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Back Because She Loves Me Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication Page
  4. Contents
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Ninteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-one
  26. Twenty-two
  27. Twenty-three
  28. Twenty-four
  29. Twenty-five
  30. Twenty-six
  31. Twenty-seven
  32. Twenty-eight
  33. Twenty-nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-one
  36. Thirty-two
  37. Thirty-three
  38. Thirty-four
  39. Thirty-five
  40. Thirty-six
  41. Thirty-seven
  42. Thirty-eight
  43. Thirty-nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-one
  46. Forty-two
  47. Epilogue
  48. Letter From the Author
  49. Acknowledgements
  50. About the Author

‘OK,’ I said, holding up my hand like a Boy Scout, pleased that the conversation had swerved from serious to silly. ‘On my life. On my sister’s life. I love you.’

She propped herself up on her elbows and stared at me. She had stopped smiling and I felt confused. Were we messing about or was she taking this seriously? ‘Forever?’ she said.

‘Scout’s honour,’ I replied. ‘Until the day I die.’

In the middle of the night, I woke up needing the toilet. Charlie wasn’t in the bed. I got up and went into the dark living room.

‘What are you doing?’

I walked over. She was sitting, wrapped in a towel but goose-pimply with cold, staring at the little screen on the video camera. She was watching us having sex.

She looked up at me, her face flickering in the glow of the camera.

‘We’re perfect together,’ she said in a whisper, her eyes wide like she was telling me she’d just discovered that aliens really existed or that she’d found God.

I put my arm around her and took her back to bed.

Thirteen

Thirteen

I woke up late the next morning, having forgotten to set the alarm. Charlie was buried beneath the quilt and as soon as I saw the time – 10:20 a.m. – I nudged her.

‘Charlie, you’re really late for work.’

She made a low groaning noise. ‘I’m going to call in sick. I’m too tired to move.’ She groped for her phone and called the hospital, putting on a very convincing sick voice. I was impressed.

I knew I ought to get up and do some work but with Charlie sleeping beside me, and after such a weird night, I told myself I’d catch up later.

Charlie and I had lunch together, and she was trying to decide whether to go home or stay, when my doorbell rang.

‘Postman?’ Charlie asked.

‘I don’t know.’ But as I was going down the stairs, I remembered. It was Wednesday.

‘Hello Andrew,’ Kristi said, as I opened the door. ‘Oh. What is wrong?’

‘Huh? Oh, nothing. Come in.’

‘Am I late?’ She pulled her phone out of her bag and frowned at the screen.

‘No, no – it’s me. I’d completely forgotten you were coming.’ I noticed that she had a bruise on her cheek, and the hint of a black eye. ‘Are you OK?’

‘Yes,’ she said firmly. ‘Why you ask?’

‘Oh. No reason.’ I didn’t want to pry into her private life. I followed her up the stairs, the smell of cigarettes wafting off her. As we entered the flat, Charlie was standing by the door, her bag on her shoulder.

‘Hello,’ Charlie said, smiling at Kristi. This was not Charlie’s genuine smile.

‘Hello.’ Kristi turned straight to me. ‘Andrew, you want me to do my usual?’