After a certain point, a heart with so many stress fractures can never be anything but broken.

Do you remember the summer we signed you up for camp? And the night before you left, you said you've changed your mind and wanted to stay home? I told you to to get a seat on the left side of the bus, so when you pulled away, you'd be able to look back and see me there waiting for you." I press her hand against my cheek, hard enough to leave a mark. "You get that same seat in Heaven. One where you can watch me, watching you.

When I'm with you, bells go off in my head like a moving truck that's backing up.

But you could only remake your own future, not anyone else's, and for some people that just wasn't good enough.

Ask a kid who's struggling in math if he likes being in a mixed-level class, and he'll tell you he feels like a moron. Ask the math genius if he likes being in a mixed-level class, and he'll tell you he's sick of doing all the work during group projects. Sometimes, it's better to sort like with like.

A fire can't burn forever. Eventually, it consumes itself.

Things that break - be they bones, hearts, or promises - can be put back together but will never really be whole.