You can't always get the perfect moment. Sometimes, you just have to do the best you can under the circumstances.

Of course it hurts", she grumbled, tipping my head further back. "Life sucks. Get over it

It's a choice, Annabel. And if you make the wrong one, you have only yourself to blame when there are consequences.

She stroked my hair and told me I was beautiful, but I was old enough by then to know not to believe it anymore.

But I always worked harder when I was up against something, or when someone assumed I couldn't succeed. That's what drove me, all those nights studying. The fact that so many figured I couldn't do it.

Some things are meant to be broken. Imperfect. Chaotic.

And she was good to me: strong, fun, and fiercely loyal. And if I didn't have many other friends because of her-most girls were intimidated by her looks, or thought she was too pushy, or just flat-out feared for their boyfriends-it never bothered me. I never missed having a wide, thick circle of girlfriends: Rina was more than enough. We were comfortable with each other's flaws and weaknesses, so we stuck together and kept to ourselves.