Come here, baby.” And with my words, Echo leaned into me soft, pliant, broken. “You’re not alone,” I whispered into her hair as I cradled her in my arms. “You’re not alone, because you have...

You know a lot about math,” I said. You know a lot about math? What type of statement was that? Right along the lines of “Hey, you have hair and it’s red and curly.” Real...

I love you enough to never make you choose.

I must have killed a lot of cows in a past life for Karma to hate me this much.

Noah drew me closer to him. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.

Noah held my hand and my bag as he escorted me to the third floor – the Women’s Pavilion. The elevator bell rang and the doors opened. “Jesus, Echo, circulation in my hand would be...

Noah?”A welcome voice – not my mother’s, but welcome all the same: Echo. A smile spread across my face. This was too good. Me in a towel, alone in the house with my nymph. I...

Wait.” I began to pull off his jacket. “You forgot this.””Keep it,” he said without looking back. “I’ll get it from you on Monday. When we discuss tutoring.”And Noah Hutchins – girl-using stoner boy and...

Not sure how I felt about Antonio and Echo, I linked my fingers with hers. Antonio cocked a surprised eyebrow. Damn straight, bro. I just marked my territory.

Please, Noah, I don’t want to do this wrong. Tell me how to make you feel good.”He shifted so that his body rested beside mine, his leg and arm still draped over me. I felt...

You scared the shit out of me last night, so forgive me if I don’t want to hear fine as an answer.”I rubbed my eyes, hoping it would keep the burning tears away. The warm...

I wrote about the person I love most, my older brother, Noah. We don’t live together so I wrote what I imagine he does when we’re not together.””And what is that?” prodded the stout man....

I’ve got you. I swear to God, I’ve got you,” said Noah. “Stay with me, Echo.”I wanted to. I wanted to stay with him, but the shouting and screams and glass breaking in my mind...

we were nothing more than actions to reactions – helpless against our own fate. It’s true. I react and others pay.

Food shouldn’t be half-bad. It should be all good.

I don’t lose. Do you hear me? I don’t lose and that includes losing you. I’m done being kept in the dark. Im done feeling like you’re slipping right past me. You are not saying...

Sometimes life happens.

I’ve learned a lot playing college ball,” Mark says.”What you do in high school doesn’t mean shit. You can be the best ballplayer in your high school. The best in the country or state, but...

The worst kind of crying wasn’t the kind everyone could see- the wailing on street corners, the tearing at clothes. No, the worst kind happened when your soul wept and no matter what you did,...

I barely brushed towards her cheek as I moved towards her mouth, her nails tickled my chest, driving me insane. Kissing her became my single reason for breathing.

Those aren’t girls. They’re vultures.

How many more of us are faking the facade? How many more of us are pretending to be something we’re not? Even better, how many of us will have the courage to be ourselves regardless...

We’d read about sirens in English this fall; Greek mythology bullshit about women so beautiful, their voices so enchanting, that men did anything for them. Turned out that mythology crap was real because every time...

You can`t change destinies already written, that only happens in fairy tales.

The worst type of crying wasn’t the kind everyone could see–the wailing on street corners, the tearing at clothes. No, the worst kind happened when your soul wept and no matter what you did, there...

Baseball isn’t just a game. It’s the smell of popcorn drifting in the air, the sight of bugs buzzing near the stadium lights,the roughness of the dirt beneath your cleats. It’s the anticipation building in...

I put my fingers under Emily’s chin, tilting her head up. “I love you.”Emily’s dark eyes widen and if this moment wasn’t so dire, I’d laugh at her expression. swipe a finger across her smooth...

That must be love: when everything else in the world could implode and you wouldn’t care as long as you had that one person standing beside you.

I’ve sat on this hill a hundred times, and all I used to see were lights that represented places where I wasn’t wanted, where I never belonged. Now, when you aren’t with me, I look...

I need you.””I’m here.”And we sit in silence.

Lila stretches the hem of her tank top over her hips as she moves toward me. When she sits, it’s with her thigh melting against mine. Her heat radiates past my jeans to my skin....

I saw the world in black and white instead of the vibrant colours and shades I knew existed.

I hold the bottle out into the rain and watch as the steady flow slowly fills it. When there is enough, enough that Beth can clearly see, I close the bottle and hand it to...

Quiet anger frightens me. The drunks, the idiots, the ones that rage easily – them I can handle. I know when to step out of their way. It’s the ones that hold the anger in,...

Because I want us to be friends again. I made some really bad choices, and I’m sorry. You’re leaving for Florida and if we don’t fix this now, it won’t be fixed.

Oz lists the hem of his shirt, exposing his cut abs, and wipes his brow with the material. Oh my with chocolate on top. That was just beautiful.

It’s like I have this large black hole in my brain and it’s sucking the life out of me. The answers are in there so I sit for hours and stare. No matter how hard...

Typical me–hurricane that leaves nothing but destruction.

Do you think people can change?” I ask Rick “Yes.” he answers plainly. “There are those who can.” That grabs my attention. “So you believe it’s possible?””Miss Stella.”He gives me his teacher-to-pupil stare. “Its boils...

Isn’t it always the things that you can’t see that hurt you?

As long as everyone thinks you’re a cutter or tried to commit suicide you’ll always be on the outs.

I don’t like how he holds on to her and don’t like how long he’s holding. That doesn’t look like brotherly love to me. I stare at his girl. Why is she so damned happy...

I walk with my head high, shoulders squared. I’m better than them. No matter the whispers and taunts they throw out. Fuck them. Fuck them all.

It doesn’t get better,” I said. “The pain. The wounds scab over and you don’t always feel like a knife is slashing through you. But when you least expect it, the pain flashes to remind...

Emotions is evil. People who make me feel are worse. I take comfort in the stone inside of me. If I don’t feel, I don’t hurt.

Living is like being chained at the bottom of a shallow pond with my eyes open and no air. I can see distorted images of happiness and light, even hear muffled laughter, but everything is...

Baby, you’ve got enough strength and tenacity to takedown drug dealers. You’ll be fine.

Yesterday Allison bought me nail polish in the annoying shade of mauve. How can anyone look at me and think mauve?

The darkness isn’t so frightening with Ryan. With him I can believe that I am a princess with a wreath of flowers and ribbons crowning my head and he is my prince sworn to protect...

Normal. She wanted normal and so did I. “You know what’s normal?””What?” She wiped away her remaining tears. “Calculus.