“I wish she were more like Karen, loving and accepting of any flaw. I wish she could just soften up, just long enough for me to feel the solace of having a mother, a loving and comforting one.”

Tessa compares her mother to Karen, the wife of Hardin’s father. Tessa recognizes that her mother is not the kindest or most comforting person, but doesn’t take into account why this might be. While Tessa and Hardin accept they have baggage due to their fathers’ alcoholism and violence, neither seems to realize that their mothers are also survivors of abuse. This comment foreshadows Tessa falling out with her mother, as well as the development of a loving relationship between Tessa and Karen.

“If I’m being completely honest with myself, I want to stay with him. I want to tell him that I love him more than I want to breathe, but I can’t. I refuse to get pulled back in and be that girl who lets guys do whatever the hell they want to her.”

As Tessa struggles after learning of Hardin and Zed’s bet about her virginity, she fights against her natural instinct to go back to Hardin. Tessa sees what Hardin’s actions say about him, but she has a tendency to overlook his many flaws—she has already forgiven him for other bad acts early in their relationship. Tessa’s desire to protect herself from the way Hardin treated her in the past shows a logical understanding of what a relationship with Hardin would be like in the future, but her passion for him makes it difficult to walk away. Her resolve does not last long.