“Haven’t you heard of being hung, drawn, and quartered?”Blue asked, “Is it as painful as conversations with Ronan?”Gansey cast a glance over to Ronan, who was a small, indistinct form by the trees. Adam audibly swallowed a laugh.“Depends on if Ronan is sober,” Gansey answered.Adam asked, “What is he doing, anyway?”“Peeing.”“Trust Lynch to deface a place like this five minutes after getting here.”“Deface? Marking his territory.”“He must own more of Virginia than your father, then.”“I don’t think he’s ever used an indoor toilet, now that I consider it.”

“Blue." It was Ronan's voice, for the first time, and everyone, even Helen, twisted their head towards him. His head was cocked in a way that Gansey recognized as dangerous. Something in his eyes was sharp as he stared at Blue. He asked, "Do you know Gansey?" ... Blue looked defensive under their stares. She said reluctantly. "Only his name." With his fingers loosely together, elbows on his knees, Ronan leaned forward across Adam to be closer to Blue. He could be unbelievably threatening. "And how is it," he asked," you came to know Gansey's name?”

“Gansey had once told Adam that he was afraid most people didn't know how to handle Ronan. What he meant by this was that he was worried that one day someone would fall on Ronan and cut themselves.”

“Gansey's partying with his mother," Ronan said. He smelled like beer. "And Noah's fucking dead. But Parrish is here.”

“In the end, he was nobody to Adam, he was nobody to Ronan. Adam spit his words back at him and Ronan squandered however many second chances he gave him. Gansey was just a guy with a lot of stuff and a hole inside him that chewed away more of his heart every year.”

“Well,” said Ronan, “I hope he likes it. I’ve pulled a muscle.”Gansey scoffed, “Doing what? You were standing watch.”“Opening my hood.”