Darling Read Online Free PDF Page A

car. After coercing Mike to drink (“I’m underage,” he had argued), the three of them sprawled out on the floor and sipped from their cans.
    “We should get cable,” Mike said.
    “Hey, what my roommate wants, my roommate gets.”
    Eileen wiped foam from the top of her can with her shirt. “I’m surprised there wasn’t more cleaning to do. My apartment was filthy when we moved in.”
    Mike ran his forearm across his lips. “I thought they had to clean apartments before renting them?”
    “They’re supposed to,” she said. “But what are you going to do? Take them to court?”
    “You could put some of those burgeoning lawyer skills to use.” Dennis nudged her in the ribs.
    “ Pre -lawyer skills, you mean. I don’t even know where to stand in a courtroom.” She took a long swig of beer.
    “Have you decided what you’re going to major in yet, Mike?”
    “I’m thinking Anthropology, with a focus on religion. After Allison...well, I don’t know that I really believe inGod anymore. But I’m fascinated with why people believe what they do, ya know?”
    At the mention of Mike’s sister, Dennis stood and went to the window.
    Mike leaned against the wall and took another sip of beer. He scrunched his face up. “Still say this stuff tastes like piss.”
    “Hey.” Dennis tapped on the glass. “You guys see these weird buildings over here?”
    They squeezed in on either side of him and Mike pressed his face against the glass. “Looks like a strip mall and a grocery store.”
    “Yeah,” Eileen said. “It was supposed to be.”
    Dennis put his arm around her. “How do you know?”
    “You know my uncle Gary?”
    “The drifter, right?”
    “Yeah. He was working construction, probably around the time they converted this place to apartments. They were going to build an entire shopping center up here, but never completed it.”
    Mike finished his beer with a grimace. “So it never opened?”
    “No. Gary said there was an accident or something.
    Some piece of equipment malfunctioned and a bunch of workers were killed. Everything stopped for a while. I think the guy that was in charge of it died not long after and they never finished. I don’t really remember. Just one of those stories Gary told us when we were kids and would drive past here on Sundays.”
    They turned back into the room. Dennis gathered up the beer cans and placed them in a small grocery bag. “So where’s Ol’ Gary at today?”
    “Who knows? Probably the same place my father is, wherever the hell that might be.”
    “Aw, shit.” Mike smacked his hand against the wall.
    “What?”
    “What time is it?”
    Eileen glanced at her watch. “Eight thirty.”
    “Dammit. Can I use your phone?”
    “Sure.” She handed him her cell. He rushed into an empty bedroom and shut the door.
    She whistled. “What was that about?”
    “I think he has to check in with his parents.” Dennis slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
    “At his age?”
    “Don’t rag him about it, okay? That house hasn’t been the same since everything happened.”
    She leaned in and kissed him. Her lips were warm and soft and he tightened his arms around her. After a moment she pulled back. “Are you okay?”
    “Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
    The door to Mike’s room clicked open and Dennis took a step back from her.
    “I’m sorry guys.” Mike handed Eileen her phone. “Igotta go.”
    “That’s cool.” Dennis patted him on the back. “I need to pack, anyway. Dinner here Friday?”
    “Of course.” Eileen smiled.
    Dennis turned to Mike, but he was quiet. “Mike…?”
    “Yeah. I…I guess.”
    Dennis sighed. Eileen leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll call you later. See ya, Mike.”
    “Later.”
    She grabbed her broom and dustpan and went to the door. She paused to smile again before leaving.
    When she was gone, Dennis turned to his friend. “You are still moving in here with me, right?”
    “I…I should…I mean,