“Unlike some older brothers, I never set him on fire, or cut off an arm or leg, or drowned him in the tub. ”

“don't wait for the man standing in the snowto cut off his arm help him now”

“His was a burning love, a fire that set my soul alight and weakened me with desire for him, for his arms, for his heart.”

“He felt as if someone had reached into his chest and cut off a tiny piece of his heart and made him eat it.His heart tasted very bitter to him, and he hated Peter more than ever, although part of him still loved hishandsome older brother and always would.And although the taste had been bitter, he had liked it.Because it was his heart.”

“Seducing him in the tub smelling of vinegar was out of the question. There had to be some boundaries.”

“No matter how much he talked, she never answered him, but he knew she was still there. He knew it was like the soldiers he had read about. They would have an arm or a leg blown off, and for days, even weeks after it happened, they could still feel the arm itching, the leg itching, the mother calling.”