I know I should say he suddenly seemed vulnerable and I felt a connection to his soul or whatever, but the truth is I just wanted to tackle him and then make out for the next three thousand years.

I will always know what life can take, but I am ready to see what it can give.

I am the living dead girl because I am too weak to die.

I’ll always remember taking your hand and telling you that everything would be okay.

I don’t know how I know that, but I do. I can feel the beat of that truth inside me. Taste it bitter on my tongue. Sometimes, like now, I didn’t think I want to know who I really am.

My full name is Lauren Lee Smith. Of all the names I could have been given, that’s the one I got. Lauren Lee Smith. It has all the personality of a toaster.

Everyone else carries a backpack, but not Josh. He has a cool, beat-up messenger bag, covered with stickers protesting all kinds of things.

The world will knock you down plenty. You don’t need to be doing it to yourself.

I love you,′ I say, and I watch his smile bloom I finally get how great those three little words are. I finally get what they really mean.

I knew I was having a panic attack. I hadn’t had one in a while, though, and I’d forgotton how they made everything like it- and I- was going to fall apart. How they reminded me of how trapped I was.