“I didn’t know if I could stop her with one blow. But I could whack the crap out of her.”

“You knew better!” she yelled, and I spun towardmy mom. She stood, and she was crying, and Icouldn’t stand it, but there was nothing I could do.“You were grounded, and you went out drinkinganyway. Sabine just got arrested for the same thing andyou saw her in that place, but it didn’t sink in, did it?You went out and partied, and Tod paid for it. You gothim killed!” Her legs folded and she dropped to herknees on the carpet.”

“I held her tighter, just because I could. Because she was fierce, and beautiful, and mind.”

“Crap. He was actually crying. I didn't know how to deal with a crying father. I barely knew how to deal with a normal one.”

“I could take care of that obstacle for her - I'd tear down anything standing between us - but I couldn't destroy what I couldn't even see.”

“I don’t want to love him—this would be so much simpler if I didn’t. But I do.He’s funny, and passionate, and strong, and he believes in me more than I even believe in myself. When he looks at me, I feel like I could take on the whole world and come out standing tall. I like myself better when I’m with him, because of how he sees me. He makes me feel beautiful and powerful, like I’m the most important thing in the world, and I don’t know how to walk away from that. I don’t know how to walk away from him.”

“There were a million What Ifs that could have stopped the whole thing. A million things I wished I'd done differently. But in the end, I was left with what actually happened. With my mistakes and his.”