A door slams in the night. Melissa wakes, her mouth dry with fear. Paul is in Paris, she locked all the doors before bed. She gets up, heart thudding, and runs to Izzy’s room, wrenching the door open. Her daughter is sleeping peacefully, her bright hair spread out over the pillow. Melissa leans against the door, weak with relief. After a few minutes, she gathers her courage and tiptoes downstairs, her legs trembling. The silent kitchen is softly illuminated by concealed lights; it looks empty but the stench of alcohol catches her throat, a vodka bottle lies on the floor by the sink. Her breath catches in her throat. Intruders? Paul returning early? Then she freezes. Muted sobbing is coming from the pantry. She opens the door cautiously. Lina is sitting beneath the shelves, her hands around her knees, tears pouring down her cheeks. The kitten cowers by her side. Lina looks up then pushes herself to her feet, still sobbing.

‘Lina! I thought we’d had a break-in! Are you all right? What happened?’

‘My boyfriend, Hassan,’ Lina says through her tears. ‘We argued.’ She puts her hand over her stomach, pressing in.

‘Are you hurt?’

Lina shakes her head quickly, too quickly. Is she telling the truth? Hassan was probably drunk; he might have hit her or harmed her in some way. Melissa puts a hand on her shoulder.

‘Do you want to tell me about it?’

‘I said it was finished between us; he threw the bottle …’ She lowers her gaze as if ashamed.

Her boyfriend sounds like a man whose anger turns quickly to something else, something more. Melissa begins carefully. ‘There are men who like to scare women. They get angry and then they lash out; they say they are sorry and promise to stop but they don’t.’ Her voice is rising despite herself and the words begin to spill out in a stream. ‘It gets worse and they aren’t sorry any more, but you’re trapped because they could take the most precious thing you have—’ She pauses, gasping for breath. What is she saying? It won’t make any sense to Lina, in fact she could be frightening her. She takes both Lina’s hands in hers, speaking more gently. ‘Promise you’ll tell me if he ever comes back.’

Lina nods, she looks miserable.

‘Let me make you some tea.’

Lina shakes her head.

‘Okay, sweetheart.’ She tries to smile. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve scared you; you’ve been scared enough for one night. Try to sleep now and take the day off tomorrow.’