“Change your mind about playing doctor?""No, but I hear candy-striper uniforms are pretty cute.”

“Oh fine. I'll play nice with the pretty people.”

“I am not cute. I am the dreaded Grim Reaper. People fear me, you know. There's a whole song about it.”

“Or has your dad changed his mind about that?" Alex sneered. "My father never changes his mind." "Oh, that's right. Your dad's the sort who'll bang his head into a brick wall over and over, convinced the wall will eventually collapse. But it isn't the bricks that are going to cave in, Alex. Fortunately you seem to have avoided that particular character flaw - you're messed up in an entirely different way.”

“She's fifteen!"Nash shrugged. "That's just a number. It doesn't say anything about her.""It says something pretty damn funny about your IQ!" I said, and he opened his mouth to retort, but I spoke over him. "Fifteen is too young to drive, too young to get a legal job, too young to sign a lease, and obviously too young to pick a boyfriend with half a brain.”

“You shouldn't talk about things you don't understand. Which should leave you pretty damn quiet.”

“You know, honey, Natalie's expecting her second." I arched my eyebrows at my mother, not following the change of subject. "Second what? Mortgage? Conviction? Chance at life?""Baby of course. Her second baby. The doctor says this one's a girl." I laughed, genuinely amused that my mother thought it should have been so obvious. "Yeah. Well, I bet Natalie can't drop a Stray with a Powerhouse Right Hook. ”