Cities Of Night by Philip Nutman

Author:Philip Nutman [Nutman, Philip]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Horror
Publisher: Chizine Publications
Published: 2010-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

After they made love a second time, successfully, gently, Jamie told Beth what was wrong. All of it. As they lay together, limbs entwined, the warmth of her soft skin keeping the sensation of isolation at bay, the words spilled from his mouth. At first a trickle, like a mountain stream struggling free from winter ice, then a torrent as the words rushed into a river of confession. She listened attentively, occasionally asking a question when he wandered from a particular point, lost in memory, blinded with guilt. Years of keeping his secrets locked away in the closet of silence had exacted a toll on his ability to be intimate. Jamie had kept the world at arms’ length, had tried to find truths in the mirror of fiction. More often than not, all he’d found were more questions, bigger lies. But as he talked, the burden lessened, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, a measure of inner peace calmed him, tuning out the psychic static.

Beth asked him about Alex. She wanted to know how different they were, as if Alex’s dark reflection could shed some light on the man she was attracted to and whose bed she was at last sharing. He told her. And about Jessica. Beth held him tighter.

“What does this have to do with Franks?” she asked later, as the digital clock clicked to 5:44 AM.

“I don’t know. I called The Lucky Strike. He’d gone for the night. I called his hotel. Wasn’t there either. I left a message. Maybe it has nothing to do with him.”

“But you said as soon as we got on the train you started to get the feeling, and it increased as we neared Blackpool. It would be logical —”

“There’s nothing logical about my gift,” he interjected, tensing.

“Gift. Huh,” he grunted. “Curse.”

Jamie pushed himself away from Beth slightly.

“What do you want from me? Why are you attracted to me?” he asked, his voice earnest.

She chuckled softly. “It’s not your accent. It’s . . .” She paused, trying to find the right words.

“When I first met you, I saw a young, attractive guy. Talented, witty, and yes with one helluva sexy accent. But sad. Gentle . . .” She broke off, sighed. “I don’t know, just . . . don’t murder my feelings by putting them under a microscope.”

Neither spoke for a while, then Beth reached out for him again.

“Come here.”

Finally, they slept.

Jamie dreamed of a white room, of rope, and a girl who looked like Jessica.

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