Maggie looked sheepish. ‘Well, Billy is worried that this will set you back, that’s all.’

‘And how do you know that?’

‘He voiced his concerns to me about how you were coping, the diary, Ryan, you know, everything that’s been going on.’

Vanessa was fucking furious. How could they be talking about her like this? By the look on her face, Maggie knew it was wrong too.

‘I’d appreciate it if you no longer spoke about me behind my back,’ Vanessa said coldly. ‘If you have something to say, say it to my face.’

Maggie looked surprised by the frosty tone. ‘We didn’t mean anything by it. He asked my opinion, that’s all.’

Vanessa softened; she unclenched her fists. ‘I don’t mean to be snappy at you, at anyone else, but I just feel that those who I love are working against me, stopping me from what I’ve got to do. Do you understand?’

‘I understand. Next time we have concerns, we’ll come to you. I thought I’d take the kids to see Mark after school. Would that be OK? Your dad will be there too, if you want to come round.’

‘I’ll think about it – I have things to do today.’

Vanessa drove around the corner and parked. She needed to make a call and hadn’t wanted Maggie overhearing. She scrolled through her phone until she found Justin’s mother’s number. She dialed, but it just rang and rang and there was no voicemail. Vanessa decided to go to the bar and talk to Joan in person.

The first person she came across was Mark who was working. He saw her, surprise on his face. He dropped his cloth and walked over to her.

‘Is Ty OK?’ he asked immediately.

‘He’s fine. I’m here to see Joan. Is she here? Do you know where she is?’

Mark laughed. ‘Joan’s not in the habit of telling her employees where she’s going or what she’s doing. Maybe at the hospital?’

‘So Justin’s still in hospital then?’ she asked casually.

‘Are you going there? To the hospital?’

‘Why, you gonna try to stop me?’

‘Whoa, I was just going to ask if you wanted company – I can get someone to cover my shift.’

Vanessa really needed to calm down, but the thought of someone potentially stopping her from seeing Justin pissed her off.

‘Thanks, but I need to do this on my own.’

‘Let me know if you need help.’ He smiled at her, then went back to what he was doing. So that was one person who wasn’t going to hassle her. Good.