For once I was honest and said, ‘Well, with everything going on with Mum during the year, I’ve found it almost impossible to concentrate on schoolwork.’

Caitlin sat on my bed. ‘Tell me a bit more about that.’

‘It’s just hard to concentrate. It used to be so easy; now I feel like I’ve got to try so hard. I don’t know when I’m going to be with Mum, if Dad will be angry, or if you and Dad will be fighting. All of that stuff.’

Caitlin paused for a moment and then said, ‘Thanks for sharing that with me. That’s why I want to talk with you about something important now.’ I thought that she was going to raise the subject about me not seeing Mum again, but she said, ‘I’ve been talking with some professionals about what to do when someone in your family is an alcoholic.’

Even hearing the word alcoholic made me cringe. I didn’t think of Mum as an alcoholic, more someone who liked to drink a bit when she celebrated and, I guess, when things were hard.

I turned to Caitlin and said, ‘I wouldn’t say that Mum is an alcoholic, but yeah, her drinking is causing problems and I wish she’d stop.’

‘Well, let’s not worry about labels right now. I’ve been looking at an organisation for people with family and friends, who, like you said, have … problems with alcohol.’

‘Right,’ I said. ‘So what do we do? Do we take Mum to see a special doctor or something?’

‘No,’ Caitlin said, leaning forwards and taking my hands, ‘it’s about taking you to speak with and listen to other people around your age that are going through some of the things that you are.’

‘What! You mean that I have to talk about Mum and her stuff with other teenagers that I don’t even know?’ Caitlin really didn’t know me well at all if she thought I’d be comfortable doing that.

Caitlin squeezed my hands. ‘I know how hard that would be. Maybe you could sit and listen to start off with.’

‘And what about you and Dad? What do you have to do?’ I asked.

‘We’re going to do some research online and see what we can find out about things before getting help.’

‘Good,’ I replied. I didn’t want to go but I was still scared that Dad and Caitlin might try to keep Mum and me apart. I knew I needed to play things cool. ‘So where’s this thing that I need to go to?’

‘It’s at Noarlunga, at a community centre. Your dad will take you and sit in the car and read. If you need him, you can message him or walk out of the meeting.’

‘Right,’ I said. ‘Can I think about it a bit?’

‘Sure.’