Even so, by then, Alison was gone. She’d allowed herself no time to cry and cringe and wallow; all that was done now. She’d washed, dressed and buried her ripped dress in the bottom of the kitchen bin. Then she’d left a note for Peter, just a scrawl; she hadn’t mentioned Martin or what he’d done, because that would start a whole new chain of events and give the foul act more weight and substance, make it harder to forget. She would not, she absolutely would not, take anyone down with her into despair, especially not her brother, so all she wrote was: ‘Dear Peter, you were right, I can’t stay here, love Alison xx’, and then she packed a few possessions into her canvas satchel: the passport and the money, some clothes, and the mix tape, the only one she had, The Best Last Two, from Daniel.

For him, she left nothing at all – there wasn’t time, and there was too much to say. She’d write to him when she could. She’d write to him, and he’d come to her, and then they’d never have to part again.

20

EDINBURGH,
24 JANUARY 2013

At Waverley Station, Katelin clung uncharacteristically on to Dan when they hugged goodbye, and told him she suddenly felt shaky about being so long away from home, and he said a large gin and tonic on the train would soon steady her nerves, but she didn’t smile.

‘Seriously,’ she said. ‘I think I’m going to be homesick.’

He held her at arm’s length and looked into her eyes while she waited for reassurance. ‘You won’t, Katelin, I guarantee it,’ he said. ‘You’ll be with Rose-Ann for a start, and you’ll be seeing and doing way too much to pine for rainy old Stockbridge.’

‘Will you miss me?’ she asked, and he wished she hadn’t, because he could hardly say no, and he really disliked being manipulated. However, ‘You bet,’ he said, because it was easier, and kinder. ‘But,’ he added quickly, ‘you’re not going to miss me, you’re going to have a blast.’

Now she did smile, and drew back. A little way down the platform, Duncan and Rose-Ann were in close conversation. Katelin regarded them for a moment; then she said, ‘Keep an eye on him for her, won’t you?’ and Dan’s smile immediately faded and he said, ‘Ah, don’t ask that of me, Katelin.’

‘No, but he looks up to you,’ she said.

‘I’m not his keeper.’

‘No, I know, but he listens to you, you know he does.’

‘Rose-Ann has no cause for concern,’ Dan said. ‘Duncan hasn’t seen or spoken to Lindsay since before Christmas, she doesn’t want him, and he doesn’t need her.’

‘Yeah, OK,’ Katelin said.