I stepped out of Max’s study and approached the poolside. The water was still. Like glass. Not even the whisper of a breeze to ruffle its surface. I took off my top with my grandad’s blood on it and pulled off my jeans then stepped onto the first step. Ripples spread outwards from where I had disturbed the pool, fading as they moved towards the walls, no more than wavering light and shadow by the time they touched. Silently I walked down the steps until my feet touched the floor. I pushed off, dipping down beneath the water to glide through it. For a moment or two I felt safe. But then from nowhere I was hit with a barrage of images. Edie and Jago fucking. Eleanor cackling as she cut the man’s clothes off. The little boy on the beach, purple skin, limp hands. My father’s face struggling to breathe, tiny bubbles escaping his mouth and nose as he tried to shout my name. The raven with strands of torn chick clamped in its beak. I felt something watching me then. The raven?

In my head or real?

Real. I could feel it. It was there.

It was watching…

In an instant panic engulfed me. Constricted my lungs. My fingers and toes grew numb and, disorientated, I lost my bearings in the black water. I tried to find the bottom of the pool but my feet kicked against nothing. Everything burnt. I opened my mouth to scream and water flooded in. A shadow moved. A figure took shape. It was him. I reached out. My feet finally found the bottom and I shoved hard to break the surface. There was a splash. A flash of bubbling white and he was there. He grasped hold of me. Pulled me up. Oxygen filled my lungs, soothing the burn like calamine, as he wrapped his arms around me to stop me flailing.

‘I’ve got you,’ he said, gasping for breath himself. ‘You’re safe.’

I lay back against him and stared at the sky. No raven. Just seagulls circling slowly.

When we got to the steps Max took my arm and helped me out. When I was clear of the water my knees buckled. He caught me and held me tightly, as my head swam and spots of light danced behind my eyes.

‘Keep breathing. Deep and slow. You panicked. You need to get oxygen into your body.’

He pulled me closer and rubbed my shoulder. I squeezed my eyes shut and pretended he was Dad, allowed myself to breathe in a parallel world where he hadn’t drowned and we lived in this house, our family intact, shiny with happiness.

‘I’m sorry I left you alone,’ he said. His voice dragged me away from my reverie. ‘But your mother called from the hospital. Your grandfather is out of the woods. He has to stay in for a while, but he’s going to be okay.’