“[S]he found it impossible to move, the weight of her failure keeping her anchored to the sofa.”

“I don't think I can keep looking at this stuff, Buster," she informed him, handing the camera to her brother. "It makes me want to drink either more alcohol or none, and I can't imagine either possibility.”

“I know why you picked that movie,' he told her. Annie smiled and said, 'It fits our life in a few ways, I guess.' Buster pointed at the screen, which was now blank. 'It shows you that you have to stay vigilant to find a missing person, even when people tell you not to, that it's possible to bring them back from the dead.' Annie shook her head. 'I picked it because it shows that after you bring someone back from the dead, you get to kill them yourself.”

“Annie, no stranger to disappointment, felt the hope break down inside her body and disperse without any lingering effects.”

“Annie took another sip of the vodka, letting the alcohol seep through her system, turning bad ideas into good ones.”

“When she called her brother, Buster said that she should climb out the window of the bathroom and run away, which was his solution to most problems.”

“She is prettier than her picture had prepared me for, blond curls, big blue eyes, like a fake child that someone would make in order to convince people to have children.”