The phone woke Sophie but she didn’t want to speak to anyone. She lay there, listening, but could hear nothing, so went to check on Andi.

The other bedroom was empty. She ran downstairs, closing her eyes in relief when she found her daughter sitting in the kitchen, cradling a mug of hot chocolate with her hands. It had always been a family comfort drink.

‘Good morning, darling.’

Andi’s smile was so bleak Sophie could have wept, but that wouldn’t do any good, so she went to make herself a drink and joined her daughter at the table.

‘Did you sleep?’

‘Yes, but it was full of nightmares – no, not exactly nightmares, just anxieties and swirling darkness. I feel as if I’ve got a bad hangover this morning.’

‘Shall I get you a paracetamol?’

‘Yes, please.’

Sophie got out the tablets and passed the packet to Andi, who sat staring at it as if she didn’t know what to do with it, then sucked in a sudden breath and pushed a couple of tablets out, going to the sink to get a glass of water. She stood there afterwards for a long time with the empty glass in her hand before setting it down carefully.

‘Would you like something to eat?’

‘Not yet.’ Again, a pause before she added, ‘Thanks’

‘Do you want to go and see my doctor? Or a counsellor?’

‘No, I don’t think so. The doctor I saw last night was very thorough. I – don’t want to see anyone really, just stay here quietly. Is that all right?’ Andi stared at Sophie, eyes bright with tears. ‘I can’t believe it happened.’

‘The police were pretty definite.’

‘But I can’t remember a thing. You’d think I’d remember something, wouldn’t you? And how can they prosecute anyone if I don’t remember what happened, let alone who did it?’

‘I don’t know. Would you mind if I got myself something to eat? You know what I’m like in the mornings.’

A ghost of a smile passed across Andi’s face. ‘Hungry. Are you still as bad?’

‘Yes.’

‘You’re sure you don’t mind me staying here for a bit?’

‘I think you should stay for longer than a bit. It’s going to have an effect and you should be with someone who cares about you till you’ve recovered.’ She hesitated, then said the other thing. ‘I know you’ve been taking drugs. I wondered if you needed help to get them out of your system?’

‘I really didn’t use them very often, just let you think I did. It was only when I went out at weekends.’ She shuddered. ‘I’m never going clubbing again. Or using stuff.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You have no job. If you’re not going out with your friends, you’ll need something to fill your time. I discovered when I was ill that nothing is worse than sitting brooding.’

‘I’ll think of something. Not today, though.’

‘If you like, I can teach you to meditate. Or you can go to classes to learn. That helped me more than anything.’