Brodi Ashton Quotes & Sayings

Friends don't eat friends' souls. — Brodi Ashton

The question I should've been asking myself was, in ninety-nine years, how will I find another Forfeit who will survive the Feed? But the question I actually asked myself was, Could Nikki ever look at me the way she looked at Jack in those final moments? — Brodi Ashton

Cole let me pull him, saying loudly, "Lead on. I like a woman who -"
"Shut up. — Brodi Ashton

Give me your heart," I said.
He tilted his head, leaned forward, watching my eyes the entire time to make sure it was okay, and kissed me lightly on the lips. "You already have it. — Brodi Ashton

So why did you come over?" I said to Max.
He turned around and started walking backward. He spread his arms out wide. "For love!" He had to jerk his hands back in when they got too close to the flames.
Cole broke out in spasms of laughter.
"What is it?"
Cole looked at me. "I brought him over. Ages ago. — Brodi Ashton

I pretended for a moment_ and only for a moment_ that I was the person she was making room for. That the hand she held up reached for me. That the heart thumping in her chest beat for me and me alone. I allowed myself that split second of weakness. — Brodi Ashton

Why are you carrying rope around with you?" I asked skeptically.
"Stop asking me dirty questions," he said with a smirk. — Brodi Ashton

It's just that even though I'm totally old and unhip,I remember what boys in high school were like.Especially the kind like Jack Caputo."
"What kind is that?"
"The kind that doesn't even walk a girl to the door."
I rolled my eyes. "Well,he would have, but he had to go drop off his other dates. There were three of us." My dad finally cracked a smile. "Good night,old man," I said,giving him a hug.
"Wait a sec,honey.Did I do that okay?"
I pulled back. "Do what okay?" It hit me then that this was my first dance since my mom died.I felt a little guilty that I hadn't realized it before. It was just that the night was so perfect. Before he could explain, I said, "Yes.You did great."
"Night,Nikki."
The next morning,I found a note in my jacket pocket.I unfolded it and read two words, written in Jack's handwriting.
Ever Yours. — Brodi Ashton

Jack didn't try to speak to me the following day. Or the day after.Or the day after that.
But he was in Mrs. Stone's classroom, in the seat next to mine, every day for an hour after school, the only sounds coming from our pencils scratching against our papers. And the days passed like this quickly. Too quickly.
I stole glances at him.Sometimes he tucked his hair behind one ear, but mostly it hung loose around his face. Sometimes he had stubble,as if he were shaving every other day.Sometimes I was sure he could feel me staring.His lip would twitch,and I'd know he was about to turn toward me,so I would hurry and look at my paper.
And sometimes I would read the same sentence in the textbook over and over, and at the end of the hour, the only thing I'd learned was that Jack liked to tap his eraser on his desk when he was stumped, and when he would stretch forward,his shirt lifted,exposing a tiny bit of skin on his back. — Brodi Ashton

Afternoon,Caputo," Cole said.
Jack's face remained a cool mask. "Hello, Cole.Becks."
Cole froze at Jack's casual use of his real name. His arm dropped from my shoulders. I couldn't help but smile.
Jack looked at me. "I'll see you in Mrs. Stone's room, Becks. You're coming, right? Mythology paper?"
I nodded.Just before he sauntered away, Jack winked at me and slapped Cole hard on the shoulder. "See you around, Neal. — Brodi Ashton

In the absence of proof, all that matters is perception. — Brodi Ashton

Never focus on the end. Only focus on your first step. — Brodi Ashton

I guess nothing says 'I'm sorry' like a tea cozy. — Brodi Ashton

I told him about how Cole wanted me to return with him.
I told him almost everything. I didn't talk about what had happened just before I left with Cole and I didn't tell him that the Tunnels of the Everneath were coming for me soon. Jack would freak out if he knew I was leaving again, and I didn't want to waste time trying to convince him it was hopeless.
I didn't tell him I'd thought of him every day. That even when every other memory had faded,he never left. — Brodi Ashton

Look, Nik, I know you don't like public scrutiny lately. If you stand off to the side, all mopey and such, without a date, you'll stick out like a nun at a strip club." He leaned in. "Trust me, I've seen one. A nun at a strip club, that is. Everyone was staring at her. — Brodi Ashton

If you're gonna leave, I wish you'd just leave. Why do you keep coming back if you're not going to stay? Because even when you're gone, you're never really gone ... I won't get over it if you keep coming back. Losing you once was hard enough. And now you're here again and everything's coming back. I'm going to get screwed. And I can't do it again. — Brodi Ashton

How come you" - I gasped - "recovered so quickly?"
"I dove."
"What?"
"I don't know how I knew. I think I heard lapping water or something right before we hit. So I twisted around and dove. Whereas you went flat as a pancake on your back."
"You could've told me."
"Yeah, because there was plenty of time for that," he said sarcastically. — Brodi Ashton

" it's the Fiery Furnace."
They just looked at me as if I said "It's a puppy driving a tractor. — Brodi Ashton

I held the car key out, pointed and ready.
Cole eyed the key. Uh-oh. Is that key loaded? — Brodi Ashton

Are you okay?" I asked, distracted. I wanted back inside the vision.
"Nothing a little mouth-to-mouth won't cure," he said,but he couldn't muster the energy to laugh at his own joke. "You're no good for me,Nik," he said in between gasps.
"What do you mean?"
His breathing slowed a little and he looked up at me. "I can't say no to you. — Brodi Ashton

Recognizing beauty isn't optimism. It's living with your eyes open. — Brodi Ashton

Sometimes, when something hurts us, our hearts break a little-in a slightly ... more literal way than for humans. Our pain sort of spills out and onto anyone around us. We call it a cracked heart. — Brodi Ashton

Remembering is easy. It's forgetting that's hard. — Brodi Ashton

Her emotional layers had the depth of a full symphony.
All I wanted was the bathe in her harmony. — Brodi Ashton

However he'd found his way here, it didn't matter. I knew then that the boy under the tree had to be mine. That floppy hair should be mine to touch. That big, knuckly boy hand should be mine to hold. That gruff voice should be mine to hear, and those ears should be mine to tell all my secrets to. Except for the biggest secret. That I loved him. More than the crush I was dealing with for years. More than I should've loved a best friend. More than he would ever love me back. I was gone for him. — Brodi Ashton

AT NIGHT
My bedroom,as I drift.
Every night,Jack is with me.
He lies down on his side, lengthwise on my bed,and props his head on my pillow. I mirrow his position. He places his hand over mine. I see it,but I don't feel it.We discovered long ago that we can't touch,even in our dreams. I am as much of a ghost to him as he is to me. We are a breath away-and a world apart-from each other.
He doesn't know where he goes when he's not with me.He doesn't think he exists anymore,except for in my dreams.
I think he is right.And I tell him to hang on.I will never stop dreaming of him.
I will find him. — Brodi Ashton

I crouched down beside her bed and lightly touched her forehead. Dont' worry, Nik. I'll never let you go. Never. — Brodi Ashton

So,Jules gets a smile,huh?"
I could feel his eyes on me,waiting for a response. He hadn't tried to talk to me since that first day,and his voice directed at me again did strange things to me.Made my stomach flutter. Of course, Jack had always had that power over me.
I kept my eyes down,but I couldn't stop my lips from turning upward.
"I see that," he said.Jack always saw everything. — Brodi Ashton

Faith?" The word popped out before I could think about it. "Faith in what? A higher power? The gods? The universe?" My voice cracked at the end, and I realized what this whole thing had done to my faith, if I'd had any to begin with. I realized that the thought of a higher being in charge of all this made me angry. — Brodi Ashton

If I could feed off Cole without our lips touching ...
If I could feed off Cole from across the room ... even better.
From across the Earth ... best. — Brodi Ashton

Cole. Know this now. I will never forget what you've done for me. Never. Do you hear me?
He nodded, but I could see he was crumbling, as if finding Jack would put an end to everything he wanted. Because it would. I placed my hands on either side of his face and brought his lips to mine in a light kiss. — Brodi Ashton

I faced Cole and Max. "Sorry, guys."
I lightly touched the hot poker to Max's back. he screamed and ran forward. Cole looked at him with an amused smile on his lips, then I did the same thing to Cole's back, angling it under the hem of his jacket. He lurched forward.
We ran this way for several long minutes, and eventually I didn't have to prod them as much. — Brodi Ashton

When I was in the Everneath, I thought about Jack every day. Every minute. Even after I'd forgotten his name, the image of his face made me feel whole again. Was Jack the reason I'd survived? Were our ties to the Surface what somehow kept us whole?
The one problem in the anchor theory was Meredith.She had a connection with her mom,yet she didn't survive. But then the more I thought about it, the more I realized Mrs. Jenkins didn't have a similar connection to Meredith. She forgot about Meredith the second the Feed began.
Then it hit me.Orpheus didn't forget about Eurydice.He loved her the entire time she was gone. Maybe the attachment between Forfeit and anchor worked only when it went both ways.
The drinking fountain next to me shuddered to life as a flash of intuition hit me.
I knew now that Jack never forgot about me.He'd never stopped loving me.He was the anchor that saved me.
And now he was gone. — Brodi Ashton

There's no such thing as 'epic love'. But there is such a thing as 'epically bad decisions based on something believed to be love, but is most likely lust. — Brodi Ashton

Because ... it'll make everything worse ... If you don't feel- — Brodi Ashton

Tell me, friend," Jack said, his fingertips grazing mind as people shuffled past us in the hallway. "Is there more for us?"
I looked at my feet. "There's everything for us. — Brodi Ashton

I grabbed the sides of my desk, as if I were about to pick it up and move it. Like a crazy person.
Cole walked over and noticed how I was grabbing my desk.
He raised an eyebrow. I think when Mrs. Stone said to take our seats, she didn't mean literally take our seats. — Brodi Ashton

You know the Everneath?"
"Uh, yeah, I think I'm familiar with it."
"Good. Because I'm going to destroy it. I'm taking the whole. Damn. Thing. Down. Are you with me?
"Always. Forever. — Brodi Ashton

"Specifically, Hercules. Yes, the strong man often is perceived as an oaf. Light on the brain cells, heavy on the the biceps."
Cole leaned over and said under his breath, "We all know someone like that, don't we? — Brodi Ashton

I didnt tell him I'd thought of him every day. That even when every other memory had faded, he never left. - Nikki — Brodi Ashton

Sometimes, when someone keeps forgiving someone else, it becomes too much. — Brodi Ashton

He was at once severe and beautiful, and the more the played, the more I felt surrounded by that cushion as well, as if I could fall and never hit the ground, as long as he was playing. — Brodi Ashton

And began typing.
We will not be meeting in my bedroom. Jack and I will meet you at your condo at midnight.
Two minutes later there was an answer.
Sounds Kinky. I'll break out the whips and chains. You wear that pair of black boots I like. — Brodi Ashton

If I lost you ... why can't you see that would be the end of me? — Brodi Ashton

You're not bringing guitar?" I said. I barely saw him without it.
Max and Cole both looked at me with alarmed expressions.
"No," Cole said. "I don't want to die. — Brodi Ashton

Stop looking at it," Cole commanded. "Focus on walking."
I turned to face him and he raised an eyebrow at my appearance. "What is it?" I said.
He bit his lip. "It's okay. I always thought you should have short hair."
My hand flew up to the side of my head. I felt brittle, curly strands that fell away as I touched them. — Brodi Ashton

Why do we hope when all hope is lost? — Brodi Ashton

He gave me a look. "Nick, I never wanted to save Jack."
"I know. But you helped me anyway. You were my hero.
He shook his head "I told you. There are no heroes."
How could he believe that now? What loathing ran so deep that would block out anything good?" I stepped closer. "I don't care what you think of yourself. I think you're a hero."
"Then you're blind — Brodi Ashton

He took a deep breath and held out his hand. "We got off to a bad start, but you're obviously a friend of Becks's."
Cole stared at his hand,stumped. He looked at me like, What the hell am I supposed to do with this? I'd never seen him so baffled.It was almost comical.
Then the second-to-last thing that I ever would have anticipated happened. Cole took Jack's hand and shook it. "I'm Neal."
"Jack." Jack briefly glanced sideways at me. "I'll try not to hit you again."
Cole and Jack, shaking hands. I covered my eyes with my fingers,wondering when the world had officially tipped over onto its side.When I lowered my hand, they were both looking at me.I'd had enough awkward.
"Let's go," I said, tugging on Jack's arm.
Cole frowned and looked away. "Take care of our girl," he muttered sarcastically. — Brodi Ashton

He leaned forward and said, "Tell me, friend. Is there more for us?"
I looked down at my feet. "There's everything for us. — Brodi Ashton

I didn't care that we'd caught a few stares from students passing by. I didn't care that the bell to begin class rang. I didn't care that everything between us had changed. All I cared about was the fact that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get any closer to Jack. — Brodi Ashton

I was asking Cole to risk his life, again and again, for the boy I loved. And it wasn't him. — Brodi Ashton

Hi, Nikki," Gavin said. Ariel didn't even bother looking up from Gavin's neck.
"Hey, Gavin," I said. "I thought that latest STD test came back positive? Ariel's head shot up. Good, I had her attention.
I kept my eyes on Gavin. "I'm happy to be wrong though."
Ariel pushed herself up off Gavin and stood there.
"It's not true," Gavin said, a disbelieving smile on his face.
"I've never even been tested."
"I'm out if here," Ariel said.
...
Gavin shot me a dirty look. "Thanks a lot Nikki."
Cole's lips twitched, obviously amused at what had just happened. — Brodi Ashton

All I noticed was how the sunlight reflected off Nikki's dark hair, lighting her up like a homing beacon, pulling me to her. Maybe I was the only one who saw it that way.
No. The guy who had his arms around her probably saw it that way too.
"He has a clinging problem, doesn't he?" I commented.
Meredith scoffed. "Epic love clings epically. — Brodi Ashton

Don't smile. The queen is going to come at you, and she's going to conjure up a ... machine gun, and your going to counter with a plastic straw. — Brodi Ashton

How are you so good at reading me when you can't read anyone else around you?" He sighed, and as he climbed out the window, he said, "I love it. — Brodi Ashton

We'd pluck the spiky chestnuts, leaving their green outer shells intact, and throw them at the neighbor boys.
I always took particular care in aiming for Jack's head. He told me later that he rode his bike by my house on purpose. I asked him if he liked pain. — Brodi Ashton

I dreamed of you every night. It felt so real. And when I'd wake up the next morning, it was like your disappearance was fresh. Like you'd left me all over again. — Brodi Ashton

You've never been in love?"
He let out a quiet breath,and I felt him shake his head. "Easy to say. Harder to feel." He ran his fingers through my hair and tucked a few strands behind my ear. With a light voice, he said, "Out of curiosity, what would you have said if I wanted to..."
"I would've said no."
"Yeah?"
I nodded. "I'm glad you didn't, because that would have been awkward."
His chest shuddered with laughter. — Brodi Ashton

I loved him, but I didn't know how to fix all of the things that were broken in our family. — Brodi Ashton

You know I have no power over the balance of the Everneath." He glanced at Jack. "Sorry,bro.Even with your biceps, we can't fight the force of nature. — Brodi Ashton

Stop thinking about it, Nik!"
"What?"
He grinned and shook his head. "You know what. You're looking at my hair like an addict at a crack carnival. Enough already."
" ... I know enough about you to know you won't stop until you get my hair; and at a risk of you taking my scalp with you, I'll go. — Brodi Ashton

I helped pull him up, although I doubted I was doing any of the actual work. Will was staring at me again. He turned away, toward Jack, and whisper-yelled, "I heard Nikki's back."
"Yep," Jack grunted as Will stumbled over the curb. "She is."
"How are you doin' with that news,little bro?"
Jack looked at me when he answered. "Better every day. — Brodi Ashton

In the dark, dank world of the Tunnels, I would call upon this memory. And there would be a flicker of candlelight. If only for a moment. I closed my eyes, as if my eyelids were the levers of a printing press, etching the fibers into my mind. Memories were outside Cole's reach. As long as I held them, memories were mine and mine alone. — Brodi Ashton

I would never kiss you!" The siren's screech brought me back to the Everneath, and I drew away from Cole.
He had a devilish grin on his face, and he turned toward the siren. "I know. But the real Nik would - if it was to save my life." He looked back at me. "Hey, Nik. — Brodi Ashton

So you're really going to the dance?"
I nodded as I sipped from the mug.
"Alone?"
"Not technically.There should be other people there too."
He raised his eyebrows. "Did my sullen daughter just make a joke?" I smiled as he gave a chuckle. "You always used to make jokes when you were nervous," he said. His smile disappeared and he put a hand on my arm. "Are you nervous?"
He knew me better than I thought. "A little."
"Then why are you doing? I mean, won't most everyone there have dates?" He cleared his throat. "Because Tommy and I have a mean game of Uno planned."
I hugged him. "Thanks,Dad. Wish me luck. — Brodi Ashton

Brother, when you've been here as long as I have, you'll come to discover there are only one or two essential things worth living for. Unique to you and you alone. My honor is one of them for me. I keep my honor by keeping the relic out of their hands. — Brodi Ashton

I pushed against him but he held me tight.
'You're delusional' I said.
'I'm the delusional guy whose going to keep you alive'
There was a fire behind his eyes. I set my jaw.
'You're the delusional guy who killed me in the first place — Brodi Ashton

If you stand off to the side, all mopey and such, without a date, you'll stick out like a nun at a strip club. — Brodi Ashton

I tell him there'll be an army waiting for him, and your friend is only concerned with the color of their uniforms. What's this really about?"
Max shrugged. "A girl."
I glared at Max. "Dude. Shut up. — Brodi Ashton

He paused and let out a little sigh. Then I'm saying it wrong, because it has everything to do with you. I want what Hades and Persephone had, and I can't do it without you. The only time the queen of the Everneath has been overthrown is when an Everliving has found his perfect match. I've spent my whole life - and it's a long one, trust me - looking for my perfect match, and it's you. I knew you were different from the first moment I met you. The first moment you placed your hands on mine. You remember? — Brodi Ashton

Tell me, friend. Is there more for us?"
I looked into his eyes, "There is everything for us. — Brodi Ashton

Nik. All you need to do is wear this tonight, and we'll sell out."
I glanced down at the shirt and then back up at Cole.
"Yeah, I'm sure this is the look you were going for."
"You can make anything look good," he said softly. — Brodi Ashton

What? What do you want?"
"You, Nik." Cole took a couple of deep breaths. "I want you. Whether we take over the throne or not. I want you in my life, and the only way that will happen is if you become like me. We shared a heart, Nik." He touched his finger to my heart. "Your heart is in me now."
"Not my heart. Just some of my emotions."
"Same thing. It belongs to me. And so I belong to you. — Brodi Ashton

You say you hate me, yet, you use me to stop hurting. — Brodi Ashton

I pushed his hair away from his eyes and took a closer look at his cheek. Maybe there really had been a boy in the street, but I also wouldn't put it past Cole to make one appear,if he had that power.
Jack's eyes opened fully,and he looked at me with half a grin. "You remember the first time I told you I loved you?" His words slurred together.
"Shhhhh.Don't talk.The paramedics are on their way."
"Do you?"
I touched his cheek and he winced. I could almost taste his pain,as if it were a tangible element in the air.I could feel my body hungering for the hurt.It was the first time since I'd Returned that I craved someone else's energy.Even at my lowest point,those last moments in the Everneath,I'd never felt a need for it.Until now.Until I was faced with emotions this strong.
He tilted his head toward me,and I jerked back. The taste in the air became bitter and sweet,a mixture of pain and longing.
"Tell me you remember," he said. "Please. — Brodi Ashton

I shouldn't have come," I said.
"Of course you should've. Otherwise I'd be fending off advances from Mrs. Stone. — Brodi Ashton

I'd never look at a pick again without wondering if it was Cole's heart.
He cocked an eyebrow. But the look in your eyes was murderous. Do you have a thing against guitar picks, or we're you hoping I'd be stupid enough to still carry my heart around with me? — Brodi Ashton

What? No heartbeat? Huh. Funny. Moving on, the bigger problem is why do I have circles under my eyes?' "And he'd say, 'Wait a second. Did you hear me? No heart!' And we'd be all 'Yes, yes, we heard you. But other than missing a major organ, what's wrong with me?' And then he'd go on and on about the whole no-heart thing, and then I would try to distract him by doing that dance I do - you know, the one that looks like the running man. . . . But before I finish my entire routine, the doctor would be texting the CIA to tell them about my lack of heart, and the rounds of involuntary government testing would begin. — Brodi Ashton

To get someone to follow them, a Siren would most likely appear as that person's deepest desire. The thing they wanted most. Cole's had become me, only it wasn't me as the queen, which I assumed would've been what Cole wanted most. It wasn't even me as an Everliving.
It was me, simply as me. — Brodi Ashton

You don't really believe there's a good way to say good-bye forever, do you? — Brodi Ashton

I know he is wrapping my name inside of him, folding it in the blanket of his heart. I know this because I used to do the same thing with his name when I was in the Feed. — Brodi Ashton

You really can't see it, can you?"
"See what?"
"He has a tether too. And it points right at you. — Brodi Ashton

Heroes don't exist. And if they did, I wouldn't be one of them. — Brodi Ashton

I want my heart. I'll trade you for it. I'll give you anything. Almost anything". He tilted his head forward in a challenging way.
"Give me you"
"Anything else". Cole raised an eyebrow.
"You think I care about anything else?"
I looked down at the floor.
"Where's my heart" I said.
"You're always asking the wrong question. — Brodi Ashton

Sometimes ... Sometimes our hearts ... crack a little. — Brodi Ashton

I hadn't learned anything new, except that another one of the Dead Elvises had an affinity for the Shop-n-Go. And Jack officially thought I'd lost my last marble. — Brodi Ashton

There is no evil. There is no good. There is only life, and the absence of life. — Brodi Ashton

He held me back just enough so I could see his face, and his determined frown. You meant for this life.
With me. — Brodi Ashton

Cole - For the fifth labour what better treat than to sling giant chunks of dung — Brodi Ashton

My Lady, please! I am indecent.' 'You are,' Jane agreed. 'Not to mention the fact that you are also unclothed. — Brodi Ashton

There's no such thing as epic love. — Brodi Ashton

Tell me why you care," I said.
He put his hands on the windowsill. "Because it's you. Despite what you think of me, your pain will always be my pain. — Brodi Ashton

She's dating the school quarterback."
"People date all the time. And they break up all the time."
"Not these two," Meredith said with a snort. "Their love is epic. Everyone at school knows it. He gave up his philandering ways to be with his longtime childhood bestie."
I finally glanced at her sideways. "They're in high school. High schoolers don't philander."
"Jack Caputo does. Or did. — Brodi Ashton

In the moment I faced dying, I finally knew my reason for living. — Brodi Ashton

Great. There was no scenario in this whole damn thing where Jack didn't come off looking as awesome as the love child of Thor and Optimus Prime. — Brodi Ashton

Sometimes ... " He paused and squeezed his eyes shut. " Sometimes our hearts ... crack a little." -Jack — Brodi Ashton

I'm taking the whole. Damn. Thing. Down. Are you with me? — Brodi Ashton

What happened?" I asked, squinting at his face.
Cole glanced at Max. "I wanted to jump in after you. Max disagreed with the appropriateness of that reaction. And then his face ran into my fist. — Brodi Ashton

I come here for supplies.The cashier doesn't notice things.
Great.She just admitted she's a shoplifter. — Brodi Ashton