Chloe is hunched on the sofa, sobbing. Amy sits next to her and puts her arms round her shoulders. She’s shaking, and Amy’s own heart is hammering. She can feel the tremor in her fingers. She’ll deal with Matt later, she thinks. She wonders if the almost-heatstroke has made him so hateful, or if something has happened between him and Bethany. Or is it because he’s been spending so much time talking to Sara? Matt thinks she doesn’t know about all the calls he’s made. She passes Chloe a tissue. Perhaps this is payback for avoiding Sara over the years. She was so young when she and Matt got together, and she didn’t feel confident enough to negotiate with his ex and establish some boundaries. She’s always felt drab and self-conscious compared to Sara. Maybe Matt’s wishing he’d never left her; maybe Sara has seen her chance and is wedging herself back into his life.

‘I can’t find my iPad. Bethany was taking photos of me, so I could post them on Instagram. It was here, I know I left it here.’ Chloe hits the sofa with the flat of her hand. ‘I bet Theo and Lotte have taken it.’

‘They’ve been using our iPad, love.’

‘They haven’t!’ Chloe is outraged. ‘I saw them, this morning! They were playing Minecraft on it.’ She blows her nose and wipes her eyes.

‘I told them not to borrow it again. Shall we look for it together?’

‘Look for what?’ asks Matt, standing over them, his arms folded across his chest. There’s a grey tinge to his skin.

‘My iPad,’ shrieks Chloe. ‘Your bloody kids have stolen it!’

Matt sucks in his breath. ‘That is not the way you speak about your brother and sister.’

‘Matt, can you check if Theo and Lotte have Chloe’s iPad?’

He ignores her. ‘We’ve got more important things to discuss first.’

‘Let’s talk about it later, when it’s cooler.’

No one has had any lunch yet, she thinks, so they’re probably all suffering from a blood-sugar low, which isn’t helping the anger levels, and she’s finding it hard to think straight after downing that double vodka. Matt’s about to argue, but turns on his heel and strides upstairs, shouting the children’s names.

‘It’s not fair,’ says Chloe. ‘He never lets me do anything! And Auntie Bethany was only trying to help. He’s so mean.’

‘He’s just worried, love. He doesn’t want you to post anything online that you might regret later.’

‘Why would I regret it? Anyway, Bee was really careful. She texted me the photos she took and then she deleted them from her phone. She knows more than you two do about social media and the “dangers” it poses.’ Chloe air-quotes the word ‘dangers’ and blows her nose again.