Caroline was cleaning up in the games room and saw us before we knocked. She was reaching to give me a hug before we opened the door.

‘How are you feeling, Phoebe?’ she asked.

‘I’m okay,’ I said.

‘Thanks for looking after her, Jamie,’ Caroline said, before giving him a hug.

‘No worries. Do you think you could do me a favour and ride Mum’s bike to school tomorrow?’

‘Sure. You off ?’

‘Yeah. If I sit down, I don’t think I’ll be able to get up again. Probably best to keep moving.’

I gave Jamie a hug too and said, ‘Thanks so much,’ before he headed back to his bike.

Caroline and I took a seat in the backyard. When she saw that Jamie was out of earshot, she said, ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’

‘Not really. I feel so embarrassed.’

Caroline gave me another hug, ‘Poor thing. It’s gross, isn’t it, when you have a hangover? But really, don’t worry, we’ve all been there.’

When she stopped hugging me, I asked, ‘Do you think your mum will say anything to my dad and Caitlin?’

Caroline laughed. ‘God no! Mum’s probably forgotten about it now. She had a big night with her friends too. My parents are still in bed.’

I looked down at the ground, thinking, I wish I could forget about what Trent did to me.

‘There is something wrong,’ Caroline said, putting her hand on mine. The tears started to flow. I tried wiping them away as Caroline asked, ‘What is it, Pheebs?’

‘Trent,’ I said through my sobs.

‘What did he do?’ Caroline said sternly, taking both of my hands.

‘I went to the bathroom and he followed me in, and then we started kissing,’ I told her. She watched me with dread, knowing that there was more to come.

‘And?’ she prompted, exasperated.

‘And then he put his hand on my chest.’

‘Argh! He’s such a creep!’

‘Jamie jumped in and helped me out.’

‘He’s always awesome like that,’ Caroline said.

‘I know you tried to warn me.’

‘Still, it’s not your fault. I know he did the same thing to another friend of mine.’

‘Who?’ I asked, trying to stop crying.

‘It’s not really my story to tell,’ she said, which I understood, ‘but something really needs to be done.’

‘Like what?’

‘What would you like to happen?’

I dried my eyes and breathed as I looked at the reflection of the clouds on the surface of the pool.

‘I don’t know,’ I said, shrugging. ‘I feel like punching him in the face.’

‘Same, but unfortunately we can’t do that.’

‘I want him to know that he can’t do things like that. I really liked him, Caroline. He was the first boy I actually liked.’