Jennifer Echols

“It's one thing to think you're worthless, and quite another for somebody else to tell you that you are.”

“Yes, I was good at reading people. I studied them so I could put them in my novels.”

“Why are you pretending to write, when I already know you're just doing that to intimidate me?”

“I continued to move my fingers across his skin exactly as I had before, but I needed to make a decision. I had reached for him, but I could back out of it by trailing my fingers down his arm and settling my hand in his, like I wanted us to be friends.I didn't want us to be friends.Ever so slowly, I slid my hand up his sleeve, across his shoulder, and up his neck to cradle his jaw, prickly with stubble.”

“And you’re beautiful. You’d have to work pretty hard to mess that up.”

“Dad" I pleaded, "this is so [cuss word you never, ever say in front of your mother] ridiculous.”

“Seeing him jogging at the park had cracked the window so I could peek into his soul. Seeing him with his friends threw the window wide”

“You should never start something when you haven't finished the last thing. People feel used that way.”

“I love you.”I stared stupidly at him. Was he joking again, reciting another line from my story? I didn’t remember writing this.He leaned in and kissed me. I didn’t respond for a few seconds. My mind lagged behind what my body was feeling.“Say it,” he whispered against my lips. “I know this is hard for you. Tell me.”“I love you.” Hearing my own words, I gasped at the rush of emotion.He put his hands on either side of my jaw and took my mouth with his.”

“It’s going to be a pretty day to fly.”

“I turned to the clarinets. They were a resourceful lot.”

“You’ve gone far away to a place with no horses and very little grass, and you’re studying how to write a story with a happy ending. If you can write that ending for yourself, maybe you can come back.”

“You're a beautiful girl If you show the slightest interest in Alec, he'll want to go out with you. I know I would.”

“Deana Carter sings about it. Lady Antebellum sings about it. Eric Church. Gosh, not just country artists. Katy Perry. Everybody has a song about it because everybody's been through it. You find that person at eighteen and you lose yourself. And the tragedy is, it's the person who's completely opposed to everything you've ever wanted. You bond with that person, and that person breaks your heart. I'm that tragedy for you, and you're mine.”