Read Online Me and You by Niccolò Ammaniti - Free Book Online Page A

washed up. She kept her eyes closed, but she wasn’t sleeping. I could
hear her whining to herself. ‘Fuck off. What a fucking pain. I can’t take this anymore . . . I just can’t take any more.’
    The unchanging music kept beating away in my ears while my sister got up from the settee then lay back down again. She scratched her legs till they bled. She got up again, she fretted, she
rested her head against the cupboard door, her face pulled tight in pain. She began inhaling and exhaling with her hands on her hips. ‘Come on, Oli, you can do it . . . Come on, come on, for
fuck’s sake.’ Then she curled up on her side with her hands pressed up against her face. She stayed like that for ages.
    I breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like she had fallen asleep in that uncomfortable position. But she hadn’t. She got up and began kicking anything within reach.
    I pulled off the headphones, got up and grabbed her by the wrist. ‘You have to shut up! If you keep this up everyone will hear us! Please . . .’
    She looked at me with eyes shot through with blood and hate and pushed me away. ‘Please, my ass. Fuck off! Put your shitty little headphones back on. You idiot.’ She kicked the
porcelain dog, which fell over and smashed.
    I begged. ‘Please . . . please . . . Don’t be like this . . . We’ll both be in trouble if you carry on like this. Don’t you get it?’
    ‘Get away. I swear to God I’m going to kill you.’ She shoved me against a glass lampshade, which shattered.
    A blind rage engulfed me. My muscles tensed, and as though I were about to explode I screamed, ‘No, I’m going to kill you!’ And lowering my head I ran into her. ‘You have
to leave me alone! Don’t you get it?’ I stretched out my arms and pushed her roughly.
    Olivia flew backwards, tripped and banged her shoulder into the cupboard. She didn’t move, her mouth open, unbelieving.
    ‘What do you want from me? Get out!’ I growled.
    Olivia moved closer and slapped me. ‘Bastard . . . You have no right.’
    I’m going to kill her now, I thought, touching my flaming hot cheek. I felt a burning lump in my throat. I held back my tears, made two fists and jumped on her. ‘Get out, you fucking
junkie.’
    We ended up on the settee. I was on top, she was underneath. Olivia kicked her legs and slammed her fists in the air trying to get free of me but I was stronger than her. I grabbed her wrists
and screamed at her, centimetres from her face, ‘What the fuck do you want from me? Tell me!’
    She tried to free herself but suddenly, as though she had no strength left for fighting, she went limp, and I fell on top of her.
    I pulled myself up and moved away. I was shaking all over, afraid of what I could have done to her. I could have killed her. I began kicking boxes to calm myself down. A shard of glass got stuck
in my foot. I pulled it out and hissed in pain.
    Olivia was sobbing, her face pushed up against the back of the settee and her legs held tightly by her arms.
    ‘That’s enough!’ I limped over to my backpack, took the money out of the envelope and screamed, ‘Here you go. Use this. Take it. As long as you get out of here.’
And I threw the banknotes at her.
    Olivia raised herself off the settee and picked them up off the floor. ‘You little bastard . . . I knew you had some.’ She grabbed her trousers, squeezed the money in her fist and
closed her eyes. Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. Her shoulders shook. ‘No. I can’t . . .’ She let the money fall and put a hand over her face. ‘I swore I would
stop. And this time . . . I’m stopping . . . otherwise it’s all over.’
    I couldn’t understand a thing. Her words mixed with her sobs.
    ‘I’m a worthless piece of shit . . . I did . . . it . . . I did it . . . How could I?’ She looked at me and took my hand. ‘I fucking had sex with a disgusting pervert
just to buy a hit. He fucked me in a car park. Go on, say it, say I’m worthless . . .