What Kills Me Read Online Free

brick
building with a pitched roof. A large circular window on the front
of its unremarkable façade made the structure look like a Cyclops.
The ominous silhouette of a slim bell tower topped with a cross
emerged from the back of the building.
    “This church is special,” Paolo
murmured. “People say that this church is built over a well that is
sacred to the gods.”
    He took the empty cup of gelato from
my hand and set it on the ground.
    “Let’s take a closer look,” he
said.
    “How?”
    He jumped, grabbed a horizontal bar at
the top of the gate and pulled himself up. He perched there for a
second and then vaulted over to the other side. My mouth fell
open.
    “You didn’t just do that,” I said as
he smiled at me from the other side. “Are you some kind of
gymnast?”
    Paolo fiddled with the latch before
pulling the door open, snapping vines of ivy. He parted the green
curtains and extended his hand.
    “I don’t think we’re supposed to be
here,” I said.
    “I come here once a week and there’s
never anyone around,” he said. “We’ll just take a quick look. It’s
an incredible place. You’ve never seen anything like
it.”
    I just stared at his
hand. I can’t. I can’t
trespass.
    “Please? I planned this as a surprise
for you,” he said.
    I looked at his face, saw
it change from excited to disappointed, and I felt bad. He had
thoughtfully planned this and I didn’t want to be a spoilsport. I
had come this far already. Just a quick
look. My hand slipped into his and he
interlaced our fingers while I ducked under the ivy and stepped
over a vine. The courtyard was barren, the grass long and uneven.
We walked around to the side of the church. I listened and heard
nothing but the crunch of grit under our feet and the chorus of
crickets. I was conscious of the softness of his cool palm and our
fingers rubbing together as we moved.
    Paolo stopped and opened a door to the
building. The door creaked as he pushed it.
    What if we got
caught?
    “Uh, Paolo,” I whispered. I tried to
pull back but he held my hand firmly. “I don’t think this is a good
idea.”
    “Don’t worry. I come here all the time
to think.”
    I swallowed and resolved to trust him.
Relationships were built on trust. And being an adventurer required
courage. He led me inside, through the darkness, toward a yellow
glow. I held my breath and followed him into the sanctuary, where I
sighed in awe. “Wow.”
    I stared across twenty pews
to the glowing altar. A portrait of the crucifixion hung above rows
of gold candelabras. Paintings of angels and saints adorned every
wall and every column. I took in the white marble floors and the
colorful, coffered ceiling. I ran my hand along a wooden collection
box and tried to read the sign: “ Per I
bambini del terzo mondo. ”
    “It’s for children in the third
world,” Paolo said.
    I set the rose down on the box and
grabbed my purse, but then I realized I’d spent all of my money on
gelato. Paolo dropped a coin into the slot. I smiled at
him.
    “You’re a sweet girl,” he
whispered.
    He brushed a strand of hair from my
face, his fingertips tracing a soft line across my forehead and
down my cheek. I became shy and showed him the top of my head. He
lifted my chin so that our eyes met, our faces inches
apart.
    I had stopped breathing. I felt as if,
at any moment, I would melt into the floor. As he leaned in, I
fixated on his parted lips and I felt his hand slip around my
waist. I thought he was going to kiss my forehead. Instead, he
rested the side of his mouth against my temple and whispered in my
ear.
    “Zee?”
    “Yes,” I said,
breathlessly.
    “Now that I have you here all alone,
what do you think I’m going to do to you?”
    His voice was low, his breath
cool.
    I swallowed. “What?”
    “I’m going to kill you.”
     
     

Chapter
4
     
    I thought I had misheard
him.
    But his grip told me that everything
had changed and that everything was wrong. I pushed back against
his hand