Part of her felt desperate to stay, to keep an eye on Beth, but she had to remember that she wasn’t part of their family, and to outstay her welcome would risk the progress she’s made. So she’d said goodbye, taken the money with a sting of shame, and reminded Beth to double-lock the front door once she’d gone. She couldn’t face going back to the salon, so she’d headed home and phoned Sally from there, mumbled that the break-in wasn’t bad enough to bother the police with, but that she needed to wait in for a locksmith. Of course Sally had been characteristically understanding, and guilt had flared in Kat’s chest once more. But she’d swallowed it down; Beth is her priority now.

Which means she can’t sit scrunched up on her bed, disappearing into her teenage shell. Taking a deep breath, she opens her eyes, unfurls her legs and pushes off the bed. She wants a beer, something to take the edge off, so she navigates through her messy living room and into the kitchenette. She pulls a bottle of Brixton Pale Ale out of the fridge and flicks the cap off with a fish slice. The action reminds her of her dad, and she lifts the bottle, says a silent cheers to the man who finished the work of putting her back together. She wishes he were here to guide her now. There’s also a big bar of Cadbury Fruit and Nut in the fridge, and after a moment’s hesitation, she grabs that too.

She takes her stash over to the sofa and lowers down into its familiar lumps and bumps. Clearing up this mess feels like her responsibility now. It has done since she saw Beth’s photo really, payback for the way things ended between them, but the feeling has grown as they’ve reconnected. When Beth brushed against Kat’s arm on the stair earlier, and looked straight into her eyes, Kat had panicked for a second, worried that Beth had recognised her, even though there’s nothing of Katherine left. But once the fear subsided, Kat had realised what Beth’s eyes were asking. The same as they asked eighteen years ago: help me.

But Simon has called the police now.

Except, realistically, what difference will they make? Kat has kept herself away from the law, and the people paid to impose it, since their investigation into Becca’s injuries all those years ago. But she’s heard the stories. How stalkers are able to hound their victims unchecked for years before the police take it seriously. And even then, the onus is still on the victim to collect enough evidence to prove their stalker’s guilt.

Mark has already shown that he doesn’t scare easily, and Kat can see that Beth hasn’t got the strength to live with his toxic behaviour. Which means she needs to do something.