We stare at each other for a couple of seconds then I clear my throat again. The paramedic told me the smoke inhalation is unlikely to have done any lasting damage, but I might have a cough for some time.

“Are you Liz?”

“Emma?”

“Yes.”

The anxiety on her face fades instantly but it’s replaced by another emotion – anger. A porter with a trolley shouts “Beep, beep!” and I’m forced to step into the room. I keep a hand on the doorframe.

“I’m sorry, Liz.”

The fingers of her right hand return to her engagement ring. She twiddles it back and forth as though it’s a talisman warding off evil spirits as she gives me a long, lingering look – a look that says, You abandoned her, again. “She could have died.”

“She was breathing when I left her. I knew the ambulance and fire brigade wouldn’t be far away.”

“No, you didn’t.”

I look down at the shiny speckled floor. “No, I didn’t.”

Neither of us says anything more. On the TV, Jeremy Kyle makes a big song and dance about reading out the results of a lie detector test. He’s got the audience in the palm of his hand.

“What happened to the animals?” Liz asks.

“They’ve been moved to neighbouring sanctuaries while we try to fix the fire damage. We managed to round up all of the dogs, apart from Tyson. The boars are long gone, and we lost three of the older, sicker cats to smoke inhalation, as well as all the hamsters, rodents, and Freddy the parrot.” I stare up at the ceiling and blink back the tears that are pricking at my lower lashes.

“I’m sorry,” Liz says softly.

“All the staff at Green Fields are very upset.”

“No, not about that, though am I very sorry about the animals. I’m sorry for having a go at you, Emma. You had an impossible choice to make.”

I bite down on the inside of my cheek and shake my head. If I speak, I’ll cry.

“Emma.” I hear the squeak of a chair leg on lino as Liz stands up. I tense as she approaches but she doesn’t touch me. Instead, she stands over me, her hands knotted in front of her. “What happened wasn’t your fault.”

I shake my head again. I shouldn’t have come. I should have stayed with Will and rung the ward to check Al was okay. He told me not to come. He said I was too shaken up, that I had to let him take care of me, but I refused. He was right, again.

“She’s right, Emma. It wasn’t your fault.”