Quotes from Reason to Breathe

“I love that picture, he admitted softly. I think it's because I love the girl in that picture.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“Love helped me live life instead of just survive it.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“In the balance of love and loss, it was love that made me struggle to… Breathe.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“We were engaged in a very intricate dance of touching without touching, knowing without saying, and feeling without expressing. We were friends walking along a ledge, a very thin ledge - and I was too caught up in my heightened awareness of his existence to realize how close the ledge was to crumbling beneath my feet.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“Well let’s get you back to hell before the devil realizes you’re not home.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“My world was delicately balanced, but the scales never hung even. When something improved, something else had to crumble.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“And just because you didn’t admit it, you were stupid for each other from almost day one. So even though you’ve been dating for a couple of weeks, you’ve been each other’s person for a lot longer. - Sara”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“I knew there was going to be pain whether I did anything wrong or not – so maybe I should do something to actually deserve it.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“Now I was left holding the pieces of my heart, crushed by my own hands.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“I knew in that moment, I would never love anyone in my life the way I loved Evan Mathews.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“I survived by keeping my emotions in check – by maintaining my composure and tucking it all away. I managed to stay under the radar, skating through school without anyone truly remembering I was here. My teachers acknowledged my academic successes and my coaches depended upon my athletic abilities, but I wasn’t important enough to make a recognizable social contribution. I was easily forgettable. That’s what I counted on.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“I guess you just don't pay attention. I think you're too busy attempting to fade.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“I trusted you," Evan bellowed, as the distance grew between us. I stopped and turned back around. He walked towards me until we were only a foot apart. "I trusted you, and you couldn't trust me."
I stared back, watching the hurt reveal itself in his eyes. My heart ached in return.
"I unpacked for the first time ever - for you. I was honest with you about everything-even with the truth about how I felt about you. I've never been that honest before. I trusted you." His voice drifted into a whisper as he leaned closer to me. "Why couldn't you trust me?”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“It was more important for me to try, than to not have the chance at all.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“He leaned toward me and delicately grazed my lips with his. The tease left me breathless, burning for more.
“I keep having to remind myself that I can do that,” he smirked.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“These past two days, I’ve seen a fire in your eyes that I never have before. Granted, it’s mostly anger and frustration, but it’s still emotion.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“It's beautiful," I breathed, admiring the powerful emotion and truth frozen in the single shot.
"I love that picture," he admitted softly. "I think it's because I love the girl in that picture.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“What was that about? His mother is practically gushing over you. Not to mention that he’s holding your hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Forget about dating - are you having a wedding you forgot to invite me to?”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“In the balance of love and loss, it was love that made me struggle to… Breathe.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“Not being liked was so much worse than being invisible.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“What if I don't want to be friends with you?" he challenged, grinning again, staring directly into my eyes. Obviously taking me seriously was an impossibility for Evan.
Despite not being able to breathe, I connected with his taunting gaze and refused to look away. "Then we won't be friends," I said flatly.
"What if I want to be more than friends?”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“There are so many other people in this school-you don't have to know me."
"But I want to," he replied with a grin.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“I don't know how to fit you in my world without hurting you too." The truth in my words revealed more than he'd ever know.
"Don't worry about hurting me," he replied calmly. "I like being a part of your world, and I understand that it's more complicated than you're willing to share with me. But I'll respect that, for now."
He pulled into the parking lot of a drugstore and put the car in park. Evan seemed nervous as he turned to speak to ne. He released a quick breath before he spoke. My chest tightened, afraid to hear what he had to say."
"I don't do this." His hands gestured between us. My eyes narrowed, trying to inerpret his meaning. He exhaled and looked out the windshield. "I don't stay, and I'm used to that. And I'm always prepared to leave-because I have to eventually.
He stopped again, frustrated with himself. I sat motionless, absolutely convinced I didn't want him to continue - but I couldn't bring myself to ask him to stop.
"I want to stay here," he finally decalred. "It would bother me if I left. I mean, I've already unpacked.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“I pushed him away. So he left.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“Was it better to get as much out of the moment as possible, knowing it could slip out from under you in a second? Was the actual experience better than the inevitable conclusion?”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“He was a breath of fresh air after the heart wrenching storm that had engulfed me.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“Are you worried you'd miss me if I left?”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“He didn’t need to touch me. His attention alone, recognizing my existence, send a flurry of sparks through my body.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“I couldn't believe I let him see me like this, unable to fend for myself. I fumed in disgust at my vulnerability. I didn't want Evan to think I needed protecting. I pulled back my torment and let the numb blanket envelop me, pushing away the stirred memories, the noise of the crowd, and the trembling that still lay beneath the surface. I stared at the flames licking at the darkness and everything was lost as I sank deeper into nothingness.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

“Knowing you were right down the hall was way too hard. I couldn’t do it,” Evan declared, sliding under the covers next to me.”
― Rebecca Donovan, quote from Reason to Breathe

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Popular quotes

“She needed to recover. His father had died in January; it was only the end of May. They needed to stick to the routine they'd established during the intervening months. in that way, their life would return to its original shape, like a spring stretched in bad times but contracting eventually into happiness. That the world could come permanently unsprung had never occurred to him.”
― David Wroblewski, quote from The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

“Much of Chinese society still expected its women to hold themselves in a sedate manner, lower their eyelids in response to men's stares, and restrict their smile to a faint curve of the lips which did not expose their teeth. They were not meant to use hand gestures at all. If they contravened any of these canons of behavior they would be considered 'flirtatious." Under Mao, flirting with./bre/gners was an unspeakable crime.

I was furious at the innuendo against me. It had been my Communist parents who had given me a liberal upbringing.

They had regarded the restrictions on women as precisely the sort of thing a Communist revolution should put an end to. But now oppression of women joined hands with political repression, and served resentment and petty jealousy.

One day, a Pakistani ship arrived. The Pakistani military attache came down from Peking. Long ordered us all to spring-clean the club from top to bottom, and laid on a banquet, for which he asked me to be his interpreter, which made some of the other students extremely envious. A few days later the Pakistanis gave a farewell dinner on their ship, and I was invited. The military attache had been to Sichuan, and they had prepared a special Sichuan dish for me. Long was delighted by the invitation, as was I. But despite a personal appeal from the captain and even a threat from Long to bar future students, my teachers said that no one was allowed on board a foreign ship.

"Who would take the responsibility if someone sailed away on the ship?" they asked. I was told to say I was busy that evening.

As far as I knew, I was turning down the only chance I would ever have of a trip out to sea, a foreign meal, a proper conversation in English, and an experience of the outside world.

Even so, I could not silence the whispers. Ming asked pointedly, "Why do foreigners like her so much?" as though there was something suspicious in that. The report filed on me at the end of the trip said my behavior was 'politically dubious."

In this lovely port, with its sunshine, sea breezes, and coconut trees, every occasion that should have been joyous was turned into misery. I had a good friend in the group who tried to cheer me up by putting my distress into perspective. Of course, what I encountered was no more than minor unpleasantness compared with what victims of jealousy suffered in the earlier years of the Cultural Revolution. But the thought that this was what my life at its best would be like depressed me even more.

This friend was the son of a colleague of my father's.
The other students from cities were also friendly to me. It was easy to distinguish them from the students of peasant backgrounds, who provided most of the student officials.”
― Jung Chang, quote from Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

“You always were selfish. Your one fault. Not willing to share anything, are you?" Suddenly, Damon's lips curved up in a singularly beautiful smile. But fortunately the lovely Elena is more generous. Didn't she tell you about our little liaisons? Why? The first time we met she almost gave herself to me on the spot."
"That's a lie!"
"Oh, no, dear brother, I never lie about anything important. Or do I mean unimportant? Anyway, your beauteous damsel nearly swooned into my arms. I think she likes men in black." As Stefan stared at him, trying to control his breathing, Damon added, almost gently, "You're wrong about her, you know, You think she's sweet and docile like Katherine. She isn't. She's not your type at all, my saintly brother. She has a spirit and a fire in her that you wouldn't know what to do with."
"And you would, I suppose."
Damon uncrossed his arms and slowly smiled again. "Oh, yes.”
― L.J. Smith, quote from The Awakening / The Struggle

“Can you lose something that was never yours to begin with?" - Keira”
― S.C. Stephens, quote from Thoughtless

“Fue así como ocurrió. Lo que antes parecía puro azar adquirió de repente una dimensión diferente.”
― Stieg Larsson, quote from The Millennium Trilogy

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