Katie

“I observe him for a while, wondering whether it's normal, feeling — feeling so much about a single person. Surely, it's unfair. Surely, a love this deep should be reserved for the universe as a whole. But what if, to me, he's the linchpin? What if he's the stitch that keeps it all together?”
― Ali Hazelwood, Mate

“The most recent post was from yesterday —Christmas— and it was of the foosball table Shane had given him. No caption. He scrolled and found a photo of the exercise ball Shane had been balancing on in Ilya's gym. One of the latest puzzle Ilya had completed with Shane's dad. One of Ilya's loon tattoo.
One of the two plastic heart rings, together on Shane's dresser.
Shane realized that most or Ilya's posts were, in weird cryptic ways, about Shane. His entire account was like a secret diary of their relationship, full of inside jokes and little references that only Shane would understand.
And Shane hadn't even bothered to look at it before. Not really.
He looked now. He scrolled until his eyes were so blurry that he had to give up and sob into his hands instead. How could Shane have doubted for a second how fiercely Ilya loved him?”
― Rachel Reid, The Long Game

“Anger flared through Shane’s body, hot and sudden. They had lots of reasons to keep their relationship a secret, but those reasons seemed extremely unimportant now. What if Ilya had died? What if he had fucking died?
Shane would have died too. Alone, and secretly, and for the rest of his life.”
― Rachel Reid, The Long Game

“Of course you belong here — if you want to. That's for you to decide, not the world”
― Danica Nava, Love Is a War Song