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

Adam brushes back wayward strands of hair from James’
forehead. He’s looking at his brother’s sleeping face as if
trying to memorize each brushstroke of an oil painting. I’m
staring at him staring at James.
I wonder if he knows he’s holding my heart in his hand. I
take a shaky breath.
Adam looks up and I look down and we’re both
embarrassed for different reasons.
He whispers, “I should probably put him in bed,” but
doesn’t make an effort to move. James is sound sound
sound asleep.
“When was the last time you saw him?” I ask, careful to
keep my voice down.
“About six months ago.” A pause. “But I talked to him on
the phone a lot.” Smiles a little. “Told him a lot about you.”
I flush. Count my fingers to make sure they’re all there.
“Didn’t Warner monitor your calls?”
“Yeah. But Benny has an untraceable line, and I was
always careful to keep it to official reporting, only. In any
case, James has known about you for a long time.”
“Really . . . ?” I hate that I have to know, but I can hardly
help myself. I’m a tangle of butterflies.
He looks up, looks away. Locks eyes with me. Sighs.
“Juliette, I’ve been searching for you since the day you left.”
My eyelashes trip into my eyebrows; my jaw drops into my
lap.
“I was worried about you,” he says quietly. “I didn’t know
what they were going to do to you.”
“Why,” I gasp, I swallow, I stumble on words. “Why would
you possibly care?”
He leans back against the couch. Runs a free hand over his
face. Seasons change. Stars explode. Someone is walking
on the moon. “You know I still remember the first day you
showed up at school?” He laughs a soft, sad laugh. “Maybe I
was too young, and maybe I didn’t know much about the
world, but there was something about you I was