Lorelei Goach > Lorelei's Quotes

“Shirt off.”
Neil stared at her. “Why?”
“I can’t check track marks through cotton, Neil.”
“I don’t do drugs.”
“Good on you,” Abby said. “Keep it that way. Now take it off.”
[…] “I want to make this as painless as possible, but I can’t help you if you can’t help me. Tell me why you won’t take off your shirt.”
Neil looked for a delicate way to say it. The best he managed was, “I’m not okay.”
She put a finger to his chin and turned his face back toward her. “Neil, I work for the Foxes. None of you are okay. Chances are I’ve seen a lot worse than whatever it is you’re trying to hide from me.”
Neil’s smile was humorless. “I hope not.
“Trust me,” Abby said. “I’m not going to judge you. I’m here to help, remember? I’m your nurse now. That door is closed, and it comes with a lock. What happens in here stays in here.”
[…] “You can’t ask me about them,” he said at last. “I won’t talk to you about it. Okay?”
“Okay,” Abby agreed easily. “But know that when you want to, I’m here, and so is Betsy.”
Neil wasn’t going to tell that psychiatrist a thing, but he nodded. Abby dropped her hand and Neil pulled his shirt over his head before he could lose his nerve.
Abby thought she was ready. Neil knew she wouldn’t be, and he was right. Her mouth parted on a silent breath and her expression went blank. She wasn’t fast enough to hide her flinch, and Neil saw her shoulders go rigid with tension. He stared at her face as she stared at him, watching her gaze sweep over the brutal marks of a hideous childhood.
It started at the base of his throat, a looping scar curving down over his collarbone. A pucker with jagged edges was a finger-width away, courtesy of a bullet that hit him right on the edge of his Kevlar vest. A shapeless patch of pale skin from his left shoulder to his navel marked where he’d jumped out of a moving car and torn himself raw on the asphalt. Faded scars crisscrossed here and there from his life on the run, either from stupid accidents, desperate escapes, or conflicts with local lowlifes. Along his abdomen were larger overlapping lines from confrontations with his father’s people while on the run. His father wasn’t called the butcher for nothing; his weapon of choice was a cleaver. All of his men were well-versed in knife-fighting, and more than one of them had tried to stick Neil like a pig.
And there on his right shoulder was the perfect outline of half a hot iron. Neil didn’t remember what he’s said or done to irritate his father so much.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Real men wear floral when trespassing”
― Holly Jackson, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

“Hope was a dangerous, disquieting thing, but he thought perhaps he liked it.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Is your learning curve a horizontal line?”
― Nora Sakavic, The King's Men

“You know, I get it. Being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough. Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time. I know it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit. Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. So please, please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Raven King

“Fight because you don't know how to die quietly. Win because you don't know how to lose. This king's ruled long enough—it's time to tear his castle down.”
― Nora Sakavic, The King's Men

“He was their family. They were his. They were worth every cut and bruise and scream.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Raven King

“This isn’t about the Ravens. This is about you. This is about everything it took you to get to this point, everything it cost you, and everyone who laughed when you dared to dream of something big and bright. You’re here tonight because you refused to give up and refused to give in. You’re here where they all said you’d never be, and no one can say you haven’t earned the right to play this game.
“All eyes are on you. It’s time to show them what you’re made of. There’s no room for doubt, no room for second guesses, no room for error. This is your night. This is your game. This is your moment. Seize it with everything you’ve got. Pull out all the stops and lay it all on the line. Fight because you don’t know how to die quietly. Win because you don’t know how to lose. This king’s ruled long enough—it’s time to tear his castle down.”
― Nora Sakavic, The King's Men

“I am a bad person trying very hard to be a good person.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Raven King

“Don't let the cereal eat you. It's only a fucking box of cereal, but it will eat you alive if you let it.”
― Kathleen Glasgow, Girl in Pieces

“She's not a cookie, or a book, or a record on a shelf. You can't just play with her and then put her back.”
― Kathleen Glasgow, Girl in Pieces

“Everything and everybody that's busted can be fixed. That's what I think.”
― Kathleen Glasgow, Girl in Pieces

“​Jean noticed how Andrew and Neil moved like they were caught in each other’s gravity, in each other’s space more than they were out of it, cigarette smoke and matching armbands and lingering looks when one fell out of orbit for too long.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“You are Jean Moreau. Your place is here with me, with us. I’m your captain. You’re my partner. We’re supposed to be doing this together, aren’t we? Stop leaving me behind. Look at me.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“​Friends, he thought again, and this time it almost felt real.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“What you hold onto is less important than the act of holding on itself. It’s so easy to get lost in ourselves and this world. Sometimes you need to find your way back one tiny miracle at a time.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“I believe we all have the choice to be better than the hands that shaped us.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“How she’d found the strength to climb out of that pit when no one else thought her worth saving, Jean didn’t know, but hand over bloodied hand she’d scaled the wall. She’d chosen life; she’d chosen hope. She’d chosen second chances, and now she was watching to see if he would follow.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“Nathaniel Wesninski and that creepy little goalkeeper Andrew Minyard. The Foxhole Court was a veritable goldmine of personal issues and abuse.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“I don’t believe in miracles,” Jean said. “I have enough faith for us both,” Renee promised”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“I am tired of being called second when I am better than he will ever be. Tonight they’ll see how wrong they were about us.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“isn’t that reason enough to keep living? To rediscover simple delights one moment at a time, I mean. I used to count them on my fingers, reassuring myself there was still good in the world and reminding myself to keep looking for those blessings.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“Jean Moreau came back to himself in pieces, dragging himself together as he had a thousand mornings before.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that he hurt you, I’m sorry that you’re still afraid to talk about it, and I’m sorry that you think I’ll never understand. I’m sorry that he tricked you into thinking you deserved it. But I’m not sorry he’s gone. I can’t be.’ … because after a tense minute of silence Jean finally admitted, ‘Neither am I”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“Promise me you won’t try again. Promise me, Jean. I don’t want to lose you.”
Promise me, except he’d walked away years later without a second thought.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“Jeremy had never considered studying French before but hearing it from Jean was giving him ill-advised thoughts.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“Don’t you think you’re overdue for some rainbows?” “Yours was the first I saw in years,” Jean said, motioning to his head to indicate her hair.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“Jean couldn’t remember the last time someone allowed him any boundaries, and the feeling was as novel as it was addicting.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“He hasn’t played a clean game in years,” Kevin admitted, “but he knows how to follow orders. If you tell him to submit, he will.” “Literally the most awkward way you could’ve worded it,” Jeremy said.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“All you need to know are these two facts: I don’t need to fuck any of you to be better than your entire lineup, and if any Trojan ever tries to touch me, I will cut his throat on the spot.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court