Pike Quotes

Still, there are many things we can toss at them that don't require magic at all. Acid. Hot oil. Bookshelves. ~ Aprilynne Pike

You're not the only one who wants my head on a pike at the moment. Take a number and get in line. ~ Jocelynn Drake

They have forgotten much of what they once knew. They have even lost the secret of their origin. But I will give it to you, and this will give you a powerful advantage over them. Do you know the legend of the Hydra? ~ Christopher Pike

There are greater and better things in us all, than the world takes account of, or than we take note of; if we would but find them out. ~ Albert Pike

At the lodge the chief gave me many particulars which were relative to the late visit of the Spaniards. ~ Zebulon Pike

I saw a lot of operas from backstage and watched a lot of rehearsals - my parents were singers. ~ Rosamund Pike

Writing a book is a long and difficult process for me. I'm a slow writer, so I spend the year with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike in my head. I was thinking about this the other day. I wrote the first book in 1987. Literally every day since that time, Elvis and Joe have been in my head. They're always there. I started these guys because I like them. ~ Robert Crais

That you don't believe does not change the truth. ~ Aprilynne Pike

Whether or not there was room in her life for Tamani, Laurel knew that there was precious little room in Tamani's life for anything but Laurel. He lived to protect her, and he'd never failed her. Annoyed her, frustrated her, hurt her, maddened her - but never once failed her. ~ Aprilynne Pike

Rulers who attempt to control an unwilling populace govern nothing, and often find their heads atop a pike to boot. ~ Erika Johansen

I think every once in a while country has lost its way, but found its way back. It's always going to drift away from the traditional side, but then find a way to return. There's room for all kinds of influences be it pop, blues, gospel or whatever. But I will always say that I think we need more traditional country music coming down the pike. ~ Randy Travis

To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General (33rd Degree Masons), we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd, 31st, and 30th degrees: 'The Masonic religion should be, by all of us initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian doctrine.' ~ Albert Pike

But sadness was familiar; sadness was manageable. It didn't transform her, the way the raging anger did. She could remain herself and still feel this aching grief. ~ Aprilynne Pike

Laurel lifted his chin until their faces were even. Tamani closed his eyes and she could feel his jaw trembling under her hands. She brushed her lips over his, reveling in the velvety softness of his mouth against hers. When he didn't pull away, she pressed more firmly, knowing, somehow, that she had to move slowly, convince his tattered soul so carefully that she meant every word.
'I love you. And I'm asking you...' She opened her mouth slightly and gently scraped her teeth along his bottom lip, feeling his whole body shudder. 'No,' she amended, 'I'm begging you, to come be with me.' And she pressed her mouth against his and murmured, 'Forever.'
For a few seconds he didn't respond.
Then a groan escaped his throat and he thrust his fingers into her hair, pulling her mouth to his with a fierce hunger.
'Kiss me,' she whispered. 'And don't stop.'
His mouth enveloped hers again and their shared sweetness tasted like ambrosia as he caressed her eyelids, her ears her neck, and Laurel marveled at the strangeness of the world. She had loved him, had always loved him. She had even known it, somehow.
'Are you sure?' Tamani murmured, his lips softly grazing her ears.
'I am so sure,' Laurel said, her hands clutching the front of his shirt.
'What changed?' He pushed her hair away from her face, his fingers lingering on her temples, just brushing her eyelashes.
Laurel sobered. 'When I brought you the potion, I thought I was too late. And I had ~ Aprilynne Pike

I tell you, Becker," Henry said, "if you make me eat mutton one more night this week, I will have someone shot."
"He doesn't really have people shot," Alma reassured Mr. Pike, under her breath.
"I had figured that," her guest whispered back, "or else I would be dead already. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

If you must know where I was this morning,' Shelby said, 'Professor Pike never misses breakfast and I was just taking advantage of that fact to . . . erm . . . visit his office.' She produced a sheet of folded paper from the pocket of her black uniform jumpsuit. 'I know his memory's probably not that great these days, but he really shouldn't just write his master server access passwords down like that.'

'And he just left that lying around, did he?' Wing asked with a slight frown.

'Yeah, just lying around . . . in his safe,' Shelby said with a mischievous smile, 'but if you're going to rely on such basic security you're really asking for this kind of thing to happen. ~ Mark Walden

The best, most lasting changes are those which come about gradually; to reach great heights, a tree must first put down extensive roots. ~ Aprilynne Pike

There's nothing in computing that can't be broken by another level of indirection. ~ Rob Pike

Stop brooding. Or at least if you're gonna continue, don't sit so close to that cactus. You're bumming the both of us out. See? Its tiny little cock has gone limp."

The magazine slides to the floor as I turn my head to see the sorry-looking cactus behind the couch. What Eric is referring to as its penis hangs limp on the 'body' like it always has. ~ Erica Pike

Having lived so long, I can't tell the difference between the two political parties. They both sound like broken records that started skipping after the founding fathers died. Now there were some real men! ~ Christopher Pike

Yet, ironically, it is her very wretchedness that makes me pity her so. I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know what to do! ~ Christopher Pike

We all die. It's just a question of when and how horrible it's going to be. ~ Christopher Pike

The Spanish troops returned and we could yet discover the grass beaten down in the direction which they went. ~ Zebulon Pike

The Pawnee chief had left the village the day after the doctor arrived, with 50 or 60 horses and many people, and had taken his course to the north of our route. ~ Zebulon Pike

-I do not want to die
- Then you should not have been born (Sita)
Last Vampire ~ Christopher Pike

I'm the last person to tell you that you need a guy to make you happy. But if you're not moving on because you're afraid you'll hurt David, maybe you need to remember that you're hurting Tamani by not moving on, and you might be hurting David by not letting him move on. If
and I'm not saying you should choose him, but if
you really love Tamani, and you keep putting him off because of David, by the time you're finally ready to be with him, you may find that he's moved on. That's all I'm going to say ... ~ Aprilynne Pike

Your mother can't produce food out of thin air," said Hermione. "No one can. Food is the first of the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfigur--"
"Oh, speak English, can't you?" Ron said, prising a fish bone out from between his teeth.
"It's impossible to make good food out of nothing! You can Summon it if you know where it is, you can transform it, you can increase the quantity if you've already got some--"
"Well, don't bother increasing this, it's disgusting," said Ron.
"Harry caught the fish and I did my best with it! I notice I'm always the one who ends up sorting out the food, because I'm a girl, I suppose!"
"No, it's because you're supposed to be the best at magic!" shot back Ron.
Hermione jumped up and bits of roast pike slid off her tin plate onto the floor.
"You can do the cooking tomorrow, Ron, you can find the ingredients and try and charm them into something worth eating, and I'll sit here and pull faces and moan and you can see how you--"
"Shut up!" said Harry, leaping to his feet and holding up both hands. "Shut up now!"
Hermione looked outraged.
"How can you side with him, he hardly ever does the cook--"
"Hermione, be quiet, I can hear someone! ~ J.K. Rowling

Most of all I grieve for my soul because even though I do, finally, believe there is a God, and that I have met him, I do not know if he has given me an immortal soul, but only one that was to last me as long as my body lasted. I do not know if when the last page of my book is closed, that will be the end of me. ~ Christopher Pike

For it is true now, as it always was and always will be, that to be free is the same thing as to be pious, to be wise, to be temperate and just, to be frugal and abstinent, and to be magnanimous and brave; and to be the opposite of all these is the same as to be a slave. ~ Albert Pike

The response to Pride has been so overwhelming. I mean, people have really loved it. And it's so rewarding because we had such a fun time making that film, and it was made with so much heart, that it's lovely that people seem to be responding in kind to that. ~ Rosamund Pike

I would leave everything and join the World Tree tomorrow if she died, " Tamani said.
"I know, " Shar whispered through the darkness. ~ Aprilynne Pike

But I wasn't a bad girl. I don't want to be forgotten. I want people to remember me. ~ Christopher Pike

Thank you for the exquisite comfort of your kitchen floor. ~ Aprilynne Pike

The true philosophy, known and practiced by Solomon, is the basis on which Masonry is founded. ~ Albert Pike

There is not always a light at the end of the tunnel. That is why you must carry a torch. ~ J. Zachary Pike

Jeff! Look at you!" my mom gushed. "You look like Ryan Seacrest."

Was that a compliment? ~ Aprilynne Pike

He was dead; I needed to let his memory go, too. That was the first step for me, before discrimination.
Yet my love was the ghost of a young girl's dream. It walked alone in the abyss, stubbornly, where only illusions prospered on tears and regrets. My love had a life of its own; it was perverted but nevertheless still vital. For that reason, I wanted to return to deep space. Honestly, I would have preferred it if we had traveled forever and never stopped at another star system. To fall into endless blackness, that was my new fantasy.
The young girl with the ancient dream wept. I could hear her; I even saw her tears on the glass of the observation deck. It made me feel old. I didn't want to know her name. I couldn't forget Tem but I needed to forget her. ~ Christopher Pike

His face was tense, his jaw flexed as he stared at her. She could hardly stand to meet his eyes. They were an ocean of betrayal. They probed her, searching for the smallest sign that she didn't mean it. That spark of hope that never seemed to go out. ~ Aprilynne Pike

A lot can happen in that time.And, seriously, if you have to give up a dream to be with a guy, maybe you've chosen the wrong guy."
Chelsea's brow furrowed and she fiddled with her fingers. "And what if the time comes and the dream doesn't seem worhth it?"
David's and Tamani's face seemed to float before Laurel's eyes, the Academy looming in the background.She shrugged and forced the images from her mind. "Then maybe it was the wrong dream. ~ Aprilynne Pike

There are certain men who are sacrosanct in history; you touch on the truth of them at your peril. These are such men as Socrates and Plato, Pericles and Alexander, Caesar and Augustus, Marcus Aurelius and Trajan, Martel and Charlemagne, Edward the Confessor and William of Falaise, St. Louis and Richard and Tancred, Erasmus and Bacon, Galileo and Newton, Voltaire and Rousseau, Harvey and Darwin, Nelson and Wellington. In America, Penn and Franklin, Jefferson and Jackson and Lee. There are men better than these who are not sacrosanct, who may be challenged freely. But these men may not be. Albert Pike has been elevated to this sacrosanct company, though of course to a minor rank. To challenge his rank is to be overwhelmed by a torrent of abuse, and we challenge him completely.

Looks are important to these elevated. Albert Pike looked like Michelangelo's Moses in contrived frontier costume. Who could distrust that big man with the great beard and flowing hair and godly glance?
If you dislike the man and the type, then he was pompous, empty, provincial and temporal, dishonest, and murderous. But if you like the man and the type, then he was impressive, untrammeled, a man of the right place and moment, flexible or sophisticated, and firm.
These are the two sides of the same handful of coins.
He stole (diverted) Indian funds and used them to bribe doubtful Indian leaders. He ordered massacres of women and children (exemplary punitive operations). He lied ~ R.A. Lafferty

You will see that the things you desire most are the very things that bring you the greatest sorrow. ~ Christopher Pike

The slaves destroyed tirelessly. Like the peasants in the Jacquerie or the Luddite wreckers, they were seeking their salvation in the most obvious way, the destruction of what they knew was the cause of their sufferings; and if they destroyed much it was because they had suffered much. [...] Now that they held power they did as they had been taught. In the frenzy of the first encounters they killed all. Yet they spared the priests whom they feared and the surgeons who had been kind to them. They, whose women had undergone countless violations, violated all the women who fell into their hands, often on the bodies of their still bleeding husbands, fathers and brothers. "Vengeance ! Vengeance" was their war-cry, and one of them carried a white child on a pike as a standard.
And yet they were surprisingly moderate, then and afterwards, far more humane than their masters had been or would ever be to them. [...] Compared with what their masters had done to them in cold blood, what they did was negligible, and they were spurred on by the ferocity with which the whites in Le Cap treated all slave prisoners who fell into their hands. ~ C.L.R. James

When men declare their love for us, we should handle them with the utmost care, even if the feelings aren't mutual. For the sake of future marital happiness, or to leave their hearts intact for another woman down the pike, let's be gentle and trustworthy with their brave declarations. ~ Liz Curtis Higgs

Strict justice would demand total confiscation of your property, personal imprisonment and fines. ~ Zebulon Pike

I differ materially from Capt. Lewis, in my account of the numbers, manners, and morals of the Sioux. ~ Zebulon Pike

As much as you long for it, it longs for you more. Take one step toward the Big Person and it will take a hundred steps toward you. ~ Christopher Pike

You could be David's friend too". She glanced at Tamani when he said nothing. He was frowning. "The two of you really have a lot in common, and we're all in this together".
He shook his head. "It wouldn't work".
"Why not? He's a nice guy. And it would do you good to have some human friends", she said hinting at what she suspected was the root of the problem.
"It's not that", Tamani said, gesturing vaguely with one hand.
"Then why?" Laurel asked, exasperated.
"I just don't want to cosy up to the guy whose girl I have every intention of stealing ~ Aprilynne Pike

Like ... instinct?"
At that Laurel flopped down on her back, a frustrated breath whooshing out of her. "Oh man, instinct, that's like the F-word in Avalon.Yeardley kept telling me, 'You are trying to rely on instinct,you need to trust your intuition instead.' But I looked up those two words and they mean the exact same thing. ~ Aprilynne Pike

I miss the days of burning your kind at the stake. For generations we have settled for financial ruin and ostracization of your whorish ancestors - but know this, I will personally gut you and put your head on a pike in my parlor. ~ Heather McVea

Men," Chelsea muttered derisively... ~ Aprilynne Pike

It was the wish of the Americans that their red brethren should remain peacefully round their own fires, and not embroil themselves in any disputes between the white people. ~ Zebulon Pike

Philosophy is a kind of journey, ever learning yet never arriving at the ideal perfection of truth. ~ Albert Pike

Love me...I am not evil. ~ Christopher Pike

Sometimes it irks when people come up in the street and say, 'Oh I'm a huge James Bond fan' - when you obviously want them to be a fan of your work in particular. ~ Rosamund Pike

Persistence is the key to solving most mysteries. ~ Christopher Pike

The spoken discourse may roll on strongly as the great tidal wave; but, like the wave, it dies at last feebly on the sands. It is heard by few, remembered by still fewer, and fades away, like an echo in the mountains, leaving no token of power. It is the written human speech, that gave power and permanence to human thought. ~ Albert Pike

The physics are simple in theory, but in practice they are filled with the possibility for limitless error. ~ Christopher Pike

Before God manifested Himself, when all things were still hidden in Him ... He began by forming an imperceptible point; that was His own thought. With this thought He then began to construct a mysterious and holy form ... the Universe. ~ Albert Pike

The view of the local scene through the eyes of a native participant in that scene is a different window. ~ Kenneth L. Pike

Weaving in and out of traffic, she tooted the horn, mounted the footpath when needed and drove as fast as her Fiat would allow. ~ Toni Pike

With acknowledgement of residues, we can be more easily prepared to grant the unit of science, the overlapping of disciplines, and the total coherence of all facts. ~ Kenneth L. Pike

Are you free to be anything more than a friend to me? If," and she stressed the if heavily, "I ever decided to live in Avalon and wanted to be with you, would you be free enough to do that?"
He looked away, and Laurel could tell he'd been avoiding a conversation like this.
"Well?" she insisted.
"If you wanted it," he finally said.
"If I wanted it?"
He nodded. "I'm not allowed to ask. You would have to ask me."
Her breath caught in her chest, and Tamani looked at her.
"Why do you think David bothers me so much?"
Laurel looked down at her lap.
"I can't just storm in and proclaim my intentions. I can't 'steal' you away. I just have to wait and hope that, someday, you'll ask."
"And if I don't?" Laurel said, her voice barley above a whisper.
"Then I guess I'll wait forever. ~ Aprilynne Pike

Man is not to be comprehended as a starting-point, or progress as a goal, without those two great forces , Faith and Love . Prayer is sublime. ~ Albert Pike

And there they were being so responsible, practicing safe sex and all. She'd been a fool to believe all that hype, she thought. The only hundred percent safe sex was between Barbie and Ken, and she'd heard rumors that they weren't doing it anymore. ~ Christopher Pike

We have all the light we need, we just need to put it in practice. ~ Albert Pike

Truly it it not the tragedies that destroy us, but the memories of them. ~ Christopher Pike

Climate change has always been sort of my main focus. I think also with [what happened in Fukushima, Japan] there's still a lot to think about in terms of what's coming down the pike into the world's oceans, too. ~ Rufus Wainwright

If the Soul sees, after death , what passes on this earth , and watches over the welfare of those it loves, then must its greatest happiness consist in seeing the current of its beneficent influences widening out from age to age, as rivulets widen into rivers, and aiding to shape the destinies of individuals, families, States, the World; and its bitterest punishment, in seeing its evil influences causing mischief and misery , and cursing and afflicting men, long after the frame it dwelt in has become dust, and when both name and memory are forgotten. ~ Albert Pike

Pretty girls always hate other pretty girls. ~ Christopher Pike

All the old school Young Adult novels inspired me. I grew up reading R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Richie Cusick, and so on. I loved how you never really knew who the 'bad guys' were in their works, and I wanted to capture that feeling with 'Don't Look Back.' ~ Jennifer Armentrout

He's visitin' an old friend," supplied Eragon, dropping his voice into a thick accent. "I'm along t' make sure he don't get lost, if y' get m'meaning. He ain't as young as he used to be - had a bit too much sun when he was young'r. Touch o' the brain fever, y' know." Brom bobbed his head pleasantly. "Right. Go on through," said the guard, waving his hand and dropping the pike. "Just make sure he doesn't cause any trouble." "Oh, he won't," promised Eragon. He urged Cadoc forward, and they rode into Teirm. The cobblestone street clacked under the horses' hooves. Once they were away from the guards, Brom sat up and growled, "Touch of brain fever, eh?" "I couldn't let you have all the fun," teased Eragon. Brom harrumphed and looked away. ~ Christopher Paolini

When one is dining with the devil himself," I mutter, "a vast amount of preparation is in order. ~ Aprilynne Pike

You were dancing with Yuki and I looked at you. And you turned away and held her closer. Why did you do that? If you didn't want to hurt me, then why?"
He looked away, as though he'd been slapped, but he didn't look guilty. He looked pained. "I closed my eyes," he said, his voice so low and strangled she could hardly hear him.
"What?" she asked, not understanding.
"Tamani held up a hand and Laurel realized he hadn't finished-he was having trouble speaking at all. "I closed my eyes," he repeated after a few shallow breaths, "and imagined she was you."He looked at her, his face open, his eyes honest, his voice a song of anguish. ~ Aprilynne Pike

Are you glad to see me? ~ Aprilynne Pike

You still haven't told me what you're up to,' she said at last.
'One more minute,' Tamani said, smiling against her lips.
'We don't need minutes,' Laurel said. 'We have forever.'
Tamani pulled back to look at her, his eyes shining with wonder. 'Forever,' he whispered
before pulling her into another kiss.
'So does this make us entwined?' Laurel asked, a sharp twinge of grief piercing her
happiness as she repeated the word Katya had used, so long ago, to describe committed faerie couples.
'I believe it does,' Tamani said, beaming. He leaned closer, his nose touching hers. 'A sentry and a mixer? We shall be quite the scandal.'
Laurel smiled. 'I love a good scandal.'
'I love you,' Tamani whispered.
'I love you, too,' Laurel replied, relishing the words as she said them. And with them, the
world was new and bright-- there was hope. There were dreams.
But most of all, there was Tamani.' "

Aprilynne Pike
Destined pgs. 284-292. ~ Aprilynne Pike

The Teachers, even of Christianity, are in general, the most ignorant of the true meaning of that which they teach. There is no book of which so little is known as the Bible. To most who read it, it is as incomprehensible as the Sohar. p. 105 ~ Pike, Albert

He had smoked dope exactly twice, but stopped when he realized it was called dope for a reason. ~ Christopher Pike

God is God. His name doesn't matter. ~ Christopher Pike

It's your call," he said softly, "but whatever you decide, I'll help you." He placed a soft, warm hand at the back of her neck and Laurel's breath caught in her chest. "Whatever you need, I'll be. If you need the science geek to give you answers from a textbook, I'm your guy; if you just want a friend to sit by you in bio and help you feel better when you're sad, I'm still your guy." His thumb slowly stroked across her earlobe and down her cheek. "And if you need someone to hold you and protect you from anyone in the world who might want to hurt you, then I am definitely your guy." His pale-blue eyes bore into hers, and for a second she couldn't breath. "But it's all up to you," he whispered. ~ Aprilynne Pike

Among various demands and charges I gave them, was, that the said flag should be delivered to me, and one of the United States' flags be received and hoisted in its place. ~ Zebulon Pike

Masonry is identical with the Ancient Mysteries ~ Albert Pike

Acceptance of the power of God in one's life lays the groundwork for personal commitment to both science and Christianity, which so often have been in conflict. ~ Kenneth L. Pike

Give immediate instruction to all your posts in said territory, under your direction, at no time and on no pretence to hoist, or suffer be hoisted, the English flag. ~ Zebulon Pike

To work with the hands or brain, according to our requirements and our capacities, to do that which lies before us to do, is more honorable than rank and title. ~ Albert Pike

And if you care about me half as much as you claim, then it should matter way more to you what I think than what they think. ~ Aprilynne Pike

These aren't cupcake sprinkles. ~ Aprilynne Pike

I close my eyes and press my face into his shirt and howl against him, liquid agony pouring from me. He smooths my hair from my face and continues to murmur, but he never shushes me, never tells me to stop. Never tells me it'll be all right. He knows life too well to believe such lies. ~ Aprilynne Pike

What I find sexy is when someone's having fun and able to look right back at you. ~ Rosamund Pike

I don't believe in monsters."
"Well, Red, I think you might want to start." Pike turned and looked him in the eye. "What do you think those green things were? And what do you think is trying to smash its way in here? A pony? ~ Jack Keely

I don't think it's safe. What if they're waiting for me?" "Elvis would wave us away." "How does he know?" Pike didn't bother answering. He was already missing the silence. ~ Robert Crais

One goes on with the blithe belief that who you really are is transparent to everybody. Then you realise, with some horror, that in fact it's not. So all you can do is keep muddying the waters a bit. ~ Rosamund Pike

Eventually, I decided that thinking was not getting me very far and it was time to try building. ~ Rob Pike

I'd seen him around town for a year or so before he made a move on me. I'd heard good and bad things about him. One friend said he was just out for sex. Another said he was a romantic at heart. What the hell, I thought. I needed sex and romance in my life. Sometimes I believe I would have taken one without the other. ~ Christopher Pike

Yes. The opposite of love is not hate. It is indifference. That is why few people find God. They go to church and talk about him and that sort of thing. They may even go out and evangelize and try to win converts. But in their hearts, if they are honest with themselves, they are indifferent to him because they cannot see him. God is too abstract for people. God is a word without meaning. If Jesus came back today, nothing he said would make any sense to those who wait for him. They would be the first ones to kill him again. ~ Christopher Pike

I dont want to die"
"Then you shouldnt have been born ~ Christopher Pike

We seem never to know what any thing means or is worth until we have lost it. ~ Albert Pike

That a society controls, to a greater or lesser extent, the behavior of its members is a universal; but the methods, the particulars of that control, vary from one culture to another. ~ Kenneth L. Pike

His final touches completed, His Highness offers me his arm. On Wednesdays I'm now required to enter the grand assembly in the Hall of Mirrors on his arm like a glowing trophy. Not the kind of trophy one wins for completing a challenge, the kind one stuffs and hangs on the wall after killing it. ~ Aprilynne Pike

You live your life and continue with all of your normal activities. I'll keep you safe," he said stepping forward to sweep a lock of hair back from her face. "Or die trying. ~ Aprilynne Pike

The back of my neck breaks out in a sweat, and I'm getting nervous. Why is he just standing there, staring at me? "What do you want?" I press, my tone curt.

He opens his mouth but then closes it swallowing.

"Pike, Jesus - "
"The day you left," he blurts out, and I stop.

I wait, listening as a look of fear crosses his eyes.

"The house was so empty," he continues. "Like a quiet that was never there before. I couldn't hear your footsteps upstairs or your hairdryer or anticipate you walking into a room. You were gone. Everything was…" he drops his eyes, "gone."

A ball lodges in my throat, and I feel tears threaten, but I tense my jaw, refusing to let it out.

"But I could still feel you," he whispers. "You were still everywhere. The container of cookies in the fridge, the backsplash you picked out, the way you put all my pictures back in the wrong spot after you dusted my bookshelves." He smiles to himself. "But I couldn't rearrange them, because you were the last to touch them, and I wanted everything the way you had it."

My chin trembles, and I fold my arms over my chest, hiding my balled fists under my arms.

He pauses and then goes on. "Nothing would ever go back to the way it was before you came into my house. I didn't want it to." He shakes his head. "I went to work, and I came home, and I stayed there every night and all weekend, every weekend, because that's where we were together. ~ Penelope Douglas, Birthday Girl