We Were Never Here Quotes
"I don’t know why. For a wild moment, I pictured pushing her."
"You’d rather see me steal some grapes than get low blood sugar, right?"
"Fair point." Hangry Kristen could cut to the core.
"And I was fighting back and he started to close his hands around my throat."
"The whole world had evaporated and it was just me, alone in the Earth’s wrinkled fold."
"We’ll have to cover our footprints, I thought, and bent to find a bough that’d work as a makeshift broom."
"My heart boomed. I could feel her listening, waiting for me to add something."
"An abrupt cessation of feeling, like someone had switched off a lamp."
"The real horror had come afterward, a cocoon of pain."
"Terror threatened to rise up through my ribs but I funneled it into my muscles instead."
"I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but within minutes, I was out."
"Maybe I could learn to compartmentalize. Pretend everything was fine around my co-workers, my friends."
"We’re all disgusting, every single one of us. Making messes and then wandering away."
"Normalcy—we had to maintain it, had to behave like nothing was wrong."
"I watched in terror, waiting for him to emerge from the other side."
"My heart froze. Paolo was loping toward me, gaining ground as he weaved around luggage carts and bloats of people."
"I’d kill to be able to tell him—I’d give anything to just let it out."
"I’d heard once that TV news hits airports on a delay, so they can cut the stream if a story involves a hijacked plane or an active shooter in a terminal."
"It wouldn’t even be the whole truth. Only half, one body of two."
"I was a banged-up mess, dirty and bruised from our all-nighter on the mountainside."
"I’d made it out of Chile. I couldn’t believe it, kept waiting to blink awake and discover I was still in the Santiago airport."
"How could either of us carry on under the crush of waiting to be caught?"
"I thought about calling Kristen before work, but it was the middle of the night in Sydney."
"I felt the secret pushing out of me, blowing up like a bubble and rising in my throat."
"I thought back to a soliloquy I’d seen on TV about pain as women’s birthright."
"I felt foolish for keeping him secret for so long—how could I not see that would hurt him?"
"Because we're three-dimensional creatures, stuck on a one-way timeline and unable to redo the past."
"The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference."
"The opposite of fear isn't safety. It's power."
"The conclusion gave me some comfort, which was perhaps a bit sick: I wasn’t alone, and I had no choice, really, but to roll on forward, smooth and steady."
"Her calm confidence, that dismissive air—I saw now that it wasn’t gaslighting; it was her being strong for me, because she felt responsible."
"And it felt horrible. Like I’d been lied to every single day."
"I wanted to sit my emotions down and bully them into compliance."
"I’d give anything right now for the assurance of safety when it came to our crimes."
"We used to joke that while Kristen had Resting Bitch Face, I had Resting Happy Face."
"And hey, Kristen, thank you so much for making this trip happen. And the whole treasure hunt, obviously."
"I just…hate having this secret. It’s like a wall that keeps me at arm’s length from everyone."
"I feel so guilty saying this. Like it’s a betrayal."
"I’m sorry, Kristen. I just wish we could tell someone."
"I’ve been sobbing in my room all night. I can’t believe you."
"What do you think will happen if you set some boundaries?"
"I’m sorry that the sight of me makes you feel bad."
"I’ve been thinking back to those late nights when we’d sneak out at 4 or 5 am and splash in the water and then watch the sunrise over Lake Michigan together."
"The appropriate response to learning your best friend has been investigating whether you’re a monster."
"What are you—" But then the truth rocketed through me."
"Fear of everyone I meet. Fear that…the people I trust are gonna turn on me."
"She cried for a few seconds, tears plopping onto her blouse."
"She’s been acting, er, a little upset. I guess it’s got Bill, you know, on edge."
"You know that if someone called me in for questioning, I could name you too."
"I thought I understood what you went through in Cambodia, but I was wrong."
"A hand dropped onto Nana’s shoulder and we turned to see Kristen’s smiling face."
"I glanced at him. 'And you’re just telling me this now?'"
"I'm done lying and I can't be the reason your life is ruined."
"I won't let them charge you. It's time for me to come clean."
"If you care about me at all, you'll do this for me."
"I had to make sure I wasn't trading one omnipotent idol for another."
"The news crews lost interest, and I moved home."
"Everyone needs a healthy and varied support system."
"You're the most incredible collaborator and sage and cheerleader."
"Travel won't still feel like a faraway dream."