Roman hesitated. ‘Sometimes she may be a little aggressive, I’m not sure…’

‘I’ll be fine, honestly,’ reassured Ella.

Ella watched as Roman and Callie disappeared back inside The Lakehouse before she set off walking to the far end of the bay. Feeling a little apprehensive, she didn’t know what she was going to say or how Megan was going to react. Ella had never been in a situation like this before. As she turned the next corner, she immediately spotted Megan sitting on a rock. She was leaning on her knees, hunched over.

‘Megan, hi. I’m Ella, I’ve just come to see if you’re okay,’ Ella said softly, slowly walking towards her.

Megan looked up, startled. There was a pool of sick splattered on the rock in front of her and she started to heave again.

‘I’m here to help you, I’m a friend of your dad’s.’

Megan didn’t say a word, just carried on retching. Her cheeks were blackened by her mascara, her eyes were bloodshot, and she really didn’t look in the best way.

‘Here.’ Ella handed Megan a clean tissue from her bag. Megan took it without making any eye contact with her.

Ella crouched not far from the side of her. ‘I hear you’re not having the best of days. I’ve been having one of those years until recently. I think you and I have a lot in common. Do you mind if I sit?’

Megan looked up for a brief moment. ‘If you want.’

Ella kept her voice calm, but inside she was on tenterhooks and her heart was racing as she sat on a nearby rock. ‘I miss my parents,’ shared Ella, ‘every day, like you wouldn’t believe. Both of them died the same day. One minute they were here, and the next…’ Ella swallowed down a lump in her throat and noticed Megan looking over in her direction. ‘What I would give to see them one last time, have one more conversation with them. At first there was only one way to block out the pain, and that was drink.’ She took a breath. ‘One drink, turned into two, then three… and before I knew it, it just became the norm, until I met a man who I thought cared for me. I began to feel happier in my life because I had something… someone… to focus on, and I was lucky that the drink took a back seat. However, that’s only the start of my story.’

‘Why, what happened to you?’ asked Megan, engaging in the conversation for the first time.