‘We’re all fine,’ he says. ‘A few things have flared up with work, but I’m managing them.’

‘Sounds like we’re in the same boat.’

‘I just want to be able to trust you,’ he says finally. ‘It’s not easy, based on our history.’

She squeezes her eyes shut. She’s suddenly angry, really angry. Is he trying to confuse things by making her feel guilty? How dare he use their past against her as if she’s the only one to blame. He was the one with a wife. He was the one that lost nothing when they split all those years ago. ‘Of course you can trust me.’

He sighs. ‘I better leave you to it. Don’t work too hard, okay?’

‘I won’t. Night.’

‘Night.’

Shaking, she hangs up. Looks at the papers on the desk. Cooper’s notes on the wall. Almost immediately, her phone rings. It’s Rusty. The sound blares through the silent space, strumming her nerves. She glances around. It feels like a test. She answers.

‘Oli!’ A buzzing distorts his voice.

‘Rusty?’

The buzz settles into a low hum. ‘Oli, where are you?’

She shifts forward. The balls of her feet press into the carpet. ‘At work.’

‘I’m calling about that kid you were with.’

Oli shakes her head in frustration. ‘What?’

‘The kid who was with you in Crystalbrook. He’s hurt, Oli. Bad. We’ve called his parents, but I thought you’d want to know.’ She slumps back against the chair. ‘Cooper.’

‘Yeah.’ Rusty’s voice sounds small, like it’s trapped in his throat. ‘He was attacked. He’s on the way to the Alfred. It’s not looking good.’

‘There, there, just pull up there.’ Oli points to the Emergency Department as the cab driver gives her a nervous sideways glance.

Random vignettes of Cooper’s quips and expressions fill her thoughts. Those stupid purple headphones around his skinny neck. His ridiculous shoes. He’s going to be okay. He has to be.

She tries to remember what Rusty said, but it’s like the conversation never made it to the storage part of her brain. That Cooper had been in an accident? Rusty definitely said he was badly hurt. Her face crumples, and she hastily wipes her eyes.

The taxi accelerates up the driveway then comes to an abrupt stop. Her fingers dig into the sides of her wrists. Two ambulances are parked near the entrance; one has its back doors open, and a pair of paramedics are easing out a stretcher. An oxygen mask is clasped over the face of an elderly woman, and a worried-looking young woman in pyjamas runs after the trio as they rush into the hospital. Oli throws a twenty-dollar note at the driver and yanks open the door. She stumbles as she runs.