‘You being odd again?’ Danny grimaced as he rubbed his cock through his trackie bottoms. ‘I do recall, yes.’

Will felt immediately stupid, struck suddenly by the absurdity of what he’d started to think. ‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘What do you want to know?’ Danny was watching a video on his phone – a rerun of what had taken place in this room, Will assumed, from the slurping noises and his brother’s whispered words of encouragement.

‘You heard what she said, didn’t you?’

‘Man, she’s loving it,’ Danny said.

‘About the library?’

‘I think I might have permanently damaged the old chap, you know. You ever had that?’

‘About it burning down?’

‘Course you haven’t.’

‘You heard her, right?’

‘Might be seeing nerd girl later. Hope it’s better by then.’

‘Danny?’

‘Bruv, she says all sorts. She’s off her rocker. Sorry, I know you love Nain and all that. But she’s crackers.’

Will nodded. For all the back and forth in his own brain for the past twenty-four hours, he had to accept that his brother had nailed it there.

Danny began ushering him out of the room. ‘Reckon I can squeeze in forty-five on the weights first if no one holds me up.’

‘Who’s nerd girl?’

Danny grinned. ‘What’s her name? Tiny tits. You know. April! That’s the one.’

Will had retreated to his room with something aching in his chest.

‘Doctor’s all done.’

Will looks up from his tea cup at the nurse.

‘I told your grandmother you’re here,’ she continues. ‘She’s very excited to see you.’

Will follows his mum into the room with a fake smile fixed in place. Nain’s wearing no make-up, her lips the same greyish-yellow as the rest of her. Her hair lies limp on her head. She looks like every other old person in the place. The nurse fiddles with the cannula in Nain’s wrist and Will has a sudden urge to make a plea to her.

She doesn’t normally look like this, he wants to say. She’s not old. Don’t treat her like she’s old. Don’t treat her like she’s ready to …

He can’t even think the word. And he doesn’t say any of it. Of course.

‘Why aren’t you at school?’ Nain asks, smiling weakly.

‘Already had that conversation,’ his mum says, standing at the end of the bed.

Will takes a seat and holds her cold hand over the guard rail. ‘How you feeling?’

‘Like I need to have a bath, put my face on and change into something less comfortable.’ She runs short of breath as she says it, looking at her hospital gown with horror.

‘You’ll be home soon.’

‘Not too soon,’ his mum says. ‘You need the rest.’

‘I’ll be getting lots of rest before you know it, dear,’ she replies, her voice running out of steam again.