‘Wait.’ I stopped the big reveal when something bigger caught my eye. There was something tucked out of sight behind the armchair in the corner of the room. ‘What is that?’ I didn’t wait for them to answer. Instead, I crossed the space and ferreted about to retrieve what looked like a whiteboard that had been drawn up as a scoreboard – with Rowan’s handwriting on it. There was a shaky green line that ran down the middle, creating two columns. At the top of the left-hand column it read ‘Player One’ and on the right—

‘It isn’t what it looks like,’ Ian said.

‘Good.’ I turned back around to face them, still with the scoreboard in hand. ‘Because it looks like a tally chart for something and I’d hate to think it had anything to do with what we’re talking about right now.’

‘Edi, I—’

‘Monty, don’t,’ I stopped him. ‘I don’t think I’m ready for this part of the truth yet.’ I looked at the board again. Player Two, whoever they were, had clusters of five tallies collected together; four lines crossed out with a fifth across the middle. I scanned the column but I didn’t have the stomach to count them up. Meanwhile, Player One, whoever they were, looked to be lagging with hardly a cluster. I didn’t look at either of the boys for a second longer, but I did ask, ‘Can you just tell me, is one of these Rowan?’ They stayed silent so I looked up in the end, just in time to see them swapping panicked expressions. ‘I’m not going to ask which one of them is him.’ I tried to laugh. ‘I think that’s the thing I’m not ready for. But, now I’ve seen it, I think it’s important that I—’

‘One of them is Rowan,’ Monty announced and Ian slapped his arm. ‘What?’

‘The code.’

‘Fuck the code. She’s right in front of us!’

‘I thought you didn’t mind being an arsehole,’ I said, aimed at Ian.

He laughed, then, and rubbed at the back of his neck. I recognised the gesture from Rowan. ‘I mean, it’s one thing being an accidental arsehole.’

I huffed. ‘You people and your omissions.’ I landed heavy, then, on the very armchair that had been shielding the board, which I let fall to the floor. My forehead felt as though I’d been on a bender with Betty and I thought how preferable that would be to this. ‘Okay, you’ve lost track of the women coming on nights out with you. Rowan is either excelling at the sport of shagging around or—’ I gestured to the board ‘—well, seriously falling behind. What else is there? I’m not asking anything. You’re just telling me what you’ve assumed I know.’