“He isn't wearing a shirt.... He shouldn't just walk around like that; it's obscene to have to look at someone so perfect. He should do the world a favor and eat a donut or two.”
“I slump against the cushion. “How am I going to protect him, if I’ve completely alienated him? He thinks I’m creepy…” I say sadly.
“You are not creepy,” Reed says soothingly, taking my hand.
“You’re not a good judge of creepy, Reed, since you’re creepier than I am,” I say warily, looking over at Zephyr when I hear him laughing at my comment. “I wouldn’t laugh too hard, pal, because you’re the creepiest one of us all.”
“...I have never seen him smile like that—it’s intoxicating, especially because I never thought he would smile like that at me.”
“Reed lifts his lips from mine, and looking into my eyes, he murmurs, “I want those thousand years with you, Evie, you have no idea how much I want them. I want a thousand years, and then I want a hundred thousand more.”
“I will never want anything as much as I want you. I will never love anything as much as I love you.”
“Reed’s face inches closer to mine on the pillow as he says, “Let me try to explain something to you, Evie. All of these years that I have been here, it is as if I have been sleeping. I have to always pretend to be something that I am not—pretend to be human. When I am not pretending to be human, then I am hunting evil, vicious angels who want nothing more than to…” his voice trails off and there is hollowness in his tone that reflects the loneliness of his existence. “But now, I am awake, for the first time in my existence, and not only am I awake, but I feel flames when you are near me. You have changed things for me. There is no reason to pretend around you. If I had to live without you now…now that I know what I have been missing…” The need in his voice makes me want to promise him anything, give him anything, just to fill that void in him. “I cannot go back to sleep, Evie. You are the only thing that makes me want to live. If you leave here, if you ascend to Paradise, or even if you are cast into the abyss, or taken there by the Fallen…I will have to follow you, no matter where you go. Even if I have to pursue you into the dark…if you cease to be, then so will I. You are my sin and my redemption.”
“You are afraid of me?” Reed asks me, sounding unpleasantly surprised.
“Of course I’m afraid of you. You’re menacing, you’re overbearing, you’re arrogant, and if you don’t see that, then you can just add high to the list,” I say, using my fingers to tick off his shortcomings.”
“You’re what I want. No other angel, or man, will ever stand above you in my esteem, in my regard, or in my love.”
“I don’t want you going there without me, ever…do you understand what I am saying?” he asks me, searching my face, probably looking for any sign of dissention.
“Let me get this straight, what if I got a craving for…I don’t know…Twinkies in the wee hours of the morning and all that was open was the Seven-Eleven. You’re saying I should wake you up, even if you’re crashed out, just so that you can go with me on a treat run?” I ask skeptically, trying to gauge his level of commitment to this course of action.
“Genevieve, Twinkies are really bad for you, but if you had to have one, then yes, that’s what I’m saying,” he smiles at my scenario. “Do you really like those things?”
“I’m not going to tell you if you’re going to tease me, but I will say that it’s suspiciously inhuman not to enjoy a Hostess snack from time to time,” I reply coyly. “I’ll buy you one. You’ll love it, I promise.”
And I’ll be doing the world a favor at the same time, I think, remembering him without his shirt on.”
“You have made no secret of the fact that you hate me.”
His eyes soften again. “Hate you?” he asks. “Not as much as you might think. And then there is the…what was it…butterflies? That can’t be a bad thing, can it?”
“ That is what courage is: it is acting in the face of fear.”
“You make me want more- more time, more of your love, more of you.”
“You are my sin and my redemption”
“Okay, so when is the mother ship coming to pick us up?” I ask worriedly. “The what?” Reed asks with confusion clouding his eyes. “The mother ship, you know, aliens?” I ask tensely. He gives me an impatient look. “Aliens?” he scoffs. “We’re not aliens then?” I reply, not even trying to keep the relief out of my voice. “No!” he says emphatically as he searches my face—probably for other signs of mental illness. Sighing, I ask, “Then what are we, Reed? Because seriously, if some big alien bug cracks me open from the inside and starts wiggling out, I’m going to be really ticked off that you didn’t warn me.”
“Reason doesn't always stand up to pain and come out the victor. ”
“You are poised to be the most perfect creature I have ever encountered, under God, and the affection that I feel for you cannot be measured on Earth”
“How come you’re in such a good mood? You couldn't have gotten much more sleep than I did last night. Are you a morning person?” I ask in mock horror.“A mornin’ person, well maybe, but let’s just say I got to experience the nicest parts of hell last night,” he says quietly,taking the shirt I offer him. As he rises out of thebed, I can’t help looking over his perfect abdomen and chest before he shrugs into his shirt.“I’m sorry, the nicest parts of hell? What does that mean?” I ask.“Red, yer not a guy, so there’s no point explainin’,”
“Boys sometimes don't remember a good thing when they see it. Just remember that you're special.”
“I try taking a step. Reed drops my hands so that I can move freely. My knee is a bit stiff, but otherwise, it feels fine. Examining the surface of my knee, I see a slight discoloration over the kneecap, but other than that, it’s nearly as good as new. Feeling myself panicking I cover my hands over my face as I think, I’m a monster! Don’t fall apart here—you can fall apart later… Plastering a fake smile on my face, I bring my hands down to see Reed standing just a few feet away, watching me closely. I try to think of something offhand to say, but all I can come up with is, “Amazing…I can’t wait until that third eye grows out of my forehead.”
“I want those thousand years with you, Evie, you have no idea how much I want them. I want a thousand years, and then I want a hundred thousand more.”
“Genevieve, what if I told you that you’re not the only one who feels the fluttering, weightless feeling in here,” he says, indicating his abdomen, “when we’re together?” My heart leaps in my chest as I search his face for signs that he’s teasing me, but he appears absolutely serious. Looking grim, he adds, “That day at orientation, I felt you before I ever saw you, and then I saw you, and I knew that you are…and I wanted to…you don’t want to hear this.” “No, this is exactly what I need to hear from you,” I say anxiously. His eyes narrow, “I wanted to destroy you,” he says, and a shiver goes through me, “and I wanted to take you in my arms and love you, and I wanted to tear you apart, and I wanted to crush anything that would harm you, all at the same time.”
“What’s up with hotness? I wonder. He looks like someone definitely broke his crayons.”
“wanted to destroy you,” he says, and a shiver goes through me, “and I wanted to take you in my arms and love you, and I wanted to tear you apart, and I wanted to crush anything that would harm you, all at the same time.”
“or so, and then it should be as good as new. See, I can walk”
“I’m dangerous?” I snort disbelievingly. “Very,” he replies plainly. “I don’t feel dangerous, I feel small and exposed,” I say, turning my face away from him. “Evie, you’re the most dangerous creature I have ever encountered, and I have encountered them all,” he says, playing with my hair.”
“It is your heart. It sings to me; it calls to me. I know when you’re afraid, when you have nightmares that wake you up in the middle of the night. I know when you’re happy.”
“Why does my stomach flutter like it’s filled with a thousand butterflies whenever I get near you? And I don’t mean when I see you, I mean before I see you,” I inquire as I search his face.”
“I have heard it said that if you stay in one place long enough, the whole world would eventually pass by you. I’m not sure if I buy that, but if you have four miles to walk to a lake, while stuck behind a bunch of teenage girls, you will hear quite enough gossip about the place you are in, not to mention the people who reside there, to make that world quite interesting. I have already learned quite enough about Reed Wellington, my beautiful sophomore guide with a penchant for rudeness.”
“I look away from him, replying sarcastically, “Well, you can tell JT and Pete for me that the next time they hold a knitting bee and gossip circle, I could use a new sweater!”
“I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.”
“À minha frente, Marc parece muito triste; no entanto, ele é que tem sorte: Pensa em Damira, e tenho a certeza que também ela pensa nele se ainda estiver viva. Nenhum carcereiro, nenhum torcionário poderá manter prisioneiros esses pensamentos. Os sentimentos viajam através das grades mais estreitas, seguem sem medo da distância e não conhecem as fonteiras das línguas, nem das religiões, juntam-se para lá das prisões inventadas pelos homens.”
“What do you think we ought to do? she asked. Do? Put his sorry ass away. Tell the law and let them open the graves themselves. Put him away forever in some crazyhouse. They’d have to. You think they would? I know they would. What would you do with him? There’s supposed to be respect for the dead. It’s the way we evolved or something. It’s genetic. This man here…he wouldn’t cull anything. He’d do anything.”
“I think home can be more than a single place. I think it is wherever you find those that you love. A family." -Eva”
“bedroom. He threw the cover, quilt, and pillows hastily on the floor, feeling the sides of the mattress until he found what he was looking for.”
“The 'bad guys' are the ones who are often misunderstood”
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