Broken People Read Online Free PDF

“Too hot?”
    Blink. Blink .
    The soup burned the back of his throat, but
it made him feel alive, so he didn’t complain. He couldn’t have
said anything anyway.
    “Take your time. There’s no rush.” Cielo
stood by his side, content to smile at the sun, switching the mug
from one hand to the other when her arm got tired.
    Gradually, Cole became aware of the
agitation as the perception of his surroundings expanded. People
rushed back and forth along the train, yelling at each other. In
the distance, the big cupola of a blue- and yellow-striped circus
tent rose towards the clear sky. That explained why all the people
wore such colorful clothes. It didn’t explain what he was doing
here and why he wasn’t in a hospital, but he liked it better this
way.
    After a while, it occurred to him something
was off about these people, but they didn’t stand still long enough
for him to figure out what it was.
    “Yes, it’s a circus.” Cielo chuckled when a
flock of egrets flew in front of them in perfect V-formation,
following a black woman and her two-meter long pole.
    “And what a circus!” someone huffed as
another woman climbed onto the platform. Tall and slender, with
chin-length, brown hair and dark brown eyes set in a heart-shaped
face, she moved graciously around them, fluttering two sheets of
paper.
    “Anya, this is—” Cielo gave Cole a confused
look, clearly not remembering his name.
    From her advantaged height, Anya threw him a
glance. “Let me guess. This is Spinner’s new project.”
    “Well, yeah …”
    “Charmed.” Anya nodded at him shortly, then
turned to Cielo, holding up the papers covered in sketches. “I’ve
been up all night drawing these. There’s no way I’m doing the show
in those rags. I need new costumes.”
    Cielo tilted her head. “Are you sure you
need new costumes? I finished one for you last month. And we don’t
even know if there’s going to be a show.”
    “Nicholas will make sure there is one.” Anya
rested her hand on Cielo’s arm. Her skin looked like alabaster in
contrast with Cielo’s golden tan. “So, yes, I need them. I haven’t
danced on a proper stage in … well, way too long.”
    “Okay, but …” Cielo sighed. “You do realize
if word gets out I’m making you new costumes, everyone will come
saying they want one, too. There’s no way I can accommodate them
all.”
    “That’s why I came to you first. You can
tell them you’ve had them already made for me, but I hadn’t paid
you yet. They all know I’m terrible with money.” Anya grinned
wickedly and wrapped an arm around Cielo’s shoulders.
    The move made the straw slip from Cole’s
lips, but he was too distracted by Anya’s long legs to protest. The
question why she wasn’t cold in those white tights and loose blouse
briefly crossed his mind. He decided he didn’t care. She looked too
good to hide her body in a lot of clothes. The next second, he felt
guilty for discarding his caretaker that easily from his
thoughts.
    But Cielo was distracted by the sight of a
tall, muscular man with sandy hair walking with a short redhead
across the tracks.
    “Or …” Anya lowered her voice, leaning
intimately towards Cielo’s ear, “I could set you up with Serioja.
Although, believe me, he’s not as good in the sack as you might
expect.”
    Color rose to Cielo’s cheeks, and she looked
away, mumbling, “No need to. Riella would probably scratch my eyes
out.”
    “Well, she doesn’t need to know .”
Anya muffled a giggle against Cielo’s shoulder, but when Cielo’s
green eyes rolled, she sobered up. “So, are we going into town to
shop for fabric this afternoon?”
    “I—”
    “Look. Nicholas is back!” Anya’s grin
widened, and she waved at a man wearing tails and a top hat. “I’ll
let you know how it went.” She thrust the sketches at Cielo and ran
to join him.
    Cielo let out a sigh and turned her
attention back to Cole. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She brought the straw back
to his lips.