I’m taken aback. I’ve never needed counselling myself; I bite my tongue and think for a second. If I had something that proved it, something that removed the doubt, then confidentiality wouldn’t be an issue at all. ‘Right, well, I’ll leave it with you.’

‘And to give you peace of mind I’ll make sure we take a closer look at everyone coming and going from your place of work,’ he says.

‘Thanks,’ I say, before hanging up. I gently tap my phone to my forehead. I don’t like this, I think. I don’t like this at all.

•

Cormac enters the practice. His stubble is a little shorter, tidier and his cheeks are red as though he’s run here.

‘Made it just in time. I got held up at work.’

‘That’s fine. Come through.’

I lead him to my room and he does his usual routine, eyeing my bookshelf, running his hand along the spines, before settling into his seat.

I fill both the glasses of water before placing my pad on my lap and glancing over my notes. ‘In our last session we were talking about when you arrived in Australia. How hard it was to adjust.’

‘We came over when I was young, not long after what happened with my dad. Mum was sort of broken, you know. She was vacant, I can see it now. Stressed, no money, two kids. It would have been hell for her. It wasn’t long until she started to dabble more in drugs. After what Dad did, it’s hard to blame her.’ I flick back to a previous note from our first session. Doesn’t blame his father; blames outsiders like the mistress.

‘It’s not uncommon for people to self-medicate when they have young children and no support network.’ I can’t help but think about the glass of wine I’ve been having most nights this week.

‘That’s it, no support network. It wasn’t the move, it was the fact Dad was gone. He was a bastard to her, but sometimes I wonder if she didn’t regret it all, trying to leave him in the first place and taking us kids.’

‘So you think she is somehow responsible herself?’

‘No, I don’t know. She let us down when she got here, and it’s hard to look past that. Anyway, we arrived. I was bullied a little for my accent, but an Irish accent is a stubborn mule. When it’s there it’s not easy to get rid of. My sister copped it as bad. She was bullied, too, but girl bullying is different. Girls can break each other down psychologically, leaving scars that stay for years. My sister is seventeen now and she’s still messed up from everything. Even more than me.’