“His gaze, lowered toward the ground, slowly, leisurely drifts up, until it slams into mine with the heavy force of steel against steel. The green is back, emerald flames dancing behind clouds of bl...”

“Now I wonder if maybe allowing another person to give you strength takes a certain kind of strength in itself.To be able to lean all your weight on someone else with confidence in the knowledge the...”

“You understand what Im telling you, Tommy? You have a light inside you, and the only person who gets to decide whether that light shines or not is you.”

“And maybe . . . maybe hell even get more comfortable having me around. Open up, wanna chat more, and well become almost friends, orHey, he grumbles from behind me, am I paying you to stand there an...”

“I part my lips, but no words come out. I want to cry. Want to beg. Want to scream. But mostly, I want to hold him until I know hes going to be okay. Then I want him to hold me until Im okay, too.”

“Heartache is my constant companion, and were perfect for one another. Two co-dependent peas in a pod. My past and my future.”

“The heart was made to be broken.”

“He does something to me, that boy. Every time. Its his only detriment. He steps on my heart. He makes me cry.”

“Was it hard?" I ask.Letting go?"Not as hard as holding on to something that wasn't real.”