Will the police be waiting for me? Will they have believed him? As I turn the corner I see a red car parked up across my drive. As the driver sees me, they pull across and let me in. I turn up the drive and park behind the skip. It’s Katy.

She looks angry and I feel sorry she has to go through this. I wonder what happened when she went for Jamie, what he said to her. I half expect her to fly at me, call me a liar. Instead, she stands right in front of me. Her eyes are sad but there are no tears. Her face is set in a harsh stare. She says just one word.

‘Sorry.’

It’s what I need to hear. I just needed to know that somewhere in all this someone had considered my feelings. That they hadn’t just disregarded me. A wave of relief washes over me and I hug her. She hesitantly hugs me back. Katy takes the key from me and opens the front door. The door scrapes a pile of mail into a bigger pile of mail. I’d almost forgotten what happened before with Pam. The mess.

Katy looks around in wonder.

‘Fucking hell. Fucking hell. What happened here?’

I put the kettle on.

‘Things haven’t been so good. Then … one of his women came here.’

I show her the bedroom. She already knows which door it is, a tiny detail that isn’t lost on me. She stands and stares.

‘Bloody hell.’

I know what she’s thinking. There but for the grace of God go I. Her turn this time. This is what could happen to me. We go back downstairs. I make tea. The milk I bought at the corner shop is still fresh.

‘So what did he say?’

I can’t help it. I still need to know. I need to know what words came out of his lying fucking mouth, even if it’s second hand.

‘Well, I went to get Jamie. He just thought I was early at first, then obviously he saw the look on my face. He ushered me into the hallway …’

‘His mother’s house?’

‘Yes. She was in the kitchen with your two.’

My two. My children. I envy anyone who has seen them more recently than me and I almost hate her, but remind myself that this isn’t her fault.

‘So what did he say?’

‘He asked me what was wrong. I told him I’d seen everything on the internet and I didn’t think Jamie should be there at the moment. There were reporters outside. He said that he’d fight me for custody if I stopped him seeing Jamie.’

I look at her. She’s terrified.

‘What else did he say?’ Her pupils are small and she pales. She doesn’t know whether to trust me. I reach out and touch her hand.