Original Sins by Matt Rowland Hill

Author:Matt Rowland Hill [Hill, Matt Rowland]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473579316
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2022-07-06T12:00:00+00:00

Rapture

It felt like the first morning of summer. Maria was sitting at the kitchen table, finishing her tea while I washed our breakfast things. Sunlight spliced through the window blinds and water rattled in the sink. When I looked out into the garden the world seemed to contain more space and colour than it had yesterday.

‘You can’t just do nothing.’ said Maria. ‘Why don’t we at least get a few of your friends round for the evening?’

It was sweet of Maria to remember the date of my birthday, even though I was pretty sure I’d only mentioned it once in the six weeks we’d been living together. She had a way of remembering things. She knew I preferred milk in my cup before tea, teasing me for claiming this was a relic of my ‘lower-middle-class’ roots. She recalled the names of the unfamous towns in which I’d grown up. She remembered details about my family, even though it was only Jonathan I ever really saw these days, since my mother and father had moved to Nazareth and I was as good as estranged from my sisters.

Maria’s memory, and the attentiveness it showed, stung me with a little arrow of guilt. I knew she’d been born in Gloucestershire in the same year as me, but I had no idea, come to think of it, when her birthday was. Some time in October, maybe?

‘I just hate all that kind of shit,’ I said, turning off the tap and making my way over to where she was sitting. ‘You know, occasions. Birthdays, weddings, Christmas.’

‘Wait. What have you got against Christmas?’

‘Put it this way, I’ve noticed people tend to enjoy Christmas about as much as they enjoy spending time with their family. And parties just aren’t the same these days – you know, now I’m clean.’ I began telling Maria about the last birthday party I’d been to. I’d been getting high with Adam and Rose all day …

‘These were your dealer friends?’ said Maria, who wasn’t fazed by my stories about drugs.

‘They aren’t really dealers. They’re just other addicts. Their house is kind of what you’d call a crack den, in a way. They can help you get whatever you need, day or night. For a price, obviously.’

My stomach growled and a film of sweat prickled my skin. I needed to be alone soon. ‘But hang on, don’t you need to get to work?’

Maria glanced at her watch. ‘It’s fine, I’ve got ten minutes. I’m the only one at the office this morning, so I can be a bit late. When did you say this was?’

‘Oh, I don’t know. Around Easter, I guess.’

Maria looked thoughtful. ‘Really? Easter?’

There was no need to panic. As long as she was gone in ten minutes, I’d be fine. I’d become expert at reading my body’s distress signals. Things would start getting serious in about a quarter of an hour. I’d better tell her the story in a way that didn’t arouse suspicion I was trying to hurry her out the door.

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