“Reading was my most reliable escape in childhood, the one way I could get away from my father while still trapped in the same space with him.” ReadingEscapism Book:They Never Learn Source: They Never Learn
“Francesca had grown up watching me, like I'd grown up watching Sheila. She said I was inspiring, but what had I inspired? There was no joy left in her, no light. Those smiles were a mask, concealing a molten core of grasping ambition. I wanted to shake her by the shoulders and tell her it wasn't too late. She could wake up. She could realize there was more to life than winning. Happiness couldn't be won. It couldn't be hung around our necks while a crowd of thousands cheered. It wasn't a prize, something we had to suffer and toil to earn. If we wanted happiness, we had to create it ourselves. Not in one shining moment on a medal stand, but every single day, over and over again. I could have told Francesca all that, but it wouldn't have mattered. She'd have to learn for herself, like I did.” SportsOlympicsIce Skating Book:The Favorites Source: The Favorites
“Heath hesitated. I watched the warring desires skirmish on his face. A part of him longed to surrender to my curiosity; another part wanted to keep defending the barriers he'd built up to protect himself. I couldn't force him. I couldn't rush him. He had to be the one to tear down the walls, brick by brick - and whenever he was ready, I'd be waiting on the other side.” SportsOlympicsIce Skating Book:The Favorites Source: The Favorites
“Heath knew me when I was a gangly little girl with bloody kneecaps and prairie grass in my hair. He'd seen me sobbing and weak and shaking with helpless rage. He knew my pressure points. He knew how to provoke me. Garrett had never known me as Kat Shaw from Nowhere, Illinois. I could leave her behind, as abruptly and heartlessly as Heath had left me. With Heath, I could be myself. But with Garrett, I could be someone better. And if Heath wanted to see me again? He could watch me on television winning goddamn gold medals with Garrett Lin.” SportsOlympicsIce Skating Book:The Favorites Source: The Favorites
“Katarina Shaw was in the building, and that bitch had come to win.” SportsOlympicsIce Skating Book:The Favorites Source: The Favorites
“Most of my life, I’d been working toward a single goal: winning gold at the Olympics. That was the bright light that guided my every move, my every decision. Now? Everything had gone dark. I couldn’t picture my future. Allowing myself to think even as far ahead as dawn sent dread surging around me like murky floodwater” OlympicsSports RomanceRight Person At Wrong Time Book:The Favorites Source: The Favorites