Billy was in the lounge when she got home. ‘You missed dinner. Again.’

‘I know.’

‘You missed Ty’s bedtime too.’

‘I know. I’m sorry. I got caught up and lost track of time.’

‘I rang Mark to see if he’d seen you. Turns out he had. Did you go to the hospital?’

‘Yes,’ she said firmly.

‘I thought we’d decided you weren’t going to do that.’

‘No, we didn’t decide that, you decided that. I never agreed. I need answers. Billy, there was something wrong with what happened to Wren and they know something, I know they do. I have to find out what it was.’

‘So you’re going to stalk them till they talk?’

‘What a great idea, Billy. Thanks,’ she said sarcastically.

‘Can we not fight for just one damn day?’ demanded Billy.

‘Sure, then stop provoking me.’

‘I’ll say it again – moving on is best for you.’

‘That’s provoking me.’

‘When my mom died, I moved through the stages pretty fast. That’s all I’m saying.’

Vanessa looked at him with complete shock on her face. ‘Your mom was an old woman who’d lived a long and happy life, Billy. My mom was younger, but I dealt with that. My son was a seventeen-year-old boy who was stolen from me and those boys know something. We’re having the same argument again and again. I love you, Billy, but this is getting to be too much.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ He clenched his fists at his sides.

‘I don’t know. Maybe we need some space from each other. Just until the dust settles, until I’m better at grieving. We clearly have differing opinions on what that looks like.’

‘You’re kicking me out? Jesus fucking Christ, Ness.’

‘No, you can sleep on the couch.’

‘Fine, I’ll sleep on the couch as long as you deem fit.’ He went and grabbed his pillow and a blanket from the linen press. He pushed past her shoulder as he came down the hallway, and she felt like utter shit, but it was the only way she could do what she needed to do and not lose her marriage in the process.

She moved down the hallway to Ty’s room, pushing open the door and heading inside. He lay, one leg out of the covers, an arm flung across his forehead. She smiled gently, then kissed his cheek good night.

When she came out, Billy was watching her.

She spent the rest of the night lying awake in her bed, alone. So many times she wanted to go to Billy, but she didn’t. She had to stand her ground.

By the time the sun came up, she was exhausted, weary and feeling sorry for herself. She shuffled into the shower and put her face under the spray, waking herself up. Billy was already gone – probably deliberately so he didn’t have to see his wife.