Page 215 - My FlipBook

T R A I L O F C R U M B S

from him at the same time. After staring at the dark ceiling
for what felt like hours, she picked up the phone and texted
Roger: We live upstairs with Elgin now. Call me sometime.
No response. She drifted off in the middle of the night,
woken by pinging notifications and game messages. Every
time scrambling to check for texts. You’ve won twenty gems
in Pirate’s Cove! Use them now!
Dawn marked the end of a sleepless marathon. She

turned off the sound on the phone and pushed it far away
from her. Then she shut the bedroom door behind her and
stepped into the kitchen. Fairies had done the dishes in the
night. With a mug of tea cradled in her palms, Greta stood at
the picture window, squinting at the glare off the snow in the
front yard. She didn’t have to wait for the sunrise today. Their
part of the earth was tilting closer to the sun every day, like

Elgin had said. Slowly.
Ash wandered out a few minutes later, walking as if his
legs were hollow. Walking like Elgin. Greta stood to meet
him, stopping him by the dining-room table.
“Ash.” She grabbed his wrists and shook the pulse back
into them. “Ashwin.”
He looked at her, letting her hold his wrists.
“We are not stopping here, not navel-gazing and wondering
what Dad’s up to. We will not be destroyed by him or anyone

else. We’re getting on with our lives. You hear me?”
He swallowed and nodded, standing a little taller.
“I have an idea about school, but I have to talk to someone
first.”

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