In the dark they are careful of each other, as if they know they are fragile, as if they know they can break. (p283) - Celeste Ng

...all of them had tried to forget it. They did not talk about it; they never mentioned it. But it lingered, like a bad smell. It had suffused them so deeply it could never wash out. (chapter six, p124)

At that moment [he] had a sudden clear understanding of what had already happened that morning: his life had been divided into a before and an after, and he would always be comparing the two. (chapter 2 p21)

People decide what you're like before they even get to know you” (p193)