Home > Work > My Heart for Yours (Crawford, #1)
1 " He taught me to fight, to defend myself, to stand up for what I believe in, and protect people I love. I thanked him for that lesson after that weekend in New Orleans when some guy put his hands on Delia, and I had to tear him apart. "
― Steph Campbell , My Heart for Yours (Crawford, #1)
2 " My heart's cracking apart all over again because of the way I've missed him. "
3 " When she left, it was like someone had ripped my heart out, crumbled it up like a flimsy piece of loose leaf paper and crammed it back into my chest. It somehow managed to work, but it would never, ever feel the same. "
4 " Screw the daring tough guy image, what happened with us broke me. "
5 " A thin, polished woman walks in. She sticks out immediately in her expensive looking navy dress, shiny bag and shoes that probably cost more than I make in a month. My breath leaves me when I see that her arm is draped around a younger version of herself. That hair, it's pulled back way too tight now, but I'd run my hands through it a thousand times before. That face, now in layer of makeup that makes her look older than I remember, I'd held it in my calloused hands and kissed those lips goodbye over a year ago. She said she'd never see me again and I learned to accept that. She destroyed me, and I'd moved on.No. Not her. She's not from here anymore. I don't know who that person is anymore. "
6 " People don't want the truth when they ask how you're doing after you lost your brother. "
7 " Always a trade. Always a compromise. Until there wasn't anything left to bargain with, because neither one us had any clue what to do. "
8 " Because brothers don’t let each other wander in the dark alone "
9 " The problem with passion is it goes both ways. Love/Hate. The line between those two is a lot thinner than I thought. "
10 " My heart for yours," he offers."Deal. "
11 " A kiss for a kiss.Your shirt for mine.Break my heart, I’ll break yours. "
12 " To make you hate meThe impossible taskWasn't as hardAs I'd hoped "
13 " WHAT IS SAFE? Is safe the hands that hold you no matter what? Or is safe someone hurting enough to fight? Is safe the one who is strong as a pillar? Or is safe who wants to use the strength of two, not one? Is love safe? Or is it better to find comfort? Can there be comfort without love? Can passion come from warmth? Or does it need to come from fire? "
14 " We both breathe in at the same time. I don’t know if we’re breathing one another in, or if we’re both trying not to cry. "
15 " ENOUGHIt is simply the measure we useWhen we want to sayYou're just no what I wantAnd probably never will be "
16 " I step in to give him a hug, but his hand comes in between us.His hand.Because he doesn't want to do any more than shake. With the girl he's made love to. Whose heart is bursting out of her chest.I'm trembling in a way that makes me feel like I might fall apart any second. His hand touches mine, and I love the warmth of him. Love the way he feels.My eyes don't live his. He has only some idea that he could be a model for Calvin Klein. This is so weird. I'm supposed to be angry. Hurt. Instead I'm in shock that he still makes me feel this way - like we were something special. "
17 " If I could have seen a year ahead, would I love the girl I am now or hate her ? "
18 " I run my fingers along the thick, fabric wallpaper to steady myself. Putting one foot in front of another feels like learning to walk all over again. My body's still working. Heart's still beating. Lungs still moving. But not because I want them to. They do those things on their own, without me even asking. So why didn't they do it for Eamon ? How could his body just give up on him like that ? Fall apart. It made him seen so fragile, and I don't want to remember him that way. He was the strongest guy I knew. How could he break so easily ? It seems like our bodies would be built better. It just doesn't fucking seem real. "
19 " How do you lose your brother ? You lose your grandfather, your distant uncle, your dog for Christ's sake. Not your brother. Especially brothers like mine. "
20 " I want to hate him for what he did. Leaving us. It's not right. He's gone and I'm stuck here in this fucking funeral home, staring at his casket. There's no way out. Not for me, and certainly not for him. The casket is closed. Bolted shut for eternity. No one forced him to be a Jackass wannabe, though. "
