Sarah Dessen: Evening

“Your past is always your past. Even if you forget it, it remembers you.”

“Don't be a fool. Don't give up something important to hold onto someone who can't even say they love you.”

“All I'd ever wanted was to forget. but even when I thought I had, pieces had kept emerging, like bits of wood floating up to the surface that only hint at the shipwreck below.”

“Sometimes, we just have to be happy with what people can offer us. Even if it's not what we want, at least it's something.”

“So many versions of just one memory, and yet none of them were right or wrong. Instead, they were all pieces. Only when fitted together, edge to edge, could they even begin to tell the whole story.”

“I have to admit, an unrequited love is so much better than a real one. I mean, it's perfect… As long as something is never even started, you never have to worry about it ending. It has endless potential.”

“Friends are honest with each other. Even if the truth hurts.
-Maggie”

“Like a word on a page that you’ve printed and read a million times, that suddenly looks strange or wrong, foreign. And you feel scared for a second, like you’ve lost something, even if you’re not sure what it is.”

“There's just something obvious about emptiness, even when you try to convince yourself otherwise.”

“This Lullaby is only a few words, a simple run of chords, quiet here in this spare room, but you can hear it, hear it, wherever you may go, even if I let you down, this lullaby plays on…”

“So many times it seemed like there were chances to stop things before they started. Or even stop them in midstream. But it was even worse when you knew in that very moment that there was still time to save yourself, and yet you couldn't even budge.”

“An empty frame, in which the picture is always changing, makes a statement about how time is always passing. It doesn't really stop, even in a single image. I t just feels that way.”

“That was the thing about being on the inside: the world was just going on, even when it seemed like time for you had stopped for good.”

“It's funny how someone's perception of you can be formed without you even knowing it.”

“There comes a point when things are undeniable and can't be hidden any longer. Even from yourself.”

“Why should I even bother? What's the point, really?"
He thought for a moment. "Who says there has to be a point?" he asked. "Or a reason. Maybe it's just something you have to do.”

“It took a lot of work to be perfect. If you didn’t want to break a sweat, there was no point in even bothering.”

“Failing sucks. But it's better than the alternative."

"Which is?"

"Not even trying." Now he did look at me, straight on. "Life's short, you know?”

“It is kind of hard to hold a lot in. But for me… it’s sometimes even harder to let it out.”