“Then let me be your mercy,” he said. “I’ll never be able to give you smart answers about why we suffer, but… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“I’d known cruelty in a school—cruelty that would keep these amateurs up all night. But this kind of scene—crowds batting around a… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Most kids grow sullen and angry when they’re working through issues, but Thanet mustered up another kind of bull-headed strength. The kind… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“It was about how men walk into a forest afraid because they know all the things that can happen. They might wake… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“On the best nights, he’d appear outside the bookstore window and wait for me to unlock the door. He usually hadn’t had… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“The ice cold fear I’d felt, not knowing if Wyatt was alive, pressed into the wall with other girls and surrounded by… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Wait,” Quinn said. “There’s one more thing.” I turned around and raised an eyebrow. His eyes were wary and he lacked his… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“We bumped into other silent lines of kids going in the same direction. We looked like we were much younger and our… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Here’s what I learned about life when we were going through that. We’re all human and mortal. We’re all going to suffer… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“I couldn’t stop crying because it was so intimate, in that way I always thought being physical with him would feel. If… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Hold still, Meg, you’re dripping blood on my car seats.” I reached behind the passenger seat of Tennyson’s car looking for the… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Do you know how hard it is to paint kindness?” She leaned her hip against a desk in the corner of the… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“I needed out. The Jeep wasn’t fast enough. I shut it down, grabbed the keys and started running like a bear was… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“For a second, I stared at the map of her veins just under the surface of her thin skin. It was like… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“We all think when we’re young that we want excitement and highs and passion. To hell with ordinary.” I smiled and she… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“But with her eyes closed, she began to whisper. “If you have someone to love, then love. If you have someone to… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Sometimes, in the stillness of my room, my mom’s voice came to me, repeating things she’d said for months. Like, “My skin… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“He smiled and squinted at me again, tilting his head up and to the right as he stared. “Maybe what I’m attracted… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“I reached down and picked up a baseball bat at my feet and I flung it as hard as it could. It… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Look at this one.” I picked up a small painting of a man with dark hair and a short, dark beard. He… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“You’re kidding, right? The whole town will know where we are just by the idle on that thing.” He feigned a look… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Is there one in particular, Tennyson?” Henry said, ducking out from under her arm. “I could arrange a meeting.” “Yeah, the one… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“She didn’t see me because of the reflection on the store windows, and she wouldn’t know me in this car anyway. In… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“My mom was sitting at the kitchen table. She’d set her coffee down, making a noise that made me look her way.… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“I didn’t look at Thanet. I couldn’t because he would see the hurt on my face. “He loves you,” Thanet said. “He’s… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“The first thing I needed, possibly the only thing, was to kiss her and I did, for as long as I could.… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“All of the emotions that hit people at times like these, all of them, were coursing through us both like a secret… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Her problem is with pretty,” Tennyson said. "She thinks I’ll need all these dresses in college. Like I would ever in a… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“New rules—we needed new rules. No one opens the main doors but me. No one leaves the property without me. No one… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“I’d never seen him bare-chested. For the first time, he seemed vulnerable to me. His smooth, tight skin wrapped around the long… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Quinn spoke their language—all mystery and inside jokes, scarred souls and statement shirts. It was a beautiful moment for him—in his element… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Let’s go to town,” Jo said. “Take me to eat dinner at the hotel.” I sucked in a breath and stared at… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“My dad used to say, ‘This is what your right arm’s for, son,’” John said. “This is the time and these are… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“He ran his hand from my wrist up to the crook of my elbow and then to my shoulder. “When I was… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“I really want to believe that when our Quiet Waters kids wake up in the middle of the night, scared, they’ll remember… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“He carried her over the Owl Creek mountain range without stopping,” he said, quietly this time. “He carried her until he reached… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“It was the first time I discovered that some girls actually sneak out of the house during slumber parties and meet up… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“I’d stumbled upon the inner sanctuary of a woman who loved the world. Loved the faces of people she saw. Loved the… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“Meg,” he whispered. “It wouldn’t be real love if there weren’t the possibility for another response to him. If we couldn’t choose… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
“I’ve known her long enough to know that this was purely intentional.” He peered sideways at me, judging my reaction. “I like… — Laura Anderson Kurk Copy Share Image
