Fourteen Days Read Online Free PDF Page A

reports, while Nicky stood by his side. He felt at ease knowing she was so close. He glanced up at her and beamed. Funny for her to be at work. She’s only been here twice before . Nicky smiled back at him. But then, standing in her place was a woman he had never seen before. She was drenched in sweat, with long, brown hair clinging to her face, down over her chest. She wore a white dress covered in stains, and had bruising on her arms. The woman was around mid-thirties, curvy, with a look of deep torment in her eyes. There was something unsettling about her, about the way she stared at him. Watching her lips as she tried to mouth something, he moved his head closer to listen. The sound was faint and inaudible, so he asked, “What do you want?” Still her words were muffled. He leaned in even closer, but as he did, her mouth opened wide as if to scream.
    But nothing came out.
    “What do you want?” he asked again, moving even closer to her. Then a screeching noise pieced his eardrums, forcing him to wake up. The racket was still there with him on the couch, in the living room, away from his dream. He put his hands over his ears to shield them from the howl.
    It was the smoke detector again.
    He leapt off the couch, almost tripping over the coffee table in front of him, and sprinted into the hallway to investigate. There was no smoke, yet again. Frowning, still a little disoriented, he climbed a few steps to get at it—and it stopped. Just as before.
    This time he unhooked the plastic detector from the ceiling. Grasping its round shape, he twisted it and it popped off. He pulled out the battery and took it into the kitchen, leaving the detector on the stairs. Throwing the battery into the garbage, he found a new one in a drawer. He took it over to the detector and replaced it, returning it back up onto the ceiling. “Piece of shit,” he said, rubbing his ringing ears.

    “Keep still!” Nicky ordered, huddled up to Richard on the couch. “I’m trying to watch the film. What’s wrong with you?”
    Richard shuffled in his sitting position. “This couch is itchy, that’s all. I can’t get comfortable.”
    Turning to face him, she scowled. “No, you can’t keep still because you’re bored.”
    “That’s not true,” he replied, still trying to find a better position. “I’m not bored. And I don’t mind watching a film.”
    “No, you’d rather be sat in front of that computer.”
    Sitting up straight, he moved away from her. “So what if I do? It’s not only work-stuff I use the PC for—what about the Internet?”
    “I think you can survive two bloody weeks without checking your e-mails and surfing for bloody porn.”
    He frowned, as if shocked and offended by her statement. “What are you talking about? I don’t look at porn.”
    She gave out a loud fake laugh. “Of course you do. I’m not naïve. You know, for someone who works for a computer company, you don’t know an awful lot.”
    “What the hell are you going on about?”
    “The computer has a ‘History’ section,” she said. “And sometimes I check.”
    Silence gripped him as he searched for a quick answer. When he couldn’t think of anything, he said, “Well, you shouldn’t be checking up on me.”
    “I don’t care if you look at porn. You can do what you like . ”
    “Then why would you feel the need to check up on me?”
    “I check the ‘History’ to look at shopping websites I’ve visited. How sad do you think I am? I know all men look at porn and I don’t care. I’m not a complete prude.”
    Shaking his head in irritation, he couldn’t think of a suitable retort.
    Nicky sat, pretending to be still watching the movie. She then picked up the remote control and switched it off.
    “What are you doing? I thought you wanted to watch the film?”
    Standing, she dropped the remote onto the couch. “I’m going to bed.”
    “Don’t be like that, Nic.”
    “I’m not being like anything.”
    “Yes you are—you’re in a