Crossed Quotes
"It’s a dirty town. Filthy. Teeming with darkness."
"If I were a man of hope, I’d look through the dusty windows and see potential."
"Evil polluting the air, making it thick and muggy, a dark cloud that blankets the valley."
"I hadn’t meant to venture outside so soon after arriving, but there was a need surging inside me."
"A part of me worries it will infect me too, but I cast the thought aside quickly."
"The full moon casts an eerie glow on the quiet streets."
"I can smell the unholy matings permeating the air, so thick it makes me feel like I can’t breathe."
"It’s a cruel place here on earth, filled with people who don’t get it."
"I wonder if she’s still searching now that she’s been without us."
"I shake the memories away. I’ll never be like her."
"Realistically, she’s probably dead in a ditch somewhere, suffocated by her vices."
"The only person I’ve found it with is Dalia, and she doesn’t work here anymore."
"You’re only in this position because I wish for it."
"I am Monsieur Frédéric. But you may call me Father Cade."
"There’s a monster in you, child. And God wants me to beat it out."
"I reach out my hand, holding it in front of his curled-up form, waiting until he places his palm in mine."
"The unpaid internet bill winks at me from the kitchen counter."
"I already know I’ll be doing none of those things today."
"I am a simple man who’s been reduced to his base instincts to hunt, capture, keep."
"I want to hear her voice. Smell her skin. Paint my sickness on her soul."
"The air shifts as though it’s under her command."
"No one is beyond saving. That's why I'm here."
"It's different from what I'm used to, but it rains down on me like a monsoon."
"My monster rears its head like it smells fresh meat."
"Give, Lord, strength to my hands to wipe out all stain so that, without pollution of mind or body, I may dare to serve You."
"Wash me clean, Lord, and cleanse me from my sin that I may rejoice and be glad unendingly with them that have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb."
"Every student can participate, Miss Paquette."
"I’m not sure you understand what kids are like."
"Presumption is a sin against hope, Principal Lee."
"Non," I reply. "I'm always available for you, no matter the time."
"You're much too beautiful to look so sad, Amaya."
"When it comes to you, I'm starting to think I shouldn't expect anything."
"I've been debating all day whether I should hunt you down and thank you."
"Everything that I've just told myself, everything I've spent the past day convincing myself of — all of it falls away the moment I see her standing in the doorway to my cottage."
"It's painful sometimes to realize that other people don't understand or...or don't care."
"It's been a few days, and I haven't been back to work. I've made excuses with my boss, saying that I'm sick, but Gabby bringing up the insurance issue is a stark reminder that I really can't afford to not be bringing in nightly money."
"When I was a young child, I was filled with untenable rage. It crashed through my system like a hurricane, lighting up every single nerve and throwing it into chaos."
"I am not Cade. I am Father Cade Frédéric. The priest of Festivalé. And you, Amaya Paquette, are worse than a whore," I spit, refusing to look at her.
"You are the devil, and I want you out of my sight."
"I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place, and I’m cursing God— if he even exists—for placing me in this predicament."
"But I know better than anyone that most people will take the easy way out when given the opportunity."
"I am pretty sure seeing me locked up and called a murderer would give her more joy than winning a case ever could."
"Either way, the safety net I cast around him disappeared in an instant, like it was ripped away in a storm."
"No matter what happens, I’ll survive. I’ll persevere, the way I always do."
"I want to," she rushes out. "But how can I promise something I don’t know I can do?"
"I know she’s right. I hate that she is, but the odds aren’t in our favor. They’re with the rich. The prosperous. The lucky."
"Selling my soul feels different than I thought it would."
"And you’ll never go back to that club, Amaya." Parker’s voice is stern.
"Dancing is real work. It put food on my table and paid my bills."
"But mistakes are part of life, and I’ll be here for you through every single one of them."
"What now?" I ask Parker after I buckle my seat belt.
"My penance is my gift. One I’ll continue to give, because my self-control is a distant mirage in the heat of Amaya’s presence."
"If she were to go up against God, she may come out the victor. My faith keeps me warm, but she burns like molten lead."
"She will be my downfall, because I am just a man, and for her, I am weak."
"Don’t let superstition rule your life. It might end up killing you."
"I’ve answered your question. Now you answer mine."
"He’s perfect. Your boy must have great vibes."
"She’s all fine lines and tailored edges. The priest in me approves."
"I am sorry for what I said. For hurting you."
"How can anyone blame me? I am a man of God, but I am still just a man."
"I knew it before, but now I really know that I can't give this up. I can't lose myself, not completely."
"And maybe that's why Cade affects me the way he does, because he's the only person in the world who puts all his attention on me just because I'm me."
"The power behind my prayers is weak when she is near."
"There's nothing honorable about my intentions with Amaya Paquette."
"Nobody has ever protected me that way. No one has ever cared."
"The sessions are only because my superior demands it. Because your fiancé has deep pockets and uses them to sway the church."
"My stomach flips but quickly falls to the floor when I see Jeremiah sitting behind my desk, his arms crossed and his brown eyes narrowed into slits."
"It’s the only way I know. I’m a bad man, Amaya. A sinner. This is my atonement."
"I’m a survivor. And I know I’ll get through this the same way I have everything before it."
"Every time you hurt yourself, you hurt me too. Please stop hurting me."
"I’m not sorry for hurting her. It felt good."
"I’m tired of resisting. Tired of worrying about what everyone else thinks and whether Quinten and I will ever fit into the mold."
"Courage to stand up against the bullies of the town. To not let other people control my life."
"You are the only thing that matters, do you understand me?"
"You can’t get hurt if you don’t let anyone in."
"Nothing extraordinary, no harshness to my gaze that wasn’t there before, just plain old Amaya Paquette."
"Because standing right in front of me is my mother."
"There's darkness in us all, petite pécheresse. We just have to learn to control it."
"I find my peace in her. She is my sanctuary. My home. My soul."
"She is everything, and I am nothing without her."
"You just love that I’m yours in every way now."
"Our experience shapes us whether we want it to or not."