* Read from an ARC so some of the sentences might be off because my NetGalley copy had no chapters.
* Spoilers are highlighted like so: :)
“A DOOR SQUEAKS OPEN at the far end of the barren hallway and the clicking of high heels echoes off the row of metal post-office boxes.”
“I ASK WHY MORE THAN I SHOULD, some days I regret the decisions I make and most mornings I wake up on edge.”
“AN HOUR BUS RIDE to my uncle’s, forty minutes waiting for Dad’s prescription and, as I walk out of the pharmacy, I still haven’t thought of a witty enough comeback for when Jax looks at me from across the dinner table and mouths John’s last word to me: “Runner.”
“JESUS CHRIST!”
“MY LUNGS BURN and my arms and legs pump quickly.”
“SON OF A BITCH.”
“Please be breathing!”
“I’M LATE.”
“I THINK YOU’RE DEAD.”
“EVERY BREATH TASTES OF DUST, spilled gasoline and oil.”
“THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT of the hospital has that slasher-movie quiet to it.”
“HALEY WILLIAMS CHOOSES, once again, another form.”
“FROM ACROSS THE COUNTER, the secretary slides my schedule to me.”
“GOD HATES ME.”
“I DROP INTO A SEAT at an empty table in the back and a dishwater-blonde slithers into the chair beside me.”
“I’VE SUCCESSFULLY AVOIDED MATT since this morning and I’m betting that the refuge of the cafeteria will save me from him for at least twenty more minutes.”
“I ASSESS THE GUY in front of me: my height, my build, my problem.”
“I’M SECOND BUS RUN.”
“I’M USED TO PEOPLE TALKING, saying words aloud to prove they know more than me, that they’re better than me.”
“WEST IS HOMELESS.”
“A FEW BLOCKS UP FROM HALEY, I lean on the glass of the pawn-shop display counter and count the wad of cash the street-hustler-owner of the joint just gave me.”
“DINNER’S DONE.”
“AN INSANITY LEAKS into my brain that makes deciphering reality from fantasy impossible.”
“WITH MY HANDS SHOVED in my jeans pocket and my nose buried in the collar of my father’s old army sweatshirt, I run to keep up with Jax and Kaden.”
“DAMN, THIS SCHOOL is crowded and if I didn’t have a pretend girlfriend, I could definitely work this place.”
“MY LEGS ARE JELL-O.”
“WHY ARE WE SITTING HERE?”
“MY GRANDFATHER THINKS he’s being crafty, but the old man is obvious.”
“HALEY RAKES A HAND through her hair, then grips it at the base of her neck like she’s going to tear it out.”
“MY BREATH CATCHES when I step out of the locker room.”
“THE THOUGHT HITS ME as I’m halfway up the trellis that this is the first time I’ve snuck into a girl’s room and oddly enough, it isn’t to hook up.”
“MY MOUTH GOES DRY.”
“THE SUN DOESN’T RISE for another hour and Haley’s alarm went off twenty minutes ago.”
“IT’S EIGHT AT NIGHT and West is late.”
“I’VE NEVER SLAPPED A WOMAN, but the pain that slashed across Haley’s face earlier this evening when I told her I was going home...”
“TALK ABOUT A NIGHTMARE come true.”
“IN THE CAFETERIA, Haley drops into the seat across from me and immediately pops a French fry into her mouth.”
“I’M LATE WALKING OUT the door of the pizzeria and West will be more than happy to throw it in my face after I gave him a hard time a few weeks back.”
“KEEP YOUR GUARD UP!”
“WE LEFT JOHN WHILE HE WAS in the middle of a particularly eloquent cursing rant.”
“HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE PAINT sets that have multiple colors?”
“THE DOOR TO THE BATHROOM RATTLES, followed by three knocks.”
“I FINISHED THE LAST ITEM on my thin to-do list for Denny a half hour ago, but for the fourth time today, I sweep the stockroom.”
“MATT HAS A GIRL draped on his arm.”
“I SLAM THE SUV’S DOOR and stalk to where Haley sits on the curb, but I keep my eyes glued on Matt.”
“MY FINGERS TRACE THE SPLIT of my lips as I stare at the sprawling house from the passenger side of West’s SUV.”
“WE DIDN’T REACH MY BEDROOM.”
“I FOUGHT IN A COMPETITION where I was overmatched.”
“DID SHE JUST SAY…?”
“WEST AND I HAVE BEEN OFFICIALLY together for a week.”
“HALEY BOLTS AND I MUTTER a curse as I shove the car into Park and chase after her.”
“NOTHING IS EVER EASY.”
“ON THE FLOOR, I TIGHTEN the screw, then test the half door attached to the wall that, it theory, keeps people from behind the bar.”
“MY MOUTH DRIES OUT and a weird pressure compresses my throat, almost as if a ghost cups my neck and squeezes.”
“WITH ABBY’S WORDS FRESH on my mind and Haley’s decision to be made, I head straight to the gym.”
“JOHN’S FINGERS WRAP around my biceps and I freak.”
“FRESH OUT OF THE SHOWER and in a borrowed purple sweater and jeans from Rachel’s room, Haley twirls the fettuccine Alfredo I heated for her onto the fork and slides it into her mouth.”
“WEST’S STATEMENT IS LIKE a front kick to the gut.”
“I STARE AT THE REPORT CARD I received in first period.”
“THE CUTTING OF VEGETABLES turns into a rote movement.”
“THE PRINCIPAL SUSPENDED ME for the rest of the day because I slammed Matt into a wall.”
“I STEP OUT OF THE BACK DOOR with a full trash bag in hand and stare up at the rolling gray clouds.”
“A BLUISH LIGHT GLOWS from Rachel’s bed and I freeze in her doorway.”
“AT SCHOOL, I STAND UNDER the overhang and watch the parking lot.”
“I CHANGED INTO JEANS and a T-shirt before driving to the bar.”
“THE SKIES FINALLY OPENED UP and erupted in rain.”
“IT’S CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT and I slam the back door to the kitchen.”
“JAX SHINES THE FLASHLIGHT on me and I raise my hand up to keep from becoming blinded.”
“I LIE IN BED AND BLUR MY VISION so that the ceilingfan blades merge into one.”
“MY UNCLE WAITS FOR US on the stoop.”
“GIVE HER THE CHOICE.”
“I FOLD THE BLANKET JOHN gave me last night and leave it on the pillow in the corner of the gym.”
“WITH ABBY RIDING SHOTGUN, I weave through the streets of the industrial park at sixty miles per hour and slam on the brakes when we reach the last warehouse.”
“IT’S OUR SECOND DAY on the road and we’re taking it slow to California because John’s car constantly threatens to spontaneously combust.”
“TWO DAYS AND LIFE has returned to normal.”
“WATER BEATS AGAINST the tub as Dad starts the shower.”
“EVEN THOUGH I TALKED TO JOHN on the phone and told him I’m still competing next Saturday and would appreciate his help, I’m apprehensive as I walk into the gym.”
“I HAVE NEVER ENVIED anyone in my life like I envy Maggie.”
“I STRADDLE A CHAIR as John wraps the yellow strip of material across my hand.”
“MY HEART POUNDS SO HARD I have no doubt people can see it past my skin.”
“KNEES, WEST!”
“KICK SERIES!”
“JAX ENTERS THE SMALL ROOM wearing a shit-eating grin.”
“THE BELL RINGS and both Mrs. Collins and I turn our heads to watch the flood of students fill the student parking lot.”
“HOLDING ON TO HER ELBOWS, Haley toes a rotted piece of floorboard in the corner of the living room.”
