Читать книгу The Watcher: A dark addictive thriller with the ultimate psychological twist - Ross Armstrong - Страница 17

Knock, knock.

Phil knocks on my desk and asks if I want to go for a cigarette. I wake from another daze. I don’t really want to go. But it’s awkward not to. ‘Awkward’ is the predominant word I associate with him. I look at him and imagine it emblazoned across his forehead.

I don’t smoke but he says if I hold one I get a free ten-minute break, so I do that. Outside the sun shines and he talks. Which is nice because it saves me doing the heavy lifting.

‘. . . Until you’re feeling like, hmm, I don’t think I can actually take it any more, because my ribs are hurting. Then the movie gets kind of thoughtful. Then a little weird. Then kind of sad. Which is… you know. Then it gets really funny again and then it ends.’

‘Sorry, what were we talking about?’

‘Adam Sandler’s Click.’

‘Is it good?’

‘Yes, of course it’s good. He can pause and play time. He finds a magic remote control. It’s probably my favourite Sandler film. You like films?’

‘Yes, I do. Never seen one of his films though, to be honest.’

‘You like films, but you’ve never seen an Adam Sandler film? Oh, my God! What…? What’s your favourite film, would you say?’

‘Psycho.’

‘Wow. That’s… I don’t think I’ve seen that one. Is that a black-and-white one?’

‘Yes.’

‘I don’t tend to watch those ones.’

There’s an awkward pause.

‘Listen, just so you know. We all know.’

A pause.

‘We heard. We know. So, I just wanted to say that,’ he says.

‘You… know?’

‘Yeah. We… we know. And it will get better. I promise.’

We head upstairs again. What do they know? I suppose I haven’t been hiding it well. I want to leave. I have to leave. That must be it. Everyone in this office has been looking at me and they know. I hate my job. And no, Phil, it won’t get any better.

I can’t concentrate on anything. For a moment I think back to Cary and his poor face. I hope he’s all right. He always calls his mother, every night at seven, like clockwork. I’m not a great lip-reader but I’m pretty sure he always signs off with ‘I love you’.

Phil is nice. He’s a good guy. A simple guy. Certainly. But there’s nothing wrong with that. Just looking at him calms me down. He’s like a lava lamp. He’s a bit like Lowell in that way. Ah, Lowell.

I like Lowell. Lowell lives next door. Which brings us back to last night.