Summer Ruins by Trisha Leigh Read Free Book Online Page B

way he wants, but eventually he learns to be happy anyway.
    I think that’s the point.
    There are many parts that go right over my head, though. “So what’s Christmas? And what’s an angel? And why were stars talking to one another?”
    I’ve read about Christmas in other books, like Harry Potter , but never grasped the concept.
    “I have no idea. But the rest of the story… I like it.” Deshi’s eyes are a little red; even though I didn’t look at him out of respect, I know he cried at the end.
    So did I, which surprised me a little bit because halfway through I wanted George to get out of the little town and see the rest of the world.
    My cell goes dark again, and I light a single sphere in my hand, holding it near my lap. Deshi gets up and grabs the DVD player and the plastic DVD container, shuffling toward the door. I don’t know how we’re supposed to say good-bye. It’s not as though we like each other, or that we’re friends… except maybe we are and he hasn’t been able to admit it yet.
    And neither have I.
    If I want Deshi to really trust us, to believe that the things I’ve been telling him about the world outside of the Others’ control are true, shouldn’t I trust him first?
    I shoot to my feet, almost leaping across the cell to his side by the bars. He spins around, putting the DVD player up between us as though he needs to defend himself, but relaxes when he sees my arms are at my sides.
    “Deshi, I’m going to tell you a secret. It’s something that could hurt a lot of people, if you decide to tell Zakej and his father, but I need to find a way to show you what’s true. This is the only way I can think of, but… please. Think about what will happen if you betray my trust.”
    He stares at me, and finally gives me a nod. It’s not a promise to keep the secret, only to think about the consequences, but it’s all I’m going to get.
    I take a deep breath and raise up the light in my palm until the shadows fall away from both of our faces. “There’s a cabin that’s hidden from the Prime. I don’t know how—Griffin and Greer’s mother did it somehow when they were children. We have friends there. My dog is there, too.”
    “Wolf.”
    Tears fill my eyes before I can stop them and I nod, unable to speak for a moment. “Yes. Go meet him. Scratch him behind the ears. He likes that.” I clear my throat. “There’s a girl, too. A human girl. She… shed her veil, so she knows what’s happening to Earth.”
    Deshi jerks, his eyes going wide. “How?”
    I pause. This is the moment where I decide whether or not to trust him with everything. I’ve already given up the cabin. Maybe our last chance. But I have to give up more. Everything. He’s one of us.
    If I believe it, maybe he will, too.
    “We can unveil people. The four of us. It’s the only thing the Prime doesn’t know. It happened on accident at first, but together we have more control over it, and we unveiled Brittany—the girl at the cabin—on purpose. So that if we die tomorrow, people will at least have the chance to fight for themselves.”
    A shell-shocked, wrecked expression crumbles Deshi’s features from the top down as I tell him how to find the cabin, until finally it drops his jaw open. “That’s what they wanted me to tell them. All those days before they finally believed me that controlling the elements is all I can do. But I didn’t know.”
    It’s almost like he’s talking to himself, as though he’s forgotten I’m here. I reach out and take his hand; it’s cool against mine, and I tug on it a little to get his attention. “None of us knew, Deshi. I found out when I accidentally unveiled my Danbury mother. She Broke and the Others disposed of her. Lucas unveiled a girl at school and she went banana balls for a while. Pax… his family in Portland died, Deshi. None of us knew.”
    “So, we hurt people.”
    “No. I mean, we have hurt people, but this thing we can do… it also might save them. If