a t t h e e d g e o f t h e w o r l d
9 8
Advance Reading Copy
He doesn’t look back as he walks into the room and
closes the door, and I don’t follow him. I wait until I hear
the sound of the two of them talking, and I can tell myself
that at least Des is conscious now, and then I stumble down
the stairs and sprint out the door as my eyes fill with tears.
My breath is so sharp it hurts my throat, and my mind
fills with the sound of Ivan’s voice—the edge of panic, the
desperate pleading.
Keep our secret
, he was saying.
Keep our
secret like I always have
.
