“Yes Headwoman Azaze. But I never lie to Rosethorn. She, um, discourages it.""Evvy and I have an understanding." She grabbed the teakettle and poured hot water into the mug. "She tells me the truth, and I don't hang her in the first well we come to. It's a solution that works tolerably well for both of us.”

“Janco leaned on the threshold of my door with his face creased in annoyance. “Did she just—”“Yes.”“But I don’t—”“Yes. You do. We both stink.”“Well, I’m not—”“Yes. You are.”He huffed. “You won’t let—”“No. No complaining. Let’s go.” I grabbed a clean shirt and pants from my saddlebags.“Well, she could have handled it better,” he grumped.“No. She couldn’t.”He settled into a sulky silence as we visited the bathhouse.”

“No, I mean with us. Do you think we would have made it?"It took a moment for her to answer. "I don't know, Noah. I really don't, and you don't either. We're not the same people we were then.We've changed. Both of us."She paused. He didn't respond, and in the silence she looked towards the creek. She went on. "But yes, Noah, I think we would have. At least, I'd like to think we would have.”

“And as much as I'm telling her to stay here, I still want her to choose to come with me. To say fuck sanity and healing and closure. To say that I am the only thing she needs to be well and whole and alive. But we both know that's not true.”

“She's so hot. I wanna tell her she's hot, but she'll think I'm sexist. She's so hot, she's making me sexist... bitch." ”

“OK snark, settle. You're telling me you don't have the tiniest crush on him? Tell the truth, Grace," she said, cornering me over by the dishwasher."I don't have a crush," I debated."Well, maybe I have half a crush. I have a 'cruh'," I admitted, giggling."But it's strickly Joshua inspired," I added, knowing that was not entirely true.”