“Everything we were, and all of our wealth was a dark ruse. Shiny magic cards got us whatever we desired and the cloak of darkness that gilded our true intent was never pulled back. He would not allow us to be discovered while we did his work.”

“I could feel it then like I feel it now, like a palpable thing inside me, like a physical touch; what we shared was not accidental and nothing close to normal. It was not imagined or fabricated out of loneliness or the conditions under which we were brought to New Haven. It was given to us, meant only for us. It was a gift much like the "special gifts" that brought us to New Haven.”

“It was a place that would normally be afraid of, but now I had no fears of the dark. I was the thing in the dark.”

“As we flew down the highway I started to think seriously about what I was doing and what would happen. I felt Beau’s hand slide over mine, holding my hands tighter to his chest. It was then I realized that I didn’t care what was going to happen. I didn’t care that we had just left everything I knew or that we’d committed grand theft auto. It didn’t feel wrong to me. I felt like those moments were what life was all about; seizing the ones that make you feel alive and never letting go.”

“I realized then that it was a game we were playing; from the very beginning. But we weren’t playing the same game and when it came down to it, he wasn’t playing by the rules.”

“When we were young his hands had been soft but now they were a man's hands, with rough palms and coarse fingertips, but they were still as careful as ever.”

“I learned that love wasn't a magical thing. It was something more like hormones and sensations. It was tolerance and patience. It was accepting one another despite our differences and forgiving each other even when the other didn't deserve it. Love, for Beau and I, was anything but easy. It boiled down to us understanding one another and learning to enjoy each other.Eventually, I loved him like I breathed air.”