What Happened to Goodbye

Once you love something, you always love it in some way. You have to. It’s, like, part of you for good.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

2 A.M. You know. The person you can call at two a.m. and, no matter what, you can count on them. Even if they’re asleep or its cold or you need to be bailed out of jail…they’ll come for you. It’s like the highest level of friendship.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

I was trying not to think about the distance too much, but it was my hope that no matter what happened, at least we'd always be able to find each other.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

I missed everything about my old life. I just wanted it back.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

I'd finally found a place―and maybe even some people―worth holding on to.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

The bottom line I always ask myself is: if I look at everything I've had with this person, good and bad, am I better or worse off without them?

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

Since my parents' split, I hadn't had much faith in relationships and even less of an inclination to start any lasting ones of my own.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

I don't like complications. If something's not working…you gotta move on.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

I hadn't said goodbye. It had been easier, like always, to just disappear, sparing myself the messy details of another farewell.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

Maybe I didn't need all the time anyway. Just a couple of hours, a good breakfast, and a chance to talk with the two people who knew me best, no matter who I was.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

Some things can't be saved.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

But talk was cheap and useless. Action was what mattered.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

I don't think you realize how hard it is to always be reaching out to you, and to continually be rebuffed.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

He looked up at me and grinned, and again, I felt this strange urge to smile back. And I was not someone who smiled a lot.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye