‘I didn’t want to tell you this, Mez, but I saw her earlier. She was in the pub garden when I arrived, kissing that girl with the black hair, when you were on stage. I didn’t think that much of it, apart from the fact I’ve never seen girls snogging before so, you know, I noticed. That’s why I was frosty with her when she showed up here.’

‘I don’t believe you,’ I sobbed, although of course I did. Deep down I’d known all along, as soon as I saw Samantha look at that girl. I just couldn’t bear to admit it.

‘Oh, come on. You think I’d make up something like that? Of course I wouldn’t!’

‘You just can’t cope with me being gay.’

‘THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME!’ he yelled, suddenly as furious as I was. ‘Why can’t you just stop blaming me? In fact, why can’t you think about someone other than yourself for a change? You just walk out, leave me to cope with Mum, who’s in a right state by the way, not that you give a shit. You haven’t even asked how she is!’

‘I talk to her!’ I shouted back. ‘I ring her once a week!’

‘Whoop-de-doo,’ said Pete. ‘You ring her for five minutes once a week from a phone box and think you’ve done your duty; but every single day of the week I have to deal with her crying her eyes out. She misses Dad like crazy, and now she has to worry about you too, living on your own, dropping out of school, moving in with people she’s never met and knows nothing about. Now I can see why you haven’t told her anything about them, because they’re a bunch of druggy, benefit-scrounging losers, aren’t they?’

He did at least drop his voice when he said that, but I was in too much of a frenzy to do the same.

‘How dare you talk about my friends like that! You know what, why don’t you just fuck off back to Salisbury? Go running back to Mum and tell her what a mess I’m making of my life. I’m sure you’ll take great pleasure in it. I wish you’d never come!’

‘Oh, and here comes the self-pity. That’s predictable. OK, well, fine. I’ll go. And don’t worry, I won’t tell Mum anything that will stress her out even more than she already is. You just carry on, pleasing yourself and letting everyone else pick up the pieces. You always do.’

He hauled himself off the mattress and picked up his backpack and sleeping bag and for the second time that night, someone I loved walked out of my life.

‘Oh, and by the way,’ was his parting shot. ‘You aren’t even gay. You’re just weak.’