Then I'd crawl back into bed, smelling her all around me, and tell myself that next time, I would lock that window. But I never did.

Sometimes really, really bad things happen to people, and there is no explanation and no reason whatsoever.

I always thought I was different.

See," he began, leaning back into the booth, "I was at this car dealership today, and I saw this girl. It was an across-a-crowded-room kind of thing. A real moment, you know?" I rolled my eyes. Chloe said, "And this would be Remy?" "Right. Remy," he said, repeating my name with a smile. Then, as if we were happy honeymooners recounting our story for strangers he added, "Do you want to tell the next part?" "No," I said flatly.

You own a Tic Tac. Gum is just borrowed. - Esther

In the end, though, maybe it's not how you reach a place that matters. Just that you get there at all.

She bought seeds and raided nurseries and mulched and composted and spent full days with her hands full of earth, coaxing life our of the dry, dull grass my father had spent years pushing a mower over.