No. This wasn’t going to happen, not when we hadn’t spoken in almost twenty-four hours. He wasn’t going brush me off. Seb was standing at the table, loading a magazine; as I glanced at him, I saw that he was looking after Alex with an odd expression on his face. He shook his head slightly, as if to clear it. Our eyes met – and though I knew Seb’s mixed feelings must be gouging at him, he motioned almost imperceptibly with his head: Go after him.

Upstairs it was quiet, bathed in shadow; everyone was either downstairs or had gone out. As I came up onto the landing I thought at first that Alex must have gone into the storeroom, and I started towards it – but then my neck went cold as I heard him. No, he wasn’t in the storeroom; he was in the bathroom.

He was throwing up.

I stood outside the bathroom door, my heart tight with sudden worry. I started to knock and found myself resting my hand on the old wooden door instead, swallowing hard.

“Alex?” I called.

No answer. The noises went on; I had to force myself not to go in. Finally there was silence; the sound of the toilet flushing. Water running in the sink.

The door opened and Alex stood there. His hair looked black against the unnatural pallor of his skin; his face was damp, as if he’d splashed water on it. “What do you want?” he asked, massaging his head.

“You’ve got another migraine,” I said softly. He’d told me how they made him throw up sometimes, the way the pain slammed into him so unexpectedly. I could feel it now, stabbing at his skull like a dagger. “Are you okay?”

He snorted as he dropped his hand. “Yeah, I’m so okay. Willow, seriously, what do you want?”

Did I really have to have a reason to want to talk to him now? I hesitated, taking in his face. “You, um...didn’t answer my text.”

Around us, the house suddenly felt hollow with silence. “I didn’t know what to say,” he said finally.

What about that you love me, and you’re sorry, too? The words wouldn’t come. “Look, can’t we just – the girls’ dorm is empty; can we go in there and talk?”

A muscle in his cheek moved. “I thought that space was reserved for Seb,” he said.

I stiffened; it was as if he had slapped me. I knew Kara would tell him about that. “Well, you thought wrong,” I said steadily. “He was in there last night because I was upset, okay? You can’t actually think anything happened.”

“Upset,” Alex repeated. “So it’s, like, my fault he was in there. Got it.”