Come Closer Read Online Free PDF Page B

into the kitchen for ice and Edward kept screaming. He jumped up from the sofa screaming bloody murder.
    “Shit! Fuck! What the fuck did you do that for? What the hell is wrong with you?”
    I was speechless. Edward sat back down, still cursing. I sat next to him and held a bag of frozen peas over the burn. The screaming tapered off into a muttering, and then silence. He closed his eyes and leaned back.
    “What happened?” he asked, after a few minutes. He wasn’t really angry. Just shocked.
    “I don’t know,” I told him. “I didn’t mean to.”
    “Of course you didn’t mean to,” he said. “I know that.”
    “I don’t know what happened. My arm just moved. I didn’t mean to. How’re you feeling?”
    “Terrible,” he answered. “It hurts like hell.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be sorry.” He reached over and ruffled the hair on top of my head. “It was an accident.”
    “I love you,” I said.
    “I love you too,” he answered.
    “I don’t know what happened. It’s like it moved by itself.”
    “Maybe it’s tendinitis. Julian’s wife had it in her shoulder and she couldn’t even hold her arm up. It used to just flop all over the place.”
    “I don’t think so.” I told him. “My shoulder feels fine.”
    “You twitched,” said Edward. “A spasm.”
    I knew it wasn’t tendinitis. My arm hadn’t flopped. It hadn’t slipped, it hadn’t twitched, it hadn’t fallen. It had moved by itself. It had moved with a controlled movement away from the ashtray and towards Edward’s leg.
    Edward didn’t say anything, and neither did I. There was nothing to say.

     
    THE DAY after I burned Edward, I took Demon Possession Past and Present down from the bookshelf and took the little quiz again. Not that I took it seriously. Not that I for a moment believed anything so ridiculous as that a demon or devil was influencing my life.
    Are YOU Possessed by a Demon?
     
    1. I hear strange noises in my home, especially at night, which family members tell me only occur when I am present.
    2. I have new activities and pastimes that seem “out of character,” and I do things that I did not intend and do not understand.
    3. I’m short and ill-tempered with my friends and loved ones.
    4. I can understand languages I’ve never studied, and have the ability to know things I couldn’t know through ordinary means.
    5. I have blackouts not caused by drugs, alcohol, or a preexisting health condition.
    6. I have unusual new thoughts, or hear voices in my head.
    7. I’ve had visions or dreams of personalities who may be demons.
    8. A psychic, minister, or other spiritualist has told me I’m possessed.
    9. I have urges to hurt or kill animals and other people.
    10. I have hurt or killed animals or people.
     
    This time I scored a five.
    0-3: You are probably not possessed. See a doctor or mental health professional for an evaluation. 3-6: You may be haunted, or in the early stages of possession. Do not be alarmed. Seek a spiritual counselor for assistance. 6-10: You are possessed. Consult with your spiritual counselor immediately. You may be a threat to the safety of yourself and your family.
     
    I read a bit more:
    Some other signs of possession include a change in appearance and changes in personality that may be so subtle even those close to the victim may not be able to pinpoint the difference. Generally speaking, an overall increase in aggressive behavior is to be expected. However, until the very late stages of possession, the victim continues with his daily life largely intact ... A sudden psychic ability is almost always present, and is in fact one of the first definite signs to look for when in doubt. Another common characteristic is the insatiable need to be desired by members of the opposite sex.

     
    LEAVING MY hairdresser’s the next afternoon, I ran into a woman I knew. Bernadette Schwartz worked at Ed’s company. She had been a model when she was younger and she still looked like one, tall