Quotes From "The Truth About Forever" By Sarah Dessen

He wasn't the type for displays of affection, either verbal or not. He was disgusted by couples that made out in the hallways between classes, and got annoyed at even the slightest sappy moments in movies. But I knew he cared about me: he just conveyed it more subtly, as concise with expressing this emotion as he was with everything else. It was in the way he'd put his hand on the small of my back, for instance, or how he'd smile at me when I said something that surprised him. Once I might have wanted more, but I'd come around to his way of thinking in the time we'd been together. And we were together, all the time. So he didn't have to prove how he felt about me. Like so much else, I should just know. Sarah Dessen

Look, " I said, "We knew Jason and Becky would be back, the break would end. This isn't a surprise, it's what's supposed to happen. It's what we wanted. Right?""Is it?" he asked. "Is it what you want?" Whether he intended it to be or not, this was the final question, the last Truth. If I said what I really thought, I was opening myself up for a hurt bigger than I could even imagine. I didn't have it in me. We changed and altered so many rules, but it was this one, the only one when we'd started, that I would break." Yes, " I said. Sarah Dessen

That was the thing. You never got used to it, the idea of someone being gone. Just when you think it's reconciled, accepted, someone points it out to you, and it just hits you all over again, that shocking. Sarah Dessen

It's all in the view. That's what I mean about forever, too. For any one of us our forever could end in an hour, or a hundred years from now. You never know for sure, so you'd better make every second count. Sarah Dessen

Some people, they can't just move on, you know, mourn and cry and be done with it. Or at least seem to be. But for me... I don't know. I didn't want to fix it, to forget. It wasn't something that was broken. It's just...something that happened. And like that hole, I'm just finding ways, every day, of working around it. Respecting and remembering and getting on at the same time. Sarah Dessen

We'd start slow, the way we always did, because the run, and the game, could go on for awhile. Maybe even forever. That was the thing. You just never knew. Forever was so many different things. It was always changing, it was what everything was really all about. It was twenty minutes, or a hundred years, or just this instant, or any instant I wished would last and last. But there was only one truth about forever that really mattered, and that was this: it was happening. Right then, as I ran with Wes into that bright sun, and every moment afterwards. Look, there. Now. Now. Now. . Sarah Dessen

I don't get it, ' Caroline said, bemused. 'She's the only one with wings. Why is that?' There were so many questions in life. You couldn't ever have all the answers. But I knew this one. It's so she can fly, ' I said. Then I started to run. Sarah Dessen

But if everything was always smooth and perfect, you'd get too used to that, you know? You have to have a little bit of disorganization now and then. Otherwise, you'll never really enjoy it when things go right. Sarah Dessen

But that was the problem with having the answers. It was only after you gave them that you realized they sometimes weren't what people wanted to hear. Sarah Dessen

I knew that in the silence that followed, that anything could happen here. It might be too late again. I might have missed my chance. But I would at least know I tried, that I took my heart and extended my hand, whatever the outcome. Sarah Dessen

As for me, I was just trying to get it right, whatever that means. But now I finally felt I was on my way. Everyone had a forever, but given a choice, this would be mine. The one that began in this moment, with Wes, in a kiss that took my breath away, then gave it back - leaving meastounded, amazed and most of all, alive. Sarah Dessen

What you have to decide... is how you want your life to be. If your forever was ending tomorrow, would this be how you'd want to have spent it? Listen, the truth is, nothing is guaranteed. You know that more than anybody. So dont be afraid. Be alive. Sarah Dessen

Macy: “In Truth, ” I said, “there are no rules other than you have to tell the truth.” Wes: “How do you win?” he asked Macy: “That, ” I said, “is such a boy question. Sarah Dessen

You said the other day life was long, ' I shot back. 'Which is it?' 'It's both, ' she said, shrugging. 'It all depends on how you choose to live it. It's like forever, always changing.' Kristy and Macy; p.135 Sarah Dessen

I knew, in the silence that followed, that anything could happen here. It might be too late: again, I might have missed my chance. But I would at least know I tried, that I took my heart and extended my hand, whatever the outcome." Okay, " he said. He took a breath. "What would you do, if you could do anything?" I took a step toward him, closing the space between us. "This, " I said. And then I kissed him. . Sarah Dessen

Here was a boy who liked flaws, who saw them not as failings but as strengths. Who knew such a person could exist, or what would have happened if we'd found each other under different circumstances? Maybe in a perfect world. But not in this one. Sarah Dessen

To me she said, "It's this stupid gotcha thing, they've been doing it for weeks now. Leaping out at each other and us, scaring the hell out of everyone."" It's a game of wits, " Bert said to me." Half-wits, " Kristy added. Sarah Dessen

I was distracted, thinking about what she'd said, until she got to this last part. "Sherman?" I said. She nodded. "That's John and Craig's friend. He's visiting from Shreveport.""Sherman from Shreveport?" I said. "This is the guy you're determined I go out Sarah Dessen

It's not that I believe everything happens for a reason, it's just that... I just think that some things are meant to be broken. Imperfect. Chaotic. It's the universe's way of providing contrast, you know? There have to be a few holes in the road. It's how life is. Sarah Dessen

That was the hard thing about grief, and the grieving. They spoke another language, and the words we knew always fell short of what we wanted them to say. Sarah Dessen

Grief can be a burden, but also an anchor. You get used to the weight, how it holds you in place. Sarah Dessen

Isn't it weird, " I said, "the way you remember things, when someone's gone?" What do you mean?" I ate another piece of waffle. "When my dad first died, all I could think about was that day. It's taken me so long to be able to think back to before that, to everything else." Wes was nodding before I even finished. "It's even worse when someone's sick for a long time, " he said. "You forget they were ever healthy, ever okay. It's like there was never a time when you weren't waiting for something awful to happen." But there was, " I said. "I mean, it's only been in the last few months that I've started remembering all this good stuff, funny stuff about my dad. I can't believe I ever forgot it in the first place." You didn't forget, " Wes said, taking a sip of his water. "You just couldn't remember right then. But now you're ready to, so you can." I thought about this as I finished off my waffle. . Sarah Dessen

Grieving doesn't make you imperfect. It makes you human. Sarah Dessen

Look, everyone mourns at their own pace. Maybe you're just a little bit ahead of her, but she'll get to you eventually. The important thing is that you keep trying to talk to each other, even if it's difficult at first. It gets easier. I promise. Sarah Dessen

I'd been through so much, falling short again and again, and only recently had found a place where who I was, right now, was enough. Sarah Dessen

I would have thought this would make me feel better.. getting to be the one to leave and not the one left behind. But it didn't. Not at all. Sarah Dessen

... Everything he feels, he feels strongly. Too strongly, sometimes. I think he freaks people out. Sarah Dessen

But I knew what it said. That I could be imperfect, but only so much. Human, but only within limits. And honest, to her or to myself, never. Sarah Dessen

The silence wasn't like the ones I'd known lately, though; it wasn't empty so much as chosen. There's an entirely different feel to quiet when you're with someone else, and at any moment it could be broken. Like the difference between a pause and an ending. Sarah Dessen

If he'd been any other boy, and this was any other world, I would have kissed him. Nothing could have stopped me. Sarah Dessen

I said, somewhat confused, “What’s the problem?”[ Kristy] rolled her eyes. Beside her, Monica said, “Donneven.”“Kristy.” Delia shook her head. “This isn’t the time or the place, okay?”“ The time or the place for what?” Caroline asked.“ There is never, ” Kristy said adamantly, “a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.”“ Throbbing?” my mother said, leaning forward and looking at me. “Who’s throbbing?”“ Macy and Wes, ” Kristy told her.“ We are not, ” I said indignantly. “Kristy, ” Delia said helplessly. “Please God I’m begging you, not now.”“ Wait a second, wait a second.” Caroline held her hands up. “Kristy. Explain.”“Yes, Kristy, ” my mother said, but she was looking at me. Not really mad as much as confused. Join the club, I thought. “Explain.”Bert said, “This ought to be good.” Kristy ignored him, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Wes wants to be with Macy. And Macy, whether she’ll admit it or not, wants to be with Wes. And yet they’re not together, which is not only unjust, but really, when you think about it, tragical.”“ That’s not a word, ” Bert pointed out.“ It is now, ” she said. “How else can you explain a situation where Wes, a truly extraordinary boy, would be sent packing in favor of some brainiac loser…”“ Why, ” I said, feeling embarrassed, “do we have to keep talking about this?”“ Because it’s tragical! ” Kristy said….” I’ll tell you what it is. It’s wrong. You should be with Wes, Macy. The whole time you guys were hanging out, talking about how you were both with other people, it was so obvious to everyone. It was even obvious to Wes. You were the only one who couldn’t see it, just like you can’t see it now.”“ Mmm-hmm, ” Monica said aloud. Sarah Dessen

The girl in the tight black dress was passing by us now, eyeing Wes and walking entirely too slowly. "Hi, " she said, and he nodded at her but didn't reply. Knew it, I thought. Honestly, " I said. What?" Come on. You have to admit, it's sort of ridiculous." What is?" Now that I had to define it, I found myself struggling for the right words. "You know, " I said, then figured Kristy had really summed it up best. "The sa-woon." The what? . Sarah Dessen

Why does she have wings?' So she can fly. Sarah Dessen

It took a lot of work to be perfect. If you didn’t want to break a sweat, there was no point in even bothering. Sarah Dessen

It's hard to do, " I said. Wes looked at me. "What is?" I swallowed, not sure why I'd said this out loud. "Get it right. Sarah Dessen

Isn't it weird the way you remember things, when someone's gone? Sarah Dessen

The first step is always the hardest Sarah Dessen

Explain it to me." But I couldn't. I'd had to learn it my own way, and so had my mother. Jason would eventually, as well. No one could tell you: you just had to go through it on your own. If you were lucky, you came out on the other side and understood., If you didn't, you kept getting thrust back, retracing those steps, until you finally got it right. Sarah Dessen

The truth about forever is that it is happening right now Sarah Dessen