....both had learned that everything could change in an instant, and that the heartfelt vows of people in love were fragile words that, once shattered, could cut so deeply you'd bleed forever.

Promises were a lot like impressions. The second one didn't count for much.

Thoughts - even fears - were airy things, formless until you made them solid with your voice and once given that weight, they could crush you.

That was what a best friend did: hold up a mirror and show you your heart.

I didn't know how...deep love ran, how it was in your blood, not your heart, and how that same blood pumped through your veins your whole life.

Alice started to cry. It came with no sound, no shuddering, no childlike hysterics, just a soul-deep release that turned into moisture and dripped down her puffy pink cheeks. She touched her tears, frowning. Then she looked up at Julia and whimpered two words before she fell asleep. ‘Real hurts.’

I'm an insomniac lately. It's one of the many prizes you find in the Cracker Jack box of a crumbling [relationship].