Boy Kills Man by Matt Whyman Read Free Book Online

and darted behind a partition.
    â€˜Sonny!’
    I spun around to face the door, horrified at myself.
    â€˜I saw nothing,’ I lied, cringing now. ‘Well—’
    â€˜My God, get out of here!’
    I had just set eyes on Alberto’s older sister, her hair all wet, clutching a towel to her naked body. She hadn’t even wrapped it around her waist, just held it bunched against her belly. I felt like I had just startled an animal so rare that it was hard to be sure I had seen it at all.
    â€˜Oh, Beatriz, I’m so sorry. Really. I was looking for Alberto.’
    â€˜Obviously,’ she replied from behind the partition. ‘You half frightened me to death, barging in like that. What were you thinking?’
    â€˜I apologise,’ I said struggling to focus on the door. ‘I didn’t expect you to be in.’
    â€˜I’m on exam leave, like that’s any of your business.’
    â€˜Ah. Can I look now?’
    â€˜No!’
    â€˜Is your brother here please, Beatriz?’
    â€˜He left early, even before Mamá. I assumed you’d be with him, like always.’
    â€˜Not today,’ I said eventually, trying hard to sound breezy. Beatriz was only a few years older than Alberto and me, but she was shaping up into a fine-looking young woman. I wasn’t sure what rattled me more: what I had seen or what Alberto was up to without me once again.
    â€˜OK,’ she said, sounding warmer now. ‘You can relax.’
    Sheepishly, I turned back around, and wished my face didn’t feel so warm. Beatriz was standing there in a Nacional shirt that almost fringed her knees, drying her hair now with the same towel.
    â€˜I always thought that shirt belonged to Alberto,’ I said, struggling to find something to say.
    â€˜It does,’ she replied. ‘But then I did just have to dress in a hurry.’
    â€˜I’m sorry.’
    â€˜Stop saying that!’
    I grinned at this, and so did she. I thought about saying it suited her better, but my nerves got the better of me. On Alberto, the vertical green and white stripes could make him look like an over-stuffed tube of toothpaste, but on Beatriz it really did look just right. She had coal dark eyes and long hair to match, with a fringe cut high that was new, I thought. Normally I managed to be relaxed around Beatriz, but then I had never paid her this much attention before.
    â€˜Sonny,’ she said again, as if to stir me from a spell. ‘You can go now.’
    â€˜Oh. Sure.’ I found the door handle and stepped back on to the landing. ‘Sorry,’ I said again, for no particular reason, but it sounded like I was apologising for my very existence.
    â€˜I’ll let him know you called,’ she said, holding back a smile now. ‘Have a good day, Sonny.’
    â€˜You, too. Happy revising.’
    â€˜Er, thanks,’ she said, and closed the door.
    For a beat I just stood there, and winced as I heard the bolt shoot. ‘Happy revising?’ I muttered to myself this time. ‘Oh boy, you have a lot to learn.’
    Had Alberto been around just then, he would’ve made my life a misery. I could’ve expected an entire morning of grief about how I had handled the situation. I even knew what he would say.
    So you busted in on my sister in the buff? You be sure to completely erase that moment from your memory, do you hear? Beatriz is way too good for you. She’s older than you, and way out of your league like most girls round here.
    Chances are I would’ve protested my innocence, and then finally laughed about it with him. Instead, I had nobody but myself for company, which didn’t amount to much.
    Alberto clearly had other things to do: a purpose to his day. He had people to meet, contacts who relied on him to get a job done, and paid out serious money. What did I have? A few pesos in my pocket and a lot of hassle back home.
    By the time he caught up with me,