Rachel Vincent quotes

The worst memories stick with us, while the nice ones always seem to slip through our fingers.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Memories #Nice #Sticks

There’s a good kind of crazy, Kaylee,” he insisted softly, reaching out to wrap his warm hand around mine. “It’s the kind that makes you think about things that make your head hurt, because not thinking about them is the coward’s way out. The kind that makes you touch people who bruise your soul, just because they need to be touched. This is the kind of crazy that lets you stare out into the darkness and rage at eternity, while it stares back at you, ready to swallow you whole.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Hurt #Crazy #Thinking

Chocolate says "I'm sorry" so much better than words.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Forgiveness #Im Sorry #Apology

...sometimes compassion is the greater part of honor.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Compassion #Honor #Sometimes

...don’t judge your future based on others’ mistakes.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Mistake #Judging #Your Future

My aunt and overprivileged cousin only recognize two states of being: glitter and grunge. And if you weren’t glitter, well, that only left one other option.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Cousin #Aunt #Two

I got swirling eyes and the capacity to shatter windows with my bare voice. Tod got teleportation and invisibility. The supernatural world is so far from fair.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Eye #Voice #World

The moment the door opened I knew an ass-kicking was inevitable. Whether I'd be giving it or receiving it was still a bit of a mystery.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Hilarious #Doors #Giving

He sank into that kiss, and fed from me like a starving man holding off famine. I drank from his soul in preparation for the drought to come. And when he finally pulled away, my throat was thick with unspoken words, my heart heavy with every apology I'd ever denied him. But it was too late for promises. The time had come for goodbye.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Goodbye #Heart #Kissing

Why is this so hard?” I whispered. His pulse leaped crazily at my admission. “Everything worth fighting for is hard.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Fighting #Pulse #Worth Fighting For

You know, most girls sleep with a teddy bear or an extra pillow. But I gotta say, that's kinda hot...
-- Rachel Vincent

#Girl #Sleep #Hot

What if I was the sexual equivalent of popcorn? Suitable for light snacking only?
-- Rachel Vincent

#Light #What If #Popcorn

Stay for me. Stay with me. There will never be anyone else. Not in my bed. Not in my life. And not in my heart.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Heart #Bed #My Heart

Like I'm going to pass up an opportunity to smack your cousin.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Cousin #Opportunity #Your Cousin

Sabine gestured to him with the half-eaten crust. "I like him. Not sure why he's wasting his time with the pole dancer, though." Tod laughed out loud and I groaned. "Sophie takes ballet and jazz. She's not a pole dancer." "There's more money in pole dancing," Sabine insisted.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Dancing #Dancer #Ballet

Kaylee do you know why you are here?" "Yeah. Because the doors are locked.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Doors #Yeah #Kaylee

Relief washed over me like that first air-conditioned breeze on a hot summer day.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Summer #Air #Firsts

Great. I'm psychotic and sparkly.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Psychotic

She watched me with a creepy sort of detached curiosity, as if I were a bug crawling across the sidewalk in front of her. I wondered briefly if she was the ant stomper type.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Curiosity #Creepy #Ants

I couldn't see who swam in the darkness, who wore shadows like a second skin.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Darkness #Skins #Shadow

There were a million What Ifs that could have stopped the whole thing. A million things I wished I'd done differently. But in the end, I was left with what actually happened. With my mistakes and his.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Mistake #Done #Ends

Sophie glanced from me to Sabine, then back, scowling. "I'm not scared of her. I can handle myself." "Yeah, and hissing kittens think they're badass too," Sabine said.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Badass #Thinking #Sophie

Behind me, Marc made a soft whistling sound, clearly impressed. “That’s not standard procedure,” he said, his tone entirely too reasonable as he leaned over the stray’s body to open the back passenger-side door. “Yeah, well, I’m not your standard enforcer.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Doors #Body #Sides

Most aspects of my training didn’t agree with me. There wasn’t as much bossing around as I’d hoped for, and there was way too much following orders.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Order #Training #Too Much

There’s an us?” “As far as I’m concerned…” He leaned forward, his mouth inches from mine, and my pulse spiked. “There’s nothing but us.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Mouths #Pulse #Inches

Because you don't belong with him! I tried to tell you that, but you wouldn't listen, and I thought if you understood that he'd be better off without you, you'd break up with him for his own good. So I...exaggerated how easy it'd be for him to get over you, with Sabine there to step in. But I underestimated how incredibly stubborn you are" "I prefer to think of it as dedication..." I mumbled.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Thinking #Dedication #Over You

She got to you, too, huh?" I said, sliding onto the bench seat across from him. "Actually, I called her." Luca grinned. "I'm vomiting from a possible case of food poisoning. You?" "Sudden onset menstruation." He nodded respectfully. "Classic." "Yeah, but I should have gone for something more long-term. Yours will get you out of the whole afternoon. Ferris Bueller would be proud.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Long #Would Be #Gone

I’m confiscating your hair dryer—you’ve fried your brain.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Hair #Brain

A smart woman would have shut up. Did I? Hell no. Intelligence is overrated anyway.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Smart #Shut Up #Hell

Tod's eyes widened and his irises swirled in tight twists of blue. "Well, I don't see that I have much of a choice, considering that's part of Reaper Law." "There's a Reaper Law?" "Of course. 'A reaper is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous...'" He shrugged. "It gets boring after that. But this situation is clearly covered under the 'helpful' category." I rolled my eyes. "I think that's the Boy Scout law." "They took it from us. But they left out all the good stuff.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Eye #Boys #Thinking

And the council doesn’t recognize any kind of temporary insanity defense. Which was a real shame, because most of the councilmen had considered me crazy for most of my life.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Real #Crazy #Insanity

I’d learned that my mother was a badass in disguise. She was Van Helsing in an apron and heels, and—at least for the time being—I couldn’t think of a single thing cooler than that.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Mother #Badass #Thinking

But I'll be fine. I'll be with Tod. He's a good guy, you know." He just hides it under all the sarcasm and curls.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Sarcasm #Guy #Curls

How long until you have to go...reap?" I whispered as my arms slid around his neck. Like we were dancing. Only we weren't moving, and there was no music. "Don't know. Don't care." "Won't you get in trouble if you miss something?" "See my previous answer.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Moving #Dancing #Long

Near-death experiences release a lot of endorphins, resulting in a natural high," Tod whispered. "And it's totally true that one passion feeds another." "You know we're way past 'near-death', right?" "My endorphins aren't listening to you.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Passion #Past #Listening

Survival strategy. If you’re not careful, this place will eat you alive, and Kaylee’s like bait for the beasts.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Survival #Alive #Bait

He was beyond gorgeous. But Eastlake High was full of pretty people who acted like total freaks. I blame the local water supply. Which was why I drank bottled water.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Water #People #Freak

Leave the door open," my dad said, the second most common warning in his arsenal. Right behind, "Nash, go home.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Dad #Home #Doors

I wanted a do over. A time machine. That magic wand. But real life didn't have any easy outs, and very few happily-ever-afters. The real world was more like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, with most of the choices ripped out before you even opened the cover.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Real #Book #Adventure

I nodded, chewing my own syrup-soaked bite. "But surely that's not all there is to it. I mean, really? A big picnic? That's Avari's master plan? That makes him sound about as dangerous as Yogi Bear." Tod shrugged. "Yeah. If Yogi were a soul-sucking, body-stealing, boyfriend-snatching, damned-soul-torturing evil demon from another world. Besides, what else could he be planning?
-- Rachel Vincent

#Mean #Evil #Soul

As a matter of fact, I was going to offer you something.” “What did you have in mind?” "A field trip. You interested in doing something dangerous, and possibly illegal?” “Does it involve underage girls, broken curfews and assorted fruit toppings?
-- Rachel Vincent

#Girl #Broken #Mind

You should be careful, tossing descriptors like that around in a situation like this. My ‘problem’ isn’t little. Unless you’re drawing some pretty wild comparisons. Please tell me you’re not drawing wild comparisons. Or blood-relative comparisons.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Blood #Drawing #Littles

You two are cracked," Tod snapped. My smile widened. "Says the undead man in love with the soulless pop star.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Stars #Men #Two

So what does Tod look like? Whitewashed skeleton skulking around in a black cape and hood? Carrying a scythe? 'Cause I'm thinking that would cause mass panic in the hospital." ..... "Do you chase after a funeral processions in a long, dirty dress, hair trailing behind you in the wind? I shot him a mock frown. "Have you been following me again?
-- Rachel Vincent

#Dirty #Thinking #Hair

Great. "So not only am I not-human, but Death is my arch foe?" Who, me? Panic? "Anything else you want to tell me, while we're confessing?
-- Rachel Vincent

#Arches #Want #Panic

Unfortunately, unless the job description included a translation of the prologue of The Canterbury Tales, I was dreadfully under-qualified.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Jobs #Description #Prologue

His name's Nash." Aunt Val took a butter knife from the silverware drawer. "What year is he?" I groaned inwardly. "Senior." ...here we go ... Her smile was a little too enthusiastic. "Well that's wonderful!" Of course, what she really meant was "Rise from the shadows, social leper, and walk in the bright light of acceptance!
-- Rachel Vincent

#Senior #Acceptance #Aunt

The other three incoming calls were from his building superintendent, his pharmacy and a telephone survey company." "Bastards. They always call during dinner." Liv laughed as I slid the sliced steak onto a platter and topped it with sautéed vegetables. "Forget crime lords and corrupt politicians - telemarketers are the root of all evil." "Now you're getting it.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Vegetables #Roots #Evil

Tod's pale brows arched halfway up his forehead, and he looked suddenly, achingly wistful. "She knows not what she says..." Maybe not. But I was starting to get a pretty good idea...
-- Rachel Vincent

#Ideas #Pale #Starting

Eastlake High makes Buffy's hellmouth look like a crack in the sidewalk.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Cracks #Looks #Sidewalk

You don't know me. Don't ever think you know me. The only things you know about me are the things you made me do, and that illustrates your character, not mine.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Character #Thinking

I'm searching for a shred of humanity in that shriveled tangle of arteries you call a heart.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Heart #Humanity #Arteries

I could have kissed you months ago, but it wouldn’t have meant anything. I wished for you to see me. And want me. So…did you mean it?” “Yes,” I said, and some unnamed tension inside me eased. “I see you, Tod.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Mean #Months #Want

The problem with getting everything you want in life is that you're not prepared for disappointment when it comes.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Disappointment #Want #Problem

Wait, Saturday night?" The ladder-backed chair creaked and I looked up as he leaned forward to eye me in growing suspicion. "I thought you stayed home." I shrugged and raised one eyebrow at him. "I thought I was human.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Eye #Home #Night

Alec licked his spoon, then set it on the table and popped his drink open. "Okay, I may be breaking some kind of girl bonding rule or something, but can I offer you a guy's perspective on this?" I frowned, my spoon halfway to my mouth. "Is this gonna make me want to hit you?" He shrugged. "Maybe. But it's the truth. Here goes: kissing back is an instinct. Unless the girl smells like a sewer or has tentacles feeling you up independently, a guy's first instinct is to kiss back. That's how it works. What's important is how long that kissing back lasted. So...how long?
-- Rachel Vincent

#Girl #Kissing #Smell

I'm dead, not impotent. Nasty rumors like that must be squashed before they gain momentum. Feel free to emphasize how very functional I am.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Rumor #Gains #Momentum

My pulse whooshed in my ears so fast I could barely hear myself speak. “I only have—” “Two days.” He squeezed my hand. “So what? You can spend them feeling sorry for yourself, or you can let me help make them the best two days of your life, and my afterlife. So what’s it gonna be?” I stared into his eyes, like I’d never seen him before. And I hadn’t—not like this. But he’d obviously seen me, better than anyone else ever had. “Well?” Tod watched me, his hand still warm in mine. In answer, I leaned forward and kissed him again.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Sorry #Eye #Hands

Marc/Faythe/Jace love triangle moment: "This isn't about you...." "Well, it should be!" he shouted, and I flinched. "Everything I do is about you, and I want the reverse to be true, too." I wiped more tears, my throat aching with words that would only make this worse. "What, you need a reminder? That's what he was doing, right? And now you smell like him. You probably taste like him. You should taste like me..." He was on me before I could even catch my breath...
-- Rachel Vincent

#Smell #Tears #Triangles

So ... will you stay with me until it's over? Please?" "Kaylee, I would do anything for the girl who granted my dying wish.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Girl #Wish #Dying

I wanted more firsts with Tod. But all I had left was a handful of lasts.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Firsts #Lasts #Wanted

You're the brightest thing I've ever seen, Kaylee. You're this beautiful ball of fire spitting sparks out at the world, burning fiercely, holding back the dark by sheer will. And I always knew that if I reached out -- if i tried to touch you -- I'd get burned. Because you're not mine. I'm not supposed to feel the fire. I'm not supposed to want it. But I do. I want you, Kaylee, like I've never wanted anything. Ever. I want the fire. I want the heat, and the light, and I want the burn.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Beautiful #Dark #Light

Alec rolled beautiful brown eyes. "No fair playing the death card." "No fair having it to play.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Beautiful #Eye #Play

That's because Tod never brings anything but death and bad advice," I snapped. "That's not true." Tod tried to grin, "Sometimes I bring pizza.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Advice #Sometimes #Pizza

Radley rolled his eyes. He actually rolled his eyes at my father. Alpha of the south-central territory and head of the Territorial Council. Sure, I did that all the time but I'd also peed on his lap when I was two. No one else got away with such disrespect toward an Alpha, which meant Radley either didn't know who my father was, or didn't care
-- Rachel Vincent

#Father #Eye #Two

A field trip. You interested in doing something dangerous, and possibly illegal?" Does it involve underage girls, broken curfews and soorte4d fruit toppings?" I dropped the empty can into the recycling bin and leaned against the kitchen peninsula, grinning like an idiot. "Two of the three. And I could probably scrounge up some strawberry jam, if you're desperate." "I'm never desperate," Tod said, only his voice hadn't come from my phone. I whirled around to see the reaper standing behind me, still holding his cell. "But for the record, I prefer apricot." "Yuck. Nobody likes apricot jam.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Girl #Phones #Cells

I should have mixed something stronger than Coke floats.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Stronger #Coke #Should

I love you, Olivia," he whispered, and my heart ached as if it would break in half. "You think we'll die if we stay together, but I've been dying slowly for the last six years. I'm taking my life back, Liv. Our life together. And this time, I'm not going to let you go.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Love You #Heart #Thinking

Ask for the impossible, then settle instead for what you really wanted in the first place.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Firsts #Impossible #Settling

I am not cute. I am the dreaded Grim Reaper. People fear me, you know. There's a whole song about it.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Cute #Song #People

Meow, Meow, Motherfucker.
-- Rachel Vincent

Hang on, Pa, don't reach for yer shotgun just yet," I said, grinning over the protective streak I found funny, when there wasn't actually anything to shelterme from. "We were just circlin' the wagons, not having an orgy." My dad suddenly looked like he might be sick. "Please don't ever say that word again." "Wagons?
-- Rachel Vincent

#Dad #Sick #Might

Whatever your weakness, there’s a hellion to exploit it.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Weakness

This isn’t happening to you, princess,” Sabine snapped before I could do more than shake my head. “This is happening to us. While you spent the past few months prancing around in ignorant bliss, we were all being possessed, or kidnapped, or stalked by this hellion. So dry your tears and take off the tiara, because this is a call to arms, not a pity party. You’re not going to find any sympathy here.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Princess #Party #Past

At least you don’t need a prescription for tequila.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Needs #Tequila

Did you think you could dump me, and I’d bounce back to her and miraculously be happy? I’m not a Ping-Pong ball. You can’t just swat me back and forth and expect me to be content wherever I land. If Tod dumped you tomorrow, would you come back to me?
-- Rachel Vincent

#Thinking #Land #Ping Pong

Come on, Kaylee, before I choke on testosterone and melodrama.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Choke #Testosterone #Kaylee

So, did the costume come with a condom, or is that sold separately?
-- Rachel Vincent

#Costumes #Condom

The school sent you flowers. I’m sure that totally makes up for the fact that they hired the psychotic, soul-stealing pedophile who murdered you in your own home.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Flower #School #Home

He’s like the Rasputin of reapers.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Rasputin #Reaper

You already said that,” Sabine said, folding the wrapper back from her burger. “You said it a lot, actually. Which supports my theory that apologies are basically pointless. They don’t fix anything, right? That’s why I rarely bother.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Apology #Support #Burgers

Some day soon, reaper, your mouth is going to be the source of your own destruction." "That does seem likely, doesn’t it?" Tod glanced at me and shrugged. "Until then, it remains a source of my own amusement.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Amusement #Mouths #Doe

Your mortal attachments are like a puppet’s strings," Avari said, both hands clasped casually at his back. "One need only pluck the right cord to make the puppet dance." His smile was almost creepier than his threats. "Dance, reaper!
-- Rachel Vincent

#Attachment #Hands #Puppets

I went up on my toes to kiss him, and he groaned. "Do you really think this is appropriate on school grounds?" "Nope." I wrapped my arms around his neck. "And I happen to know there isn't an appropriate thought running through your head right now." "Or any other time." Tod pulled me close and held me so tight my ribs almost hut, but I didn't want him to let go. Ever.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Letting Go #Running #School

Have I ever told you how sexy your brain is?" "Finally! A man who wants me for my brain." "I want all of you. Each individual part and the sum of them all. I want you for everything you are and everything you will ever be. I will never have enough of you, because there's no such thing." He stared right into my eyes, and I couldn't have looked away if I'd wanted to. I was trapped, and never in my life had I been so happy to be caught. "I will never let you go again.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Sexy #Eye #Men

I think I was born 'in to deep,' and bad things happen every day. Sometimes I have to stab hellions. Sometimes I have to frame friends for murder, and stab evil math teachers, and watch my best friend die. Again. We deal with it, then we move on.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Teacher #Moving #Math

So, we wait until tomorrow night, and when you say the word, I cross over and haul you both out. Right? That's it?" "With any luck, yes." Luck? We were depending on luck? Nash is so screwed....
-- Rachel Vincent

#Night #Waiting #Luck

I think we should all earn our place in the world. [...] We owe the world something. We owe the world everything.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Thinking #World #Should

... you just turned down the woman who put a marshmallow duck in your hot chocolate. I hope you feel like a real ***** now.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Real #Ducks #Chocolate

Kaylee and Nash are like those rocks that ancient cave people used to make fire. Bang them together, and you get sparks." Sabine said. "Let's never again use the phrase 'bang them together' in reference to my brother and my girlfriend," Tod mumbled.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Girlfriend #Brother #Rocks

Emma and I had both died twice, and for me, that second one actually stuck. Now I was a "resurrected American," better known, in colloquial terms, as life-challenged. Or undead. Or the living dead. But I'm not a zombie. I'm just a little less alive than your average high school junior.
-- Rachel Vincent

#School #Average #Zombie

I mean, creatures who only exist in the dark don't know they're missing the sun, right? But once you've seen the sun. Once you've seen it light up the world ... once you've felt its heat all around you ... inside you ..." He clutched his own chest, and my heart cracked open. "Its hard to live in the dark after the sun dies.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Mean #Heart #Dark

I'm not going to lose you, Kaylee. No matter what I have to do, or whom I have to fight. Even if that means quashing your vexing tendencies toward self-sacrifice." Tod said. "Did you just say 'vexing'?" Nash asked. Tod scowled. "Nothing else seemed to fit. I stand by my word choice.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Mean #Fighting #Sacrifice

10:38 AM - Third period. Kaylee has no class this period. I have no one to kill. Coincidence, or fate?
-- Rachel Vincent

#Fate #Class #Coincidence

Tod laughed. He was always able to find the humour in even the creepiest situations. I'd thought that it was an undead thing, until I became a member of the undead. Then I realized it was a Tod-thing.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Able #Members #Humour

Vanity, right?" Nash reappeared in the living room with an open bag of potato chips. "I nominate my venerable brother. He likes to play hero, and one look at him should establish the vanity angle." "Nash!" I really shouldn't have been surprised by the dig. But I was. "What?" He raised one brow at me in challenge. "It's okay to call me jealous, but not to call him vain?" "Awareness of one's obvious advantages doesn't imply vanity," Tod insisted calmly. Nash turned on him. "Does it imply narcissism?" Tod huffed. "This coming from the guy who owns more hair products than his girlfriend.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Girlfriend #Brother #Hero

What if the house catches fire?” “Roast marshmallows. And if it floods, you’ll go down with the ship. If there’s a tornado, I’ll meet both you and this house in Oz, after my shift. Got it?
-- Rachel Vincent

#Fire #House #What If

But all I said, as I dug a five from my pocket to pay for my soda, was, "You have a friend?" Tod scowled. "Well, I wouldn't call him a friend according to the traditional definition, but in the sense that he imposes on me constantly and isn't afraid to point out my flaws, I'd say he qualifies." "Sounds more like a cousin.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Cousin #Definitions #Soda

His gaze burned into mine, like he could see past my eyes into parts of me no one had ever seen, and I knew I was seeing the same in him. No one else had ever seen him so vulnerable before, like if I pushed him away, he might crumble into pieces that could never be put together again. Yet there was strength, too. He was strong beneath that fragile need, and I knew that I could never fall with him next to me. If I tripped, he would catch me. If I lost my balance, he would find it.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Strong #Fall #Eye

Bold. Risky. Dramatic. I approve.
-- Rachel Vincent

#Dramatic