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

wealth I ask myself: if money didn’t exist in this world, how would my
     father help me? And then I ask myself if it’s the guilt or the love for me that makes you do it. You know what? I don’t want to know. I have been lucky to have a father like you
     who lets me live my own life and who, when I make a mistake, practically always helps me out. But enough now. I don’t want you to help me any more.
    You’ve never liked me, I annoy you. When you’re with me you’re always too serious. Maybe it’s because I’m the living proof of a relationship gone wrong and
     each time you think of me you’re reminded of your shitty marriage to my mother. That’s not my fault, though. I know that for sure. For all the other stuff, I’m not sure.
     Maybe if I’d tried to be in contact more often, if I’d tried to break down the wall that separates us, maybe it would all have been different.
    I was thinking that if I had to write a book that tells the story of my life I would call the chapter on you ‘Diary of a Hatred’. Anyhow, I have to learn not to hate you. I
     have to learn not to hate you when your money arrives and when you call me to find out how it’s all going. I have hated you for too long, with no remorse. I’m sick and tired of
     it.
    So thank you once again but from now on even if you feel the urge to help me out, repress it. You are the master of repression and silence.
    Your daughter,
    Olivia
    I read it three times. I hadn’t realised that Olivia hated Dad so much. I knew they didn’t get on, but he was her father, after all. I mean, give him a break! If you didn’t
know Dad you might think he wasn’t that nice. He looked like one of those men who takes himself too seriously, as though they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. But if you met
him at the beach in summer or on the ski slope he would be very polite and nice. Anyway, Olivia was the one who had decided not to see him any more. She was the nasty one who had ganged up on him
with the dentist. Dad was doing his best to rebuild their relationship.
    ‘“Diary of a Hatred” . . . That’s crazy. And what does she need all that money for anyway?’ I said. I’d done the right thing not giving her mine. She
didn’t deserve it. And she’d even had photos taken in the nude.
    I threw all the stuff back inside the box and put it back behind the door.
    It must have been about three a.m. and I was floating in the dark, headphones on, playing Soul Reaver, when I had the feeling that there had been a noise in the cellar. I took
the headphones off and slowly turned my head.
    Someone was knocking at the window.
    I jumped backwards and a tingle slid down my spine like I had hairs on my back and somebody was caressing them. I swallowed a scream.
    Who could it be?
    Whoever it was wouldn’t stop knocking.
    The windows reflected the bluish glare of the TV screen and me, standing up, terrified.
    I tried to swallow. My head was spinning in fear. Inhaling and exhaling, I had to keep calm. There was no danger. There were bars on the window and nobody could slip through them.
    I turned on the torch and shakily pointed it at the window.
    Behind the glass Olivia was gesturing to me to open up.
    ‘Fuck!’ I snorted. I went to the window and threw it open. Icy air slipped in. ‘What do you want now?’
    Her eyes were red and she looked really tired. ‘Fuck. I was knocking for half an hour.’
    ‘I had my headphones on. What is it?’
    ‘I need hospitality, little brother.’
    I pretended I didn’t understand. ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘I mean that I don’t have anywhere to sleep.’
    ‘And you want to sleep here?’
    ‘Well done.’
    I shook my head. ‘No way.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Because. This is my cellar. I’m here. There’s only room for one person.’
    She looked at me in silence, like she thought I was joking.
    ‘I’m sorry, that’s the way it is. I really can’t . . .’
    She shook her head disbelievingly. ‘It’s freezing