I couldn’t let it happen. She was everything. Seeing her was the only meaning left. Life had shrunk to two things: being with her and waiting to be with her. If I let her walk away now, I knew it would be the last time I’d ever see her. I couldn’t bear it.

I grabbed the metal rail and swung myself upright and into a full sprint in one motion. I ran past her, turned and walked backwards in pace with her, not letting my eyes leave hers. Breathless, I begged her not to leave me.

We got as far as the middle of the railway bridge before she spoke.

‘You want to know about Nate Mackie, do you? You really want to know?’ She grabbed the sleeves of her jumper and tugged them up to her elbows. ‘Take a look at that.’

Her wrists and forearms were blotched with yellow and grey. The lividness of fresh bruising had passed, just an ugly shadow now of someone’s violent grip on her.

‘Got a matching set on the inside of my thighs as well,’ she said. ‘Need me to prove that as well?’

‘I’m so sorry.’ I said it over and over. I wanted to punch myself in the head.

‘Still want to know if I’m getting it on with him, do you, Ollie? Still judging me? Still think I’m a slut?’

I stared at her arms. I felt like I was being hollowed out. My face boiled. My knees shook. I sank my teeth into my bottom lip.

‘Tell me what happened,’ I demanded. ‘I need to know everything.’

‘Stop shaking, Ollie.’ She backed away and sat against the side of the bridge.

I sat down next to her. For a few minutes, we didn’t speak. I gazed upward, blinking away red-hot tears as high clouds raced across the night sky. I didn’t dare press her. There was no way I could leave without knowing what had happened, but a minute more of ignorance was welcome enough.

‘It was just normal stuff to start with,’ she said quietly.

‘What’s normal?’

‘Catcalling as I walked home. Telling me to get my tits out. Asking for blow jobs. Calling me a frigid bitch when I didn’t smile back. The usual.’

‘That’s usual?’

‘You’ve never been a girl, have you, Ollie? Welcome to our world. It’s such a lovely place.’

‘Fuck.’

‘Fuck indeed. Then, a month or two back, those Mackie brothers and their band of followers start pushing their luck. Grabbing my bum when I walked past them, telling me they’re going to spit-roast me, that they’re gonna jump me in the park.’

‘What did you do?’

She shrugged the question away. ‘Just blocked it out. Just ignored it.’

‘How do you ignore that?’

She laughed. ‘Even that, my friend, is not particularly unusual. I’m touched that it shocks you, though.’

‘That’s insane.’