Talk Like a Man by Nisi Shawl

Author:Nisi Shawl
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PM Press
Published: 2020-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

As soon as he got out, Iain insisted on a rehearsal. Before that they were all avoiding each other. Allie’s behavior must have seemed ordinary enough under the circumstances.

She made a halfhearted attempt to argue herself out of belief. Dreams were all in your head. Her hallucinations were nothing more. Then she found the pills in the dress pocket where she’d shoved them when leaving the wizard’s bedside.

So.

The wizard existed. Who knew about the lady? No sign of her anyway since that night. But the wizard. If he wasn’t evil, he was as nasty a piece of work as Allie wanted to come up against.

She intended to miss that first rehearsal, and maybe every one after. She sat curled up in the window seat of the flat she and Justin shared—had shared—with Ginnie, a bottle beside her, and watched unbelieving as Iain’s Cortina pulled up to the kerb and Henry—or the thing using him—came out of the driver’s side. The passenger door opened too, a crutch shoving it wide as Henry-or-whoever caught it by the handle. Iain stood, both casts off but still a bit wobbly on his pins, and they looked up at her window. Allie jerked back, but of course it was too late.

“Oi! You making me come up all them bloody steps, then?”

She hid in the bath, but Justin picked that moment to return from wherever he’d spent the night and they trailed in behind. “Only we’ve got a new drummer to try out today, see, and it don’t matter if she’s a bit sloshed, but it’d help if she could be there—” Iain groused.

“Not to worry—Allie!”

The window was too small to climb out of. Her stomach clutched and she knelt in front of the toilet bowl waiting to be sick—surely then they’d leave her alone? The lady’s face looked up at her, a double exposure over her own. “Not letting you use me. Not on your life,” Allie whispered to the cool, still water. The door rattled in its frame against the flimsy lock.

An echo off the porcelain softly repeated her words: “your life … life …”

The salt taste rushed into her mouth and a spasm like anger rose through her, acid vomit spewing out. Crying, she heaved again, and again, then collapsed on the floor, muscles sore. She hated this. Fucking cognac.

Forced herself back up to flush. Spatters on the bowl’s rim, such a mess, what would Mum say? Allie ravaged the roll of its paper and swabbed off her mouth and the rest. Rinsed and mopped again. Justin called to her that they’d left and she came out and they were still there. Out of the actual flat and waiting on the stairs, so it wasn’t a lie, really. One look at her and they did go.

Had that been Henry? Truly Henry? To all appearances; but Allie wasn’t sure she could trust her own judgment.

As usual, Justin showed his regret through giving her loads of attention, hugs and kisses that this time broke her down in his arms.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.