"This was another of our fears: that Life wouldn’t turn out to be like Literature."

"She didn’t understand that. “How can anyone be afraid of love?” “How can they not?” His face was completely aghast. “When you love someone…truly love them, friend or lover, you lay your heart open to them. You give them a part of yourself that you give to no one else, and you let them inside a part of you that only they can hurt—you literally hand them the razor with a map of where to cut deepest and most painfully on your heart and soul. And when they do strike, it’s crippling—like having your heart carved out. It leaves you naked and exposed, wondering what you did to make them want to hurt you so badly when all you did was love them. What is so wrong with you that no one can keep faith with you? That no one can love you? To have it happen once is bad enough, but to have it repeated? Who in their right mind would not be terrified of that?"

"Me? I’m scared of everything. I’m scared of what I saw, I’m scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you."

"There will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears. And love will not break your heart but dismiss your fears."

"How do you just stop being terrified of getting left behind and ending up by yourself forever and not meaning anything to the world?"

"I was so scared, I was so terrified. Then I saw you, and I promised myself that if I could just get up, I’d walk over to you. I’d tell you how much I need you and how much I want you and how nothing else matters."

"I think she was afraid to love sometimes. I think it scared her. she was the type to like things that are concrete, like the ocean. Something you could point to and know what it was and I think thats why she struggled with love. She couldn’t touch it. She couldn’t hold on to it and make sure it never changed."

"I don’t want you to date other people. It may not be enough for you, but I’m trying here so I don’t want you to date anybody but me. That’s it. Except, I’m scared as hell to want you, but here I am, wanting you anyway. And fear means I have something to lose, right? And I don’t want to lose you."

"I gave you my insides: my lungs, breath, nerves, my guts, soul, brains, blood, I gave you my words and all the time I had. I still feel you in the spaces between my bones. You’re denser than any heavy metal. I’m afraid i’ll feel you in my tissues. Toxic until the end of my time."

"Maybe there’s something you’re afraid to say, or someone you’re afraid to love, or somewhere you’re afraid to go. It’s gonna hurt. It’s gonna hurt because it matters."

"It was like sawdust, the unhappiness: it infiltrated everything, everything was a problem, everything made her cry-school, homework, boyfriends, the future, the lack of future, the uncertainty of future, fear of future, fear in general."

"Human beings are funny. They long to be with the person they love but refuse to admit openly. Some are afraid to show even the slightest sign of affection because of fear. Fear that their feelings may not be recognized, or even worst, returned. But one thing about human beings puzzles me the most is their conscious effort to be connected with the object of their affection even if it kills them slowly within."

"Now she imagines him dreaming. She imagines him dreaming of her, as she is dreaming of him. Through a sky the color of wet slate they fly towards each other on dark invisible wings, searching, searching, doubling back, drawn by hope and longing, baffled by fear. In their dreams they touch, they intertwine, it’s more like a collision, and that is the end of the flying. They fall to earth, fouled parachutists, botched and cindery angels, love streaming out behind them like torn silk."

"That was the thing: Once, the difference between light and dark had been basic. One was good, one bad. Suddenly though, things weren’t so clear. The dark was still a mystery, something hidden, something to be scared of, but I’d come to fear the light, too. It was where everything was revealed, or seemed to be. Eyes closed, I saw only the blackness, reminding me ofthis one thing, the most deep of my secrets; eyes open, there was only the world that didn’t know it, bright, inescapable, and somehow, still there."

"I don’t want my life to be samples and scraps. A taste of everything but a meal of nothing."