“Okay,” Rosie said. “Is Tahlia all right? I didn’t realise it was her. I chased her. Probably scared her half to death, but I think she came back for me, didn’t she?”

“She did. She’s up by the ladder—”

A sudden crack cut Jem off, and she spun the torch around, searching for the source of the noise. The water seemed to boil, white foam cresting on the ripples, and a mass of wooden planks and bricks whipped past. When she turned back, the water was touching Rosie’s chin.

“Fucking hell,” she whispered.

Rosie had to angle her head to keep the water away from her mouth. “It’s doing that more often,” she said. “I think there’s a barrier or something that’s breaking down. If it goes…” She shook her head. “Jem, you need to get out of here. If it goes, it’ll take both of us with it.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Jem said without hesitation. “I’m not going anywhere.” She felt different as soon as she had made her decision, peaceful somehow, as if something unfathomable had slackened its hold on her. She had never been able to define it or give it a name, but it had tainted her life for as long as she could remember, and this—this seemed like the end game, one way or another. “You’re going to be fine,” she continued, sticking an imaginary middle finger up at their probable fate. “We’re going to be fine.”

“Are we?” Rosie asked quietly. There was a palpable weight to the question, and Jem leaned low, brushing the tears from Rosie’s cheeks.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, abandoning everything she had planned and rehearsed, because it all seemed insignificant now. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I would never—” She faltered, already lost. She still didn’t have the words for this.

Rosie reached up and tugged at Jem’s sleeve. “You would never what?” she said, and yanked harder when Jem didn’t answer. “For fuck’s sake, just tell me, Jem. We might not get another chance to have this out, and I want to know what the hell is going on with us.” She spluttered on a mouthful of water and arched an eyebrow. “Seriously, how much worse could it get?”

“That’s the point, Rosie. I didn’t think it could get any worse. I thought I’d stopped it. I thought leaving you would stop it, but it hasn’t.” Jem coughed, unable to regulate her breathing as despair overwhelmed her again, but even in the throes of wheezing and rasping she saw the moment the penny dropped for Rosie.

“You think the fire was your fault. That you actually caused it to happen.” Rosie spoke slowly, as if still working things through. “Jem, that wasn’t you. That was some arsehole with a couple of litres of petrol and a match.”