Chapter One – Read to Me
"Rough day, huh?" Jesper asked, glancing back at the dining room ceiling. He and Wylan were in the living room, as Wylan didn't like eating underneath the gaping hole. They still hadn't gotten the table repaired from when he and Kaz fell on it.
"Yeah," Wylan nodded. "Can we get waffles tomorrow?"
Jesper grinned. "We totally can. Nina told me about this great place in Sweet Reef. They have hot chocolate, too."
"That sounds amazing."
He put his plate down. "So… I have some paperwork. I don't know what it says."
Wylan's tone changed in the way it usually did when he talked about his inability to read. He handed Jesper a small folder. "Can you tell me what it says?"
Jesper leafed through the folder. "Not much. Your dad sent a letter – let's throw that one away. Um. This looks like tax returns. And this one's from Saint Hilde."
"Really?"
"Yep. They're going to let your mom go in two weeks. They just need to evaluate her or something. Probably some forms to fill out. Uh, you have to sign this. That should be okay, just put a scribble in there. That's what most people do."
He handed Wylan a pencil. "There. That actually looks better than a lot of signatures I've seen. Not that I've seen very many."
Wylan laughed. Jesper liked his laugh. It made him seem less like what Jesper had become in the Barrel. It made him happy and sad at the same time. He's too good for me, Jesper thought again. Wylan was perfect – he even didn't have any scars except for the bruises where Anika and Keeg had roughed him up a week ago.
The two of them sat in silence for a moment and finished their dinner. Wylan looked half-asleep. "Wy?" Jesper asked. "You okay there?"
"I'm just tired," he mumbled.
"And you're not going to sleep on the couch. Do I have to carry you?"
Jesper thought he could see Wylan smile. "Yeah."
"Alright. Hold on to my neck, but don't strangle me, or I'm dropping you."
He lifted Wylan and carried him to their room, where Jesper's copy of a novel Inej had recommended to him lay half-open on the bed. After putting Wylan down, he opened the book.
Wylan crawled over and leaned on his shoulder. "What's that?"
"It's about Sankta Alina. Supposedly it's written by someone who knew her."
"Can you read it to me?"
"Of course."
Jesper read to Wylan until their candle burned out, and he realized that Wylan had fallen asleep, still on his shoulder. He put the book down, smiled, and closed his eyes.