“I respect the hell out of her for how hard shes working to be okay. I just wish shed let me show her how to let go, how to let herself hurt. I want to take her pain.”

“Hot heart-blood leaked from my face. From my eyes and my nose and my mouth. Not tears, because those would never stop. This was just liquid heartbreak seeping from my pores.”

“But we have to learn to be free. We have to, Nell. Doesn't mean happy all the time, or okay all the time. Its okay not to be okay. I told you that, but I'm relearning it myself. But not being okay ...”

“But I think youre beautiful. Youre lovely. I shifted uncomfortably under the intense scrutiny and prickling heat in his eyes. Thanks? He thinks I'mlovely? The idea that Kyle thought I was not just ...”

“It wasn't supposed to. It was just supposed to stop you from hurting yourself. It helps No it doesn't. It just pushes it away temporarily. Just like the booze. But I need You need to let yourself f...”

“Its not okay, I tell her. This gets her attention; its not what she was expecting. You dont have to be okay. What do you want from me? Her voice is ragged, desperate. I want you to let yourself be ...”

“In the middle of the night, I saw chaos bleeding out of darkness and peace. Everything that was said and seen before seemed like a paradox. I saw the graves of lies breaking open and the truth craw...”

“A thing about poetry is, It takes cuts and pain to bleed words. The deeper the wound is, the more you bleed. And eventually, you will start falling in love with it. But the saddest part is, sometim...”

“We took the path that led others nowhere and only we saw the light at the end of the tunnel. They warned us about the monsters we would encounter, the odds that we would meet. And they laughed when...”

“I respect the hell out of her for how hard shes working to be okay. I just wish shed let me show her how to let go, how to let herself hurt. I want to take her pain.”

“But we have to learn to be free. We have to, Nell. Doesn't mean happy all the time, or okay all the time. Its okay not to be okay. I told you that, but I'm relearning it myself. But not being okay ...”

“She closes her eyes, and I can see the moisture. Shes deep-breathing again, and I notice her hands are clutched around the opposing wrists, nails digging in deep, hard, scratching. Pain to replace ...”

“To cut and tighten sentences is the secret of mastery.”

“Loss is a knife, constantly cutting, but over time the blade dulls, and the cuts aren't as sharp. It's always there in the drawer, but you realize it doesn't cut as deeply anymore.”

“And it was sad music fit to make you cut your throat.”