He kisses the end of my nose and lays his head back down on my chest.

‘Can I ask you a question?’ I say, before I’ve properly thought through what I’m going to say.

He moves his hand down to my leg and starts to stroke my inner thigh. Normally it would make me want him but right now it makes me feel attacked. I fidget away, pretending that I am adjusting my jeans, as if have an itch or something.

‘Ask me anything, my darling,’ Will replies.

‘Why does Adam put you down all the time?’

He lifts his head to look at me, frowning. ‘That’s an odd question. Why do you ask?’

‘Dunno. I guess, not having any brothers or sisters – or any family, apart from Mum, sometimes I find it difficult to understand these relationships.’

He shifts slightly so that he is lying on his stomach and can look at me more easily. ‘I don’t know either really. He’s always been that way. Obviously, he’s older so he’s always had the upper hand in some ways, at least when we were kids. I’d never say this to him – and Mum would never admit it in a million years – but I’ve always been her favourite. I was ill as a child and I think that made her uber-protective of me. I think it’s made him jealous.’

‘You were ill?’

‘Yeah. In and out of hospital for a couple of years – no big deal, got over it, hale and hearty now.’

‘I bet it was a big deal at the time.’

‘Probably, I don’t remember much about it. But I think it’s why I’m Mum’s favourite, which has its advantages as I’ve always been able to get away with just about anything at home, so not all bad.’

I smile and touch his face. ‘How could you not be anyone’s favourite?’

He smiles back. ‘That’s sweet.’ There’s a pause and Will looks thoughtful. ‘It’s an interesting question though. Thing is, I can see Adam’s an arse in many ways, and he spends almost the whole time when we’re together trying to wind me up, but he’s also my brother, whether I like it or not. Always has been, always will be. There’s a bond there. It’s maybe difficult to understand if you don’t have a sibling. Even when I hate him, which quite often I do, I know that … well, deep down, I don’t hate him really.’

Tears well in my eyes. Will would never believe me. I can’t tell him what happened. What Adam did.