I’d never seen Michael so angry, and for a brief moment I imagined him throttling me and dumping my body out in the roaming woods. He certainly looked like he wanted to.

My stomach pulled into a tight ball. ‘You left me upstairs all day.’

‘You’re pathetic,’ said Michael. ‘Like a child.’

And he was right.

‘It looked romantic,’ I said, my voice high and frightened.

Michael still had tight hold of my arm and began dragging me further into the woods. I couldn’t see the house anymore and the dark anonymity, coupled with Michael’s mood, terrified me. I’d been scared of Michael before, but nothing like this. I’d never felt this blackness from him.

‘If you’d have stayed put there wouldn’t have been a problem,’ Michael raged. ‘You’re jealous. You saw what you wanted to see. I was making things right with Diane. Calming her down. You have to know how to handle her – she can really lose it.’

‘You told her I was a fan. She thinks I’m crazy.’

‘You’ve made a big mess, Lorna. A really big mess. What did you expect me to do? I have to clear it up somehow.’ Sweat glistened on his forehead under a full moon.

‘I want to go back to the house, Michael, please.’ I pulled at him. ‘Where are you taking me?’

Michael met my eyes, all intense and staring. ‘You know I care about you. Right? But you can’t go back to the house now. You’re gonna have to sleep out here tonight.’

‘Where?’

‘Here. See?’ He pointed at shadows through the trees. ‘You’re gonna sleep out here in the cottage. Diane’s gonna stay over and—’

‘No way.’ I pulled back. ‘She’s staying the night? Absolutely no way. If you do this, Michael …’

‘What? You’ll leave? Where will you go? Back to your sister who can’t stand you?’

‘She can stand me. I’ll … I’ll …’

‘Hitchhike your way back to America? Go then. Go on. I’m not stopping you. Good riddance.’

I burst into tears. ‘Do you mean that? You don’t love me anymore?’

‘Sometimes I wonder. Just … don’t get smart, Lorna. I’m trying to fix this. It’s all your fault. Help me out, for God’s sake. I don’t want Diane to flip out again.’

I could see the form of the cottage now, bulky and brown, under the waving branches of giant fir trees. It was a tumbledown place; little holes in the roof and metal boards on the windows. There was a metal door too, with a huge open padlock hanging off it.

‘Please, Michael.’ I shook my head, eyeing over the dark spots where roof tiles had skidded apart. ‘I can’t stay out here. It looks like a horror movie. What is this place, anyway?’