Saturday morning arrived. Moving day. It didn’t feel real. I’d said goodbye to Leah, Tiff and Drew on so many occasions – particularly in recent months to nip home for the weekend – but this time it was for good. The end of an era. Three-and-a-half years of tears and laughter, nights out, nights in, parties, movie nights, hangovers, illness, celebrations and commiserations with three of the best friends I could ever hope to meet had come to an end.

I wasn’t the only one hurting. They might have been giggling like little kids and hurling abuse at each other about who was the strongest and how to hold a box properly, but I knew from the red eyes and the reassuring touches on the arm that they were finding this as hard as I was. They’d already collectively agreed not to replace me because I was irreplaceable. That had made me cry.

The three of them traipsed up and down two flights of stairs with my belongings, which Sam packed into Thor the campervan with astonishing precision. He’d emptied all the cupboards and under-seat storage for maximum removals capacity, which had been just as well because I’d have had to leave a few boxes behind for later transportation if he hadn’t. I hadn’t realised I’d accumulated quite so much stuff.

He slammed the door shut, stretched, then glanced at his watch. ‘Ten to ten. Pretty good going.’

‘All packed and ready to go?’ Drew asked.

I nodded. ‘I think so. I’ll go in and do one last check then nip to the loo.’

A quick look round my bedroom, under the bed, and behind the door satisfied me that I definitely had everything. With a heavy heart, I closed the door for the last time.

Placing my key in a colourful dish on a bookshelf by the coat rack, I reached for my coat and scarf from the hooks and paused. This was it. Goodbye to my home, my friends, and life as I knew it. I knew I was doing the right thing for my family. I hoped Mum would see it that way too.

27

Sam

‘You can’t be hungry already,’ Jemma exclaimed as I pulled into the car park of a McDonald’s less than ten minutes away from her flat.

‘I’m not.’ Tiff had insisted we had a hearty breakfast before we could start loading up Thor and wouldn’t let me lift any boxes until I’d eaten at least two bacon butties. No hardship.

‘Then why are we stopping?’

‘Because I’ve got something for you. Out you get.’ I got out and walked round the campervan to meet Jemma.

‘What’s going on?’ she asked.