Run Away Read Online Free PDF Page B

selling reports to a single coffee shop, they’ll sell huge quantities of data to international chains like Starbucks.”
    “Jesus.” Sam leaned back in his seat, taking it all in. Kayla could almost hear the hungover cogs in his brain clunking. “I can’t decide whether it’s some sort of Orwellian nightmare or a genius money-­making business plan. So when you interned there, you were a spy? Did you ever catch me doing something embarrassing?”
    Kayla laughed. “They aren’t spies! No, I was strictly a telephone answerer and tea maker. Anyway, enough about my dad’s empire. What about you? What do you do? Or did you do, before you started gallivanting across the world?”
    “Well, okay. Promise you won’t think less of me?”
    “Probably not, unless you’re about to tell me you rob banks or exploit old ­people.”
    “No! Okay, well I got into one of the best universities in the country to study medicine. It was all going well, I aced the first semester exams, then it all went down the toilet. My parents announced they were getting a divorce, I stopped going to lectures and fell behind pretty quickly. I couldn’t catch up at all—­the course was so intense that once you fall off the wagon a little bit, you’re screwed. So I’ve dropped out and reapplied to start again next year.”
    “Makes sense if your heart isn’t in it. Medicine is pretty hard-­core, so I don’t suppose you can half-­ass it. Did you reapply at the same university?”
    “Yeah, and few others. I’m still not sure I’ll go back at all, though. I did enjoy it, despite the fact it was bloody hard, but I’m just not sure it’s what I want to do with my life.”
    “Yeah, I get that. I have no idea who I am outside of Greyfinch. It’s kind of expected of me that I’ll take over the business, now that my brother . . . can’t. But I don’t know. Part of me wants to go to university. I originally didn’t even apply because there was already a career waiting for me at Greyfinch, so what would have been the point? But now . . . now, escaping reality at school for another three years is hugely appealing.”
    Sam leaned back in his seat. “Hopefully we’ll both make sense of a few things while we’re out here.”
    “Maybe.” Kayla turned her attention to the scenery—­a lot of fields, mainly—­flashing past the window. She’d been in Bangkok less than a day and she was already missing the countryside. She leaned her head against the glass until the vibrations from the bus’s inferior suspension made her feel sick.
    “Hey,” Sam said, slurping the dregs of his orange juice. “Want to know something weird about Dave?”
    “Always. How weird we talking? Stalker weird? Foot fetish weird? Quite frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
    Sam chuckled. “No. Weird as in he’s really sick. He told me last night when I brought him a glass of water to the bathroom, where he was throwing up pretty spectacularly. You wouldn’t think it, would you? He seems so . . . enthusiastic. About everything.”
    “Sick how?”
    “Ever heard of ALS?”
    “Isn’t that where sufferers become slowly paralyzed?” Kayla mused aloud. Her eyes widened as she realized the implications for her new friend.
    “Yeah. Dave,” Sam sighed. “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Degenerative motor neuron disease. Your brain and your thoughts aren’t usually affected at all, at least not until the very end. Nor is your eyesight. But it essentially causes your muscles to progressively weaken and atrophy. It’s so scary. Eventually he won’t be able to walk, or move his arms. But he’ll be aware of it all. He’ll still be able to think like Dave, but he’ll be trapped inside his own body.”
    “Are you kidding? No way.” A head shake. “Puts everything in perspective, doesn’t it? Tragedy has a way of doing that. Ugh. He’s such a sweet guy. How quickly—­I mean—­when will it happen? Is that still years away? Or you know . . .