Sara thought back to her weekend, her body trembling at the thought of someone having sex with her while she was unconscious. Her stomach lurched, bile shooting up her throat, acrid on the back of her tongue. She closed her eyes, pushed the images away. ‘I don’t… I don’t think I was raped.’ She turned to her sister. ‘You’d know, wouldn’t you?’ She sounded uncertain, her voice wavering as she thought about how grubby she’d felt when she woke up. Sweaty and sticky and… She shuddered and wrapped her arms round her chest, hugging herself tight.

Hailey nodded. ‘I suppose you would.’ But she didn’t sound sure.

They sat in silence, absorbing the implications. Sara was determined she wasn’t going to discuss it any further because… what if… She started speaking to rid her mind of the horrible pictures, the appalling possibilities. ‘I want to go home. I can’t be separated from my kids. I can’t.’

Hailey gave her arm a reassuring rub. ‘How about I try and talk to Matt for you? See if I can smooth things over.’

Sara considered her suggestion. ‘Why not? He seems to have warmed to you recently.’

Hailey made no response, ignoring the implied question in her comment. Instead she pulled Sara into a sudden hug. ‘You really know how to sabotage yourself, don’t you, sis? Honestly, you had it all. But it wasn’t enough, was it?’ She sighed. ‘That’s you all over, always wanting the next thing. You were like that as a kid. Never wanted the toys you had, always wanted the thing you couldn’t afford.’ She pulled back, a hand on Sara’s shoulder, and gave her a determined smile. ‘We’ll get it sorted, don’t you worry.’

But Sara was worried. Because the only way to sort this out was to watch the video. She couldn’t challenge James until she knew what had actually happened. That was the reality. Her skin crawled. She clasped Hailey’s hand, grateful that she had at least one person she could rely on.

Hailey went downstairs and got Sara’s phone, brought it up to the bedroom. They held hands as they sat next to each other and Sara pressed play. Two different men, neither of them James. Just less than half an hour each. The only good thing about it was there was no evidence of rape. Fondling, caressing and everything else you might like to do to someone. One man spent a good fifteen minutes sucking her toes and licking her feet.

‘It could have been worse,’ Sara said when the video finished and she switched the phone off, trying to diminish the effect it’d had on her. Not wanting to allow these men to have taken anything from her, to have broken her. But her skin itched to be washed, crawling with the ghostly touch of their fingers.