It was true; always had been. Friendships were like marriages in that way. Routines and patterns were poured early and hardened like cement.

It was true; always had been. Friendships were like marriages in that way. Routines and patterns were poured early and hardened like cement.

He is a man, and he is afraid. This is not a good combination.

but sometimes one person can hold you up in life, keep you standing, and without that hand to hold, you can find yourself free-falling no matter how strong you used to be, no matter how hard you try to remain steady.

That was the thing about best friends. Like sisters and mothers, they could piss you off and make you cry and break your heart, but in the end, when the chips were down, they were there, making you laugh even in your darkest hours.

We can't live other people's lives for them. Even if we love them.

Jude remembered this pain. Every woman had felt some version of it: the end of first love. It was when you learned, for good and always, that love could be impermanent.