Zoey

“I stare down at my best friend. Her eyes carry the same pain as mine. We share our feelings like we share everything else. I fight this agony. I’m barely able to say, “I don’t think I can take a horrible year, Lil.” She holds me tighter. I clasp her cheek, my thumb catching a tear. “One year is a blip in our lifetime, Lo,” she whispers. “You’ve been through worse. You can take a horrible year. I know you can.” I nod a couple times, letting her words sink in. Maybe one year will feel shorter than I think. “There’ll be good,” she suddenly adds. “You might not see it now, but there’ll be good in the year. We’ll see our sons and daughters smile.” My chest rises. “We’ll hear Luna tell us stories—” I kiss Lily. A kiss that blisters my entire soul. I’m alive. I’m awake. I hold her face and deepen the kiss until she pulls further against my body. Breathing life into me.”
― Krista Ritchie, Some Kind of Perfect

“Most deal with drinking and every shit decision that hurt Lily. Even though we’re together now, every day that goes by I regret not being the man she needed. Not being able to help my best friend. Days and nights fogged by booze. Drinking. Drinking. Dying. I regret how long it took for me to wake up. I’m awake now. I can’t forget how the haze is gone. I’m awake. I’m alive. Slowly, painfully, I walk back towards his hospital bed. I pull out another chair. I sit there. And I watch my father die.”
― Krista Ritchie, Some Kind of Perfect