Nightingale Point. Luan Goldie

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СКАЧАТЬ rel="nofollow" href="#litres_trial_promo">CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: Mary

       AFTER

       CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: Elvis

       CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: Mary

       CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: Malachi

       TEN DAYS LATER

       CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Tristan

       CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: Mary

       CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: Malachi

       CHAPTER THIRTY: Tristan

       CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: Malachi

       CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: Elvis

       ONE MONTH LATER

       CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: Mary

       CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: Tristan

       CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: Mary

       CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: Malachi

       CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: Elvis

       THREE MONTHS LATER

       CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: Malachi

       CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: Tristan

       SIX MONTHS LATER

       CHAPTER FORTY: Malachi

       CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: Mary

       CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: Elvis

       CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: Tristan

       CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: Mary

       FIVE YEARS LATER

       CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: Jay

       CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: Mary

       CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: Malachi

       CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: Tristan

       CHAPTER FORTY-NINE: Elvis

       AUTHOR’S NOTE

       ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

       ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Saturday, 4 May 1996

      The evacuation began this morning. No sooner had the bins been collected than the hundreds of residents from the three blocks that make up Morpeth Estate began streaming away in their droves.

      Bob the caretaker sat in his cubbyhole on the ground floor, telling anyone who would listen that ‘it’s only a heatwave if it goes on ten days’. But no one listened, instead they asked when the intercom was getting fixed, if he knew the lifts were out and what he was planning on doing about the woman on the third floor who kept sticking a chair out on the landing. Moan, moan, moan.

      Bob stubs out his cigarette and looks up at the grey face of Nightingale Point, smiling at the way the sun illuminates each balcony, every single one a little personal gallery, showcasing lines of washing, surplus furniture, bikes, scooters, and pushchairs. Towards the top a balcony glints with CDs held by pieces of string; a few of the residents have started doing it and Bob doesn’t have a clue why. He must ask someone.

      Mary is amazed at how well it works. Who would believe that hanging a few CDs on the balcony stops pigeons from shitting on your washing? She had seen the tip on GMTV and immediately rushed to the flat next door to ask Tristan for any old discs. His music was no good anyway, all that gangbanging West Coast, East Coast stuff.

      Mary wraps a towel around her hair. Her husband could show up any minute and the least she can do for him, after being apart for over a year, is not smell of fried fish. She switches on the TV, but the picture bounces and fuzzes. She doesn’t even try to understand technology these days, but heads next door to get Malachi.

      Malachi sits behind a pile of overdue library books and tries to think of a thesis statement for his Design and the Environment essay that is due next Friday, but instead he thinks about Pamela. If only he could talk to her, explain, apologise, grab her by the hand and run away. No, it’s over. He has to stop this.

      Distraction, he needs a distraction.

      On cue, Tristan walks over with The Sun and opens it to Emma, 22, from Bournemouth.

      ‘Your type?’ he asks, grinning.

      But Malachi’s not in the mood to see Bournemouth Emma, or talk to Tristan, or write a thesis. He only wants Pamela.

      Tristan sulks back out to the balcony to read his newspaper cover to cover, just as any fifteen-year-old, with a keen interest in current affairs, would. After this he will continue with his mission to help Malachi get over Pamela, and the only way to do it is to get under someone else. Tristan once heard some sixth-former girls describe his brother as ‘dark and brooding’, which apparently doesn’t just mean that he’s black and grumpy, women actually find him attractive. So it shouldn’t be that hard to get him laid.

      There’s СКАЧАТЬ