The sound of rustling bed sheets was followed by more giggles; more murmurs. I stood there, heart galloping as I struggled not to comprehend what I could patently hear, but then Tom had moaned, and it was unmistakeably him, and, in the end, it was not from Grace, but from the rhythm of the bed springs that I’d found out the truth.

It was my fault. I should have realized that Grace was a threat. That she took whatever she wanted from me.

The cab dropped us at the end of the road we used to live in. Grace strode in front of me, her head swivelling right and left as she took in the buildings, shops and landmarks she remembered. My breath came faster as I rushed to keep up.

‘Oh my God! This place is still here!’ she exclaimed, standing outside the small souvenir shop that sold everything from London trinkets to snacks, ready meals, alcohol and cleaning products. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever paid as much for vodka as I did buying it from this shop late on a Friday night. I’m sure his prices had a sliding scale.’ She shook her head and walked on and then, there it was: the black railings, the steps down to the front door, and the half windows that formed the top of the living room peeping up at the street. We stood on the pavement and looked at the windows. They were frosted now; it was difficult to see inside. Somehow it all looked smaller, older, seedier than it did in my memory, despite the fact the building’s façade had clearly had some sort of paintwork done.

‘I wonder if it’s still a rental place,’ I said. ‘Hey! What are you doing?’

Grace was already halfway down the steps.

‘Come back!’ I said. ‘That’s trespassing.’

‘Not if we knock,’ she said, looking back at me. ‘Come on. Don’t tell me you’re not curious?’

And so I joined her at the bottom of the steps and it was my hand that pressed the doorbell. It was me who spoke to the woman who answered, a small baby clutched in one arm.

‘Hello,’ I said, already regretting disturbing her. Dark circles were etched on her face and her skin was pale. She looked as if she was trying to rock the baby to sleep. ‘I’m so sorry to bother you but I’m looking for a friend who used to live here… I moved away and, I mean, I know it’s random, but I was just passing for the first time in ages and I wondered if there was a chance she still lived here?’

As I spoke, Grace and I peered around her like meerkats, as if our mystical friend might suddenly appear out of the bedroom. The woman sighed as if one more unexpected glitch was exactly the kind of thing she expected in life.