Alysia

“His kiss consumed and seduced me. Just as he’d meant it to. It wasn’t fast or hard or fueled by hatred or fury. It was an ember, a promise of the blazing fire to come with a bit of careful tending. I almost considered it sweet—the kind of chaste embrace two courting lovers stole when their chaperone wasn’t looking—until he slowly raised my arms above my head, pinning me to the wall by my wrists. He took my bottom lip between his teeth and bit down gently. Then I remembered: he was no angel. And I was suddenly all too willing to be damned.”
― Kerri Maniscalco, Kingdom of the Cursed

“...things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize that no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.”
― Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life

“I’ve watched Lo become sober.
I’ve watched Lily curb a relentless addiction. (I’m proud of you, sis.)
I’ve watched Rose blaze her own trail and put fire to stereotypes.
I’ve watched Connor fall in love. With more than just himself.
I’ve watched Ryke Meadows unclip his shackles and rise again.
And me. I’ve discovered who I am.”
― Krista Ritchie, Long Way Down

“Wasn’t friendship its own miracle, the finding of another person who made the entire lonely world seem somehow less lonely?”
― Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life