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81 " There is something intoxicating about ending a life, about wiping bad people off the face of the earth. But it’s also a dark and deadly pull. After all, who am I to decide who lives or dies? "
― Paula Stokes , Ferocious (Vicarious, #2)
82 " And this time it’s different. This time our bodies slide together like they were made to fit. This time Tyson doesn’t have to tell me to look at him, because I can’t stop. He is all that I see, every inch of dark skin, every curl of hair, every scar or tiny imperfection that all combine to make him seem…perfect. No, not perfect, but perfect for me. This time it’s not about needing an escape. This time it’s about wanting a connection. "
― Paula Stokes , The Key to Everything
83 " Well, my dads are always saying I’m the handsome one in the family, but it’s always nice to hear a girl say it, too. Especially if she’s under fifty. "
― Paula Stokes , This is How it Happened
84 " Loneliness is just like everything else-if you endure it long enough, you get used to it. "
― Paula Stokes , Girl Against the Universe
85 " I go through memory after memory, looking for reassurance that nothing has changed, but it's like flipping through a book of stories I've outgrown. Everything has changed. "
― Paula Stokes , The Art of Lainey (The Art of Lainey, #1)
86 " It sucks that it takes losing something important to make some people realize they need to change, but unfortunately that's how it is. "
― Paula Stokes , Stronger Than Words
87 " Sometimes unintentionally cruel is the worst cruel of all. "
88 " It kind of sucks having nothing to lose, but it sucks even worse having everything good taken away from you. "
― Paula Stokes , Liars, Inc.
89 " It's like that. When you care about someone so much that you'll do anything - even stupid or destructive things - for them.""That sounds more like mental illness than love. "
90 " I dream of a small room and a man with one eye. Blood seeps like scarlet tears from his empty socket. I turn away and the room becomes a hallway that becomes a stairway that becomes a roof. The wind tugs at my body; the sky tries to wrap me in stars. Below me, a gazebo glows with red light. A line of black cars crawls like cockroaches through the streets. An air conditioner exhaust fan chitters angrily near the roof’s edge, one of its blades bent just enough to scrape against the side of the casing. For a second I let the wind push me close enough to the fan’s razor- sharp blades that a lock of my hair gets snipped and sent out into the night. As it twists and flutters toward the gazebo, I think about just letting go, letting the breeze carry my body into the whirling blades, the wind scattering pieces of me throughout the city. Blood and flesh seeping into the cracked pavement. Flowers blooming wherever I land. "
― Paula Stokes , Vicarious (Vicarious, #1)
91 " But if you want him, you might have to fight for him." I let my head fall to the tabletop. "For the love of all that is dead and Chinese, please, no more fighting. This army needs a break. "
92 " I understand the impulse to downgrade your own issues when you’re confronted with others who have struggled more, but you shouldn’t invalidate your pains and experiences. It’s okay to feel sad, even if you’re not homeless, even if you've never had a stroke. "
93 " Why fight the natural order of things?""I guess becomes some things are worth it. "
94 " So what if I’m right?” I dig in my purse for a few singles, flopping back to our conversation about Seth as if we’d never changed the subject. This is a thing I’ve found only best friends can do—press pause on a conversation and then press play again at any moment. "
95 " Accidentally hurting yourself is way better than hurting other people. "
96 " Nothing will be the same without him."Micah nods slowly. "I know what you're saying. I guess I'm just wondering how we know when to give up and move on."I shake my head. "Not yet. I'm not ready to quit fighting. "
97 " Darla adjusts the collar of her nightgown. “Do you love her?”I slouch forward. “I don’t know. What does that even mean?”A smile plays at her lips. “Remember when you hit that kid with a rock because he was bullying Amanda?”“Yeah.” Not my finest hour, but he kind of deserved it.“It’s like that. When you care about someone so much that you’ll do anything—even stupid or destructive things—for them.”“That sounds more like mental illness than love. "
98 " No really, Lainey. Give it a chance. Millions of readers can't be wrong.""That's like saying millions of boy-band fans can't be wrong," I mutter, but I flip through a few more pages. "
99 " We are not killers,” Gideon says.“In my experience everyone is a killer.” Baz’s gray eyes go cold. He leans back against the wall. “Or a victim. Some people just need a little coaxing to choose a side. "
― Paula Stokes
100 " How does the world even keep going with so much pain and tragedy everywhere? "
― Paula Stokes , Hidden Pieces