Suddenly, Dad’s on the phone and I realize I’ve been on loudspeaker all this time. I should have guessed.

“Lizzie, your mum’s not feeling very well. This has been very upsetting for her. I want you to think about what it was like before we moved to Dovercourt. What a dreadful time you had. What a dreadful time we all had.”

I perch on the edge of the sofa. It’s like I’m a young girl again, listening to one of his lectures when I’d done something wrong.

“I’m sure Catherine does feel sorry for her actions,” he says. “And I realize it must be difficult, her working alongside Ross. But believe me, it’s never a good idea to revisit the past. We’re not saying don’t forgive her, of course we’re not. We’re just saying don’t get too close. Join some clubs. Go to an evening class. You’ll soon make new friends.”

Oh my God. It’s like history repeating itself. My parents advising me not to get too friendly with Alice. To widen my circle. What the hell is it they’re not telling me?

34

The phone conversation with my parents has left me numb. I feel as though a protective layer of skin has been stripped away, leaving me exposed and vulnerable. There’s definitely more to this than they’re letting on.

I sink down onto the sofa. It must have been a real wrench for them to sell their beloved home and start all over again somewhere else. Why didn’t they have meetings with the school and tackle the bullying head-on? Or transfer me to another school? Why didn’t they make more of an effort to talk to Sheena and Mick about Catherine’s behavior and the problems it was causing? It’s almost as if they were too scared to even approach them about it.

Unless they felt guilty. Guilt by association. With me. My chest tightens. Is it possible that my own parents think I might have been lying? Heat stains my cheeks at the thought.

I go into the messages on my phone and see the one Catherine sent after our meeting in the park the other week. Despite what I said about wanting to see her again, I’ve been purposely ignoring her message up till now. I’d made up my mind that enough was enough. I’d accepted her apology and cleared the air. Anything more was out of the question, no matter how nice she now seems.

But things are different now and Catherine’s the only person, apart from my parents, who might be able to help me get to the bottom of all this. I need answers. Answers that Mum and Dad, for whatever reason, aren’t giving me.

I send her a text. Can we talk?

She rings me straightaway.

“Lizzie?”

“Something’s come up,” I say.