Ben’s parents were creatures of habit. His father, especially, was predictable down to the minute. His mobile would be charging by his chair in the conservatory, where it lived tethered to the wall like a landline. Ben’s mother, on the other hand, kept her phone by the bedside, always available – the family’s twenty-four-hour helpline. He couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t answered one of his calls, and that fact alone stirred the tears in his eyes. How many times had he not answered hers? She was only ever calling to hear his voice. She got lonely like everyone else.

She would be so surprised to see his name flash up on the screen. And worried, of course, as was her knee-jerk reaction. He was calling to say goodbye, that’s all; to hear their voices one last time. The less he told them, the safer they were.

‘Ben?’ she answered croakily. ‘Is everything okay?’

‘Yeah, Mum,’ he replied, holding his breath to keep from welling up. ‘Everything’s fine.’

‘What’s wrong?’ he heard his father ask, waking in the bed beside her.

‘Honestly, there’s nothing to worry about. I’m just calling to say hello.’

‘It’s a strange time to call, Ben,’ his mother said, as he heard her propping her shoulders up against a stack of pillows.

‘Does he need some money?’ his father was heard to say, not surprising considering the cause and effect of Ben’s usual phone calls.

‘I’m okay for money.’ He chuckled, sniffing back the sadness as best he could.

‘How’s your project going?’ his mother asked. ‘Your father and I can’t wait to hear all about it.’

‘It’s going good, Mum. It’s going really good.’

He couldn’t tell them the truth. Sparling didn’t know how to lift the creeper’s curse but he knew how to keep it contained. Silence was the key. And should that fail, solitude. The safest option was to simply disappear completely.

‘I’m sorry to call so early,’ Ben said, pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes closed, imagining their heads leaning in to listen. ‘I just wanted thank you. Jesus, I want to thank both of you so much. You’ve always been so good to me. And I’ve been so—’ he dabbed his cheek dry ‘—just so bad at saying thank you.’

‘You’ve always tried your best,’ his father put in.

If only that were true. But he knew the old man honestly believed it. There was no message he could pass to his parents that could save Aoife. The creeper was coming for her. Hopefully, his best would be enough to stand in its way.