Read Fusion for Free Online Page B

arms.
    He looked sad. “I can’t believe that you’d think that any of us meant you harm. Gertrude won’t hurt you. What happened before was outside her control, a product of her unnatural passage through the Portal. That’s not the case now. She wandered over naturally and is totally aware of the circumstances. She’s not going to turn you into anyone else.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “We are both Wanderers and can communicate with each other,” he said simply.
    “She told you?” I asked incredulously.
    “In a manner.”
    “What does that mean?” I mocked.
    “Just trust me, Arizona. You’re not going to become anyone else. However, Gertrude can share her memories with you and help you remember the last year. The flashes that you saw before are probably just that: images as she recalls them.”
    I felt somewhat reassured.
    “Arizona, excuse me for a moment. This is Bruno,” Mom interrupted.
    “Hi there. Nice to see you again,” Bruno said, obviously a bit taken aback at being thrown into the middle of our family drama.
    “How’s your dad?” I asked. He’d had his own share of family issues with his father who’d slumped into a deep depression after his daughter died. In fact, that was the whole reason Dad had to take over as head potato. Otherwise, Bruno’s father would have been the new Wanderer sovereign.
    “How do you two know each other?” Frustration laced Mom’s tone. “And what’s all this about your father, Bruno?”
    “We met in London,” I said. “Bruno, update Mom, please. I’m not done yelling at David.”
    She seemed about to protest, but Bruno nodded, gently leading her into the family room.
    “Sis, I’m outta here. It’s late. I’ll talk to you in the morning. Have fun, David,” Harry said and disappeared, leaving David and me alone. Well, not completely alone. Gertrude stayed firmly by my side.
    “Poppet, like Harry said, it’s really late. How about you continue yelling at me tomorrow?”
    “I’m not going to yell anymore,” I said quietly. “I need you to help me figure out what to do with Gertrude, though.”
    “I can take her home if you want,” he offered. “She’s had her visit as promised.”
    “If she goes, there’s no chance of me remembering what happened last year, is there?”
    David shrugged. “I have no idea. You’ve already had flashes of memories, of feelings coming back to you, on your own, haven’t you? Maybe they will all come back eventually. I don’t know. Do you even want to remember?”
    “Of course I do. I don’t feel completely like myself. I need to figure out what’s going on, and I guess if Gertrude can help me speed it along, that’s all good. However, whatever she was trying to show me was too fast for me to pick up on. It made my head spin.”
    “I can try to help with that. Let’s give her a treat and some water first.”
    As we walked into the kitchen, I noticed Mom showing Bruno up the stairs. “Is he staying over?” I asked David.
    “Yes, he’s been assigned to your mom.”
    I had to laugh. “I’ll bet she’s loving that. So, she’s got Bruno. I’ve got you and Kellan. What about Ella and Harry?”
    “Oh, Kellan told you?”
    “Yes, we FaceTimed earlier.”
    “Bruno is working double duty, covering Harry as well, and Alexa is on her way for Ella.”
    “Good! She’ll love that. Harry will be home for a while?”
    “Yes. And I’ll be staying over as well. Anyhow, let’s see what we can do with Gertrude. She’s heading back tomorrow.”
    “Oh? I didn’t know. Where exactly is
back
?”
    “She is someone else’s guardian, so she needs to get back…”
    “Secretive much?”
    “Sorry, it’s not my information to share. Please don’t be so mad at me.” He moved closer and drew me in for a hug.
    His chest felt warm and comfortable against my cheek, and my feelings for him erupted again as I fought to stifle them.
    “It’s okay,” he soothed, kissing the top of my head gently. Then he