I stand impotently as Amanda reassures Hutchinson that I am no threat to him or his establishment; that I am in a fragile state; a ‘priority need’ case. I want to run away, as far away as possible from here. Back to my home and my family. At this time of evening I would be preparing dinner in the kitchen. Elspeth would be drawing at the table. My eyes fill with tears as I remember the simple happiness of those moments and how I never truly appreciated them; or her.

‘Right,’ says Hutchinson, nodding at Amanda. ‘Well, I’ll know who to bill if anything goes wrong. I’ll show you the room.’

He steps towards the door. Amanda hangs back and squeezes my arm.

‘Please try not to worry,’ she whispers. ‘It’s all going to be fine.’

I nod my head though I know that it is far from fine. It is as bad as it can possibly be.

‘Okay,’ says Hutchinson as he unlocks the door. ‘After you.’

He stands back to let us through. Amanda enters the room first.

‘This is lovely,’ I hear her say. ‘Really light.’

I take a deep breath then step inside.

‘Oh, there’s a kitchenette,’ Amanda cries, clapping her hands together. ‘That’s good.’

I follow her to the other side of the room where a microwave sits on a small metal counter. There’s a white jug kettle and two mugs, a metal bowl with sachets of sugar and four tiny cartons of UHT milk.

‘Crockery’s in that cupboard under the sink,’ says Hutchinson. ‘I’ve made an inventory of it so I’ll know if any of it goes missing.’

I want to speak. I want to tell him that I have no intention of stealing his crappy stuff. That nothing is worth anything to me any more. Instead I just nod, like a dumb animal, and listen as he explains how the microwave works.

‘TV’s over there by the bed,’ he says, pointing to a flat screen that is wedged on a table. ‘We just ask you be respectful to the other guests when you’re watching it. Keep the volume low.’

I nod my head though I’m not really taking in what he’s saying. I can feel my heart speeding up as panic grips me. This can’t be happening.

‘Oh, and no visitors after seven p.m.,’ says Hutchinson, tapping his fingers on the door frame. ‘That’s a strict rule.’

I look up at him and the room starts to spin. No visitors. I thought the darkness was gone for ever but now as I stand here in this strange room, it hits me. I’m back where I started.

‘Elspeth,’ I whisper.

‘Who’s Elspeth?’ says Hutchinson, his eyes widening.