Turning her back on the door, Bree, not wanting to be drawn into any more conversation, saw Franny’s car keys lying on the side. She immediately grabbed them before rushing across to the small kitchen off the lounge to grab Mia’s tin of formula milk. Her thoughts raced as she grabbed what she could. Biscuits and crisps, a few cans of Coke, a loaf of bread, before pulling open a drawer to where the plastic bags were kept, and throwing the collected items inside a bag. What else did she need? Think. She had to think. Blankets, she had to get Mia’s blankets. Quickly turning around to get them, Bree froze.

‘Who did you think you were messing with, Bree? You should’ve known better than that.’

Bree could hardly breathe as she stared into Franny’s cold and angry face.

‘How … how did you get out?’

Franny laughed, harsh and bitterly. ‘Didn’t you listen to anything I said about my childhood, about my father? I was turning locks before you could even ride a bike.’

‘Stay away from me, Franny.’

Franny tilted her head to one side. ‘Why does it have to be like this? We were friends, Bree, and now look, you’re telling me to keep away.’

‘Just let me go, okay? Let me walk away with Mia and whatever happens, I’ll take responsibility. No one will ever know you’ve been involved.’

Franny’s tone was disconcerting. ‘It’s not as simple as that though, is it?’

‘It can be. It can be whatever we want it to be.’

Franny’s eyes narrowed. ‘And what about Mia? Are you just going to walk away and take her out of my life forever?’

Bree shook her head. ‘No, no of course not. You can see her anytime you want.’

‘The minute you leave this flat, both you and I know you’ll change your mind.’

Feeling uncomfortable, Bree, still holding Franny’s car keys, went to walk out of the tiny kitchen, pushing past Franny. ‘I wouldn’t do that to you, but believe what you like. I’m not going to live like this any longer.’

Following her through to the lounge where Mia was still happily lying on the changing mat, Franny snapped angrily, ‘You’re going to ruin everything. All you have to do is wait a bit longer.’

Feeling a renewed strength, Bree spoke firmly. ‘No, I’m sorry, Franny, but I ain’t listening to you anymore. This has to stop, now. So here’s how it’s going to go: I’m going to take your car, but I’ll let you know where I’m going to leave it, and I promise I’ll be in touch.’

‘Look, just stop being stupid. You haven’t got anywhere to go. You can’t just go out in the middle of the night with Mia.’

‘Anywhere is better than here.’