of half-bloods and happenings
love
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"Love's frightening," Drew's father told her the night before she found him strung up on the rafters, spinning a slow pirouette from a fraying rope. "Love is not worth your time, Drew. I don't want you hurt."
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"Love's slippery," Drew's grandmother told her, as she lay dying in a white-washed room stained with blue. The heart monitor went beepbeepbeep. "Love is something you should hold onto, Drew. I don't want you to lose it."
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"Love's for children," Drew's first boyfriend told her as he slipped his hands under her shirt to feel the flatness of her chest. But we are children, she wanted to whisper. "Love is stupid, Drew. I don't want to love you."
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"Love's precious," Drew's head counsellor told her, one year and one day before her death, though neither of them knew it. "Love is who we are, Drew. I don't want you to forget it."
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"Love's pointless," Drew's friend told her bitterly one wintry morning, as they flicked up the collars of their shirts to hide from the wind. "What's love today if you're going to die tomorrow, Drew? I don't want to fight this war for love."
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"Love's pale," Drew's brother told her, unshed tears in his eyes from the slap she'd just given him. "Love is barely there inside you, Drew. I don't want to be around when it disappears altogether."
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"Love's hate," Drew's mother told her as she tried to piece the world back together. The Giants had ripped all their hearts to shreds, and through the battle was over the war for peace was far from won. "Love is within us all, even those you claim to despise, Drew. I don't want you to keep pretending it's not there."
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Love's love, Drew wrote in her journal after the shrouds had been burned. There had been too many to count. Love is only knowing what you're missing once it's gone.
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Dedication: for amazingirl96, who's been with me from the beginning. I couldn't have come this far without you. xx