“And it was different because I'd already lost her so many times, so many ways, in my head. And different because she was never really mine to lose.And different because this wasn't my fault.”

“I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful.”

“So many different kinds of love, harmonious in this one moment. It seemed a very hopeful picture to me.”

“His mouth was on mine then, and I couldn't fight him. Not because he was so many thousand times stronger than me, but because my will crumbled into dust the second our lips met. This kiss was not quite as careful as others I remembered, which suited me just fine. If I was going to rip myself up further, I might as well get as much in trade as possible.So I kissed him back, my heart pounding out a jagged, disjointed rhythm while my breathing turned to panting and my fingers moved greedily to his face. I could feel his marble body against every line of mine, and I was so glad he hadn't listened to me―there was no pain in the world that would have justified missing this. His hand memorized my face, the same way mine were tracing his, and, in the brief seconds when his lips were free, he whispered my name.”

“I ached for the difference between Carlisle and me - that he could touch her so gently, without fear, knowing he would never harm her.”

“My heart hasn't beat in almost ninety years but this was different it was like my heart was gone like I was hallow like I'd left everything here with you.”

“I'd loved in so many bodies, but never one I loved like this. Never one that I craved in this way. Of course, this would be the one I'd have to give up. The irony made me laugh, and I concentrated on the feel of the air that popped in little bubbles from my chest and up through my throat. Laughter was like a fresh breeze - it cleaned its way through the body, making everything feel good. Did other species have such a simple healer? I couldn't remember one.”