Physical imperfections have always offended him, but…

“Oh, baby girl," he says with a sigh. "I am so, so sorry.”

— Laura Wiess

“And maybe love is terrifying. I'm terrified now, but not in the way she would think. I'm terrified because I hate who she is…

— Laura Wiess

“Ignorance of the outcome doesn't exempt you from the consequences.”

— Laura Wiess

“We wait to be rescued, but for whatever reason, no one comes. We figure that if no one protects us then we must not…

— Laura Wiess

“Hate the behavior, not the individual.”

— Laura Wiess

“Silence was the key to self-preservation.”

— Laura Wiess

“Yeah, I know I've changed. Nothing gets to me anymore. Well, okay, except for stuff in the past. Back then I was all innocent…

— Laura Wiess

“Oh, there's a wholesome outing.' I say. 'Let's all skip down to the cop shop to register my daddy as a pervert. What fun.”

— Laura Wiess

“Why should I just sit around hoping it happens when maybe I can do something to make it happen?”

— Laura Wiess

“Maybe it's true that shared trauma brings people closer together-a common hardship, a battle to survive-because when times are quiet people relax and go…

— Laura Wiess

“That goes for old wounds, too, you know. I really wish we'd had the chance to talk before this," he says, cracking the window…

— Laura Wiess

“The ache starts in my chest and spreads through my veins. The abuse I can handle; it's the happiness that cripples.”

— Laura Wiess

“How can you make someone love you when they won't? And what if that person happens to be your mother?”

— Laura Wiess

“How about giving your old man a break here, huh, Chirp?" "Chirp is dead," I hear myself say and watch the flat words destroy…

— Laura Wiess

“The distant threat of eternal damnation pales in comparison to the immediate gratification of corrupting young skin.”

— Laura Wiess