Fusion by Imogen Rose Read Free Book Online Page A

brown hair. David had denied that too, but Gertrude clearly remembered my hair as brown. Or was that just the way it looked through Gertrude’s eyes? Shouldn’t she be seeing in black and white? I guessed that Wanderer dogs must be different.
    “Arizona!” Ella launched herself into my bed. “Thank God it’s Sunday! I’ve got a playdate with Jonas. What are you doing today? Hockey?”
    I lay down beside her and gave her a hug. “Think I’m just going to laze today. Didn’t get much sleep. None to be precise.”
    “What about Gertrude? Where is she? Tallulah is downstairs having breakfast. We could take them for a walk together.”
    “Gertrude had to leave, but I am sure she’ll be back for another visit soon,” I added hastily as I watched Ella’s eyes well up.
    Her lips quivered, but she managed to hold it together.
    “Hey, let’s go down and get some breakfast.”
    She nodded as I pulled her up from the bed but then shook her head vehemently when I tried leading her out the door. I guess she wasn’t ready just yet. When I let go of her elbow, much to my surprise, she walked over to my closet. After digging through my stuff, she came back out with a pair of jeans and a Hollister t-shirt. She held them out for me, and I took them, having no intention of getting changed before breakfast. I was totally comfy in my pajamas. In fact, I planned to laze about in them all day. I flung the jeans and shirt on the bed and waved at Ella to follow me.
    But she didn’t move. “You have to change,” she said.
    “Why? I’m not going anywhere today. Not this morning anyway. Come on. The smell of that bacon is making me drool.”
    “Kellan is down there. So are David, Ali, and Maria. And Bruno. I almost forgot him, but he’s down there too.”
    I rolled my eyes. I had totally forgotten that David and Bruno had stayed over. I’d have been okay wearing my jammies in front of the rest of them, but not with Bruno. I nodded and changed into the clothes Ella had chosen. As I finished, I took the lip gloss she held out for me and laughed. “You’ve turned into the perfect wardrobe assistant!”
    Her frown made it obvious that this was not a laughing matter to her. “Well, you’ve sucked at it for a long time! And you were just about to go down in your sheep pajamas. I’ve been helping you almost every day,” she grumped.
    “Was it you who rearranged my closet? And my room?”
    “Yeah! Someone had to. You’ve been so messy.”
    “Well, that’s nice of you, but I think I can handle it again.”
    She pursed her lips. “Can I still borrow your stuff?”
    I had very strict rules about my stuff, and I hated lending anything out. Most of my things lasted for ages because I took great care of them. Letting Ella use anything didn’t seem like a great idea. “What kind of stuff?” I asked her, hoping it would be the odd t-shirt.
    “Well, I was planning to use your Pucci bag today, you know, the one Mom got you in Paris.”
    Of course I knew. It was one of my prized possessions, one that I carefully stored in a dust bag when not in use. My natural instinct was to say no. She was way too young to be playing dress-up with it, but her expression—her lips set in a defiant line—made me hesitate.
    “I already have it packed and ready to go,” she informed me curtly.
    “Well, unpack it, then! You should have asked!” I snarled at her.
    “I did! You said I could borrow whatever I wanted.” She burst into tears and yelled, “I hate you! I liked you so much better as the other Arizona!” She turned around and fled down the stairs.
    Perfect! I had turned my only sister against me. I felt my eyes water up, and tears ran down my cheek. I was a mess. Breakfast would have to wait. There was no way I was going down there looking like this, and now they were probably waiting to yell at me for upsetting Ella. Had I really just given her permission to use my stuff whenever? That was just insane. I must have lost my mind