‘I’ll hold you to that.’Do you know what happened next, corpse? Perry whispers from the deep shadows of my awareness. Can you guess? ‘Why are you showing me all this,’ I ask the darkness.Because it’s what’s left of me, and I want you to feel it. I’m not ready to disappear. ‘Neither am I.’ I sense a cold smile in his voice.Good. ‘There you are.’ Julie heaves herself up the ladder and stands on the roof of my new home, watching me. I glance at her, then put my face back in my hands. She makes her way over, cautious steps on the flimsy sheet metal, and sits next to me on the roof edge. Our legs dangle, swinging slowly in the cold autumn air. ‘Perry?’ I don’t answer. She studies the side of my face. She reaches out and brushes two fingers through my shaggy hair. Her blue eyes pull on me like gravity, but I resist. I stare down at the muddy street. ‘I can’t believe I’m here,’ I mumble. ‘This stupid house. With all these discards.’ She doesn’t respond immediately.
