‘I’ll find my own way home, thanks,’ he said. The police station was in an isolated spot, high on a hill overlooking the city and beyond. The street lamps extended rivers of artificial light across the county. The air was biting and fog was beginning to descend into the valley. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Ahad looked around for a street sign, a bus stop, anything to help him get home without having to call his father. But there was nothing.

Jia watched him, and understood that he was trying to figure out his next move and save face. ‘Here.’ She held out his keys and mobile phone. He took them from her and turned away again. ‘Let’s go,’ she said, as if she’d picked him up from his mate’s house not the police station, and as though this was any other day.

He pushed his fists into his pockets, the cotton threads digging into his knuckles, hoping that the pain would cut through his anger at her lack of understanding, but it didn’t work. ‘Fuck you,’ he said. ‘Fuck you and your uppity white calm ways.’

The abruptness of his words surprised her. She had expected to face his anger at some point but not today. Not when she was finally stepping up to take responsibility for him.

He had looked so small and so innocent when the officer had led him out of the cell; he’d reminded her of herself in the days before things changed. She wanted to tell him this and more but she was proud and she wouldn’t allow anyone to speak to her in that manner, not even her own son. ‘When you hurl abuse at me, we have two problems,’ she said. ‘First, you’re trying to hurt me and I’ve not given you permission to do that. And second, hurting me now may hurt you in the future. Do you understand?’

‘Thanks, Oprah, not quite the “aha moment” I was looking for but thanks. You’re going to lecture me now? Because if you are you’re sixteen fucking years too late.’ He felt the blood rushing to his head, pounding harder, drowning out all external noise. He would never speak to his father like this, but he needed her to understand what she’d done. He wanted to bait her and hurt her the way she had hurt him. It was time to do this.