He puts it back on the bedside table and shrugs. ‘Who knows? If I can get hold of a player, we can find out if you like? Though I’m not sure quite where I’d find one. Maybe we can get a cheap one online. No one uses these things anymore. Anyway, Mum sent me up to tell you it’s time for dinner.’

22

August 2013

Catford

‘What are you planning to do today?’ Jesse asks me over breakfast the next day.

‘Um – nothing really,’ I say. ‘I, uh, kind of don’t know anyone.’ I give him an embarrassed smile. It’s getting pretty lame having to say stuff like that over and over again.

‘D’you want to do something?’ Jesse asks. ‘It’s a lovely day – I could show you around a bit?’

I smile. ‘Thank you, I’d like that.’ I’d like to get a sense of where I live now. I haven’t been outside yet. In fact, I’ve barely been outside since I was found. I feel a pang again. I have a strong feeling I spent a lot of time outside in my previous life. In woods. Digging the garden. Tending to animals.

A flash of memory comes back to me – me asking my dad why I didn’t have a brother or sister like the children in the books and films, and when could I get one so I could have someone to play with. I’m pretty sure I never had one, and I’ve a vague idea it upset Dad when I asked.

Jesse grins back at me. He has a dimple in his right cheek which I have never noticed before. I touch my face – I have one in the same place. My brother. So weird. ‘Great!’ he says. ‘Let’s sort out some food and make a picnic of it. We can go to the park.’

He takes sliced bread from the bread bin and makes cheese and ham sandwiches, and roots around in the cupboards and fridge to find crisps, chocolate biscuits and cans of Coke. He’s stuffing them into a bag when Karen comes in. She smiles indulgently.

‘What’re you two up to?’

‘We’re going to go for a picnic in the park,’ Jesse says. ‘It’s a nice day and Laura’s barely been out the house – I thought it would be nice to show her around.’

Karen frowns. ‘You’re going out?’

‘Yes. That’s OK, isn’t it?’

She frowns. ‘It’s just …’ she trails off and Jesse sighs impatiently.

‘What?’

‘Laura’s social workers, and the police – they think it’s best if she keeps a low profile for now.’

Jesse tuts. ‘Oh yeah. I remember now. Press interest and all that.’