Free Unravel Me: The Juliette Chronicles Book 2 by Tahereh Mafi

and my promise to Kenji and my worries over Adam and I think maybe I should take a risk. Maybe I should try to find a new friend or 2. And I think of how wonderful it would be to be friends with a girl. A girl, just like me.
    I’ve never had one of those before.
    So when Sonya and Sara smile and tell me they’re “happy to help” and they’re here “anytime” and that they’re always around if I “need someone to talk to,” I tell them I’d love that.
    I tell them I’d really appreciate that.
    I tell them I’d love to have a friend to talk to.
    Maybe sometime.

TWELVE
    “Let’s get you back into your suit,” Sara says to me.
    The air down here is cool and cold and often damp, the winter winds relentless as they whip the world above our heads into submission. Even in my suit I feel the chill, especially early in the morning, especially right now. Sonya and Sara are helping me out of this hospital dress and back into my normal uniform and I’m shaking in my skin. Only once they’ve zipped me up does the material begin to react to my body temperature, but I’m still so weak from being in bed for so long that I’m struggling to stay upright.
    “I really don’t need a wheelchair,” I tell Sara for the third time. “Thank you—really—I-I appreciate it,” I stammer, “but I need to get the blood flowing in my legs. I have to be strong on my feet.” I have to be strong, period.
    Castle and Adam are waiting for me in my room.
    Sonya told me that while I was talking to Kenji, she and Sara went to notify Castle that I was awake. So. Now they’re there. Waiting for me. In the room I share with Sonya and Sara. And I’m so afraid of what is about to happen that I’m worried I might conveniently forget how to get to my own room. Because I’m fairly certain that whatever I’m about to hear isn’t going to be good.
    “You can’t walk back to the room by yourself,” Sara is saying. “You can hardly stand on your own—”
    “I’m okay,” I insist. I try to smile. “Really, I should be able to manage as long as I can stay close to the wall. I’m sure I’ll be back to normal just as soon as I start moving.”
    Sonya and Sara glance at each other before scrutinizing my face. “How’s your hand?” they ask at the same time.
    “It’s okay,” I tell them, this time more earnestly. “It feels a lot better. Really. Thank you so much.”
    The cuts are practically healed and I can actually move my fingers now. I inspect the brand-new, thinner bandage they’ve wrapped across my knuckles. The girls explained to me that most of the damage was internal; it seems I traumatized whatever invisible bone in my body is responsible for my curse “gift.”
    “All right. Let’s go,” Sara says, shaking her head. “We’re walking you back to the room.”
    “No—please—it’s okay—” I try to protest but they’re already grabbing my arms and I’m too feeble to fight back. “This is unnecessary—”
    “You’re being ridiculous,” they chorus.
    “I don’t want you to have to go through the trouble—”
    “You’re being ridiculous,” they chorus again.
    “I—I’m really not—” But they’re already leading me out of the room and down the hall and I’m hobbling along between them. “I promise I’m fine,” I tell them. “Really.”
    Sonya and Sara share a loaded look before they smile at me, not unkindly, but there’s an awkward silence between us as we move through the halls. I spot people walking past us and immediately duck my head. I don’t want to make eye contact with anyone right now. I can’t even imagine what they must’ve heard about the damage I’ve caused. I know I’ve managed to confirm all of their worst fears about me.
    “They’re only afraid of you because they don’t know you,” Sara says quietly.
    “Really,” Sonya adds. “We barely know you and we think you’re great.”
    I’m blushing fiercely, wondering why embarrassment always feels like ice water