Shatter-Me-PDF-Shatter-Me-Series-Shatter-Me-Shatter-Me-1-Tahereh-Mafi (1)

Chapter Thirty-Two
It’s a full living room, open and plush. A thick rug, soft
chairs, one sofa stretched across the wall. Green and red
and orange hues, warm lamps softly lit in the large space. It
feels more like a home than anything I’ve ever seen. The
cold, lonely memories of my childhood can’t even compare.
I feel so safe so suddenly it scares me.
“You like it?” Adam is grinning at me, amused no doubt by
the look on my face. I manage to pick my jaw up off the
floor.
“I love it,” I say, out loud or in my head I’m unsure.
“Adam did it,” James says, proud, puffing his chest out a
little more than necessary. “He made it for me.”
“I didn’t make it,” Adam protests, chuckling. “I just . . .
cleaned it up a bit.”
“You live here by yourself?” I ask James.
He shoves his hands into his pockets and nods. “Benny
stays with me a lot, but mostly I’m here alone. I’m lucky,
though.”
Adam is dropping our bags onto the couch. He runs a hand
through his hair and I watch as the muscles in his back flex,
tight, pulled together. I watch as he exhales the tension
from his body.
I know why, but I ask anyway. “Why are you lucky?”
“Because I have a visitor. None of the other kids have
visitors.”
“There are other kids here?” I hope I don’t look as horrified
as I feel.
James is nodding so quickly his head is wobbling on his
neck. “Oh yeah. This whole street. All the kids are here. I’m
the only one with my own room, though.” He gestures