“The more he smiled, the more I wanted to hate him, and yet it was the very thing that made hating him impossible.”

“A residual smile lingered on his face, making the dimple in his cheek sink in. The more he smiled, the more I wanted to hate him, and yet it was the very thing that made hating him impossible.”

“You don’t really hate me…do you?” he asked.“Sometimes I wish that I did. It would make everything a whole hell of a lot easier.”“So what pisses you off more? What I did to make you wanna hate me? Or knowing that you can’t?”

“I turned away from his grip, ashamed that I couldn’t tell him the truth. I was the one that wasn’t good enough. I would be the one to ruin everything; to ruin him. He would hate me one day, and I couldn’t see the look in his eye when he came to that conclusion.”

“My eyes filled with tears. “Get out.”“Pigeon,” he said, taking a step toward me.“Get OUT!” I said, grabbing the glass from the night stand and throwing it at him. He ducked, and it shattered against the wall in hundreds of tiny, glistening shards. “I hate you!”

“I looked at Mommy but quickly shook my head. "I don't want to miss her."Becky put her soft, warm hand on my shoulder, just like Mommy used to when I was upset. "Your mom wants to be here with you. She wants that very much. But Jesus wants her with him right now."I frowned. "I need her more than Jesus does.”

“Travis punched his palm. “Do you want me to go beat the piss out of Finch? Teach him a lesson? I’ll take him out.”I couldn’t help but smile. “If I wanted to take Finch out, I’d just tell him Prada went out of business, and he’d finish the job for me.”