He’s speaking in the tone of voice that everyone uses when they’re about to break you apart. Gentle—kind, even—like they can make the news sound better just by speaking in a lullaby voice.

Maybe, the hope said. Maybe.

This was what being cured was like: like being in a fishbowl, circling always inside the same glass.

If Cassie was invalidated because she caught the disease, or because Fred suspected her of it, I can only imagine what he will do to me and to my family if he discovers that the cure did not work perfectly.

Rainstorms are incredible: falling shards of glass, the air full of diamonds.

I’m with Julian,” I say at last. This, after all, is what I have chosen.

A good friend keeps your secrets for you. A best friend helps you keep your own secrets.