Blink Quotes
"But inside my head I am standing tall, hammering my splayed fingers and flat palms against the non-existent glass. Screaming to be let out."
"What I can still do is think. And I can remember."
"If they did, a doctor or a nurse might see the slightest flicker of an eyelash, an almost imperceptible tremor of a finger."
"There’s nothing left of her, she’s just a shell."
"I can’t breathe without one machine. I can’t swallow without another."
"This can’t be real. It can’t be happening. But it is. It is happening."
"The stark, bare walls of the new house were smooth and cold, like exposed bone."
"I felt as if my life had been bleached of colour and texture, like my very soul had been daubed an insipid magnolia shade, inside and out."
"Today though, I was travelling in the opposite direction and the traffic flowed fairly lightly."
"‘It’s going to be fine, darling.’ I squeezed her hand. ‘You’ll have such a lovely day.’"
"Unfortunately, they had been unable to fit us in again before the start of the new term."
"‘Miss Watson, of course,’ I said brightly. ‘You already know the teacher, so you’ll be the best girl!’"
"It’s unpleasant, but it’s something you must learn to face. And we are here, as your friends, to help you do that."
"‘Nice to meet you,’ I said to the top of Bryony’s head as she scribbled something in her notepad."
"I can’t imagine her with kids. Maybe she has a husband who is also a doctor."
"‘You mustn’t blame yourself, Evie,’ Harriet said. ‘It’s unpleasant, but it’s something you must learn to face.'"
"‘I don’t want to hear it.’ The old woman cupped her hands over her ears. ‘I don’t want to hear you or see you. I never wanted you.’"
"‘Her name’s Miss Watson, Mum, and as far as I’m concerned, being encouraged to talk to her classmates can only be a good thing.'"
"That rotten feeling I’d hoped was finally behind me, the feeling that everything was going wrong again, well, it was back with a vengeance."
"I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me about it."
"I take Evie to school every day, which is more than some mums are able to do."
"The pharmacists had always shelled out his tablets like sweeties, no questions asked."
"Sometimes it felt like I might be turning into her."
"It was no shame to admit I needed help coping at the moment."
"The pain of Evie’s suffering felt sharp, like fine needles sticking in my skin."
"I don’t like this stuffy new house, the way it was so silent at night, like everything in it was dead."
"I didn’t want anti-depressants. I’d heard all the horror stories about how easy it was to get hooked and become a zombie."
"The first few weeks in any new situation were bound to be difficult, everyone knew that."
"My heart sank, wondering what it was she wanted to talk to me about."
"We were in it for the long haul, but I felt sure we’d get there in the end."
"I’m willing to bet you’re still sane. Mostly, anyway."
"We have yet to be convinced that Jo Deacon actually did take Evie."
"I can’t just sit here, we need to do something."
"This is not a fucking traffic incident, DI Manvers. When will you be trying to find my daughter?"
"You see, Nancy, I know what I have to do now."
"I know who the other person is that helped steal my daughter away from me."
"I’m going to make that person tell me where she is or I’m going to kill them."
"You don’t always know how you’re going to react to a sudden tragedy breaking your life into little pieces."
"I’ve always felt... known... that Evie is still alive."
"I feel energised for the first time in years. I feel close... close to finding out the truth about Evie."
"It’s going to kill her, what happened to Evie."
"I can only think about one thing, and that’s the little girl I lost."
"The only thing keeping me going is the feeling I am getting closer to finding Evie."
"I hated Harriet Watson for what she did. She let Evie down."
"I learned how to forgive myself and to forgive Harriet Watson, too."
"I decided from the outset that I would not be involving DI Manvers in any of my planned actions."
"She’s hiding something. Something terrible has happened in that house and I am going to find out what."
"I wait until it’s dark outside. I pull the hat down low over my forehead and leave the house."
"We never talk about Evie and whether she is alive or dead. It’s how we get through the horror of each long, drawn-out day."
"I think about Mum’s distress about her accident on the stairs. How she thought she was losing her mind."
"She’s harmless enough but mad as a box of frogs."