Then he crouches down behind it, motions for Tess and me to sit down, and begins unbuttoning his vest. I blush scarlet and thank every god in the world for the darkness surrounding us. “I’m not cold and I’m not bleeding,” I say to him. “Keep your clothes on.” The boy looks at me. I would’ve expected his bright eyes to look dimmer in the night, but instead they seem to reflect the light coming from the windows above us. He’s amused. “Who said anything about you , sweetheart?

Day, the boy from the streets with nothing except the clothes on his back and the earnestness in his eyes, owns my heart. He is beauty, inside and out. He is the silver lining in a world of darkness. He is my light.

I started writing seriously when I was a teenager, around 14 years old.

Love is illogical, love had consequences--I did this to myself, and I should be able to take it.

He is beauty, inside and out. He is the silver lining in a world of darkness. He is my light.

You try to walk in the light.

It feels like it's the end of the world if you don't do well on your SATs.