Read Online The Pause by John Larkin - Free Book Online Page A

took Lisa’s phone. I should have known.Even though Lisa and I had bought her a new sim card just for us. That evil old scrote thinks there’s nothing wrong with beating seventeen shades of shit out of her own daughter, sending her to live overseas, and just generally hovering over her like a demented buzzard.
    Lisa’s banishment was ordered by The Kraken, and for the moment it’s easiest to blame my close call on the station and hospitalisation on her. If she’d stepped aside and let us be normal teenagers rather than the controlling, manipulative, racist old bag that she is, then none of this would have happened. Lisa and I would probably be sitting in Ciao Latte right now solving the world’s sociopolitical, ethno-religious problems over a chiller and giant cookie, instead of me being stuck in a psycho ward and her in a shoebox bedroom 4583 miles/7375.63 kilometres/3982.52 nautical miles away.
    As I’m sitting here basking lizard-like in the sun with time stopped, my mind wanders and I start fantasising about all the punishments I could dish out to The Kraken. It’s clear what I have to do. I have to slay her. Only then will things return to normal and Lisa and I can be together again.
    I couldn’t kill her outright, of course. I just don’t have murder in me. The guilt demons would haunt me for the rest of my life. I have to be cleverer than that. Do something that will lead toThe Kraken’s demise but leave me only indirectly responsible at worst. Maybe as she’s walking up the street with her groceries I could leap out from behind a tree dressed as Death, a ninja warrior or Ronald McDonald. Something that will startle the old bat enough to leap out of her shoes and hopefully give her a chest-bursting heart attack. Or maybe I could somehow tie a steak around her neck or baste her in mutton sauce and set a bunch of pit bulls on her. Or maybe I could get some killer bees and somehow dress her as a bear and –
    â€˜Hello, Declan.’ My meds-induced homicidal fantasies are interrupted by the sudden arrival of Kate.
    â€˜Declan’? She hasn’t called me that in years. I’m either ‘douche’, ‘douchebag’ or ‘loser’, depending on her mood or whether or not I’ve kidnapped her Build-A-Bear or My Little Pony and hidden them for ransom. ‘Declan’? Obviously she’s been prepped to tread on eggshells around me. It’ll be fun seeing how long it lasts. I give her five minutes tops.
    â€˜Where are Mum and Dad?’ I ask, as Kate begins surveying my new environment.
    â€˜It’s nice here,’ she says. ‘I like the fish.’ She’s referring to the oceanarium wall on the far side of the courtyard which has been painted by either an artist or a patient or perhaps someone who was both.
    â€˜Mum and Dad?’ I remind Kate.
    â€˜What about them?’ says Kate, who has the same sort of attention span as the very fish she’s staring at.
    â€˜Where are they?’ I sigh. ‘Or did you drive here by yourself?’
    â€˜Are you nuts?’ Kate kind of cringes when she remembers where I am. ‘Er, Mum’s talking to the doctor and Dad’s getting coffee.’
    In a minute she’ll either start counting the fish, or else complain about their anatomical inaccuracies. The fun part will be to keep interrupting her so that she’ll have to begin counting all over again.
    â€˜Do you reckon this was painted from memory, or did someone take a photo and bring it in? And this one’s fin looks weird.’ Some poor artist has barely managed to keep death at bay by painting this picture and all Kate can do is complain about a lopsided fin.
    â€˜Kate. You do realise that this is a psycho ward?’
    â€˜Yeah, I know that. So?’
    â€˜It’s just that you’d better be careful or they mightn’t let you out. There’s a padded cell at the end of the corridor