I took his wildness from him and tried to fold it into myself, filling up the empty spaces all those second place finishes left behind.

Here was a boy who liked flaws, who saw them not as failings but as strengths. Who knew such a person could exist, or what would have happened if we'd found each other under different circumstances? Maybe in a perfect world. But not in this one.

Behind the camera, I was invisible. When I lifted it up to my eye it was like I crawled into the lens, losing myself there. and everything else fell away.

And don't change for a guy, ever," Leah added. "If they're worthy, they'll like you just the way you are.

It's nice to have options even if you can't take them.

But if something was really important, fate made sure it somehow came back to you and gave you another chance.

I watched my mother do what she did best, and realized there would never be a way to cut myself from her entirely. No matter how strong or weak I was, she was a part of me, as crucial as my own heart. I would never be strong enough, in all my life, to do without her.