So a couple of times they had actually done The Deed. It felt very strange, and the first time had been painful, but Joey had said, panting and pushing at her, wasn’t this great? So she agreed it was, although she couldn’t see how, and she wished he’d wear a condom because she was worried that she’d fall for a baby – and what a shit storm that would cause. Dad hated her anyway – it seemed like he had been mean to her just about forever, so cold and dismissive – and that would put the tin lid on it.

But Joey said wearing a condom was like scratching your toes with your fucking boots on, so she hadn’t insisted. And then it happened a second time and although it was less painful, again he didn’t wear a condom.

‘Well, if you won’t suck me off, the least you can do is throw me a fuck,’ he told her when she finally summoned the nerve to tell him she hated doing oral and detested getting a gobful of cum. It was horrible.

So she had thrown him a fuck. She was terrified that if she didn’t, some other girl would, so she did it. Twice. And now she had something to tell him and she didn’t know how, so she just blurted it out.

‘I think I’m pregnant,’ she said.

Joey was without a job, although he said he was looking, but she didn’t really believe that any more. She’d passed her driving test but still didn’t have a car. She’d swapped the dental depot for a job in a travel agency. Trouble was, she hated every second of it. But she was earning, contributing to the family pot. She liked that feeling, and maybe she could even prove to Dad she wasn’t a complete waste of space.

‘You’re fucking what?’ said Joey.

‘Pregnant,’ said Aysha, her heart beating hard in her chest.

He was looking angry, like she was the one in the wrong. This was going to start big trouble with her family, she knew that, and what she needed from him was reassurance; she needed him to tell her it was all going to be OK.

‘What the fuck?’ He’d stopped in his tracks and was pulling his hands through his dark curls and staring at her like she was crazy. ‘How the hell . . . ?’

God, is he really going to say that? Aysha wondered. Is he really going to ask how it happened, when it’s bloody obvious?

‘We had sex, you didn’t wear a condom, and now I think I’m pregnant,’ said Aysha.

‘Christ!’ He turned around, walked away, walked back. Stared at her face. ‘You think?’

‘I’m getting a test kit today.’