“His right ear still held both studs, and I wondered who had the missing earring. I would have asked, but was afraid he’d tell me Ivy had it.”

“But the same things that had once attracted menow left me with a mild sense of unease. Ivy would say I was getting smarter, but I just felt…empty.”

“I felt my shoulders ease at her admission. She was going to do what she had to do, and I was going to do what I had to do. And Ivy? Ivy was going to go insane.”

“Ivy could have been a model. Hell, Ivy could be anything she wanted. Except happy. Ivy had issues.”

“Oh, my God, when Ivy got it wrong, she really got it wrong. I didn’t need a boyfriend. I had all the drama I could stand right here.”

“Kisten, please don't leave me," I begged, and his eyes opened."I'm cold," he said, fear rising in his blue eyes.I held him tighter. "I'm holding you. It's going to be okay.""Tell Ivy," he said with a gasp, clenching in on himself. "Tell Ivy that it wasn't her fault. And tell her that at the end... you remember love. I don't think... we lose our souls... at all. I think God keeps them for us until we... come home. I love you, Rachel.""I love you, too, Kisten," I sobbed, and as I watched, his eyes, memorizing my face, silvered, and he died.”

“Newt had said I loved Ivy more than the church. I wasn’t going to deny it, but there were all kinds of love, and how shallow would I be if my anchor to reality was a hunk of real estate? It was the people who were there that made it mean something.”