Read Online Truth by Julia Karr - Free Book Online

a few real books back when my mom was still alive, but they’d all been confiscated by B.O.S.S. after she died
    “It’s more than comfortable,” I said. “I don’t know how we can ever repay––”
    “Nonsense.” Mrs. Jenkins waved off my mention of indebted-ness. “It is an honor to be able to help the family of my dear friends.” I remembered her telling me how close she and my mom had been. “Let me show you the bedrooms. You must be exhausted.”
    “Nina, you shouldn’t be alone tonight,” Wei said. “I’ll go grab my PJs and be right back.”
    When Wei returned, Mrs. Jenkins left, reminding us that there would be breakfast in the morning upstairs.
    “We should get to sleep,” I said. “I’m totaled.”
    “Me, too.” Wei stifled a yawn.
    “I guess so.” Dee looked ready to drop, but hesitated at the door to her room. She obviously did not want to be alone.
    “You know, the bed in my room is huge,” I said. “There’s plenty of room for three.”
    As it was, we could’ve fit in a fourth, it was so huge. Even with all that space, Dee fell asleep curled up in my arms.
    ***
    A warm beam of sunlight across my face woke me. I bolted upright. “Where am I?”
    “Huh?” was the muffled reply.
    “Wei?”
    She threw back the comforter, stretching her arms over her head. “You’re awake.”
    “Yeah. It took me a minute to remember what all’s happened.” I patted the pile of covers next to me. “Where’s Dee?”
    “She woke up just after I did. I sent her upstairs for breakfast.”
    Just the mention of food made my stomach come to life, growling like an angry dog. But I had other things to take care of before my hunger. “Where’s my bag? I have to call Metro and check in on Gran. Will my PAV work in your house?” With all the antisurveillance technology that Wei’s house was wrapped up in, I didn’t know what would and wouldn’t work.
    Wei produced my bag from beside the bed. “PAVs work fine here. If you want to know how, though, you’ll have to ask Chris. All that techie stuff is space jargon to me.” She rolled out of bed. “Come up when you’re done.”
    ***
    I lightly tapped on the door. Wei’s mother welcomed me, putting an arm around my shoulders, like Mom used to do. It made me sad, but it felt good, too. How I wished . . . no sense in that. There was too much for me to figure out. I didn’t have time for what Gran called pie-in-the-sky thoughts.
    “This is so kind of you.” I felt myself tearing up. “I don’t know—”
    “It is the least we can do,” she said. “We are fortunate to be in a position to help friends. Your father, although distressed about his parents, was glad to know that you and Dee are safe with us.”
    They talked to him—my father. I had spoken to him only that one time, weeks ago. But they’d already gotten word to him. How many emotions and questions just hearing “father” brought up. I settled them all back to sleep.
    “Dee doesn’t know about him—I mean, about him being alive, that is,” I said.
    “I thought not. She also doesn’t know that he’s her father, does she?”
    I shook my head. “Just you and me, well, and my father—we’re the only ones who know.”
    “And that is how it will stay until he decides to tell her. We will not talk openly of Alan around Dee. I’ll be sure that Chris and Wei are aware.”
    “It’s so hard to keep secrets. Like the FeLS information. Because of it, Ginnie’s dead.”
    “Yes, that and so many other reasons.” Mrs. Jenkins hugged me tight. “Someday the truth about everything will come out.”
    “Do you know when or how my father is going to let the world know what FeLS really is?” It was naive of me to think that one chink in the Governing Council’s armor would bring them down. But at least exposing the FeLS sex-slavery side would stop low-tier girls, like Mike’s sister, Joan, and me, from being exploited in that way.
    “I have heard that there will be an