Stealing Parker Quotes
"I can’t stand the idea of you holed up in your room while I’m playing ball this spring."
"Taking stats is way easy. I could do it in my sleep."
"I gave up foam fingers, peanuts, and the Atlanta Braves when my mom announced she’s a lesbian and ran off with her friend who was more than just a friend."
"On the other hand, I don’t want to be lonely."
"As I prayed, I didn’t ask you for anything. I only thanked you for giving me Mom."
"I’m into modern stuff like Paramore and the All-American Rejects."
"The only way Vanderbilt could revoke my early admission would be if I went on the news and advocated for Tennessee to secede from the union."
"I’m not entirely sure Drew likes only girls."
"It’s a scary thing to wake up and realize the people you need most aren’t nearby anymore…But you keep moving."
"Good friends don’t question stalkerish tendencies."
"I can only hope that his friends would support him more than mine supported me."
"I never saw the boy again because he was from Nashville, but Laura and Allie saw the kiss, and I saw the envy in their eyes."
"This silence isn’t awkward. It’s nice, and I probably should get out of the truck, but I don’t want to. Not yet."
"How even though I’ve never made a move on Drew, Corndog thought I might, which goes to show that even if my intentions are good, someone could misinterpret them."
"So who knows how people interpreted my quitting the softball team?"
"Nobody who I hope will become somebody very, very soon."
"I’ve had a chance to date before. Right before Mom left, before I quit the softball team, Jack Hulsey invited me to the Winter Wonderland formal."
"Funny how Laura didn’t return the gesture when I needed her more than anything."
"He knows I adore animals but that my biggest fear is granddaddy long-legs because once when I was little girl, a spider crawled into my glass of water in the middle of the night and I almost drank him."
"The rest of the week is sucky and wonderful."
"Why is it, the minute everything begins to feel okay, you decide to test my faith again?"
"Don’t you get it? You won, God. You are the almighty and I’m just me, trying my best to live, to love."
"I grab his wrist and pull it closer to check his watch. It’s so dim in here. 'We should go. Dad’ll kill me if I miss Big Church.'"
"I play zombie all through the service, acting like I’m in the sanctuary, but really I’m in that janitor’s closet."
"My mind wanders when we sing my favorite hymn, 'I’ll Fly Away,' because the words are beautiful, but when the organ goes silent I’m thinking of his chapped lips again."
"Outside in the parking lot, I lean up against the Durango and wait for Dad."
"Could I bring up hanging out after graduation?"
"I ran around in circles, crying. My parents told me never to talk to strangers, so I wouldn’t let anyone who was trying to help me come near. I was lost for ten minutes before Ryan found me."
"Now, I wish I had a Tin Lizzie that I could drive to find the real Ryan. The one I love and miss. Where did he run off to? And God, will you bring him back?"
"I have never ever sat by the phone before. Never. Ever."
"I compose a short email to Brian: Hey, where did you disappear to today?"
"Maybe Brian’s online but invisible. Maybe he’s staring at my name and thinking, Wow, she has no life."
"What if he’s with Coach Vixen? What if they’re doing it right now?"
"I consider telling Brian that I’m not really a teenager. Really, I’m a twenty-five-year-old reporter."
"Mom looked gorgeous that day in a trim blue dress and matching hat."
"Veena’s a nurse," Dad says, touching her hand."
"She’s valedictorian too," Dad adds, smiling and popping a peanut in his mouth."
"I’m pleased that Dad is proud of me, but Veena looks way surprised."
"Parker Shelton: I want to hang out with you. Alone. Together. You know?"
"He seems wistful. Like it would never happen. But I also could tell I have a shot."
"My phone beeps. A text from Corndog reads: Had fun today."
"Brian works us like plow horses in gym class."
"Corndog and I talk about books and animals and how I might become a zookeeper."
"I’m on lap six of twelve, thinking about Brian’s chapped lips and wondering why he bites them so hard."
"He’s no Parker." He smiles slightly, then claps a couple of times and hollers."
"Anyhow, Brian is taking this game super seriously."
"It’s too bad it can’t be sooner rather than never."
"He makes my body crackle like a firework. We connect."
"I need to go before I do something we’ll regret."
"At Jiffy Burger, aka Monk’s, the guys get in line while I stake out our usual booth."
"Love is the foundation upon which true friendships are built."
"Confusion is like a storm cloud that lingers, obscuring the rays of clarity and understanding."
"Responsibility is the invisible thread that ties our choices to their consequences."
"The essence of youth is a melody that plays the tune of freedom and rebellion, yet it is transient, fading with the passing of time."
"A mother's love is a beacon of guidance in the murky waters of uncertainty."
"True friendship is a sanctuary, offering shelter from the tempests of life."
"The journey of self-discovery is a road less traveled, yet it holds the key to unlocking the treasures of our true potential."
"The pursuit of dreams is like chasing the horizon, always elusive but endlessly inspiring."
"A heart that loves is like a garden; it requires care and nurturing to bloom."
"Our choices are the architects of our destiny, shaping the future with the bricks of our decisions."
"The tapestry of life is woven with the threads of our relationships, each strand colored by our interactions and experiences."
"In the symphony of life, each of us plays a unique part, contributing our own melody to the grand composition."
"The path to wisdom is paved with humility, for it is in acknowledging our limitations that we open ourselves to learn."
"True strength is not measured by the force of our blows, but by the resilience of our spirit."
"Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder."
"In the dance of life, each step is a choice, a moment that shapes the rhythm of our journey."
"Life is a mosaic of moments, each piece colored by our choices, creating the picture of our existence."
"I finally found a boy, Will, a boy I’m willing to risk everything on, to risk breaking my heart, but I stay still. Unmoving."
"He had the opportunity to watch Ryan and me grow up."
"I want so much for my father, Lord, because he wants so much for me."
"It’s like relaxing during a long snow when the streets are so covered with ice, school closes."
"Wild to think that, a couple of weeks ago, I wanted Brian bad."
"Dad’s made a lot of sacrifices for me and my brother."
"God, where are you? I’m sorry I keep doing these things."
"I need to face that. Just like I’m about to face the principal."
"Sometimes you gotta do what’s right for you and forget about everybody else."
"I never meant to hurt you. Sometimes I wish I hadn't done what I did, because losing you was the worst punishment possible."
"Maybe it's about knowing what you want and going after it––and being willing to pay the consequences when everyone else thinks it's wrong."
"A mother can love her daughter even if she's been sinning like it's going out of style. A daughter can love her mother even if she acted selfishly."
"Sometimes things happen, people make mistakes."
"I thought friends gave you the benefit of the doubt. I thought friends stayed beside you through everything."
"I love the idea of having options and doing whatever I want, but do I have the courage?"
"But why hasn’t he told Drew the truth? Have they talked about it?"
"Maybe all friendships don’t fizzle. Maybe, like the kaleidoscope, the colors just change."