‘Look, I promised I wouldn’t talk to you again,’ he said, wheedling now. ‘Can you not—’

‘Just fuck off,’ I said, gulping the dregs of my wine. ‘I never want to see you again.’

I left him beached at the table, vain and hopeless, and stepped out into the night.

It felt as though there was no one left.

No one but me.

LILY

Deborah led me down into her kitchen in the basement. It looked like a bomb had hit it – opened post and abandoned mugs strewn across every available surface – with a distinct whiff of cat litter, to add to the overall ambience.

‘It’s ages since I’ve been here,’ I said. ‘It’s so cozy, isn’t it?’

‘Coming from a property expert like you…’ she said, looking pleased. She was holding an old-fashioned kettle in her hand, which was designed to sit on the big metal range. ‘Tea or coffee?’

I paused.

‘Oh, I could almost handle something stronger. Couldn’t you?’

She grinned her assent and pulled a half-drunk bottle of white out of the fridge. Her whole personality was coming back into focus – it was all about making her feel like she was in the cool gang, like she was bunking off maths to flirt with boys. Then she’d do anything required.

Soon we were sat opposite each other with brimming glasses, a look of earnest concern plastered across her face.

‘So, Lily, what’s been happening? Is Rachel still struggling?’

I took a slug of my wine – I had to admit to myself, as it slid down my throat, that my request for booze had come from more than just a desire to make her relax.

‘It’s been a nightmare,’ I said. I paused, forcing her to study me. ‘I know how you feel about Amber, but we have a responsibility to make sure no more families go through what we’ve been through.’

‘Tell me,’ she said, glass left suspended in mid-air by her desperation to know, and I laid out the last few months for her, watching her bulging eyes almost goggle out of the sockets as she struggled to compute it all.

‘But Rachel has stopped drinking?’ she asked, once I’d finished. ‘So she has at least got her back on the straight and narrow?’

I snorted.

‘Even that small mercy was short-lived. Sophie saw Rachel this week, so she could plead with her to come to her senses, and she was reeking of booze first thing in the morning.’

‘Oh, Lily,’ said Deborah.