The Other Room by James Everington

Author:James Everington [Everington, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-05-01T22:00:00+00:00

***

“Pizza?” Josh said. “Or that new Thai place?”

“Fuck off Josh,” she said angrily. He had taken to harassing her on the streets now. She didn’t know how he was so successful in finding her. “I told you, I’m going out with Andy. Don’t you see that I’m not interested?” Regina could sense the things hovering around, their blunted and focused willpower ferocious at this interloper who had distracted her attention. By turning her head she could have banished them completely, but because it was Josh pestering her, and not Andy, she didn’t. There was something oddly comforting about their presence – she got the sense that they wouldn’t let anything happen to her. If they had been around when her father had…; if they had been around then it wouldn’t have happened.

“Gimme a break here,” said Josh. “It’s not my fault you’re beautiful,”

“And it’s not mine,” she said. This was as bad as it had been before. One of the things jerked out a long and solidifying arm, and she only managed to shift her attention at the last moment. She saw its jerky movement, like a film with every other shot removed, slowed down to compensate. Josh flailed one of his limbs as if a fly had blown in his face, as if he’d sensed the slightest something. He looked momentary nonplussed, and tried to regain his composure.

“It’s not my fault I’m a sucker for girls with long blonde hair,” Josh said.

“What?” Regina said.

He repeated it.

She’d assumed, when she’d thought about it, that the reason Josh was still obsessed with her was because his idea of a perfect girl was similar to Andy’s – and so now she had been fixed into place, now she had become herself, Josh still lusted after her. But then why did he think she had blonde hair?

“Josh,” she said. “It’s ginger.”

He was staring at her avidly, and Regina quickly looked away. “Don’t be silly,” he said, “it’s always been blonde – almost white. Don’t you agree?” He didn’t look puzzled by her insistence that it was red. He was looking at her in the same way as before – as if he knew he was doing something wrong. But unlike her father, he enjoyed that knowledge…

“Fuck off Josh,” she repeated, walking away, feeling oddly scared. When the watching things reappeared around her, they were like a gaggle of female friends, protecting her, chatting to her, telling her that he wasn’t worth all those tears, at all.

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