“If I were standing right beside her, I probably would have heard her heart breaking. It would have sounded like the cracking of a wooden bat connecting with a baseball. No, that was too clean of a break. It would have sounded like rain from a powerful thunderstorm pounding on a tin roof. Millions of drops relentlessly pounding away on the surface until it shattered into billions of tiny pieces. Pieces Emily couldn’t put back together by herself.”

“Right then, hearing the tears that had to be falling from her beautiful brown eyes, I wanted nothing more than to take each piece and put it back together again until she was whole. I had to do it. I had to for her and for me. Maybe if Emily can be restored and healed, then maybe, just maybe, so could I.”

“Emily leans forward and gives me a kiss. Through the kiss, she shows me her love. I show her my love and excitement for our future. She is mine and until she didn’t want me, she always would be.”

“Seeing her like this, I realized I was in love with her. I smiled at the realization. She was mine and I intended to keep it that way.”

“They say that whatever is meant to be will happen. That if a love is true, it will always come back to you. Bullshit. You can't wait around for love to come back or for something to happen. You have to make it happen. Have you ever heard of someone accomplishing their dreams by waiting around because 'what is meant to be will happen'?No.Those people fought for what they wanted and loved. They didn't lean back and wait for their dreams to come rushing at them. Each and every one made their dream come true. They found love because they were searching for it. They didn't let anything get in their way. Every day for the rest of mylife, I will fight for my love and my dreams. I will work to make things stick together instead of working to make them fall apart.”

“Love can either heal or destroy. Love is so powerful that it can sweep you up like a leaf in the wind. Up and down, twirling here and there. Hitting objects that stand in the way, making you stronger.And sometimes a hand catches the fragile leaf and crushes it. Love is beautiful as well. That hand couldcatch that leaf and hold it like a baby bird. Stroke it with care. Love is powerful. A lesson I will never ever forget.”

“What I do think is that we have to take what happens and learn from it and make ourselves a better person because of it.”