The Recovery by Suzanne Young Read Free Book Online Page B

smile, the idea of seeing their old friend Cas a welcome change, even if that bastard nearly got them killed. But Realm knew he’d forgive him, just like Dallas had. He’d been a product of the system of fear The Program had created.
    Not everyone could understand the mistakes they had all made—how The Program had changed them, cured them, ruined them. But Realm had learned that nothing lasted forever, not even his self-hatred.
    Because there was hope. In forgivenesshe’d begun to find himself again, and he didn’t want to stop. He put the SUV into gear, his foot on the brake, and turned to find Dallas watching him. Realm nodded to her, a silent agreement that they were in this together.
    Dallas held out her hand, fingers spread. Realm looked down and a memory flooded him; it wasn’t tragic or even perfect. He thought about the first time he saw Dallas after receiving the Treatment. Realm had hunted her down and found her with a group of rebels—including Cas. Dallas didn’t know him, but then again, she felt like she did.
    “So what’s your deal, Michael Realm?” she had asked late one night as the two sat on the back porch. A storm was brewing, clouding the stars above the field with gray. “I don’t think I’m being subtle,” she said, turning to him and grinning. Realm felt it in his heart, that blast of affection he knew he didn’t deserve.
    “I’m not the right guy for you, Dal,” he said, running his eyes over her. Noting how thin she’d become, but still so fucking gorgeous.
    “That so?” Dallas replied, setting her hand on the porch step between them to lean closer, studying him like she was trying to discern if it was true. “Well, then, I guess I like the wrong kind of guy.” Her lips pulled into a wide smile and Realm toppled back into her world for the night, forgetting his good intentions, only to be gone in the morning.
    He should have said no. But at the time, there had been no one since Dallas. He wasn’t sure there ever would be. They were magnets, drawn back together—somehow still a match even after everything that had happened.
    And maybe that was what Michael Realm realized now, sitting in the parking lot of another hotel. His guilt had made him keep Dallas at a distance, hurting her in favor of loving her back the way she deserved. He always knew she deserved better. But . . . for the first time since before The Program, Realm thought that there was a chance for him.To redeem, to recover, to be the right guy.
    Realm took a deep breath and slid his palm against Dallas’s, feeling the heat of her skin against his. Realm turned toward the road ahead, ready to start a new journey—thinking that he couldn’t change the past, couldn’t predict the future. He only had now.
    And that sometimes . . . the only real thing was now.

Read on for a glimpse at the brand new story from Suzanne Young set in the world of THE PROGRAM:

CHAPTER ONE
    IT’S TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE. I sit in the armchair closest to the door and fold my hands politely in my lap. The room is too warm. Too quiet. My mother enters from the kitchen, her left eye swollen and bruised, small scratches carved into her cheeks. She limps to the plaid sofa, waving off help when I offer, and eases onto the patterned cushion next to my father. I shoot him an uncomfortable glance, but he doesn’t lift his head; tears drip onto his gray slacks, and I turn away.
    I begin to gnaw on the inside of my lower lip, waiting in silence as they consider their words. This intervention-style farewell is hardly the format I imagined, but the moment belongs to them, so I don’t interfere. I cast a longing look to where my worn backpack waits near the door. Aaron had better not be late picking me up this time.
    “Are you sure you can’t stay another night?” my father asks, gripping his wife’s hand hard enough to turn his knuckles white. They both stare at me pleadingly, but I don’t give them false hope. I won’t be that