Free The Undesirable (Undesirable Series) by S. Celi Page A

then changed the subject. “Listen, before I forget, I brought you something.” Fostino crossed the room and opened the door to the apartment. He stepped outside and then brought a small bag back in. “It’s an orange.” He pulled a small one out of the sack, crossed the room, and handed it to me. 
    My mouth watered and I smiled at him. “Last time I ate one of these had to be four years ago.” I took the fruit and held it up. The citrus smell tingled against my nose. “This is very nice of you.”
    “I thought you’d like it. Farrah likes it, too. I gave her some earlier before I left the house.” His eyes glittered with mischief as he grinned back at me. He sat down on the loveseat again. “We got a shipment in today at the store. You know, for The Party. I managed to swipe it when dad took out the trash.”
    I got up from the bed and sat down next to him on the loveseat. Fostino took the orange and peeled the first of the rind away. It looked delicious. He handed the first bite to me.
    “You know, we sell this in the store for 15 stamps a piece.” He gave me a rueful smile. “Dad says that’s because it’s so expensive to send anything anywhere on a truck.” He took the second bite. “Especially from Florida, where this one came from.”
    The sugary tartness of the orange slice dissolved on my mouth. I hadn’t tasted something this nice in a long time.
    “I can’t believe you brought me this,” I said. He had taken a huge risk here, and I tasted my guilt in the few bites of the orange. “I don’t deserve all this.”
    He shook his head. “I figured you didn’t eat much in the last few days.” He eyed my bony arms. 
    “You know I haven’t,” I said between bites. “No one has much food, anyway. And then we just get cans of tomato juice and peanut butter sandwiches for lunch at the factory.”
    “I know,” he admitted. “They feed us a little better. Sometimes we get pieces of bacon for breakfast and granola.” 
    My eyes narrowed as my thoughts shifted to all he told me over the last few days. “Do you believe what they say? Do you really think there so many bad people live in our town? In our country?”
    Fostino’s eyes darkened. “I believe some people in our town want to sabotage our country. The same people want to make things harder.”
    “But—”
    He cut me off with one stiff hand. “You need to understand.” He leaned in closer to me. “This…all this that’s happening, it’s for our benefit. It will take us somewhere — to a better life. Canada won’t win The War.”
    “I don’t get it. What does Harrison Corners have to do with winning The War?” I stammered out my whisper. “And what about my mother?”
    Fostino sighed. “Sometimes in life, shit happens,” he said in a cold voice even as his free hand reached up and played with my hair.
    “What? My mother? You wouldn’t talk about Farrah that way!” Outrage coursed through me. No way had he really believed that.
    Right?
    The blood drained from his face. “I’m sorry. Not what I meant. I meant in life, sometimes stuff happens we can’t explain.” He ran a hand though his hair. “Jesus, I am sorry.”
    “Sorry? You’re sorry?”
    He put a hand on his forehead. “God, I am so stupid. I shouldn’t have said that. I just—” He broke off as if helpless for what to say next.
    “My mom was a drunk. Everyone knew that. But it doesn’t make it okay that they shot her.” I glared at him, still angry.
    “It’s not. You’re right,” he whispered. “This is such a struggle for me. I’m not supposed to do all this. They told us at drill not to get involved, that we had to make sure we found out who in Harrison Corners is working for Canada, who is Harrison Corners is really an Undesirable.”
    I blinked, confused to no end. “So why help me?” I asked. “Why do all this for me?”
    “Well, I want you to make it through all this.” His voice warmed. “I want you there when things get better. I