Page 205 of Inside the Sun

He looks at me for a long moment, his gaze searching.

"You know… Sun, I would understand if you needed a little space. The truth is, we don’t really know each other outside of those interactions we had at the fortress. It wasn’t the real you. And it wasn’t the real me. I know that I told you the whole‘Fate’s promise’thing about TMs, but still, it’s natural to feel—"

I laugh bitterly. "But I believe in thispromise, Ragnar. Even if we weren’t exactly ourselves, we should give Fate a chance to prove he chose us to be perfect for each other. Even if we were total strangers, even if we didn’t know a single thing about each other, I’d still feel… excited. And hopeful!" I smile shyly. "I don’t want to waste a single minute putting off getting to know you. I feel… thrilled… I mean, I would, if I weren’t about to faint…"

This tirade obviously was too much for me. My vision spins, and I almost collapse, but Ragnar catches me with one arm, awkwardly shifting to keep hold of both Summer and me at the same time. It’s certainly an acrobatic feat.

Mauro reacts quickly, running over as soon as he notices. He helps me to a fallen log nearby so I can sit.

Then he steps away again, typing something rapidly on the display.

Ragnar sits down beside me. Summer’s limp body still hangs over his shoulder. The omega’s face looks blank, even though his eyes are open. Bruises cover his neck and arms. Like me, he’s only wearing a filthy T-shirt and shorts.

"He needs medical attention," I whisper, gently touching Summer’s messy caramel-gold braid.

Ragnar starts to answer, but Mauro comes back holding up his phone.

On the screen it reads:"My ride will be here in 15 minutes. By some miracle, he just happens to be in the city. He came a few days ago to take care of some paperwork, and now he can take me with him. It feels like Fate!"

He steps back again, as if wanting to give us space.

But Ragnar suddenly speaks up,

"Wait. Can you tell me what Anzo did to you to ‘break’ you—his words? He said he gave Summer the same thing."

Mauro looks down at Summer’s still face, his eyes are open, but he doesn’t speak.

Then he types again:

"I don’t know the name of the drug, it meant to mess with my memory, distort my sense of time, make me doubt what was real. But I had help. Somebody helped me remember. So all the drugs really did was make me stop talking, my world just kind of… imploded. It took me a long time to start functioning again, but I never fully recovered. That’s all I can tell you. Sorry."

"Do you think it’s ever reversible? Because he’s only been on it for… what, three and a half days?"

Mauro’s face shifts slightly, like he’s not sure how to answer. Then he types:

"If it was a strong dose, it might have affected his brain. I received tiny doses over time. But maybe he’ll get better? After all, he was able to take Anzo down, that means he’s still in there."

I gently touch Summer’s arm. He flinches slightly, like the contact makes him uncomfortable.

"Summer… can you hear me? Can you say something?" I whisper just to test it.

He blinks slowly, like he’s trying to say yes, but no words come out.

"Let’s take him to my house. My dad will take care of him. One of our cousins is a doctor, and we can ask him to come over and examine Summer. That way we avoid hospitals and giving out personal info."

Ragnar frowns, but nods. "Alright. Of all places, weirdly, that might be the safest. Hide in plain sight, right? Besides, before all of this happened, Summer said he wanted to go wherever you go. Follow Sun."

We all sit quietly on the fallen log, staring at the road, waiting.

Eventually, a green car shows up, then slows down and stops. Inside is a beta, about sixty, with a thick beard. Something in his face vaguely resembles the Ferro brothers.

Mauro gets up and walks over.

The beta steps out and signs something. Apparently, he knows sign language just as well as Mauro does. Mauro signs back.

The beta glances our way and says tersely, "Alright, we’re off. Goodbye."

Mauro turns back toward us, nods, and waves.

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