Her hand went to her chest, heart racing as she reran her memory of the event in her mind, like watching a replay. As the evening had worn on and the room had become warmer, he’d taken off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and she distinctly remembered the mole on his arm, like a splodge of ink had been spilled. She closed her eyes and tried to visualise every little detail about the evening, because there was something else, a blurred memory that she couldn’t quite catch hold of before it slipped away from her into darkness.

The sound of the door banging shut startled her awake, her cheek pressed against the kitchen table where she’d slumped forward, her hand wet with spilt wine, her glass tumbled on its side. Hailey walked into the kitchen, and flicked on the light, making Sara blink in the brightness. She wiped her hand on her joggers, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, while Hailey reached for the wine bottle and poured herself a glass. She picked up Sara’s fallen glass and filled that too before sinking into a chair.

‘Oh my God, what a day.’ Her face looked drawn, eyes bloodshot and tired.

‘Are the girls all right?’ Sara leant across the table, put a hand on her sister’s arm. ‘Tell me they’re okay.’

Hailey took her hand. ‘Now I don’t want you to worry, but I think I’ve found out what’s been bothering them. I managed to nab them when they arrived at football. Matt dropped them off, but he didn’t stay. The girls said he had a meeting. Anyway, I left as soon as he turned up later, and I don’t think he saw me.’ She took a big glug of her drink.

Dread pooled in Sara’s belly. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Milly broke down and told me everything. Poor kid’s been keeping it all bottled up.’ Hailey puffed out her cheeks, gave Sara’s hand a squeeze and downed the rest of her drink. ‘There was a video posted online. Milly in the showers at the football club. She was singing and doing a little dance while she washed her hair, and a whole stream of trolls made fun of her.’ She grimaced. ‘Everyone at school has seen it. Poor kid is mortified.’

Sara knew immediately when it had happened.

‘That was about three weeks ago, wasn’t it? I caught them looking at something on the laptop, and Milly was crying, but they denied anything was wrong.’ Her heart ached for her child, tears springing to her eyes. ‘Oh Hailey.’ Her chin wobbled, no words to describe how she felt.