Of Breakable Things Read Online Free Page A

proudly.
    “Saw it?”
    “In my head. I’ve been seeing arrivals now for decades.”
    Alex took in his babyish features. “How old are you?”
    “Don’t be fooled by the bowl cut. I’m much older than you.”
    “How old were you when you died?”
    “Twelve.”
    “You don’t even look ten.”
    “I was short for my age.” he said, leading her to the bank of a torrential river.
    Alex skidded to a halt. “Is there a bridge?”
    Ellington stepped right onto the rolling tide and swung his arms playfully as he strode across. “We are the bridge!” The water acted as a crooked treadmill, carrying him downstream, but he remained unfazed and leaped casually onto the opposite bank.
    “Your turn,” he called, spinning back around to face Alex.
    She froze at the water’s edge. She couldn’t do this.
    “Are you just going to stand there?” Laughter rose from the splashing current, and Ellington lifted his finger to his lips to hush it. “Go on,” he urged her, crouching down to watch with the expression of a father seeing his child taking a first step.
    Alex bent to touch the water. Her outstretched fingers shook, making contact with the gelatinous surface. The shock of electricity from the river stung much more than the rain, and buzzed like a headache. She straightened up and stepped gingerly onto the water. Her body jerked to the left. She flailed her arms to steady herself, shuffling the rest of the way without lifting her feet.
    “Nice job.”
    “You made that look way too easy,” she said, tumbling to Ellington’s side.
    “I’ve had more practice.”
    Alex watched the water lapping and splashing the shore. “Could I still go in the water?”
    “Be my guest.”
    She pressed her fingers against the surface, which yielded somewhat but did not allow her to breach it. She raised her palms. Now what?
    “Think a little harder about breaking the plane,” Ellington offered. “You need to use your mind. You’re weightless now, so you are going to have to use a little willpower.”
    Alex nudged the water, but it was like pushing on putty.
    “Try again.”
    She concentrated harder. Finally her hand shot through the static goo, which felt like a breeze. She raked her fingers through the wonderfully unsettling energy. “Wow,” she breathed.
    Ellington crouched down. “You’ll like it here.” He patted the water like a pet. “If you don’t mind me asking, what makes someone like you choose this alternative?”
    “Someone like me?”
    “Well, you weren’t exactly in love with life.”
    Chase , Alex thought to herself. Even now, without knowing where Chase was or how long it would be before she saw him again, merely the idea of knowing it would happen was enough. If he existed in his world, they’d find each other.
    Ellington pushed himself to a stand. “Besides the obvious reason.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “When I saw you arrive, I saw a few other things, too. It’s just something I’ve always been able to do. It’s kind of like watching a trailer for a movie. As the images appear, I get little bits and pieces of the person arriving, and then I wait for them.”
    “Do they always show up?”
    “No.”
    “What did you see about me?”
    “Chase.” He sighed. “All I saw was Chase.”
     
    ***
     
    As a child, Chase couldn’t fathom the idea that his best friend was sick. Alex had too much energy. When he stood next to her, he could feel it like the static electricity he learned about in science class. So then how could she somehow have less life than he did?
    He knew it was called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and he’d heard Alex’s doctor say things like type four and vascular and dangerous . He knew Alex’s mother had been sick with it, too. And her mother was dead.
    “They don’t look any different to me,” Chase whispered to his mother. That morning they had driven into the city so Alex could attend some sort of meeting. There was a huge banner outside the Baltimore Convention Center