Chapter 37
It's Julia's birthday today. She would have been 31 today. Is. She is 31 today. I wonder if she's happy? I hope she is. I wonder what she does for a living? I wonder if she's got a partner, or children?
She'd have to have a dog. She loved the dog when she was little. Their dog. He was a white Scottish terrier called Mack. She adored him. Spoilt him rotten. They were inseparable. She must have been so upset when he died.
31. I try to picture her, but I can hardly remember. Blonde hair, I think, and blue eyes. She was beautiful. Is. The most beautiful person in the world. I could never see heras anything less, no matter how hard I tried.
There are pictures from long ago, before I left. They're hidden, so only I know where they are. But I can't look at them without crying.
After a while, though, I can't resist. I go into my old room and begin to search. When I find the little red book, I just hold it for a moment, looking at it. There's no picture in the cover.
Flicking through, I almost smile as the tears stream down my cheeks. As I near the end of the album, something falls onto the bed next to me. I stare down, smiling properly now.
A blade.
Rolling up my trouser leg, I carve 31 deep lines into my leg.
"Vince?" I hear Naboo call from downstairs. Replacing the blade and the album, I run down to the shop, counting each stair.
31.