Closing my eyes to fight the nausea as another wave of pain washes over me – even my teeth are now hurting. I ease back my shoulders to release the tension in my neck, but it doesn’t help.

‘I’m with Aiden. You need to come home right now. I checked the lottery ticket pinned to the fridge door while we were waiting for you.’

I can hear a jumble of voices in the background, which confuses me as I fight to process her words.

‘Ticket?’ What ticket?

Oh. The one I bought at the supermarket on Friday. It’s… Monday, no, Tuesday. The days roll through my head with absolutely no connection to anything.

‘Well?’ She laughs, excitement raising the pitch of her voice and making me wince.

‘Well, what?’ The pounding is now excruciating and I realise if I don’t take a migraine pill, I’m going to keel over.

‘Fern, you sound half asleep. You only matched one number, but you flippin’ won the Millionaire’s Raffle!’

My stomach begins to churn and I slump forward, wracked with pain, until my forehead touches the desk.

‘Lovely. Tell Aiden I’ll be home soon, promise.’

Click.

Why is Hannah at the house? Why isn’t she at uni? Then I remember that it’s the Easter holidays. It’s fine. All I need to do now is to get home in one piece.

‘You look awful, Fern. Are you fighting off a migraine attack?’

I nod, dropping my bag on the floor and gratefully sinking down onto one of the chairs. It looks like I missed a party. The breakfast bar is littered with glasses, two open bottles of Prosecco and an assortment of snacks.

Aiden is staring at me. ‘Tea?’ he asks, gently.

‘Yes please.’

My body feels heavy now that the pain is under control, but the side effects aren’t pleasant. My jaw, neck and shoulders feel bruised, as if I’ve hit something with force. At least my stomach has stopped churning.

‘Where’s Hannah?’

‘She had to head off as she’s meeting up with her room-mate for pizza, remember? Your mum and dad popped in to drop off the coat you left at their house after Sunday lunch and they offered her a lift.’

Oh, yes. ‘And the drinks?’ I nod in the direction of the mess Aiden has begun to clear.