Home > Work > The Flatshare (The Flatshare, #1)
1 " I wake with a jolt that sends a shock of pain through my ankle. Crying out, I look around me. Floral wallpaper. Am I at home? Who's that man in the chair by the door, reading .... "Twilight?" Leon blinks at me, putting the book down in his lap. 'You went from unconscious to judgemental very quickly there. "
― Beth O'Leary , The Flatshare (The Flatshare, #1)
2 " What's she crying about now? Didn't Justin leave months ago? They're right, I have no idea why this particular stage of Justin's new relationship bothers me so much. I'd already decided I was going to move out properly this time and it's not like I wanted him to marry me or anything, I just thought... he'd come back. That's what's always happened before.He goes off, doors slam, he freezes me out, ignores my calls, but then realizes his mistake and just when I think I am ready to to start getting over him, there he is again. Holding out his hand and telling me to come on some kind of amazing adventure. "
3 " Some people are beyond aromatherapeutic help "
4 " I start tidying my Gilmore Girls DVDs into the correct order, too jittery to stand still. "
5 " Your brain can do amazing stuff to protect itself from pain," Mo tells me. "But it'll struggle to keep secrets from the rest of you for long. "
6 " We're so overdressed for a daytime event about crochet. "
7 " I'm just conveying the brutality of the market to you, Katherin,' I say. That's one of my favourite lines. Good old market, always there to be blamed. "The people don't want history in their crochet books. They want cute pictures and easy instructions. "
8 " The last time I was on a cruise it was through the Greek islands with Justin, and I was positively glowing with love and post-sex hormones. Now, huddled in a corner with three Aldi bags of knitting needles, crochet hooks and wool, accompanied by an ex-hippy and a sardine sandwich, I can no longer deny the fact that my life has taken a turn for the worse. "
9 " Penso no primeiro dia em que entrei em casa e senti o perfume dela — flores e especiarias — e como foi estranho ter a fragrância de alguém no apartamento. Agora nunca é estranho. Seria estranho voltar para casa e não sentir nada. "
10 " Holly couldn't sleep; we played checkers. She lifts her fingers and dances them over the board like she's weaving a magic spell before she touches a counter. Apparently it's a mind game - makes the other player watch where you're going instead of planning their next move. Where did a seven-year old learn mind games? "
11 " People struggle to see it's not about whether she's going to die - palliative care isn't just a place you go to slowly slip away. More people live and leave than die on our wards. It is about being comfortable for the duration of something necessary and painful. Making bad times easier. "
12 " The next thing I notice is the sheer quantity of crap in my living room...It's like a terrible episode of Changing Rooms. Flat has been redecorated to look immeasurably worse. Can only conclude that she was doing it on purpose - nobody could be this tasteless accidentally. "
13 " I stop dead in my tracks. Someone behind me walks into me and swears (stopping abruptly in central London is a heinous crime, and immediately gives the people around you permission to kick you). "
14 " Você algum dia já ficou tão ansiosa para ler um livro que não conseguia nem começar? "
15 " Being nice is a good thing. You can be strong and nice. You don’t have to be one or the other. "
16 " Remind myself that there is no saving of people —people can only save themselves. The best you can do is help when they're ready. "
17 " My dad likes to say, ‘Life is never simple’. This is one of his favourite aphorisms.I actually think it’s incorrect. Life is often simple, but you don’t notice how simple it was until it gets incredibly complicated, like how you never feel grateful for being well until you’re ill, or how you never appreciate your tights drawer until you rip a pair and have no spares. "
18 " It was never home until you were there, Tiffy. "
19 " It’s weird how easily you can get to know someone from the traces they leave behind when they go. "
20 " Look,' he says, 'have you ever looked forward to reading a book so much you can't actually start it?''Oh totally. All the time - if I had a grain of self-restraint I never would've been able to read the last Harry Potter book. The anticipation was painful. You know like what if it does live up to the last ones? What if it's not what I hope it'll be? "