“At least it was instant. At least there wasn't any pain."I knew he was only trying to help, but he didn't get it.There was pain. A dul endless pain in my gut that wouldn't go away even when I knelt on the stingingly frozen tile of the bathroom, dry-heaving.”

“Don't take my pain away, leave my pain right there, you could even put more pain inside my pain and it wouldn't bother me.”

“All night, I talked to other people. I didn't look in his direction, but I always knew where he was. I was painfully aware of him. When he was nearby, my body hummed. When he was away, there was this dull ache. With him near, I felt everything.”

“If I didn't know any better, I'd say you just defended Christian's honor. Isn't he a pain in the ass?"Yes he is. But for the next 6 weeks he's MY pain in the ass.”

“I was trying to explain my situation to myself. My situation was that I was in pain and nobody knew it, even I had trouble knowing it. So I told myself, over and over, You are in pain. It was the only way I could get through to myself. I was demonstrating externally and irrefutably an inward condition.”

“I tried to drown the pain away but my pain learned how to swim...”