Seeing that my words had done absolutely nothing to pull North from whatever depths he was clinging to, Owain did what came naturally. He smacked North upside the head hard enough to send him sprawling into the window. And when it seemed that North would turn around and return the favor, Owain hit him again, harder.

—I don't want to lose you —Then why are you the one that keeps letting go?

What I’m trying to get at is, as bad as everything seems, I think, at its heart, life is good. It doesn’t throw anything at us that it knows we can’t handle—and, even if it takes its time, it turns everything right side up again.

Sometimes you're the one speeding along in a panic, doing too much, not paying attention, wrecking things you don't mean to. And sometimes life just happens to you, and you can't dodge it. It crashes into you because it wants to see what you're made of.

Never, never, never. I am never going to forget you.

A moment later, Liam's bright blue eyes opened, and he was seeing me. He just wasn't seeing Ruby.

We want you. We wanted you yesterday, we want you today and we'll want you tomorrow. There's nothing you could do to change that.