Maude rolled her eyes. ‘I don’t have it,’ she said. ‘You said I had to give it back and I did.’ She placed her glass carefully on the draining board. For a moment the room tilted a bit, and her ears felt funny, a bit blocked, as if she’d been swimming. She wondered briefly when it was that she went swimming last, when they’d last done something normal. She wished her dad would come back.

Nell sighed and picked up the red trainer. ‘Except you obviously didn’t. If you wanted to play a trick on me, then well done you. It worked. Only we have to put it back, Maudie, we really do. I need it back now. Come on. Swap.’

Maude could feel that she might cry, and the hot dizzy feeling grew worse. Her hand itched, her foot was sore. ‘I told you,’ she said, snatching at her shoe. ‘I don’t have it.’

‘Fine,’ said Nell, as she walked towards the hall ‘Fine. We’ll go and check, shall we?’

*

‘No,’ said Maude as she pushed past Nell on the staircase, and turned to face her, blocking the way, still clutching the trainer. ‘I told you; I don’t have it.’

‘This isn’t funny anymore,’ said Nell, stepping to one side. ‘It’s stealing, Maude; theft.’

‘It’s my room,’ said Maude, mirroring her, ‘it’s private.’

‘You can help, if you want,’ Nell said. ‘We’ll tidy everything up, and the sooner we’re done, the sooner we can do something nice together. We can go for a walk, go down to the pier again.’

‘Jesus, Nell—’

‘Don’t,’ said Nell, ‘don’t you take that tone with me.’

‘What tone?’

‘I have been more than patient, Maude. But you need to up your game. I need to see less of the spoilt brat, and a bit more personal responsibility. You need to get yourself in some sort of order, and you need to hand over the shoe.’

‘Or what?’ Maude’s expression hardened. ‘I don’t have to listen to you, Nell. You’re not my mum.’

‘Don’t you dare pull that on me, you little—’ Nell bit back the rest of the sentence, but it was too late. She took a breath, and the pain in her ribs, sharp, sudden, left her dizzy. She felt sick. ‘I just want us to get on,’ she said, ‘like we used to.’

‘As if.’

‘What is it?’ Nell asked, her tone harsher than she’d intended. ‘You have been a pain in the arse for – weeks, months, now. What exactly is your problem?’

Maude looked at her for the longest time. ‘I know,’ she said, eventually, ‘I know what you did.’ She backed away slowly, favouring her good foot and flinching, up one stair, then another, looking down at Nell. ‘You wanted my dad, and you got him.’

‘What?’