Status Updates From Love Like Fire

“I think what made me fall in love with her, was that every time we were together, we smashed each other’s walls with a hammer. She put a mirror to my face. I put a mirror to hers. We saw each other at our best and worst. We made each other face our fears and insecurities and loneliness. At the end of it, I was so completely, ridiculously, pathetically in love with her, I couldn’t even see straight.”

“But then Grace Shaw, was working as a stage assistant for the play, and I was interested in her, and she was interested in it, so I decided to read it. I wanted to know what enchanted her. And I get it. I truly do.
The burning desire to call some place—any place—home.“

‘I’ll walk through fire for you. Love you. —Your old flame’.
I turned the card over. It was a picture of me I hadn’t recognized. Maybe because I’d never noticed when he took it. We were in the food truck. I was laughing, my eyes closed, holding a slushie, biting the tip of the straw. I remembered that moment. He’d been lying on the floor, looking up at me like he was stargazing. I’d felt beautiful.’

“I want everything. The fairy tale. The romance. I want a man who will parade me around like I’m the most beautiful girl in the world—precisely because, fixed or not, I will never be pretty in my own eyes.”

Damn

‘The most vulnerable secret a person could tell.
“I love you. I’m terrified of loving you, but I do, nonetheless,” I admitted gruffly.

“You heard her. I’m ugly. The Devil’s daughter.” “You’re beautiful. My girlfriend,” he countered.

I actually can’t explain what this did to me… very specific to me.

Also he is so good, he immediately went to help her, take care of her in whatever way he can. And she is so good to him. I love this

‘Her skin was a continent of explorations I wanted to unveil, and kiss, and nibble. To learn her stories—her fears—by tracing my lips along all the places of her that hurt once.’

“Not so fast, birthday boy. I would like to make a toast.” He sat up, listening intently. Seriously. He looked like a curious kid all of a sudden, about to be given a very important lecture about his favorite subject. It broke my heart to see him hungry for my words, because it was clear he didn’t want to celebrate his birthday.

The whole birthday speech was very important to me

‘I felt like I was my old self again, and I didn’t know why, but I thought he felt the same about himself, too. That for some reason, we brought out in each other the previous people that we were and missed terribly.’

I am loving this and them

‘I'd never had anyone burst into my life, kicking the door down on their way in, and stick around after realizing how truly broken I was.
West was the first person to insist on being my friend, whether I was interested or not. It was unchartered territory for me. My instincts told me to push him away before he did the dumping, but every single cell in my body screamed to let him in.’

She’s just like me

“So, you’re mad at me for sticking up for you?” His eyebrows pinched together.
“I can fight my own wars.”
“Bullshit. You’ve never once shown up for battle.” “That’s none of your business.”
“You are my business.”

This hits personally

‘West draped his muscular arm over my headrest. His body language was indifferent, dripping confidence; he took something out of his front pocket—a small planner—and dropped it in my lap.
“Circle the date.”
I ignored him, still glaring at the stage.
“When you’re letting me out of the doghouse,” he explained.

What can I say? He’s charmed me

“She doesn’t even care!” His eyes were bugging out as I put more pressure on his throat. I felt the delicate bones in his neck snapping as I pressed harder into them. “Well I do” I said quietly

“I dare you to disrespect her again, Reign. I will break you into miniscule pieces then flush you down the toilet. A part of me half-wishes you’d be dumb enough to pick on her, just so I could finally end you”

“Is this an I-wanna-talk-about-it crisis or mind-your-own-fucking-business crisis?” West grumbled above my head, sounding more annoyed than concerned.
The former. “The latter.”
“Thank fuck.”
“Jerk.”
“Let me know if that changes.”

He is actually so caring and sweet under his tough guy shield

‘the world frightened me so much, I didn’t want to do anything that forced me to take one step out of my comfort zone’

‘I saw the loneliest boy I’d ever laid eyes on. Sweet, confused, and lost. And I thought, bitterly, he didn’t even know that across the parking lot sat a girl just like him.’

They are funny, I’m having so much fun from the get go. Also I’ve been on a slump and this is exactly what I needed.