Free Jessica's Journal: A THERAPY Book of Poetry by Kathryn Perez Page A

don’t know what her story is, or where her pain stems from, but one thing I do know is that pain is pain, sadness is sadness, and hurt feels the same to all of us, no matter how different we may be.”
    –Kingsley
     
    “But I smile for the world because my smile is my protection. It hides my pain, it hides my sadness, and it hides my fear. My smile gives you solace, it gives you assurance that everything’s okay. It’s my daily gift to you because you deserve all of my smiles and none of my sorrow.”
    –Lily
     
    “Music always makes everything better.”
    –Kingsley
     
    “He begins to play, we begin to play, and it’s the sweetest, most amazingly erotic thing I’ve ever experienced. I can feel the vibration of the strings; hear the beautiful sound of the acoustic guitar.”
    –Jessica
     
    “I came here to tell you that I choose you. I choose to love you, Jess, to be with you. I came here to tell you that I’m breaking things off with Victoria and to tell you face-to-face that I have never for a minute stopped wanting you to be the woman by my side.”
    –Jace
     
    “Jessica, you were given this life because you’re strong enough to live it.”
    –Janice
     
    “Self-doubt can cripple a person faster than fear ever will.”
    –Janice
     
    “I love him. I can feel it. Not the lustful, needy I-have-to-have-him kind of love or the I’ll-die-without-him love. I love him from way down deep, from a quiet place that I rarely visit. I love him like a person loves the calm of a lake in the early morning hours when it’s unmoving, still and peaceful.”
    –Jessica
     
    “I’m in love with you, Jessica. You’ve given me everything without even knowing it. I want to give every piece of me back to you.”
    –Kingsley
     
    “I never want to leave your body. Tell me you’re mine. Tell me I’m your guy; be my girl, Jessica. Let me love you every day, every minute, the way you deserve to be loved.”
    –Kingsley
     
    “Jessica, you’re my here, my there, and my always everywhere. Together or apart, you’ve awakened a part of me that’s been locked away for the past year. I love you and if loving you is wrong, then I don’t ever want to be right.”
    –Kingsley
     
    “We are taught in life that love can heal wounds and rescind pain, but we soon learn that pain can often destroy the strongest of love.”
    –Kathryn Perez
     
    “One tear falls and she lunges forward, wrapping her arms around me tightly. I hug her back just as hard and we cry together. We cry for our past, for our lost child, for our lost love, and we cry for each other’s pain.”
    –Jace
     
    “I hold her tighter, trying to memorize the feel of her in my arms. I inhale the scent of her hair and try to imprint every detail into my mind.”
    –Jace
     
    “He holds out his hand and as soon as our skin touches, I’m transported right to the past. My mind might have been trying to forget, but my heart always remembers.”
    –Jessica
     
    “I’m here in the present, trying to stop living in the past.”
    –Jessica
     
    “I find myself clinging to a moment, a memory, going over each and every detail carefully, because I don’t ever want to forget.”
    –Jessica
     
    “The girl in the book got schooled by a boy and I was completely schooled by the author of those books.” –Jessica
     
    “Needing someone to love me and want me has always driven me to the brink of madness.”
    –Jessica
     
    “I saw me today, and today, I don’t hate me.”
    –Jessica
     
    “She needed someone to stand with her, not hold her up.”
    –Jace
     
    “Love gives, love forgives, love empathizes, love has no conditions and it always remains constant through the ups and downs.”
    –Jace
     
    “Every gesture, every movement she makes has my complete attention. The curve of her neck, the bend of her elbow, and the way her hair rests on her shoulders...I take it all in, memorizing it, savoring it.”
    –Jace
     
    “I don’t know what there