I walked through the games room where I first saw Trent, and then up to another living area with the kitchen off to the right. I stopped to look at a family photo on the wall: Caroline and her brother playing out in the vineyard. Caroline must have been about six. She was super cute, full of innocence with a beaming smile. I wondered where that innocence had gone.

I was grabbing a wine glass when I heard a voice say, ‘Hello.’ Startled, I turned around. ‘Hi! How are you, Phoebe?’ It was Theresa, Caroline’s mum.

‘Yeah, I’m good,’ I told her.

‘Just ask me if you need anything,’ she said, before walking to the fridge.

I made my way back to Caroline with the wine glass and said, ‘Hey Caroline, your mum’s home. Is it okay to drink? She won’t tell my dad, will she?’

Caroline poured me a glass of white wine. ‘No, of course not. Dad and Mum will drink tonight and if we’re drinking too they won’t feel so guilty about it.’

I took a little sniff of the wine, pretending I knew what I was doing. I had a sip and it tasted vinegary and maybe even sour. After a while, it started to taste quite nice. I waited a minute and then had a bigger sip.

‘Hopefully the weather stays like this tonight. My brother is going to have some friends around the fire later,’ Caroline said, nodding over to the fire pit.

I felt pretty excited about being at the party. I hadn’t really been to a party where there were boys drinking and stuff. And I had butterflies in my stomach thinking about hopefully talking with Trent, getting to know him.

After finishing half of the glass of wine, warmth spread over my body. I thought about how nice it was to feel the sunshine on my face. I laughed at Caroline singing along to her beloved Led Zeppelin.

When I finished the glass, I poured another. It was when I was halfway through that glass of wine that I started to feel really relaxed, like I was actually forgetting about Mum, Dad, Caitlin and all of my worries. It struck me why Mum liked drinking. I felt so cosy and even more excited the more I sipped.

A little while later, Ashley turned up with a pillow and a sleeping bag. I asked Caroline if I was supposed to bring anything.

‘Nah, it’s fine. You can sleep in my bed with Ashley and me. My brother’s friends will crash where they land,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Do you want a shower or anything to get ready?’

‘Yeah, sure. I brought my stuff.’