The Edge by Jamie Collinson

Author:Jamie Collinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oneworld Publications

17

He’d moved in with Sofia in the spring of 2008. Her flat was in an old red-brick mansion block in London Fields, built in 1901 as housing for the poor. A century later, by modern standards, the space within each flat was decidedly luxurious. A group of incoming middle-class types had bought out the freehold, and the block’s courtyard was lined with potted plants, olive trees and a leafy gazebo.

Over the next year, Adam and Sofia lived as contently as he ever had. The punk label had gone bust, but he liked his new job working for Serena, and he was earning more money. He was still working on records he believed in, and which seemed to give his life purpose. Sofia was less happily employed at an art restoration company, located as far away as it was possible to be while remaining in London. She was up and gone each morning before Adam got out of bed, and home after he was.

She poured her passion into her own art, taking him to gallery shows she wanted to see, making notes on the pieces in her neat, attractive handwriting. She began filming herself in the living room, splicing images of paintings with her own thoughts on them. She was very good at speaking to the camera, and her enthusiasm was infectious. The videos were uploaded to YouTube, apparently for her own pleasure and with little fanfare. These were the seeds of the career that sprouted after he broke her heart.

The flat was cosy and run-down. In winter, the smell of wet towels lingered by the front door, which was beside the bathroom. Adam used one of the bedrooms as a study. He, too, had been passionate, and working late from home had been a point of pride.

When had it started to go wrong? Possibly as early as a few months in, when the fights had finally started. By then, Adam’s fear was less of losing her, and more of her jealousy destroying them. He had foolishly thought that jealousy would exist in inverse proportion to the overall value of a person. That Sofia, in her beauty and loveliness, would have no need for it.

In hindsight, of course, he saw that he was the worst person to be with for anyone who suffered it.

Sofia’s jealousy came like storms. A period of heavy tension, cloying air and dread, followed by a flashing outbreak of anger.

One night, this souring of her mood had occurred shortly after they’d made love in her room. Adam was lying on the futon that was pushed into a corner. The walls were painted in faded pale green woodchip, probably unaltered since her landlord had bought the place.

Adam had loved the bedroom nonetheless. There was a wardrobe stuffed with Sofia’s clothes, a built-in dressing table with a mirror over it. Placed on this was a bust made of wicker, on which she hung her jewellery.

That night, she had been playing an early Missy Elliott album on her midi system, and had gone quiet as she was dressing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.