So this had been all I wanted, a boy who understood how I felt. Now, though, I sometimes wished for more.

Right now, though, I wanted not to think forward or backward, but only to lose myself in the words.

Something had changed in me, even if I didn't know what it was just yet. All I could think was that I felt alive for the first time.

Suddenly, I was just sure he was going to kiss me. He was there, I could feel his breath, the ground solid beneath us. But then something crossed his face, a thought, a hesitation, and he shifted slightly. Not now. Not yet. It was something I'd done so often - weighing what I could afford to risk, right at that moment - that I recognized it instantly. It was like looking in a mirror.

An ending was an ending. No matter how many pages of sentences and paragraphs of great stories led up to it, it would always have the last word.

Look. We both know life is short, Macy. Too short to waste a single second with anyone who doesn't appreciate and value you.

Everything hurt. I closed my eyes, pressing my cheek to the street, and waited. What for, I didn't know. To be rescued. Or found. But no one came. All I'd ever thought I wanted was to be left alone. Until I was.