Home > Work > Before She Disappeared (Frankie Elkin, #1)
41 " The girl laughs. It’s a harsh sound. “Lady, if you’re looking for the suburbs, you already made like, four wrong turns. "
― Lisa Gardner , Before She Disappeared (Frankie Elkin, #1)
42 " Because we don’t need some skinny-ass white lady trying to save her soul by slumming it in the ghetto. Come on, have you looked in a mirror? This ain’t your neighborhood.” She delivers this with the kind of disdain only a teenager can muster. "
43 " They’re lying. Angel’s friends, her brother—they all know more than they’re saying. And yet they also seem genuinely concerned and want her back. Meaning? "
44 " found this man. I fell in love with his kindness, his patience. He saw me, all of me, and he didn’t turn away. He let me in. He held back my hair while I puked my way through detox. He spoonfed me broth while I slowly fought my way back to living. "
45 " No one says no to coffee. Plus, Lotham had said it was an important part of Haitian hospitality, and I want to be as welcoming as possible. "
46 " Paul accused me of remaining an addict even after I stopped drinking. I don’t think he understood that’s exactly how it works. I am my demons, and my demons are me. Some days I do all the talking and some days my monster does all the drinking, but every day it’s all me. "
47 " understand. The families so often live in anguished limbo—not trusted, not informed, not represented in their own loved ones’ missing persons investigations. I’ve worked plenty of cases where the suspicions regarding the family’s involvement have been borne out, but my gut tells me Emmanuel and his aunt aren’t part of that group. "
48 " He has dark eyes, thick eyebrows, and battered features. His nose has definitely been broken, probably a couple of times, and he’s missing a piece of his ear, as if someone took a bite out of it. There’s a story there, no doubt. I like that about his face. That it’s a road map of been there, done that. It’s interesting. "
49 " Problem solvers, doers. Life hasn’t always been kind to them, but it’s made them stronger, more determined. Opportunity isn’t given, it must be made. "
50 " Then, I was the girl other girls stared at. I was the one everyone else wanted to be. So when he said he wanted to go club hopping and I should "
51 " How terrible to lose a child most of the world never knew was missing. "
52 " Marjolie closes her eyes. Takes a big shuddery breath. “Turns out, DommyJ’s a collector. V cards. Like, is even in a competition with his "
53 " Angel … She couldn’t see it. Sometimes she was too smart, too capable. She didn’t understand what it meant to be a just a regular girl like me. She didn’t understand that sometimes, her being her, just made me feel bad. "
54 " I recognize the classic story elements from my own life. A family legacy of alcoholism. A parent who was a chronic drunk, another parent who was a chronic enabler. Hitting that awkward, anxious phase of high school, not knowing who I was or where I belonged—and consequently tossing back a beer at that party, or stealing a shot of my parents’ liquor before boarding the school bus. That magical melting feeling that immediately followed. That sense of almost primal recognition. "
55 " In this day and age of racial tension, gender fluidity, and political polarization, how do you most define yourself? "
56 " I mean, if this guy is her brother, why is she so freakin’ anxious to get away from him? "
57 " Forging a visa is terroristcell kind of crazy. Or Russian-printed-bills kind of savvy. "
58 " It’s such a sad term. Dumping. Like trash or unwanted goods, instead of a teenage girl. "
59 " I’m simple when you want me to be complicated. And I’m complicated when you want me to be simple. "
60 " Maybe Stoney has a thing for strays. Or maybe, like most bartenders, he recognizes a lost soul when he sees one. "