Killer Queen: A Painted Faces Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

practicality,” said Phil.
“I’ve been worried about you since before I even went home to Dublin. You were
losing the run of yourself back then, and now you’ve completely lost it. I’m
not trying to be cruel. Somebody needs to force you into opening your eyes,
Nicholas. You’ve got everything going for you, and yet look at how you’re
spending your days. Alone and drinking yourself into a stupor.”
    “I have nothing going
for me, not when my mind is sick. I feel so sick, Phil.” I almost sniffled. I
was feeling sorry for myself in the worst way.
    He moved closer and
threw his arm around my shoulders, murmuring, “Why are the beautiful ones
always so troubled, huh?”
    I stared off into
space. I’d been told I was handsome and beautiful a hundred times over. I knew
it was true, but the sad fact was that I resented it just a little bit.
“Perhaps because beauty brings with it nothing but trouble.”
    Phil sighed. “How very
Marilyn Monroe of you. Let me help you get better, Nicholas. Please.”
    “I have no idea how
you’d even go about doing that. I’m inexorably broken.”
    He sat up straight and
rubbed my back. “I’m taking my summer break down in Kerry starting the day
after tomorrow. My parent’s holiday home is there, and I’m going to stay for
three weeks. It’s right on the coast, lovely beaches. You should come with me.
The sea air will do you good. Then you can come back to Dublin and perform at
the club. I’ve got a great team of people working with me. I think it will be
good for you to be around folks like that.”
    I glanced up at him and
bit on my lip, then took in the horrid state of my apartment. “That sounds
nice.” And it really did, especially compared to what I was currently living
in. I hadn’t visited much, but I liked Dublin. It had a nice, relaxed
atmosphere while still being a cosmopolitan city.
    “So you’ll come?” Phil
asked, his eyes brimming with hope.
    I mustered as much of a
smile as I could. “Yes, Phil, I’ll come.”
    I didn’t know if I was
saying yes simply because I was becoming antsy to move somewhere new again, or
if I really did want to find a place to actually settle down. I guessed it
wouldn’t be long before I found out.

 
    June 28 th ,
2012.
    Soundtrack: “Sympathy for the Devil” by
The Rolling Stones
     
    I stared around at my new apartment in
the heart of Dublin city, visualising where I was going to put everything. My
furniture had just arrived, but it needed organising. I’d spent the last three
weeks on the coast with Phil, and he’d been right — it had done me a world of
good. I hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol and my body was thanking me for it.
    My mind was clearing,
too. I felt like I was headed for a stable period, and this time I planned on
making it permanent.
    Phil had broken up with
his boyfriend a couple of months ago, so it was just the two of us and his
little chihuahua, Pickles. We walked on the beach, sunbathed, ate good food,
and talked a lot. At this point I didn’t think there was a single moment from
my past that I hadn’t recounted for him. All of the talking helped me to sort
my head out. Phil had kind of become my unofficial therapist, and since he’d
had his fair share of rough times himself, he was able to relate to my many
internal struggles and gave me good advice for overcoming certain obstacles.
    Anyway, I didn’t know
how I’d ever repay him for intervening on my descent into depression back in
Berlin. Now when I say I’m feeling good, I actually mean it. The grey my world
once was is brightening a little. Touches of colour are popping up here and
there, like in The Wizard of Oz when things slowly began to transform
into Technicolor.
    I locked the door and
stepped into the hallway, preparing to go and seek out a hot beverage. I didn’t
need to go far. A tanned brunette was standing in front of the door to the
apartment next to mine. She was scrolling through her phone, just about to slot
her key