“Keep in touch.I suddenly realized how annoying that expression was. Like, Now it's your job to stay in contact with me. It said, I'm really just too lazy.I started to write back, to keep in touch, but decided I'd be lazy as well.”

“It seemed like the only way to keep breathing was to focus on the here and now, moment by moment, keeping my mind frozen cold to anything else.”

“Kiss me, Joe. I won’t shatter… Seriously, Joe, you can touch me without breaking me. In fact, you might even put me a little bit back together.”

“I don’t know, Laurel,” said David, and I loved how he said my name, like he enjoyed it.”

“Laurel, I hope you find something like this, a little self-destructive habit you can turn to every once in a while, when you’re tired of being good. It will keep you sane.”

“Holding the knife with the blade against my palm, it became so clear how my life would only contain shadows now. Shadows of things gone; not just the people themselves but everything connected to them. Was this my future? Every moment, every tiny thing I saw and did and touched, weighted by loss. Every space in this house andmy town and the world in general, empty in a way that could never be filled.”

“i've found that letting something stay broken for a little while helps me understand it.”