‘Emma,’ Ben repeated. ‘Come and sit down.’ He thought maybe he should go to her but knew that his legs were too weak to hold him up.

Emma hesitated, before coming over to sit in the chair the other side of Ben. He put one arm around her and the other around his mum, pulling them into him. They sat locked in a cocoon of shock, each lost in their own stunned silence, while drawing comfort from each other for several minutes before Ben finally spoke: ‘What happens now?’

Jo turned towards him. He had never seen anyone look so scared. ‘I have no idea.’

‘OK.’ Ben took a deep breath and disentangled himself from them both before standing up. ‘Don’t worry about anything. You two go home and I will sort everything out.’

Jo immediately dissolved into tears. ‘We can’t leave him!’ she cried desperately.

A sob rose in Ben’s throat, catching him by surprise. He put his hand to his mouth, trying to compose himself. He had to be strong now for his mum and his sister. It was a horrible, terrifying sensation to realize that he was the man of the family now. The only one left. He crouched down in front of Jo and took her hand. ‘We’re not leaving him, Mum. He’s not here anymore. He’s gone.’ The words tasted bitter as they left his mouth.

He steeled himself for Jo to shout, or scream or cry. But instead she became suddenly still, as if he had injected her with some kind of sedative. ‘Mum?’ he prompted.

Jo lifted her head to meet his gaze. There was such a look of utter despair in her eyes that for a moment he almost crumpled. ‘He’s gone,’ she whispered, as if trying to compute the words.

Ben nodded and took her hand. ‘You and Emma go home. I will come as soon as I can.’ He gave her hand what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze.

Jo gave him a bleak half-smile. ‘Thank you.’

Ben watched as his mum and Emma shuffled out of the hospital, clinging to each other for support. Jo looked like she had aged years in just a few short hours and he wondered if it was the same for him. It certainly felt like it.

He fished around in his pocket for his phone and dialled Bella’s mobile. It went straight to voicemail. He tried the landline but that too was picked up by the Ansaphone. He started to leave a message but stopped short, unable to say such horribly unspeakable words into a machine. He would tell her later.

He slumped down onto the chair his mum had just vacated, overwhelmed by the enormity of the responsibility. He knew he needed to speak to the nursing staff, to sort out the practicalities, but all he felt capable of was curling into a ball and hoping it would all disappear. He stared at his phone again. Before he knew what he was doing, he was dialling Charlotte’s number.