She rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling, at the beams and the marks there. She couldn’t see them properly, because it was getting dark, but that didn’t matter, she’d looked at them enough to know them by heart. She’d been planning to tell her dad and Nell about them; at least, she’d been thinking about it. It was the sort of thing her dad would get all interested in for a bit, and that might have been nice, to have something they could share. But then Nell had come up and searched her room, searched it – the sobs threatened to break through again – and they’d ganged up on her.

She wiped her face, it was gross, all snotty and wet. She sat up gingerly; she needed to blow her nose. She went to the ladder and listened carefully before making her way down to the bathroom.

She made sure to bolt the door before she cleaned herself up, scowling at her reflection in the mirror; she looked all red and blotchy.

Grounded, she thought. Big bloody deal.

Back on the landing all was silent. It was a funny house, a bit too big for them, a bit too cold, even though it was supposed to be the summer; a bit too quiet. The door to the big bedroom was ajar, and Maude thought she could hear someone moving around in there – her dad, maybe. If he saw her, if he saw she’d been crying, then maybe he’d give her a hug. The thought was almost enough to make her tearful again.

She pushed the door open, but the room was empty. She hesitated, then stepped quickly inside.

She didn’t bother to switch on the light. It was tidy, like a hotel room. That would be Nell, not her dad – such a control freak. A floorboard underneath the carpet groaned softly as she crossed the room and looked out of the window, down the darkened yard, although some of the cottages had their lights on, casting a dull yellow glow across the cobblestones. She sat on the bed, trying to work up the nerve to open a drawer – she’d go through Nell’s things, and see how she liked that. If she found the phone maybe she wouldn’t give it back, maybe she’d keep it, use it.

She didn’t think she could quite dare to do it though. It would be just her luck for Nell to walk in at the wrong moment. She strained her ears to try to work out what was going on downstairs. She couldn’t hear voices, so they weren’t arguing, but she could hear something – the TV. They had gone back to watching the film, as if everything was all right.