The Fallout Read Online Free Page B

snapped so sharply that Cara dropped her spoon and looked up at him with wide eyes. She was still skittish around Eddy most of the time, so I set a hand on her head to reassure her as I quietly added, “Yeah, Lex. Slight difference there.”
    Lexie glared at me. “Really? You know you’re thinking it. We left one prison for another one with better food and more natural light.”
    “Stop it, you two.” Mom put an elbow on the table and leaned her head into her hand. “I know. I understand what you’re all saying. But can’t we just hold off a little while?” She looked at Lexie. “Until your birthday? That gives you a couple months to just … adjust. In the meantime, you can do things online, study for your SATs—for this first semester—and then decide?”
    Eddy looked pissed off, but he didn’t say anything.
    Reese said, “I want to go out and do stuff. We haven’t been anywhere for so long.”
    I nodded. “I agree. If we do stay home for school, we need to be able to go out.” I tilted my head toward Lucas and Cara. “They’ve never seen anything in Seattle.”
    Mom shook her head. “I really want you all to stay anonymous for as long as possible. Just … just until you all adjust.”
    She could have said Just until you all stop being freaks . That would have been more honest. Except for the fact it was never going to happen.
    We would always be freaks.
    I stuck my fork in an enchilada and it stayed there, pointing straight up. My appetite was gone.
    Lexie said, “I have an idea.” She looked around at all of us. “Mom, what if we agreed to all go out together one day to someplace. Just for fun. Just to get out of here.”
    Reese asked, “Where?”
    “Just a sec.” Lexie pushed her chair back and stood up. “Hold on.” She left the room and came back a moment later, several pens and a pad of paper in her hand. She held them up. “We all put down a place on here, then draw them out of a hat. Each week, or a couple times a week, we’ll go somewhere different.” She looked at Mom. “We’ll take a car and a bodyguard and we’ll stay together.”
    Reese said, “Yes! I agree with the idea.”
    I nodded. Eddy looked down at his plate, but I couldn’t see the look on his face. Did he not want to go out?
    Mom rolled her eyes and said, “Fine. But we’re still sticking to the rest until your birthday, right?”
    “Yeah,” said Lexie. She started tearing off sheets of paper and passing them around.
    Reese said, “Cara and Quinn are too little.”
    Lucas raised his hand. “I’ll think of places for them.” Then he put his hand back down and looked at me. “I don’t know any places.”
    I beckoned to him. “I’ll help you think of some.” He came and stood beside my chair. I whispered, “Do you want to see animals?”
    He nodded. “Yes!”
    “What about an aquarium?”
    He frowned. “There’s one in my room.”
    I smiled. “No, buddy. I mean a huge one. Like with sharks and stuff.”
    His eyes got wide and he nodded. “And I want to see toys. Lots of toys.”
    “Okay.” I tore the sheet of paper into four pieces, and wrote Zoo , Aquarium, and Toy Store on the first three. Then I thought for a moment and wrote Mariners game on the fourth. YK had a corporate suite at Safeco Field, which made that outing seem the easiest. And also the most obvious. I crumpled up that piece of paper and set it by my plate.
    Lexie dumped the lettuce onto a plate and held out the empty salad bowl to Reese, who dropped in her paper. Eddy hadn’t written anything on his. Reese glared at him, so he quickly scrawled something, crumpled the paper in his fist, and dropped it in. I handed the three sheets to Lucas. He dropped them in and Lexie stirred them all up with her hand. She walked over to Mom. “You want to do the honors? Tell us where we are going this week.”
    Mom shook her head as she looked around at us, but then she smiled. “Fine.” She reached in.
    Eddy started drumming on the table