selections.”

“You leave the phone on beside you as you fall asleep. I sit in my bed and listen to your breathing, until I know you are safe, until I know you no longer need me for the night.”

“Let's go into the woods and take some pictures," you said. "I found this old camera.""Let go!" you screamed. "Let go of me!""You have to let go," the counselor told me. "Let go of what you're holding inside."I can touch the picture but it's not your face.I can touch the screen but it's not your face.Let go.”

“composure, n.You told me anyway, even though I didn’t want to know. A stupid drunken fling while you were visiting Toby in Austin. Months ago. And the thing I hate the most is knowing how much hinges on my reaction, how your unburdening can only lead to me being burdened. If I lose it now, I will lose you, too. I know that. I hate it.You wait for my response.”

“It's not the easy things that let you get to know a person.”

“i have never had anybody talk to me like this.this is not a flirty sixth-grade phone call or bantering with friends or words passed in a note.i feel that if my soul could talk it wouldtalk like this.”