“
Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.
”
”
Victor Hugo (Les Misérables)
“
Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.
”
”
Roy T. Bennett (The Light in the Heart)
“
Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.
”
”
J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3))
“
Some things don't last forever, but some things do. Like a good song, or a good book, or a good memory you can take out and unfold in your darkest times, pressing down on the corners and peering in close, hoping you still recognize the person you see there.
”
”
Sarah Dessen (This Lullaby)
“
It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars.
”
”
Richard Evans
“
The Darkest Minds tend to hide behind the most unlikely faces.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
The brightest flame casts the darkest shadow.
”
”
George R.R. Martin (A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2))
“
Who are you?
Are you in touch with all of your darkest fantasies?
Have you created a life for yourself where you can experience them?
I have. I am fucking crazy.
But I am free.
”
”
Lana Del Rey
“
It is said that the darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn.
”
”
Thomas Fuller (A Pisgah Sight of Palestine and the Confines Thereof: With the History of the Old and New Testament Acted Thereon)
“
The sweetest smiles hold the darkest secrets...
”
”
Sara Shepard (Flawless (Pretty Little Liars, #2))
“
Nobody looks good in their darkest hours. But it's those hours that make us what we are.
”
”
Karen Marie Moning (Faefever (Fever, #3))
“
I want the deepest, darkest, sickest parts of you that you are afraid to share with anyone because I love you that much.
”
”
Lady Gaga (Lady Gaga - The Fame)
“
She would tuck Sam into her heart, a bright light for her to take out whenever things were darkest.
”
”
Sarah J. Maas (The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass, #0.1-0.5))
“
Let's carpe the hell out of this diem.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
A lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies.
”
”
Alfred Tennyson
“
Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.
”
”
Steve Kloves
“
We'll just have to try to make better mistakes tomorrow.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
He's so busy looking inside people to find the good that he misses the knife they're holding in their hand.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
Oh, I'm sorry," Chubs said, 'apparently the middle of my sentence interrupted the beginning of yours. Do continue.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2))
“
Do not let your difficulties fill you with anxiety, after all it is only in the darkest nights that stars shine more brightly.
”
”
Ali ibn Abi Talib
“
On the darkest days you have to search for a spot of brightness, on the coldest days you have to seek out a spot of warmth; on the bleakest days you have to keep your eyes onward and upward and on the saddest days you have to leave them open to let them cry. To then let them dry. To give them a chance to wash out the pain in order to see fresh and clear once again.
”
”
Tahereh Mafi (Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2))
“
It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.
”
”
Aristotle
“
That was the thing about best friends. Like sisters and mothers, they could piss you off and make you cry and break your heart, but in the end, when the chips were down, they were there, making you laugh even in your darkest hours.
”
”
Kristin Hannah (Firefly Lane (Firefly Lane, #1))
“
I want to be inside your darkest everything
”
”
Frida Kahlo (The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait)
“
Your truest friends are the ones who will stand by you in your darkest moments--because they're willing to brave the shadows with you--and in your greatest moments--because they're not afraid to let you shine.
”
”
Nicole Yatsonsky
“
Ghosts don't haunt people--their memories do.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2))
“
Shazi,
I prefer the color blue to any other. The scent of lilacs in your hair is a source of constant torment. I despise figs. Lastly, I will never forget, all the days of my life, the memories of last night—
For nothing, not the sun, not the rain, not even the brightest star in the darkest sky, could begin to compare to the wonder of you.
Khalid.
”
”
Renée Ahdieh (The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1))
“
Did you know...you make me so happy that sometimes I actually forget to breath? I'll be looking at you, and my chest will get so tight...and it's like, the only thought in my head is how much I want to reach over and kiss you.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
No one knows what he or she is capable of until things are at their darkest.
”
”
A.G. Howard (Splintered (Splintered, #1))
“
You know children, always playing with the forces of darkness.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Reckoning (Darkest Powers, #3))
“
I am always surprised to discover that when the world seems darkest, there exists the greatest opportunity for light.
”
”
Brigid Kemmerer (A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1))
“
When a girl cries, few things are more worthless than a boy.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
I guess what I'm trying to say is that you two make me believe that true love really exists. And that even the darkest hours can't take that away.
”
”
Nicholas Sparks (The Choice)
“
Dreaming led to disappointment, and disappointment to a kind of depressed funk that wasn’t easy to shake. Better to stay in the gray than get eaten by the dark.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
Never, never, never. I am never going to forget you.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
A witch ought never to be frightened in the darkest forest, Granny Weatherwax had once told her, because she should be sure in her soul that the most terrifying thing in the forest was her.
”
”
Terry Pratchett (Wintersmith (Discworld, #35; Tiffany Aching, #3))
“
Cause, frankly, the way I see it, you and me? Inevitable.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
When you make someone fall in love with the darkest parts of you, there’s nothing you can do that will scare them away. They will be yours forever because they already love all the fucked up bits and pieces of you.
”
”
H.D. Carlton (Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #1))
“
Some people standby you in your darkest hour while others walk away; only a select few march towards you and become even closer friends.
”
”
Jeffrey Archer (Only Time Will Tell (The Clifton Chronicles, #1))
“
That was the thing about best friends. Like sisters and mothers, they could piss you off and make you cry and break your heart, but in the end, when the chips were down, they were there, making you laugh even in your darkest hours.
”
”
Kristin Hannah (Firefly Lane (Firefly Lane, #1))
“
That was not like riding a bike, you asshole!
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
Simon: Anyone ever tell you your sense of timing really sucks?
Derek: That's why I don't play the drums. Now what's up?
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Summoning (Darkest Powers, #1))
“
It feels like we should do something," he said. "Like, send her off on a barge out to sea and set her on fire. Let her go out in a blaze of glory."
Chubs raised an eyebrow. "It's a minivan, not a Viking.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
That was the Liam Stewart way of saying, Hi, darlin', missed you something fierce.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
This place was truly the highest and the lowest of all worlds - the most beautiful senses, the most exquisite emotions.. the most malevolent desires, the darkest deeds. Perhaps it was meant to be so. Perhaps without the lows, the highs could not be reached.
”
”
Stephenie Meyer (The Host (The Host, #1))
“
Advice? I don’t have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. Write like you’re a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and there’s no chance for a pardon. Write like you’re clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and you’ve got just one last thing to say, like you’re a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for God’s sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves. Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secret, so we can wipe our brow and know that we’re not alone. Write like you have a message from the king. Or don’t. Who knows, maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t have to.
”
”
Alan W. Watts
“
You enter the forest
at the darkest point,
where there is no path.
Where there is a way or path,
it is someone else's path.
You are not on your own path.
If you follow someone else's way,
you are not going to realize
your potential.
”
”
Joseph Campbell (The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life & Work (Works))
“
Ruby, give me one reason why we can’t be together, and I’ll give you a hundred why we can. We can go anywhere you want. I’m not your parents. I’m not going to abandon you or send you away, not ever.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
And people like you are the reason we have middle fingers.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2))
“
Because God is never cruel, there is a reason for all things. We must know the pain of loss; because if we never knew it, we would have no compassion for others, and we would become monsters of self-regard, creatures of unalloyed self-interest. The terrible pain of loss teaches humility to our prideful kind, has the power to soften uncaring hearts, to make a better person of a good one.
”
”
Dean Koontz (The Darkest Evening of the Year)
“
Don’t be scared. Don’t let them see.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
There are times when I worry that I've already lost myself. That is, that my self is so inseparable from being with you that if we were to separate, I would no longer be. I save this thought for when I feel the darkest discontent. I never meant to depend so much on someone else.
”
”
David Levithan (The Lover's Dictionary)
“
You are mine, woman, and I am yours. Until you, my life was desolate. I existed, but I didn't truly live. Now I live, even in my death.
”
”
Gena Showalter (The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, #1))
“
My mother's psychologist says I have an overactive anger switch, but people just keep pissing me off.
”
”
Meg Cabot (Darkest Hour (The Mediator, #4))
“
Remind thyself, in the darkest moments, that every failure is only a step toward success, every detection of what is false directs you toward what is true, every trial exhausts some tempting form of error, and every adversity will only hide, for a time, your path to peace and fulfillment.
”
”
Og Mandino
“
I believe that you've created a metaphorical universe in which you can express your darkest fears. In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts, but we create them. We haunt ourselves, and sometimes we do such a good job, we lose track of reality.
”
”
Laurie Halse Anderson (Wintergirls)
“
I'm behind you." I spun to see Derek. "I can't win," he said. "You're as skittish as a kitten.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Summoning (Darkest Powers, #1))
“
I feel like I'm losing my damn mind, like your face has been carved into my heart, and I don't remember when, and I don't understand why, but the scar is there, and I can't get it to heal. It won't go. I can't make it fade. And you won't even look at me.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2))
“
They were never scared of the kids who might die, or the empty spaces they would leave behind. They were afraid of us-the ones who lived.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
Sometimes what we want isn't what we need.
”
”
Gena Showalter (The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, #1))
“
He pivoted, gaze following me as I crossed to the shower and turned on the cold water, so it would drown out our conversation without steaming up the room.
Great," he muttered."Now they're going to think we're showering together. Maybe we can just tell them we were washing off the crawl space dirt and trying to conserve water.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Summoning (Darkest Powers, #1))
“
So," I said. "Seems you're going to be stuck with me for a while."
He smiled. A real smile that lit up his whole face.
"Good,
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Reckoning (Darkest Powers, #3))
“
His head turns fractionally toward me, his eyes darkest slate. I bite my lip.
“Oh, fuck the paperwork,” he growls. He lunges at me, pushing me against the wall of the elevator. Before I know it, he’s got both of my hands in one of his in a vice-like grip above my head, and he’s pinning me to the wall using his hips. Holy shit. His other hand grabs my ponytail and yanks down, bringing my face up, and his lips are on mine. It’s only just not painful. I moan into his mouth, giving his tongue an opening. He takes full advantage, his tongue expertly exploring my mouth. I have never been kissed like this.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
“
Give 'em hell, darlin
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2))
“
If there's anything I can do- I know there probably isn't, but..."
Just be here
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Awakening (Darkest Powers, #2))
“
Maybe nothing will ever change for us,” he said. “But don’t you want to be around just in case it does?
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
Then he was stepping back, away, letting distance flood between us again. His voice was low, rough. "Give 'em hell, darlin'."
"And for the love of God, bitch, don't get stabbed this time!" Vida added.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2))
“
You were just worried about me."
An exhale, relieved that I had understood. "Yeah"
I turned. "Because you think I'm worth it"
He put his fingers under my chin. "I absolutely think your worth it."
"But you don't think you are."
His mouth opened. Shut.
"That's what this is about, Derek. You won't let us worry about you because you don't think you're worth it. But I do. I absolutely do.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Reckoning (Darkest Powers, #3))
“
Wow. The guy can make me feel stupid even when he's telling me I don't have to let him make me feel stupid.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Summoning (Darkest Powers, #1))
“
Oh, for God's sake. Save your piss. Don't save your piss. It's all the same to me.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Summoning (Darkest Powers, #1))
“
I'm a monster, you know. I'm one of the dangerous ones.
No you aren't, he promised. Your one of us.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
I think I'm losing it—I don't know what's happening, what happened, but I look at you, I look at you, and I love you so much. Not because of anything you've said, or done, or anything at all. I look at you, and I just love you, and it terrifies me. It terrifies me what I would do for you.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2))
“
Even in the darkest and most cruel person, there is still a kernel of good. And within the most perfect champion, there is darkness. The question is, will one give in to the dark or the light? It's something we decide with every choice we make, every day that we exist. What might not be evil to you could be evil to someone else. Knowing this makes us powerful even without magic.
”
”
Morgan Rhodes (Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms, #1))
“
We want you. We wanted you yesterday, we want you today and we'll want you tomorrow. There's nothing you could do to change that.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
I don't want to just see someone's face; I want to know his shadow, too.
—Jude
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2))
“
It rained the day they brought us to Thurmond.
And it rained the day I walked out.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (In the Afterlight (The Darkest Minds, #3))
“
Once, there was a girl who vowed she would save everyone in the world, but forgot herself.
”
”
Holly Black (The Darkest Part of the Forest)
“
Where did she come from, and where can I find one?"
"Picked this one up at a gas station in West Virginia, bargain price. Last one on the shelf, sorry.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
Derek caught my arm again as I started to move--at this rate, it was going to be as sore as my injured one.
"Dog," he said, jerking his chin toward the fenced yard. "It was inside earlier."
Expecting to see a Doberman slavering at the fence, I followed his gaze to a little puff of white fur, the kind of dog women stick in their purses. It wasn't even barking, just staring at us, dancing in place.
"Oh, my God! It's a killer Pomeranian." I glanced up at Derek. "It's a tough call, but I think you can take him.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Awakening (Darkest Powers, #2))
“
I believe everything happens for a reason. Whether it is decided by the Mother, or the Cauldron, or some sort of tapestry of Fate, I don't know. I don't really care. But I am grateful for it, whatever it is. Grateful that it brought you all into my life. If it hadn't... I might have become as awful as that prick we're going to face today. If I had not met an Illyrian warrior-in-training," he said to Cassian, "I would not have known the true depths of strength, of resilience, of honor and loyalty." Cassian's eyes gleamed bright. Rhys said to Azriel, "If I had not met a shadowsinger, I would not have known that it is the family you make, not the one you are born into, that matters. I would not have known what it is to truly hope, even when the world tells you to despair." Azriel bowed his head in thanks.
Mor was already crying when Rhys spoke to her. "If I had not met my cousin, I would neer have learned that light can be found in even the darkest of hells. That kidness can thrive even amongst cruelty." She wiped away her teas as she nodded.
I waited for Amren to offer a retort. But she was only waiting.
Rhys bowed his head to her. "If I had not met a tiny monster who hoards jewels more fiercely than a firedrake..." A quite laugh from all of us at that. Rhys smiled softly. "My own power would have consumed me long ago."
Rhys squeezed my hand as he looked to me at last. "And if I had not met my mate..." His words failed him as silver lined his eyes.
He said down the bond, I would have waited five hundred more years for you. A thousand years. And if this was all the time we were allowed to have... The wait was worth it.
He wiped away the tears sliding down my face. "I believe that everything happened, exactly the way it had to... so I could find you." He kissed another tear away.
”
”
Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3))
“
So I was right, wasn't I? It's still you, even in wolf form.'
He grunted.
No sudden uncontrollable urges to go kill something?'
He rolled his eyes.
Hey, you're the one who was worried.' I paused. 'And I don't smell like dinner, right?'
I got a real look for that one.
Just covering all the bases.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Reckoning (Darkest Powers, #3))
“
I pulled myself from his mind, day by day, piece by piece, memory by memory, until there was nothing of Ruby left to weigh him down or keep him bound to my side..
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
He was trying to tell me something."
Derek snorted. "Aren’t they all? Must be a rule in the ghost handbook—if in danger of evaporating, make sure you’re in the middle of a dire pronouncement.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Reckoning (Darkest Powers, #3))
“
I think maybe the most frustrating feeling in the world is to have something to say but not know how to put it into words. To have lived through something but not be able to get it out of you before it festers.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
”
”
Robert Frost (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening)
“
He balled up my discarded
sweatshirt and put it against his shoulder.
“Go on,” he said. “I don’t bite.”
“And from what I hear, that’s a good thing.”
He gave a rumbling chuckle. “Yeah, it is.”
I leaned against his shoulder.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Awakening (Darkest Powers, #2))
“
He had a newspaper rolled in his hand, bearing down on me like a puppy that had piddled on the carpet.
"Bad Chloe,” I muttered.
"What?”
I’d forgotten his bionic hearing. “Bad Chloe.” I gestured at the rolled-up paper and put
out my hand. “Get it over with.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Awakening (Darkest Powers, #2))
“
Tessa had begun to tremble. This is what she had always wanted someone to say. What she had always, in the darkest corner of her heart, wanted Will to say. Will, the boy who loved the same books she did, the same poetry she did, who made her laugh even when she was furious. And here he was standing in front of her, telling her he loved the words of her heart, the shape of her soul. Telling her something she had never imagined anyone would ever tell her. Telling her something she would never be told again, not in this way. And not by him.
And it did not matter.
"It's too late", she said.
”
”
Cassandra Clare (Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, #2))
“
Sometimes you're the one speeding along in a panic, doing too much, not paying attention, wrecking things you don't mean to. And sometimes life just happens to you, and you can't dodge it. It crashes into you because it wants to see what you're made of.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2))
“
...crackers..." a voice breathed out nehind us, "yesss..."
Both of us turned, watching as Chubs twisted around in his seat and settled back down, still fast asleep.
I pressed a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing. Liam rolled his eyes, smiling.
"He dreams about food," he said. "A lot.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
I hugged him without any kind of fear or self-consciousness, fiercely, with a rush of emotion that almost brought tears to my eyes.
"I could kiss you!" Chubs cried.
"Please don't!" I gasp out, feeling his arms tighten around my ribs to the point of cracking them.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))
“
Take bread away from me, if you wish,
take air away, but
do not take from me your laughter.
Do not take away the rose,
the lance flower that you pluck,
the water that suddenly
bursts forth in joy,
the sudden wave
of silver born in you.
My struggle is harsh and I come back
with eyes tired
at times from having seen
the unchanging earth,
but when your laughter enters
it rises to the sky seeking me
and it opens for me all
the doors of life.
My love, in the darkest
hour your laughter
opens, and if suddenly
you see my blood staining
the stones of the street,
laugh, because your laughter
will be for my hands
like a fresh sword.
Next to the sea in the autumn,
your laughter must raise
its foamy cascade,
and in the spring, love,
I want your laughter like
the flower I was waiting for,
the blue flower, the rose
of my echoing country.
Laugh at the night,
at the day, at the moon,
laugh at the twisted
streets of the island,
laugh at this clumsy
fool who loves you,
but when I open
my eyes and close them,
when my steps go,
when my steps return,
deny me bread, air,
light, spring,
but never your laughter.
”
”
Pablo Neruda
“
He had a bleeding cut on his leg and he smelled like shit.
Her nose wrinkled. "Step in something?" she asked innocently.
"That I did not mind." He took a menacing step toward her. "What I did mind was being hit by a cab, then landing on the lap of a naked man. With an erection, Anya. He had an erection.
”
”
Gena Showalter (The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld, #2))
“
It was a comet. The boy saw the comet and he felt as though his life had meaning. And when it went away, he waited his entire life for it to come back to him. It was more than just a comet because of what it brought to his life: direction, beauty, meaning. There are many who couldn't understand, and sometimes he walked among them. But even in his darkest hours, he knew in his heart that someday it would return to him, and his world would be whole again... And his belief in God and love and art would be re-awakened in his heart. The boy saw the comet and suddenly his life had meaning.
”
”
Lucas Scott
“
Life isn’t fair." I said. "It’s taken me a while to get that. It’s always going to disappoint you in some way or another. You’ll make plans, and it’ll push you in another direction. You will love people, and they’ll be taken away no matter how hard you fight to keep them. You’ll try for something and won’t get it. You don’t have to find meaning in it; you don’t have to try to change things. You just have to accept the things that are out of your hands and try to take care of yourself. That’s your job.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2))
“
Dogs, lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you're going to lose a dog, and there's going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can't support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There's such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware that it comes with an unbearable price. Maybe loving dogs is a way we do penance for all the other illusions we allow ourselves and the mistakes we make because of those illusions.
”
”
Dean Koontz (The Darkest Evening of the Year)
“
Simon whispered to me, “But is everything okay?”
“No,” Tori said. “I kidnapped her and forced her to escape with me. I’ve been using her as a human shield against those guys with guns, and I was just about to strangle her and leave her body here to throw them off my trail. But then you showed up and foiled my evil plans. Lucky for you, though. You get to rescue poor little Chloe again and win her undying gratitude.”
“Undying gratitude?” Simon looked at me. “Cool. Does that come with eternal servitude? If so, I like my eggs sunnyside up.”
I smiled. “I’ll remember that.”
***
“Oh, right. You must be starving.” Simon reached into his pockets. “I can offer one bruised apple and one brown banana. Convenience stores aren’t the place to buy fruit, as I keep telling someone.”
“Better than these. For you, anyway, Simon.” Derek passed a bar to Tori.
“Because you aren’t supposed to have those, are you?” I said. “Which reminds me…” I took out the insulin. “Derek said it’s your backup.”
“So my dark secret is out.”
“I didn’t know it was a secret.”
“Not really. Just not something I advertise.”
...
“Backup?” Tori said. “You mean he didn’t need that?”
“Apparently not,” I murmured.
Simon looked from her to me, confused, then understanding. “You guys thought…”
“That if you didn’t get your medicine in the next twenty-four hours, you’d be dead?” I said. “Not exactly, but close. You know, the old ‘upping the ante with a fatal disease that needs medication’ twist. Apparently, it still works.”
“Kind of a letdown, then, huh?”
“No kidding. Here we were, expecting to find you minutes from death. Look at you, not even gasping.”
“All right, then. Emergency medical situation, take two.”
He leaped to his feet, staggered, keeled over, then lifted his head weakly.
“Chloe? Is that you?” He coughed. “Do you have my insulin?”
I placed it in his outstretched hand.
“You saved my life,” he said. “How can I ever repay you?”
“Undying servitude sounds good. I like my eggs scrambled.”
He held up a piece of fruit. “Would you settle for a bruised apple?”
I laughed.
”
”
Kelley Armstrong (The Awakening (Darkest Powers, #2))
“
She loved him. But he didn’t know how to love.
He could talk about love. He could see love and feel love. But he couldn’t give love.
He could make love. But he couldn’t make promises.
She had desperately wanted his promises.
She wanted his heart, knew she couldn’t have it so she took what she could get.
Temporary bliss. Passionate highs and lows. Withdrawal and manipulation.
He only stayed long enough to take what he needed and keep moving.
If he stopped moving, he would self-destruct.
If he stopped wandering, he would have to face himself.
He chose to stay in the dark where he couldn’t see.
If he exposed himself and the sun came out, he’d see his shadow.
He was deathly afraid of his shadow.
She saw his shadow, loved it, understood it. Saw potential in it.
She thought her love would change him.
He pushed and he pulled, tested boundaries, thinking she would never leave.
He knew he was hurting her, but didn’t know how to share anything but pain.
He was only comfortable in chaos. Claiming souls before they could claim him.
Her love, her body, she had given to him and he’d taken with such feigned sincerity, absorbing every drop of her.
His dark heart concealed.
She’d let him enter her spirit and stroke her soul where everything is love and sensation and surrender.
Wide open, exposed to deception.
It had never occurred to her that this desire was not love.
It was blinding the way she wanted him.
She couldn’t see what was really happening, only what she wanted to happen.
She suspected that he would always seek to minimize the risk of being split open, his secrets revealed.
He valued his soul’s privacy far more than he valued the intimacy of sincere connection so he kept his distance at any and all costs.
Intimacy would lead to his undoing—in his mind, an irrational and indulgent mistake.
When she discovered his indiscretions, she threw love in his face and beat him with it.
Somewhere deep down, in her labyrinth, her intricacy, the darkest part of her soul, she relished the mayhem.
She felt a sense of privilege for having such passion in her life.
He stirred her core.
The place she dared not enter.
The place she could not stir for herself.
But something wasn’t right.
His eyes were cold and dark.
His energy, unaffected.
He laughed at her and her antics, told her she was a mess.
Frantic, she looked for love hiding in his eyes, in his face, in his stance, and she found nothing but disdain.
And her heart stopped.
”
”
G.G. Renee Hill (The Beautiful Disruption)
“
Black is the color that is no color at all.
Black is the color of a child's still, empty bedroom. The heaviest hour of night-the one that traps you in your bunk, suffocating in another nightmare. It is a uniform stretched over the broad shoulders of an angry young man. Black is the mud, the lidless eye watching your every breath, the low vibrations of the fence that stretches up to tear at the sky.
It is a road. A forgotten night sky broken up by faded stars.
It is the barrel of a new gun, leveled at your heart.
The color of Chubs's hair, Liam's bruises, Zu's eyes.
Black is a promise of tomorrow, bled dry from lies and hate.
Betrayal.
I see it in the face of a broken compass, feel it in the numbing grip of grief.
I run, but it is my shadow. Chasing, devouring, polluting. It is the button that should never have been pushed, the door that shouldn't have opened, the dried blood that couldn't be washed away. It is the charred remains of buildings. The car hidden in the forest, waiting. It is the smoke.
It is the fire.
The spark.
Black is the color of memory.
It is our color.
The only one they'll use to tell our story.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (In the Afterlight (The Darkest Minds, #3))
“
Liam cleared his throat again and turned to fully face me. “So, it’s the summer and you’re in Salem, suffering through another boring, hot July, and working part-time at an ice cream parlor. Naturally, you’re completely oblivious to the fact that all of the boys from your high school who visit daily are more interested in you than the thirty-one flavors. You’re focused on school and all your dozens of clubs, because you want to go to a good college and save the world. And just when you think you’re going to die if you have to take another practice SAT, your dad asks if you want to go visit your grandmother in Virginia Beach.”
“Yeah?” I leaned my forehead against his chest. “What about you?”
“Me?” Liam said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “I’m in Wilmington, suffering through another boring, hot summer, working one last time in Harry’s repair shop before going off to some fancy university—where, I might add, my roommate will be a stuck-up-know-it-all-with-a-heart-of-gold named Charles Carrington Meriwether IV—but he’s not part of this story, not yet.” His fingers curled around my hip, and I could feel him trembling, even as his voice was steady. “To celebrate, Mom decides to take us up to Virginia Beach for a week. We’re only there for a day when I start catching glimpses of this girl with dark hair walking around town, her nose stuck in a book, earbuds in and blasting music. But no matter how hard I try, I never get to talk to her.
“Then, as our friend Fate would have it, on our very last day at the beach I spot her. You. I’m in the middle of playing a volleyball game with Harry, but it feels like everyone else disappears. You’re walking toward me, big sunglasses on, wearing this light green dress, and I somehow know that it matches your eyes. And then, because, let’s face it, I’m basically an Olympic god when it comes to sports, I manage to volley the ball right into your face.”
“Ouch,” I said with a light laugh. “Sounds painful.”
“Well, you can probably guess how I’d react to that situation. I offer to carry you to the lifeguard station, but you look like you want to murder me at just the suggestion. Eventually, thanks to my sparkling charm and wit—and because I’m so pathetic you take pity on me—you let me buy you ice cream. And then you start telling me how you work in an ice cream shop in Salem, and how frustrated you feel that you still have two years before college. And somehow, somehow, I get your e-mail or screen name or maybe, if I’m really lucky, your phone number. Then we talk. I go to college and you go back to Salem, but we talk all the time, about everything, and sometimes we do that stupid thing where we run out of things to say and just stop talking and listen to one another breathing until one of us falls asleep—”
“—and Chubs makes fun of you for it,” I added.
“Oh, ruthlessly,” he agreed. “And your dad hates me because he thinks I’m corrupting his beautiful, sweet daughter, but still lets me visit from time to time. That’s when you tell me about tutoring a girl named Suzume, who lives a few cities away—”
“—but who’s the coolest little girl on the planet,” I manage to squeeze out.
”
”
Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1))