“Kenny rested his hand on my leg, patting it delicately. His thoughts staying just that, thoughts, as we drove in silence, back to my prison of paradise, back to the one place I knew I could be happy, yet miserable, all in the same day.”

“If you want to get rid of Rose then fine, I’ll take care of it. But I don’t think that is going to solve your problem. You’ll still be here. And you are your problem.”

“Sam studied his brother. At one time he thought Frankie had a good head on his shoulders. Sure, he had a temper. And he was conceited. But he always used common sense. But now he wasn’t so sure if that were true. He had brought him his lifeless fiancé. Like a dog dragging in a dead rabbit looking for praise.”

“Frankie scanned her eyes. I don’t ask for things. I take them.”

“Frankie raised an eyebrow. Look at you getting all sentimental. You know where to find me.Delaney nodded. That doesn’t mean you want to be found. Come on. One drink.”

“Is that a rule? Do you have a rule that you can’t kiss people in the morning?”

“Loving someone isn’t a hard task, it’s not a chore, you don’t wake up one day and decide to break their heart because you got all hot and bothered, that doesn’t happen!” he boomed.”

“Trust, you give it and you take it away. You believe it with everything you have in you, you allow your heart to trust somebody else. I trusted very few in life, but sometimes you just needed to give in and fight the urge to flee.”

“He pulled the gun from his waist, running it along my cheek and back down to my lips. I blinked back the tears at sick game. He finally stopped the gun at my temple, my pulse fighting against the pressure of the cold metal of the gun.“Do you think you are a good person, Kendall?”“No, not at all,” I said, swallowing down the misery of my honest answer.“Really?” he asked, one eyebrow lifting in confusion. “Are you afraid to die?”I wished I could spit in his face for making everything so hard. I wished he would just pull the trigger and end it already. But a small part of me was begging and pleading internally that he wouldn’t shoot me.“No, I’m not afraid to die,” I admitted, I closed my eyes and the tears fell quickly. “I’m not afraid of much in life. I’ve seen too much to be scared.”He let out a sigh. I opened my eyes. He pulled the gun away from me.“Well, damn. How the hell am I supposed to kill someone so miserable?”I looked away. Even in death I was pitiful.”

“Are you coming back to campus or you sticking around here with the prick?”

“Satan impregnated my mother one lovely spring morning. We didn’t have the heart to tell my father.”