Delete-Man: A Psychological Thriller Read Online Free PDF Page B

she slowed down just enough for me to propose sleeping,
and I was greatly relieved when she agreed. After some negotiation
we agreed to both sleep in my bed. At that point I would have slept
on a bed of broken glass, and I suggested she took my bed while I
took the couch; but beneath the guise of politeness I could tell
Monika wasn’t used to sleeping alone. To end what had become an
incredibly long night I didn’t pretend to care.
    I fell asleep to the sound of
Monika talking about her dreams.

    Vicky was steely with me
throughout the next morning. She caught a glimpse of Monika
sleeping through the door, and the hypocrisy of telling her not to
invite friends over then having a stranger in my bed was not lost
on her. I tried to joke around as I took her to school, and while
she smirked and occasionally giggled, she refused to join in. I
sensed that the resentment she was festering wouldn’t dissipate
soon.
    When I arrived back home Monika
was awake and had already made herself comfortable. One of Vicky’s
pop CDs was booming throughout the apartment, and clothes were
strewn all over the bathroom and my bedroom. She zoomed amongst the
rooms, picking clothes, changing, combing her hair, and texting on
her phone. Eventually she emerged into the living room wearing one
of my hoodies and a pair of black jeans I didn’t even know I still
had.
    “Why do you wear so many dark
colours, Joseph?”
    “I just prefer it,” I said as I
looked for the mp3 player I wore whilst running.
    “You shouldn’t wear so many
patterns if you don’t want to draw attention to your arm.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Nevermind. I wish I lived in a
place where everyone dressed right.”
    “Move to Italy then. I hear
they’re very trendy there.”
    “I’d love to go there.”
    “Ok, I’m going out for a run.
Will you be here in about an hour?”
    She gestured towards the
computer.
    “Can I check my emails?”
    “Yeah, go ahead.”
    The second I left the apartment
and began to pump my legs I felt better. I ran faster than usual,
every stride taking me one step further from the things that were
beginning to drag me down: Monika, Vicky, my apartment, the past. I
forgot them, and as they faded from my mind I focused again on my
purpose. I would find Sewerbird, and find out everything Josie had
been doing before she died—good or bad. I pushed forward into
clean, cold, air.

    Monika was sitting at the
computer, chatting to people over IM when I got back home. She was
still there after I’d showered and changed. The focus with which
she stared at the screen made me think she was talking to one of
the important figures in last night’s story.
    “I need you to pick up Vicky
from school, I have to go somewhere.”
    “What time? I don’t even
remember what she looks like. She probably doesn’t even remember
me.”
    I handed her a daisy I had
brought home from my run.
    “Put that in your hair. She
knows you might pick her up. She’ll look for the flower. When she
sees you she’ll say ‘sausage dog’, and you say ‘chocolate cupcake’.
A little game.”
    “Aw, cute!”
    “Here’s the spare key. I’m
going. I’ll call you later.”
    “Wait. Joseph.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Thanks for letting me
stay.”
    “No problem.”
    I walked to the door, paused for
a second, then turned back.
    “Sorry about what happened at
your place. I let the stress get to me sometimes.”
    “It’s ok, Joseph. I feel a bit
stupid too; complaining about silly things when you have actual
problems, taking care of Vicky and everything.”
    “Whatever. Don’t think about
it.”
    Her face softened slightly.
    “Remember when I said there were
things about Josephine you didn’t know?”
    My heart dropped a beat.
    “Well, I should have told you I
suppose. It’s not that big a deal, really. Just that she was seeing
a psychiatrist for quite a while.”
    “Why?”
    “I don’t know. It’s not strange
really, half the people I know these days have