“Bet you didn’t bring one – Bat Boy!” she said. “Jessica Jones – practical and cute.”

We trod carefully along the old river path, towards the bridge. The mossy stone was wet and slippery, and it would be a big problem if we fell into the cold dark river. We went under the bridge, past random heaps of boxes, a rotten mattress and an upside-down shopping trolley. Somewhere in the gloom, we could hear a squeak squeak squeak.

“Yuck!” I whispered. “Rats!”

As we came out on the other side, I heard a scramble to my right. Freya shone her torch towards the sound and gasped.

“I bloody knew it!” a voice said.

Jacob stepped out of the bushes and stood in front of us. His face and clothes were thick with grime.

“I knew the Geek Squad would show up,” he said with a lopsided grin.

*

Five minutes later, we were sitting on the bank with Freya squashed up between Jacob and me.

“The police took me in,” Jacob said. “They said Myles and his mates could press charges. I didn’t know what to do and so I came here.”

“Your mum’s mad with worry,” I told him. “She’s round at ours.”

Jacob shook his head.

“I can’t go back,” he said. “The coppers will charge me, and school has already kicked me out. I beat them up really badly. Myles wasn’t moving when I ran off.”

“We’ll help,” Freya said. “We spat into our palms, remember?”

“Did you tell them?” Jacob asked. “About this place?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Like Freya said, we made a promise. But the police are looking for you.”

“What’s the point in going back?” Jacob said. “I’ll just start another school, get into trouble, be a big fat problem for everyone.”

“You don’t have to get into trouble,” Freya said.

“Yeah,” I said. “You can decide not to fight …”

Jacob shrugged.

“To be honest,” he said. “You two are my only real friends.”

Freya reached over and kissed Jacob on the cheek.

“We’ll always be friends,” she said. “But you’ll freeze to death if you stay here.”

Jacob looked away, towards the river.

“Sometimes I think that would be the best thing,” he said. “Like Gramps …”

“No!” I said. “No way! You’re coming back with us. Otherwise the bad guys win!”

“But why?” Jacob said, and I could hear the despair in his voice.

“Because your mum loves you,” I said. “Because you’re a good person. You’ve got a whole future ahead of you. You can be anything you want. You just have to start with happy!”

I was breathless and sweaty, and I realised my fists were clenched tight. I didn’t even sound like me. I sounded like my mum. Freya was looking at me with her mouth open in surprise.

“No one can bring your Gramps back,” I went on. “Or change what’s happened in your life. But it’s still your life, isn’t it? It’s still something you can change and make better.”