Read Online Escape to Eden by Rachel McClellan - Free Book Online

what feels like a personal conversation. The three of them stand together, looking like a small family.
    “But you can’t just leave me!” Jenna says. “What will I do?”
    Anthony smiles. “I’m sure you’ll find someone else to irritate.”
    “But I want to irritate you.”
    “Then you’ll have to make a decision. What about you, Colt? I could use your help.”
    He shrugs. “I’ve got nothing better to do.”
    “Oh great,” Jenna says. “Now I have to go. Someone has to protect you from him. He might betray you.”
    “Stop that,” Anthony says, scolding her like a father would.
    I leave the man in the portrait and join the others in the living room.
    “What about the boy?” I ask, remembering the way he had screamed when the Institute took him away.
    “Who?” Jenna asks.
    “There was a boy in the hospital with me. Just a child.”
    “Don’t worry,” Anthony says. “Bram will figure it out, but my responsibility is to you. We’ll get you to Eden where you’ll be safe.”
    He disappears into a doorway, which I assume leads to a bedroom.
    I think of the boy, how scared he must be feeling right now. I hope he’s okay.
    Jenna returns to the kitchen. “There’s pizza. You hungry?”
    “Cook two, I’m starving,” Colt says.
    “I wasn’t asking you,” she says. “Patch, you, hungry?”
    I nod, my stomach tight with hunger pains.
    Anthony returns carrying blankets. “There’s two beds in the bedroom. Jenna and Patch can sleep in there. Colt and I can sleep on the couches.”
    “Actually,” I say, “can I sleep in the office?” For some reason I want to be near the man in the painting.
    “Are you sure?”
    I nod. Out of the corner of my eye I sense Colt watching me. I resist the urge to look over and instead go into the kitchen to help Jenna.
    “Here,” she says and hands me a long, metal tube. “You can cook it.”
    I turn the device over in my hands, trying to figure out what I am holding.
    Jenna removes a pizza from a refrigerator and places it on the counter. “Get to it,” she says. “I’m starving.”
    “Right.” I look at the rod again, pushing all around it, but nothing happens. I try touching the end of it to the edge of the pizza, thinking maybe it will sense the dough or something. Really, I have no idea what I’m doing.
    Jenna laughs. “Serious? You can break out of the most secure place in the country, but you can’t cook a pizza?” She takes it from me. “What is wrong with you?”
    I step back, too hurt to think of a comeback. I wish I knew what was wrong with me.
    Jenna raises the rod horizontally above the pizza and tightens her hand. A blue light appears along the length of the metal. She scans it across the thick layer of dough and cheese three times. By the time she’s done, the pizza is cooked. She glances back at me. “Was that so hard?”
    Colt walks into the kitchen and pushes past her to cut a slice of pizza. “Why do you have to be such a conker, Jenna?”
    I’m not familiar with the term, but by Jenna’s reddening face, I know it’s an insult.
    “Don’t call me that,” she says.
    Colt takes a bite. “Then stop acting like one.”
    Anthony looks up from an electronic device in his hands. “Hurry and eat and then get to bed. You’re going to need all the rest you can get.”
    “Better do what he says and eat,” Colt says to me. “And fast before Jenna wolfs the whole pizza. In addition to being a conker, she’s a huge porker.”
    Before I can respond, both Colt and I are ducking from a flying cup. It hits the wall behind us.
    “Jenna!” Anthony says.
    “Did you hear what he just called me?” she says, another cup gripped tightly in her hand.
    Anthony sighs. “The last thing I need right now is to supervise a bunch of kids. Grow up, both of you.”
    “Whatever.” Jenna takes a plate of food and walks into the bedroom. She slams the door behind her.
    Colt chuckles, but still there’s no smile.
    “I expect more from you,”