The answer is “Everything,” but I don’t say that. I don’t say anything.

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“We can’t,” Dad whispers. “I’m sorry.”

“Why not?” I ask.

“Please stop talking about this, Amy.”

When Mum walks in, he looks scared, and I don’t think he loves her anymore.

Logan is holding her hand, and he sits in Will’s seat and smiles at me. I smile back because none of this is Logan’s fault and, if Dad won’t help me, I’m going to do it on my own.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Mum asks, but she’s only talking to one of us.

“Crunchy Nut,” Logan says.

He never says please, and Mum never corrects him. This isn’t really her son, so she doesn’t care about manners. She never tells him off because she thinks, if she’s always nice to him, he’ll eventually forget the truth.

When he’s back in his room, I go in because it’s only locked at night.

“Hi,” I say.

“Hello.”

He seems happier today, but I look closely and his eyes are still sad. “Do you like it here?” I ask.

Logan nods. “Your mummy is lovely.”

“My mummy?”

“Yes.”

“What about your mummy?”

He stares up at me and says, “She’s gone away. I’ll see her again when she’s back.”

I almost don’t say it, but I have to because this is a chance I can’t waste.

“She’s back now. Do you want to see her?”

Logan’s face lights up, and I move closer and whisper, “But you can’t tell anyone. Not even my mummy. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

We need to go now, because he’ll say something if we don’t. Will could never keep secrets, and I don’t think Logan can, either, even if he is the secret.

I hear the front door slam, which means Dad is going to work. Mum stays home, now, but she’s not always watching. Sometimes there are tiny chances, so we have to be ready.

I should be at the bus stop in five minutes, but, instead, I hold my finger to my lips and, when Logan sees, he smiles and follows me downstairs. He thinks this is a game, and that’s good, because the only times Will was ever quiet were during hide-and-seek.

Mum is in the kitchen with the radio on, but the stairs still creak and the front door seems miles away.

“Hurry up, Amy!” she shouts, and I freeze and wait for her to find us, but she’s still loading the dishwasher. The glasses clink, and I can breathe again. Logan giggles until I tell him no with my eyes.

I touch the door handle and turn it, then pull him into the outside world and run.

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